Two queens certainly deserve a third. Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey tip their tiaras to another music superstar in the lyrics to “Snow on the Beach” from Swift’s new Midnights album. The fourth track on the collection gives a sly shout-out to Janet Jackson courtesy of Del Rey, whose spare vocal interjections on the gauzy ballad mostly serve as harmonic support to Taylor.
Midway through the song about the ins-and-outs of falling in love the pair team up on a run that pays homage to Ms. Jackson’s 2001 hit “All For You” from the album of the same name. “I can’t speak, afraid to jinx it/ I don’t even dare to wish it/ But your eyes are flying saucers from another planet,” they sing, adding, “Now I’m all for you like Janet/ Can this be a real thing, can it?”
In advance of the album’s release, Swift described the inspiration for the song, explaining, “The song is about falling in love with someone at the same time as they’re falling in love with you, in this sort of in this cataclysmic, faded moment where you realize someone feels exactly the same way that you feel, at the same moment. And you’re kind of looking around going, “Wait, is this real? Is this a dream? Is this for real? Is it really happening? Kinda like it would be if you were to see snow falling on a beach.”
At press time it did not appear that Jackson had responded to the tribute, but it’s worth noting that in 2009 Swift revealed that Jackson sent her flowers after Kanye West (who now goes by Ye) famously crashed Taylor’s VMAs acceptance speech. “Artists that I didn’t even assume knew who I was [have supported me],” a then 19-year-old Swift told radio veteran Elvis Duran in an interview. “I woke up the next day and I had flowers in my hotel room from Janet Jackson.”
Listen to “Snow on the Beach” below (Jackson shout-out at 2:50 mark).
