Photo by Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty Images
Back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio have brought America’s gun violence problem back into the headlines, with artists like Kacey Musgraves, Rihanna, and Cardi B speaking out about the issue. Lana Del Rey added her voice to the mix by sharing a new song on Instagram. Lana created the song, titled “Looking For America,” yesterday in collaboration with Jack Antonoff.
She later dropped the song on streaming services, revealing that all proceeds will go to “Gilroy Garlic Festival Victims Relief Fund, El Paso Community Relief Fund and Dayton Foundation.”
The singer explained that she wrote the song to express her feelings about the recent tragedies:
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. I hope you like it.
On the track, she sings about her vision for a country that’s not plagued with violence:
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
She also reminisces about her upbringing in rural Lake Placid, New York:
Took the train back to Lake Placid
That’s another space and time
Where we used to go to drive-ins and listen to the blues
So many things that I think twice about before I do, yeah
Lana’s music is rooted in classic Americana imagery, an aesthetic she’s openly questioned since the election of Donald Trump in 2016. “It’s certainly uncomfortable,” she told Pitchfork in 2017. “I definitely changed my visuals on my tour videos. I’m not going to have the American flag waving while I’m singing ‘Born to Die.’ It’s not going to happen.”
However, her next album, titled Norman Fucking Rockwell, pays tribute to the painter and illustrator known for his idyllic depictions of small-town American life. “Looking For America” is not expected to appear on Norman Fucking Rockwell, although it wouldn’t be the first time she included a song written in reaction to the sociopolitical climate on one of her projects. 2017’s Lust For Life included “Coachella – Woodstock In My Mind,” which Lana wrote about then-escalating tensions with North Korea.
Listen to the song above and read all the lyrics to Lana Del Rey’s “Looking For America” on Genius now.
