Lana Del Rey teased two new songs earlier this week — her new anti-gun track “Looking for America” and a cover of Donovan’s “Season of the Witch” — and dropped full versions of them last night.
In an Instagram post sharing a spare version of “Looking for America” earlier this week, Del Rey said the song was written in response to the mass shootings in Texas and Ohio. “Now I know I’m not a politician and I’m not trying to be so excuse me for having an opinion — but in light of all of the mass shootings and the back to back shootings in the last couple of days which really affected me on a cellular level I just wanted to post this video.” She and collaborator Jack Antonoff perform the song, which includes the lines, “I’m still looking for my own version of America/ One without the gun, where the flag can freely fly/ No bombs in the sky/ Only fireworks when you and I collide/ It’s just a dream I had in mind.”
While many have focused on the chorus, the upshot of the song is at the end of each verse: “Pulled over to watch the children in the park/
We used to only worry for them after dark,” and “I used to go to drive-ins and listen to the blues/ So many things that I think twice about before I do now.”
The song is presumably included on Del Rey’s next album, “Norman F—ing Rockwell,” which is due at the end of this month and features extensive contributions from Antonoff; the pair performed four songs together, including two semi-serious country tracks, at his annual Ally Coalition benefit late last year.
The “Season of the Witch” cover was recorded for Guillermo del Toro new film “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” which is released today. In an unexpected pairing, Del Rey helped honor the producer when he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame earlier this month. “I have admired Lana’s music for a while now and felt in my gut that she would run with ‘Season of the Witch’ — that she would use her alchemy to transform it,” said del Toro in a statement. “She is a great artist and has been an amazing partner with us in this adventure. It is an honor for me to have met her.”