Country and Western (album)

Recorded	2017–2022
Producer(s)	Lana Del Rey Dean Reid Zach Dawes Gabe Simon Jack Antonoff

Country and Western is a scrapped covers album by Lana Del Rey. Though in the works since 2017, and at one point set for release on December 25, 2020, the project never came to fruition. Del Rey occasionally posted updates on the album after first teasing it in 2019, but a 2025 interview with W magazine seemingly confirmed it to be scrapped.

Background

Del Rey first mentioned a covers album in October 2019 during an interview with the Los Angeles Times:

"Somewhere in the back of my mind, I've been coordinating this concept covers album called Pacific Blue. It would be a very low-key thing, like acoustic Beach Boys stuff, Elvis, Chris Isaak. People usually think your career is over when you record a covers album or a Christmas album. But my musician friends and I are always playing covers. We could probably do that album in a week."

On November 4, 2020, Del Rey revealed that due to delays in vinyl production, her seventh studio album Chemtrails over the Country Club would be postponed to the following year. To compensate for the album delay, she announced the release of a digital-only "American standards and classics" covers album to be released on December 25, featuring Patsy Cline covers and "Americana" songs with Nikki Lane. The album did not come out that day.

Appearing on the April 2021 cover of Mojo, Del Rey expressed her interest in the country genre, telling the magazine that she had worked with Nikki Lane on an album of country covers as well as a separate collaborative folk album. In the article, she went on to describe her taste as "stark and blue, somewhat outlaw", akin to country legends Hank Williams, Bobbie Gentry, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Marty Robbins, and Johnny Paycheck.

On September 11, 2021, Del Rey shared a photo of herself at the entrance of the Capitol Records Building in Los Angeles, California, with the caption: "A couple days out of the week to work on my covers album".

In an October 2021 Instagram livestream, Del Rey responded to a comment about her delayed covers album, to which she replied that it was "still in existence". She then explained that she may consider making that album "covers plus country", further explaining her interest in something to the likes of "country and western" and "country and Cali".

Del Rey spoke to W magazine in August 2025. The interview primarily focused on Del Rey's upcoming tenth studio album Stove, but also briefly touched on the covers album, which was written about in the past tense but potentially mentioned because of its influence on Stove. The interviewer revealed its official title to be Country and Western and that it would have featured covers of classic songs about California (Del Rey said, "I love 'California Dreamin'' and 'California' by Joni Mitchell!") and country songs like "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)". Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man" and Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe" were also mentioned in the context of the covers album.

Singles

Del Rey announced and released "Summertime The Gershwin Version" on November 19, 2020. In her announcement post, she revealed her intent to make donations from the proceeds of the song to both the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras to advocate support for struggling artists during the COVID-19 pandemic. The composition by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, and DuBose Heyward is one of the highest-regarded standards of the Great American Songbook, but no official word from Del Rey's team ever confirmed the cover to be part of a larger project.

On November 30, 2023, Del Rey announced the release of her cover of John Denver's folk classic "Take Me Home, Country Roads"; it was released the next day. A snippet of the song originally leaked in October 2022. It may potentially see inclusion on Del Rey's upcoming tenth studio album Stove.

Irving Berlin's 1926 popular jazz standard "Blue Skies" was covered by Del Rey and included on the soundtrack of Apple TV's The New Look. The song, released on February 14, 2024, may have originally been recorded for inclusion on Country and Western.

Other performed covers

Del Rey was in the studio with Jack Antonoff on November 7, 2020, when Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 American presidential election. In his victory speech, Biden mentioned Michael Joncas' hymn "On Eagle's Wings". Del Rey performed the chorus of the song in a video posted to her social media as a tribute to Biden's victory against incumbent president Donald Trump.

Del Rey performed "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" at the wedding reception of Valerie Vogt and Sean Greenbaum, with the parents of the bride. Del Rey was a bridesmaid at the wedding, which took place on December 14, 2024.

Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man" was first included on the set list for some shows of Del Rey's Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd Promotional Tour. It was performed at every show on the 2025 Tour, and is likely to see release on Stove.

Potential songs

• "Anyone Who Had a Heart"
• "Blue Skies"
• "California"
• "California Dreamin'"
• "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)"
• "Ode to Billie Joe"
• "On Eagle's Wings"
• "Stand by Your Man"
• "Summertime The Gershwin Version"
• "Take Me Home, Country Roads"

Potential artists

• The Beach Boys
• Chris Isaak
• Elvis Presley
• Hank Williams
• Harry Nilsson
• Johnny Paycheck
• Marty Robbins
• Patsy Cline