“Thunder” by Lana Del Rey

Even if a Lana Del Rey song is ultimately based on an easy-to-understand concept, the style in which it is presented would not be that simplistic to decipher. Perhaps the reason for such, as sorta insinuated by this piece (“Thunder”), is that life itself can sometimes be too complicated to narrow down to a concise thesis sentiment.

So for instance here we are dealing with an addressee who for the most part, it would seem she is referring to with a sense of disdain. But it can also be ascertained, from the bridge for instance, that this is someone who to some degree she also approves of. This is an individual who brings excitement into her night and who the singer, like everybody else, enjoys being around.

The “Thunder”

And it is the said individual who is being likened to “thunder”. What that means, based on the related symbolism involved, is that he is a very lively person, someone whose presence, when he’s around, is always felt.

It would seem that he is akin to a drifter, or perhaps more specifically we can say something like a bar star. He is a guy who not only enjoys a good boozing but is also the type that the vocalist regularly crosses paths with at parties.

But as far as Lana’s less-than-ideal perception of this individual, as implied in the pre-chorus, she knows him better than most people do. So to outsiders, he’s the life of the party – or “Mr. Brightside” as she refers to him, someone who is always jipper and upbeat. But the vocalist does not share this image of him. And why? Simply because she knows what is going on behind the scenes, well Del Rey doesn’t really get too specific in that regard.

But the implication would be, considering the lingo in the actual chorus for instance, that in reality he’s a lot more passive than how he presents himself.

So it’s as if Lana is saying that she knows this dude’s secret, which is that he isn’t really that confident after all. And it may well be that she’s referring to a fellow celebrity, as she insinuates he may be someone who is also extremely popular.

All in All

At the end of the day, Lana is apparently sprinkling some criticism on this guy who appears very confident on the outside but internally is actually the opposite.

But as a side note, it would appear that the moral of the story would be something along the lines of we as individuals shouldn’t be afraid to truly shine.

Facts about “Thunder”

Thunder is a song that appears on “Blue Banisters”, Lana Del Rey’s 2021 album.

It is one of two songs on this album that was originally intended to be part of another project she was working on alongside a British group known as The Last Shadow Puppets.

As such, Zach Dawes, one of the members of that outside, is credited as a co-writer and co-producer of this track, as in Del Rey. And two other individuals, Dean Reid and Kieron Menzies, are also acknowledged solely in a production capacity.

Thunder was officially released on 22 October 2021 though had leaked a few months earlier. Also there is another mix of the song that illegally made itself public in mid-2020.

The labels behind this song are US-based Interscope Records alongside Polydor Records, with the latter being headquartered in the UK.

Was this released as a single from Lana’s “Blue Banisters” album?

No. Talking about singles, the album was preceded by just two singles, namely:

• “Blue Banisters”
• “Arcadia”