Lana Del Rey’s ‘Venice Bitch’, from her 2019 album Norman Fucking Rockwell!, presents a more optimistic vision of romance than much of her earlier work. The song matters because it combines her recurring themes of Americana, idealism and disillusionment with a hopeful portrait of love that can endure uncertainty and the pressures of modern life.

Running for almost ten minutes, the track begins as a gentle acoustic ballad before expanding into an extended electric-guitar passage. Del Rey said it was written as a “more happy take on love”, imagining a relationship in which one partner tours while the other writes, and described its length as suitable for people who simply want to drive and get lost in the music. Its lyrics reference Norman Rockwell, Robert Frost and other cultural symbols while expressing a desire for stability, domesticity and lasting devotion.