Alma Mater

Album: Bleachers (2023)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Alma Mater" is a layered and disjointed track, released as the second single from Bleachers' eponymous album. It blends electronic beats with Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff's distorted guitar and vocals from Antonoff and Lana Del Rey.
  • The lyrics are cryptic and full of imagery. The title "Alma Mater" could refer to a literal school Antonoff attended, a past lover, or even his hometown of New Jersey. Antonoff also references New Jersey places like Wawa (a chain of gas stations and convenience stores where you can get a hoagie), the New Jersey Turnpike, a green space, a movie theater, and an "old house."
  • Antonoff and Lana Del Rey co-wrote this song with frequent Bleachers collaborator, Swedish producer Patrik Berger.
  • Jack Antonoff and Lana Del Rey have a very close and fruitful musical collaboration. They have worked together extensively on several of her albums, including Norman F---ing Rockwell! (2019), Chemtrails over the Country Club (2021) and Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (2023).

    This song represents what it feels like to collaborate with Del Rey. "You can hear paper noise, a bit of us talking, breathing – it just feels like the room," Antonoff told The Guardian.
  • The video, directed by Alex Lockett, shows Antonoff driving around New Jersey at night in a dreamy atmosphere. Singer-songwriter Clairo is seen holding a plant under a bus stop while Del Rey sings her lines in close-ups. The visual ends with a cameo from Antonoff's wife, the actress Margaret Qualley, who crosses the road in front of him.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks

Ron and Russell Mael of SparksSongwriter Interviews

The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.

Strange Magnetics

Strange MagneticsSong Writing

How Bing Crosby, Les Paul, a US Army Signal Corps Officer, and the Nazis helped shape rock and Roll.

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in Songs

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.