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"For Free" is a song by Joni Mitchell covered by Lana Del Rey with Weyes Blood and Zella Day. It serves as the closing track on Del Rey's seventh studio album, Chemtrails Over the Country Club. It was originally intended to be featured on her sixth studio album and fifth major-label studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell, but was ultimately cut from the final tracklist.[S 1]

Background[]

The song is about Joni being mesmerized by the wonderful music a street musician plays while she is pondering the fame and riches she has achieved while this man plays for free.

Cover version[]

Del Rey covered the song as a part of the Norman Fucking Rockwell Tour on various dates, sometimes with fellow artists Zella Day and Weyes Blood. The trio performed it at The Grammy Museum in October 2019.

On December 18, 2020, it appeared on Shazam alongside the rest of the tracklist for Chemtrails Over the Country Club. Blood hinted at a collaboration on Del Rey's album on her Instagram stories in early 2020, so it is possible that this is the trio's collaboration song, given their past performances together.

Lyrics[]

[Zella Day]:
I slept last night in a good hotel
I went shopping today for jewels
The wind rushed around in the dirty town
And the children let out from the schools
I was standing on a noisy corner
Waiting for the walking green
Across the street he stood
And he played real good
On his clarinet for free

[Lana Del Rey]:
Now me I play for fortunes
And those velvet curtain calls
I got a black Limousine and two gentlemen
Who escort me through these halls
And I'll play if you got the money
Or if you're a friend to me
But the one man band
By the quick lunch stand
He's been playing real good for free

[Weyes Blood]:
Nobody stopped to hear him
Though he played so sweet and high
They knew he had never been on their TV
So they passed his music by
I meant to go over and ask for a song
Maybe put on a harmony
I heard his refrain
As the signal changed
He was playing real good for free

Credits[]

Personnel

  • Lana Del Rey — vocals, producer
  • Weyes Blood — vocals
  • Zella Day — vocals
  • Jack Antonoff — composer, producer, mixer, bass, guitar, mellotron, piano
  • Laura Sisk — engineer, mixer
  • Evan Smith — brass band
  • Chris Gehringer — mastering engineer
  • John Rooney — assistant recording engineer
  • Jon Sher — assistant recording engineer

References[]

Notes[]

  1. This is speculation and should not be relied upon. It has not been confirmed by any official sources, but has been reported by Honeymoun, who is considered a reliable insider by the community.


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