(Credit: Neil Krug)
Mon 8 December 2025 5:00, UK
When Lana Del Rey announced the release of her ninth album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, the name of the title soon divided fans. I mean, is there actually a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard? And why is this important?
Well, we soon found out when Del Rey delved into her worries about being forgotten on the title track, which appears on an album of otherwise normal song names – apart from ‘Grandfather Please Stand on the Shoulders of My Father While He’s Deep-Sea Fishing’, that is.
‘Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’, which Del Rey co-wrote with Mike Hermosa, is a cinematic ballad wrapped up in strings and piano (and the sound of Del Rey puffing on her vape as the song begins, no less). The singer’s voice echoes across the track like she’s in this abandoned tunnel, observing the “mosaic ceilings” and “painted tiles on the wall”.
We then hear Del Rey ask, “When’s it gonna be my turn?” and instructing, “Love me until I love myself,” her voice gentle as she reflects on her legacy. Is there going to be a time when all of this – the fame, the success, the creativity – just burns out and fades into nothing? Can something or someone once prosperous be forgotten?
The track is a meditation on feelings of loneliness and finding self-worth from others, and to illuminate this idea, Del Rey introduces us to the tunnel under Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach, California, which many people have no idea even exists.
So, is there really a tunnel under Ocean Blvd?
Built in 1927, Jergens Tunnel was put in place to make it easier for pedestrians to get to the beach, and they could even stop by various shops as they passed through. There were souvenir shops and, of course, a sweet shop to appeal to children as they made their way to the sea, with a large skylight illuminating the tunnel with the sun.
Unfortunately, this tunnel was closed down in 1967, and it remains a crumbling piece of hidden architecture, still there to this day. You can actually get a good look at it via a 3D scan, which is probably the closest you’ll ever get to the Jurgens Tunnel unless you decide to break in there and take a look for yourself.
The tunnel remains a forgotten part of California, although you can imagine how this was once a busy place where thousands of people would’ve walked each day, stopping off to grab a lollipop or a beach ball as they headed closer to the sand. With California playing such an important part in Del Rey’s world (she even has a song named after the state on her record Norman Fucking Rockwell!), it only makes sense that she would choose a location close to home to use as a metaphor for being forgotten.
Comparing herself to the tunnel, of which many people are oblivious to its once-thriving existence, she sings, “I can’t help but feel somewhat like my body marred my soul/ Handmade beauty sealed up by two man-made walls.”
So, when is it going to be her turn to be forgotten and discarded, she wonders. All she can ask is that you don’t forget her, because that seems to be the only way that she can feel a sense of comfort.
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