Lana Del Rey doesn't just release music. She creates climates. When she dropped her cover of Take Me Home, Country Roads on December 1, 2023, it wasn’t just a random Christmas gift to her fans. It was a flag in the sand. Honestly, looking back from 2026, that single moment was the real beginning of the "Lasso" era—or "Stove" era, depending on which week you check her Instagram.
People were shocked. Or maybe they weren't.
By the time the John Denver cover hit streaming services, Lana had already been playing with the "Southern Belle" aesthetic for years. We saw the Waffle House uniform in Alabama. We heard the name-drop in "The Grants." But hearing her voice wrap around those specific lyrics about West Virginia felt different. It felt like she was finally admitting where she’d been heading all along.
Lana Del Rey Country Roads: More Than Just a Cover
Most artists cover John Denver when they want to sound "wholesome." Lana did the opposite. She made it sound haunted. Working with producer Zachary Dawes, she stripped away the campfire acoustic guitar that everyone knows from the 1971 original.
Instead? Piano.
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Lots of reverb.
A choir that creeps in at the end like a ghost from a Sunday service.
It reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, which is wild for a song that’s basically a fifty-year-old state anthem. But the "Lana Del Rey Country Roads" phenomenon wasn't about the charts. It was about the narrative. She was telling us that her brand of Americana was moving away from the California coast and heading toward the Appalachian mountains.
The John Denver Connection
Lana has a weirdly deep connection to John Denver. In her song "The Grants," she explicitly mentions him: "Like 'Rocky Mountain High' the way John Denver sings." It’s personal. Her uncle, David Grant, was a mountain climber who passed away in 2016 in the Rocky Mountains. When she sings these songs, she’s not just "cosplaying a hick," as some critics like to say. She’s processing family grief through the lens of classic American songwriting.
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The Long Road to Stove (and Lasso)
If you’ve been following the drama of her tenth studio album, you know it’s been a mess. A beautiful, confusing, very Lana-esque mess.
- It was called Lasso.
- Then it was The Right Person Will Stay.
- Then there were rumors of it being called Classic.
- Now, as of early 2026, we’re looking at Stove.
She told W Magazine that the delay happened because she kept adding "autobiographical" songs. She’s been working with Luke Laird and Jack Antonoff in Nashville and Muscle Shoals. She’s even married to a gator farmer now—Jeremy Dufrene. You can’t get more country than that without literally becoming a tractor.
Critics are split. Some, like Courtney Love, famously told USA Today she hasn't liked Lana since the Denver cover. Others see it as a natural evolution. After all, if you listen to "Ride" or "Video Games" from ten years ago, the "Americana" bones were already there.
What the 2025 Live Shows Proved
At Stagecoach 2025, she finally performed "Take Me Home, Country Roads" live. She brought out The Secret Sisters and George Birge. It wasn't a pop show. It was a revival. The "Lana Del Rey Country Roads" vibe has officially shifted from a one-off single to a full-blown career pivot.
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She’s basically saying: I did the Hollywood thing. Now I’m doing the porch-swing thing.
Why This Matters for 2026
We are currently in a massive country music boom. Beyoncé did Cowboy Carter. Post Malone did F-1 Trillion. But Lana’s approach is different because it isn't "pop-country." It’s "Southern Gothic."
The songs she's released recently, like "Henry, Come On" and "Bluebird," don't sound like Nashville radio. They sound like old velvet and dusty roads.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors
If you’re trying to keep up with this era, here’s the reality:
- Don't buy the "Lasso" merch yet. The title has changed so many times that those early leaked designs are basically relics. Wait for the official Stove release, expected late January 2026.
- Listen to the "The Grants" back-to-back with the cover. You’ll hear the thematic bridge she was building. It makes the transition feel less like a trend-hop and more like a long-term plan.
- Watch the Christmas at Graceland special. Her "Unchained Melody" performance is the missing link between her Elvis obsession and her John Denver era.
Lana Del Rey is currently at a crossroads. She’s questioning if she should "retire her snakeskin boots" now that everyone else is wearing them. But honestly? She’s the one who made the boots look cool again in the first place. Whether the new album is called Stove or something else entirely by the time you finish reading this, the "Country Roads" she started walking down in 2023 aren't ending anytime soon.
Next Steps for the Listener:
To truly understand where Stove is going, go back and listen to the demo of "Henry, Come On." Pay attention to the dry vocals. It reveals the raw, unpolished Southern influence that she’s been perfecting since that first John Denver cover. Stay tuned to her official channels for the definitive January release date, as she is known for last-minute "autobiographical" additions.