Lana Del Rey’s new single “Watercolor Eyes” holds a plethora of mesmerizing similes that are majestic and emphasize her ability to conquer the lyrical and vocal form. Released on Jan. 21, “Watercolor Eyes” appears during the end credits of the second season of HBO’s “Euphoria” Episode 3, titled “Made You Look.” Del Rey’s impressive vocal range, angelic high notes and stunning musicality creates an alluring experience for listeners.
“Watercolor Eyes” holds a similar quality and emotional tone to “Breaking Up Slowly” from Del Rey’s sixth full-length studio album “Chemtrails Over The Country Club.” The singer spends much of the song contemplating if the brief moments of wondrous joy are worth the constant mistreatment that accompany the relationship, mirroring the theme of pained relationships. This is shown in the lyrics, “Why you always doing that? / Breaking up with me then making up / Just to make me mad” and “So what if you taste just like heaven / That don’t make it right,” where she surveys the good and the bad.
From start to end, each lyric is imbedded with deep emotion and heart wrenching contemplation. Using juxtaposing comparisons, the song features light hearted motifs including “candy,” “sweet” and “warm,” and dark, heavy imagery such as “cold,” “sting” and “blood.” These motifs further nod to the song’s theme of love and heartache as the lyrics question how love can be so deceptively sweet and intensely beautiful, yet equally as damaging.
Due to incorporating the poetic musings of an artist such as Del Rey, the episode “Made You Look” was highly anticipated and created an uproar among fans after its release. Fans were expecting “Watercolor Eyes” to be integrated into the episode’s plot, rather than simply playing as the ending credits rolled. Filled to the brim with motifs in line with many of the main character’s struggles — specifically the complicated, yet alluring relationship between Rue (Zendaya) and Jules (Hunter Schafer) — the song’s sound would have fit flawlessly within the moments these characters shared.
The comparative imagery of hot vs. cold, light vs. dark, angel vs. devil, sharp vs. soft and user vs. used are believed to foreshadow the unfortunate downfall of many of the “Euphoria” characters. “Watercolor Eyes” mirrors the portrayal of the characters, such as Rue, Jules, Maddy (Alexa Demie), Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Kat (Barbie Ferreira), with the colorful and glittery make-up looks that ultimately smear and streak alongside their individual feelings.
Though this is the first series Del Rey’s music has been featured in, she has previously written songs for movies. “Young and Beautiful” can be heard in the 2013 film “The Great Gatsby” and, in the Disney film “Maleficent,” her song “Once Upon a Dream” is included. “Once Upon a Dream” holds akin qualities to “Watercolor Eyes,” specifically her spellbinding vocals overlaying melancholy instrumentals.
The show’s incorporation of “Watercolor Eyes” speaks towards the immersive and transportive essence of her music. The song draws listeners into an experience, a production. With lyrics that appeal to the senses such as “I think that you taste like rock candy” and “Hot summer and cold watermelon / Your love stings like blood and a lemon,” each line creates an intensely vivid experience.
For this reason, the song has been trending on TikTok since its release. Over 7,000 videos have been made incorporating the single thus far, and each seem to capture Del Rey’s dimensionality in various ways. “Watercolor Eyes” creates an everlasting experience and represents how flawlessly her music translates to a visual platform, allowing the song’s extensive depth and twistedly celestial motifs to be interpreted ocularly.
Del Rey’s “Watercolor Eyes” is ethereal and mystifying, conveying the complicated nature of a heavenly, yet intensely harmful relationship. The song’s phantasmal charm pairs with the aesthetic of “Euphoria” while serving as a powerful way to represent the beautifully tragic aspects of the adored program. Infiltrating her listeners’ mind with haunting imagery and hypnotic vocals, Del Rey could paint Van Gogh-like works of art with the lyrical majesticness of the song.
Clairesse Schweig is an Entertainment Intern for the winter 2022 quarter. They can be reached at cschweig@uci.edu.
