Lana Del Rey's new song yearns for an America 'without the gun'

Aug. 6, 2019 1:10 PM PT

After the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio. over the weekend, singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey was moved to craft an emotional new song, called “Looking for America.”

On Monday afternoon, the “Video Games” artist posted a preview of the track on Instagram and explained how it came together.

“Hi folks came back early from Montecito with my brother this morning and asked Jack Antonoff to come into town because I had a song on my mind that I wanted to write,” Del Rey wrote.

“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 that our engineer Laura took 20 minutes ago.”

The song’s poignant lyrics reflect Del Rey’s longing for a better, less fearful vision of her country.

“I’m still looking for my own version of America,” she sings. “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.”

It’s not the first time Del Rey has turned socially conscious in her music. Her 2017 song “Coachella — Woodstock in My Mind” explored the tension she feels enjoying a music festival while the world is engulfed in turmoil. And “When the World Was at War We Kept Dancing” questioned the leadership in America: “Is it the end of an era? / Is it the end of America?”

Del Rey will release her next album, whose expletive-laden title riffs on American painter Norman Rockwell, on Aug. 30.