In a continuation of her ventures into different sounds, the enigmatic chanteuse Lana Del Rey takes her listeners to the voodoo-veiled bayous of Louisiana in her latest single, “White Feather Hawktail Deer Hunter.”
Sampling legendary singer Ella Fitzgerald’s “Laura,” the theme from the 1944 film noir by the same name, the haunting new track by Del Rey reminds fans of her witchy, Tumblr-era “Lust for Life,” days. However, this new single takes a country-folk spin spurred on by her headline-making marriage to alligator tour guide, Jeremy Dufrene. Back with resident hit-maker Jack Antonoff, Del Rey also makes this third single off her upcoming album now titled “Stove,” a family affair with her sister, Chuck Grant, and brother-in-law, Jason Pickens, and her husband as collaborators.
Any fan of Del Rey’s would tell you that you never know what to expect with her, and this enchanting yet reluctant love song dedicated to her country “daddy” is no exception. The cinematic strings and evocative horns, arranged by Drew Erickson, set the noir-coded scene perfectly; imagine being in the mysterious woods and wet lands of New Orleans, sitting around a fire while a beautiful songbird croons about her days riding John Deere tractors and cooking for her husband. She sings, “When I met him, like an arrow. Like a bird in the heart, like a sparrow,” using onomatopoeia to describe the sound of her lover’s metaphorical swooshing dart striking her chest. Yet, she’s into it; she feels his love intensely without having to be captured like the game he is known to hunt.
There is a perplexingly irresolute tone throughout this track; it seems she herself is grappling with the fact that she loves the simple things in life too much. Del Rey is no stranger to this feeling, as she has written about this before on her 2021 album “Chemtrails Over the Country Club.” An internal conflict of whether she is too famous for domesticity or if she would even make a good wife or mother. Jokingly, she sings in the chorus, “…you do, know how absolutely bad I’m with an oven,” poking fun at her lack of homemaking skills while still wanting to play that role for her lover.
Similar themes were also addressed on her critically acclaimed 2023 album “Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard,” realizing how the spotlight has harmed her own self image and ability to enjoy her life. Her references to cooking on “White Feather Hawktail Deer Hunter,” juxtaposed with her acknowledging “Everyone knows I had some trouble,” paints a complex scene of emotions. She, however, chooses to stay in the present, as she is basking in the sun of wifedom.
This track is so classically Lana Del Rey; taking core motifs from her discography like American regalia and struggling to find a true love, all while putting a refreshing twist on it. Gone are the days of her “Born to Die” Americana aesthetic, swapped now with the Southern Gothic stylings of her latest few singles. Her pursuit of a fierce and intense love has transformed into a more mature yearning for housewifery while balancing her monstrous fame and acclaim.
This song is an exciting prelude to what to expect from the upcoming album, which Del Rey teased on her Instagram story will arrive in about three months.
Featured Photo Credit: Lana Del Rey | Interscope Records
