“Say Yes To Heaven” has been part of Lana Del Rey lore since it first leaked in 2016. Even though it was an unreleased track, it gained popularity among fans of Del Rey. On May 19, Del Rey finally released an official version of “Say Yes To Heaven,” and it was well worth the wait.
The first version of “Say Yes To Heaven” was possibly created for Del Rey’s 2014 album Ultraviolence. Since it first leaked in 2016, multiple versions of “Say Yes To Heaven” have leaked online. The song became popular on the social media platform TikTok, with different variations being used in fan edits for popular TV shows, movies, and other media over the course of several months.
Following the song being widely circulated on TikTok, Del Rey has released an official studio version and a sped-up version. This is no doubt supposed to increase the song’s popularity on TikTok, as soundbites of sped-up versions of songs frequently go viral.
What stands out about “Say Yes To Heaven” is its timelessness. The song may have been created years ago, but it feels neither ahead of its time nor behind schedule. It is everything one would come to expect from Del Rey, and the year of its release does not matter. Unattached to an album, “Say Yes To Heaven” stands alone as its own entity.
Musically, “Say Yes to Heaven” is a simple lullaby. A repetitive guitar strum lulls listeners while bursts of emotional strings add to the song’s dream-like state. Del Rey’s vocals add an element of yearning to the song, taking the single from a relaxing lullaby to a painful yet hopeful declaration of love.
“If you go, I’ll stay / You come back, I’ll be right here / Like a barge at sea / In the storm, I stay clear / ‘Cause I’ve got my mind on you / I’ve got my mind on you / Say yes to Heaven / Say yes to me,” Del Rey sings.
There is no official music video for “Say Yes To Heaven,” but the official cover art for “Say Yes To Heaven” shows Del Rey in a white long-sleeved shirt with her head bowed. In place of a music video, listeners can simply think of the object of their own desires or their favorite on-screen couple. Given how much Del Rey’s music evokes surreal emotion, it fits to let the ethereal “Say Yes To Heaven” activate listeners’ imagination.
While “Say Yes To Heaven” has been unofficially part of Del Rey’s repertoire for years, having the song as a single solidifies it as one of the singer’s best. The devotion Del Rey sings of in the song is echoed in fans’ devotion to “Say Yes To Heaven” itself, making the payoff of its official release that much greater.