Cola

Album: Born to Die - The Paradise Edition (2012)
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Songfacts®:

  • The song features the controversial lyric: "My p--sy tastes like Pepsi-Cola."

    The line came from something Del Rey's Scottish boyfriend at the time, former frontman of Scottish rock band Kassidy Barrie-James O'Neill, said: "He was talking about American girls, his vision of American girls was that all their pussies tasted like Pepsi-Cola, and that they were such a dream," she explained to Rolling Stone. "I thought that was the funniest fu--ing thing I'd ever heard. And I thought, Well … I have a Scottish boyfriend, and that's just what he says!"
  • Although titled as "Cola" on the official release of the Paradise EP, the song is registered at American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers as "Pussy."
  • Del Rey told the radio show Breakfast From LA that she had no reservations about releasing the song, "but everyone around me did. They just thought it was really weird - nothing new here."
  • Lana Del Rey told MTV News in a November 2017 interview that following the sexual assault and harassment allegations surrounding Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and other big names in the entertainment industry she decided to retire this tune from her live act.

    "When I wrote that song, I suppose I had a Harvey Weinstein/Harry Winston-type of character in mind," she explained. "I envisioned, like, a benevolent, diamond-bestowing-upon-starlets visual, like a Citizen Kane or something. I'm not really sure. I thought it was funny at the time, and I obviously find it really sad now. I support the women who have come forward. I think they're really brave for doing that."

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