The queen of Americana covers Denver’s 1971 hit
At this point in her career, Lana Del Rey could release an entire album of her excellent covers — from Sublime’s “Doin’ Time” to Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man” to her newly-released rendition of Elvis’ “Unchained Melody.” Now she’s taken on John Denver‘s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
Del Rey’s take on the 1971 classic is unsurprisingly campy and Americana, with flourishes of emotions throughout the track.
Del Rey has continued to keep busy since wrapping her brief fall tour in October. Last month, she received five Grammy nominations for her album Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd? (Which Rolling Stone listed at No. 21 on our 100 Best Albums of 2023).
The record earned nods for Album of the Year and Best Music Album, while “A&W” was tapped for Song of the Year and Best Alternative Music Performance. Finally, “Candy Necklace” with Jon Batiste received a nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
“The best part of all of it is just even being able to put yourself out there, which I did,” she said of the nominations. “And that sounds so cheesy, but all the same.”
Del Rey has some festival appearances in the books next year, headlining Barcelona’s Primavera Sound in May (alongside SZA and Pulp), and the U.K.’s Reading and Leeds Festival in August. Hopefully she’ll announce dates in North America as well.
