Surprisingly, Lana Del Rey is sharing with us a one-off cover of John Denver's classic song "Take Me Home, Country Roads." The track features Lana’s impeccable vocals and a simple, reverberated piano. The song manages to hold momentum on its own despite being so simple, just because the musicians involved are so skilled. The track crescendos in a majestic choir section singing to the chorus. The original track by John Denver is country but still has a dreamy feeling to it. Lana’s cover manages to capture and even enhance that dreamy, longing feeling.

We can speculate on why Lana decided to release this particular cover. Her music often explores themes of nostalgia, Americana, and fits the emotions conveyed in "Country Roads" pretty well. The song aligns with the American folk and country theme, making it a good fit for Lana’s style and thematic exploration. The song could be a way for her to shine a light on overlooked parts of Americana music, as well as speaking to her feelings for the longing of a simple, domestic life.

The cover art is a black-and-white shot of Lana with her sister Caroline “Chuck” Grant and her niece Phoenix. This further supports my theory—the longing for a simple family life. But she is busy at work as a superstar. She has recently performed a cover of “Unchained Melody” on an NBC holiday special. Also, she has been nominated for four Grammy awards. Lots of work!

"Country Roads" is a song that most people know the lyrics to, whether they want it or not. Now, what is the story behind this absolute classic release? The song was first released in 1971 as a classic country-folk song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, and John Denver. The song even reached a bit of an “anthem status” for the state of West Virginia, where the lyrics are set.

As the story goes, the song was inspired by a memorable drive that Danoff and Nivert took to Maryland. At the time, they were living in Washington, D.C., and had been hired to perform at a club in Annapolis. What they saw on the way, stunning landscape and scenery, became the inspiration for the track. This is really wholesome and worth thinking about. Oftentimes when artists try and fail at writing good songs, it is because they are overthinking the whole process. A song can really just be about a little moment in time that you thought some sort of way about. Beautiful scenery or just one conversation you had with a friend. The lyrics convey the longing for familiarity and the comfort of home. It also speaks on the beauty in the nature of West Virginia.

It is not like we really needed "Country Roads" to be further solidified into our culture. The people who need to know about it already know, and it probably won't gain a significant bump in popularity due to this cover. However, it does not have to serve that purpose. The song could simply be something that Lana Del Rey personally really appreciates and wants to tell the world that she appreciates. It is so effortless and stripped back, making it feel really genuine and from the heart. I don’t personally listen to the original this often, but getting a small refresher made me appreciate the song again. The songs which are so ridiculously popular are easy to forget in a sense, where the majority of the time you hear them is a poor cover from a troubadour at a bar or at a campfire. I hadn’t listened to the original in a good while. But both the original and Lana’s cover are truly great.

Author: Peter Källman

Peter Källman is a writer from Sweden who loves playing in bands, writing reviews and going to live shows!