This week, Lana Del Rey has further cemented her status as a torch-bearer of Americana culture. First, she performed Elvis’ “Unchained Melody” on NBC’s Christmas at Graceland, and now, she’s shared a cover of John Denver’s classic song, “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
Swapping Denver’s folksy guitar for a reverb-washed piano, Del Rey’s take on the classic sing-along captures a similar sense of wonder as the original, but interpolates a haunting quality (pretty standard territory for her). As the piano’s bounce gains momentum, it’s almost as if you’re listening to the echoes of an old bar’s parlor piano, still reverberating even after the conversations it once scored have long been forgotten by time. The pedal steel licks, meanwhile, remind you of the song’s ‘70s folk rock origins, while Del Rey’s hazy, ever-so-Del-Rey-esque vocal performance firmly plants her arrangement in the present day.
All in all, the cover manages to be both faithful and inventive. For good measure, the outro even has a chorus of voices singing the iconic refrain, so everyone in Berkeley better get ready for a good ol’ fashioned sing-along. Stream the song below.
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The cover arrives after Del Rey wrapped her 2023 tour with a final date in Charleston, West Virginia this past October. Earlier this year, she shared her ninth full-length studio album, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd? In May, she shared a longtime fan-favorite unreleased track, “Say Yes to Heaven,” and in August, she made headlines after she was spotted working a shift at a Waffle House in Alabama.