Songfacts®:

• Lana Del Rey recorded this slow-burning ballad for the soundtrack of HBO's teen drama series Euphoria. The song plays during the "Ruminations: Big and Little Bullys" episode, which premiered on January 23, 2022. Del Rey follows the likes of BTS, Labrinth, and Billie Eilish in having music premiered or featured on the show.
• Watercolor eyes mean teary eyes. Here, Del Rey sings of how her lover's continual breaking up and making up distresses her.
  
  Hot summer and cold watermelon
  Your love stings like blood and a lemon
  Why do you leave me with watercolor eyes?
  
  Del Rey uses two types of fruit to symbolize the mixed nature of the on-again, off-again romance.
• Del Rey continues to use her familiar summertime imagery to describe the turbulent relationship.
  
  I think that you taste like rock candy
  Sweet like beaches, leave me all sandy
  
  In the run-up to Del Rey's eighth studio album, rumor had it she would name the record Rock Candy Sweet. Instead, the LP arrived with the title Blue Banisters. Either this is the original planned title track, which Del Rey later scrapped, or she just reused the lyrics for "Watercolor Eyes."
• Del Rey wrote "Watercolor Eyes" with Nasri Atweh, the singer from Magic! of "Rude" fame. The Canadian musician is also one half of the songwriting and production duo The Messengers (Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never," Chris Brown's "Next 2 You," Pitbull's "Feel This Moment"). This is Del Rey's first collaboration with Nasri.
• Nasri also co-produced the lilting guitar ballad with Del Rey's frequent collaborator Drew Erickson. He contributed to six Blue Banisters tracks, including the single "Arcadia."