"Burning Desire" is a song by American singer and songwriter

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

. Initially available for digital download upon pre-ordering Del Rey's third EP, ''

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

'', "Burning Desire" was released as a promotional single on March 19, 2013. One month earlier, a music video for the song was released on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

. Lyrically composed by Lana Del Rey and her long-time collaborator, Justin Parker, the record was produced by

Emile Haynie Emile Haynie (born July 13, 1980), often credited simply as Emile, is an American record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, his range of production includes alternative rock, hip hop, indie and pop music. Haynie has worked with seve ...

Background and composition

In 2012, Del Rey was named the new figurehead of the latest brand of the

Jaguar F-Type The Jaguar F-Type (X152) is a series of two-door, two-seater sports cars manufactured by British car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover under their Jaguar Cars marque from 2013 to 2024. The car's Jaguar Land Rover car platforms#D6a, JLR D6a platfor ...

automobile. To promote the photoshoot, she sang "Burning Desire" at the

Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show () is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently takes place in Paris expo Porte de V ...

, wearing red

lipstick Lipstick is a cosmetics, cosmetic product used to apply coloration and texture to lips, often made of wax and oil. Different pigments are used to produce color, and minerals such as silica may be used to provide texture. The use of lipstick ...

and a white sundress. The song is composed by Del Rey and Justin Parker, co-author of the bulk of '' Born to Die''. "Burning Desire" is a tragically-themed

love song A love song is a song about love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sad and emotion ...

, with the lyrics: "I drive fast, wind in my hair/ I push it to the limits/ 'Cause I just don't care". Breathless pants and groans begin the track. On writing the song, Del Rey said:

Music video

A promotional video for "Burning Desire" appeared online on

of 2013, featuring Del Rey as her usual

lounge singer Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The ran ...

persona, interspersed with snippets of the Jaguar F-Type. Directed by Anthony Shurmer the video was filmed in the Rivoli Ballroom in London's South end. The video contains "bright red floral imagery, California landmarks name-checked, reckless automotive shout-outs, old Hollywood imagery and cinematic glamour, some epic lipstick ... ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' called the video "typically sumptuous", heavy on the

product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of t ...

. Desire Thompson of '' VIBE'' noted that Del Rey channeled her inner

Jessica Rabbit Jessica Rabbit ( Krupnick) is a fictional character in the novel '' Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' and its film adaptation, ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit''. She is depicted as the human cartoon wife of Roger Rabbit in various ''Roger Rabbit'' media. ...

in the 1960s social-scene video for the promotional single.

Critical reception

Music reviewer Carl Williot wrote that on "Burning Desire", "Lana is no longer willing to let you play your

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

, she's the active agent." Nicole Sia of '' SPIN'' said the video was a straightforward affair, channeling Del Rey's typical retro-inspired style, interloped with old-fashioned video clips. "Fast cars might not be everyone's idea of

paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

, but at least for LDR it pays the bills." Sia concluded. After hearing the song, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' dubbed the singer, "Queen of sultry pop".

Usage in other media

The song serves as the title track to a 13-minute promotional short film for the Jaguar F-Type, called ''Desire''. The film, directed by Adam Smith, produced by

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

and stars

Damian Lewis Damian Watcyn Lewis (born 11 February 1971) is a British actor, musician and producer. He rose to prominence portraying U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries ''Band of Brothers (miniseries), Band of Brothers''. Lewis won a Prime ...

. Filmed in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

in 2012, the film was launched in April 2013 at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

and available for free streaming online. In the movie, Lewis going by the name Sydney Clarke delivers the Jaguar F-Type to a notorious gangster named Ernesto Martinez (played by Jordi Molla) and finds trouble in a love interest (played by

Shannyn Sossamon Shannon Marie Kahololani "Shannyn" Sossamon (born October 3, 1978) is an American actress. She has appeared in the films ''A Knight's Tale (film), A Knight's Tale'' (2001), ''40 Days and 40 Nights'' (2002), ''The Rules of Attraction (film), The R ...

) in a desert setting.

Release history

Charts

References

{{authority control 2010s ballads 2012 songs Lana Del Rey songs Female masturbation Pop ballads Song recordings produced by Emile Haynie Songs written by Justin Parker Songs written by Lana Del Rey Songs about cars