The Next Best American Record (song)

Lana Del Rey

Recorded

2016

Released

August 30, 2019

Length

5:49
(See official versions)

From

Single(s)

"Mariners Apartment Complex"
"Venice Bitch"
"Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It"
"Doin' Time"
"The Greatest" / "Fuck It I Love You"

*Norman Fucking Rockwell!* track listing
"California"	"The Greatest"

"The Next Best American Record" (originally titled "Next Best American", and also known as "Best American Record" and "Architecture") is a song by Lana Del Rey. It serves as the tenth track on Del Rey's album Norman Fucking Rockwell!. The song was originally intended for Lust for Life, but the track did not make the final track list.^[1]

Background[]

The song was first recorded sometime between early 2016 and November 26, 2016. On February 27, 2017, a demo of the song leaked online under the title "Best American Record". In an interview with Beats 1 Radio on July 12, 2017, Del Rey was asked about the song, under the title "Architecture," and she described it as the "yin to the yang" to "Yosemite," another outtake from Lust for Life. She described the relationship between these songs as "brother and sister" tracks, comparing the relationship to that of "Groupie Love" and "Summer Bummer".^[1] Later that month at her Amoeba Hollywood show, Del Rey responded to a fan question asking if she would ever release any of her leaked or unreleased songs. She referred to the song as "The Next Best American Record" and expressed her desire to potentially release the song along with "Yosemite" as "folk singles" as they would not "start the new record." She went on to add that she has thought about releasing a record of her 25 favorite "leaked songs," but wasn't sure if it would be a good idea.

The song was confirmed to be a track on Norman Fucking Rockwell! on July 31, 2019, when Del Rey revealed the tracklist on her Instagram account. On Instagram live she stated that she "always loved" the song but she didn't think it fit Lust for Life, so she decided to rework it for Norman Fucking Rockwell!.

On November 1, 2024, Lust for Life producer, mixer, and multi-instrumentalist Dean Reid shared a 2016 draft tracklist of the album which featured the song, then titled "Next Best American", as the eighth track on the album.^[2]

Music video[]

After the release of the music video for "White Mustang" on September 13, 2017, many fans came to the conclusion that the footage from the video was originally intended for a "The Next Best American Record" music video. This theory is supported by the fact that many of the visuals and themes used in the "White Mustang" music video seem to be strongly connected to lyrics found in the original version of "The Next Best American Record."^[3] Throughout the music video, no lyrics are lipped by Del Rey and unsubtle transitions, such as slowed down footage, are featured, possibly suggesting that the original "The Next Best American Record" video was re-edited to accommodate the lyrics and run time of "White Mustang." Del Rey posted a video that was taken behind the scenes of "White Mustang" where she can be heard singing lyrics of "The Next Best American Record," further supporting this theory. Del Rey has also mentioned that "White Mustang" was one of the last songs written for Lust for Life, and since the first behind the scenes clip of the "White Mustang" video was posted during February 2017, this heavily implies that the video was shot before "White Mustang" was written.

Live performances[]

Del Rey performed "The Next Best American Record" live for the first time during her show at Sioux Falls, South Dakota on November 6, 2019. She only sang a part of it a cappella during the Norman Fucking Rockwell Tour.

Cross-references[]

Del Rey mentions Bill, a prominent figure in her past works such as "Trash Magic", "Driving in Cars with Boys" and "Super Movie".
Fame is a prominent theme in "God Knows I Tried" and "Noir".
The lyric "you know what I'm talking about" also appears in "Because of You".
Cigarettes are mentioned in "You Can Be the Boss", "1949" and "Girl That Got Away", among many other songs.
Del Rey similarly calls her lover cool in "Brooklyn Baby", "Lust for Life", "Ridin'", "Push Me Down", "Heavy Hitter" and alludes to it in "National Anthem".
Houses of the Holy is the title of a Led Zeppelin album.
The melody of the verses is similar to that of "Hangin' Around".
"Topanga's hot tonight" is also used in "Heroin".
Playing guitar is also mentioned in "Music to Watch Boys To", "Brooklyn Baby", "For K, Pt. 2", "Groupie Love", "Watercolor Eyes", and "Tomorrow Never Came".
The lyric "all the roads lead to you" is similar to "all roads lead that to you" in "Arcadia".
A bathing suit in mentioned in "Black Bathing Suit" and "1949".

Official versions[]

Album version — 5:49
- Instrumental version — 5:51
Demo version — 6:05

Lyrics[]

Album version[]

My baby used to dance underneath my architecture
To the 'Houses of the Holy', smokin' on them cigarettes
My baby used to dance underneath my architecture
He was cool as heck, he was cool as heck

And we were so obsessed with writin' the next best American record
That we gave all we had 'til the time we got to bed 'cause we knew we could
We were so obsessed with writin' the next best American record
'Cause we were just that good, it was just that good

Whatever's on tonight, I just wanna party with you
Topanga's hot tonight, I'm takin' off my bathing suit
You make me feel like there's something that I never knew I wanted

My baby used to dance underneath my architecture
He was '70s in spirit, '90s in his frame of mind
My baby used to dance underneath my architecture
We lost track of space, we lost track of time

And we were so obsessed with writin' the next best American record
That we gave all we had 'til the time we got to bed 'cause we knew we could
We were so obsessed with writin' the next best American record
'Cause we were just that good, it was just that good

Whatever's on tonight, I just wanna party with you
Topanga's hot tonight, I'm takin' off my bathing suit
You make me feel like there's something that I never knew I wanted
We played Eagles down in Malibu and I want it

It's you, all the roads lead to you
Everything I want and do
All the things that I say
It's true, all the roads lead to you
Like the 405 I drive through
Every night and every day
I see you for who you really are
Why the thousands of girls love
The way Bill plays guitar

Whatever's on tonight, I just wanna party with you
Topanga's hot tonight, I'm takin' off my bathing suit
You make me feel like there's something that I never knew I wanted
We played Eagles down in Malibu and I want it
There's something that I never knew I wanted

Demo version[]

My baby used to dance underneath my architecture
To the 'Houses of the Holy', smokin' on them cigarettes
My baby used to dance underneath my architecture
He was cool as heck, he was cool as heck

But you were so obsessed with writin' the next best American record
But there was nothing left by the time we got to bed, baby, that’s a shame
You were so obsessed with writin' the next best American record
You did it all for fame, you did it all for fame

You did it all for fame, tell me how it treats you now
You did it all for fame, how does that taste comin' out?
You did it all for fame, baby, how's life treatin' you now it's over?

My baby used to dance underneath my architecture
He was '70s in spirit, '90s in his frame of mind
My baby used to dance underneath my architecture
We lost track of space, we lost track of time

But you were so obsessed with writin' the next best American record
But there was nothing left by the time we got to bed, baby, that’s a shame
You were so obsessed with writin' the next best American record
You did it all for fame, you did it all for fame
(You know what I'm talking about)

You did it all for fame, tell me how life treats you now
You did it all for fame, how does that taste comin' out?
Now that you lost the game, honey, how's life treatin' you now that it's over?
Baby, how you feelin' now that I told ya?

It's you, all the roads lead to you
Everything I want and do
All the things that I say
It's true, all the roads lead to you
Like the 405 I drive through
Every night and every day
I see you for who you really are
Why the thousands of girls love
The way Bill plays guitar

You did it all for fame, tell me how life treats you now
You did it all for fame, how does that taste comin' out?
You did it all for fame, honey, how's life treatin' you now that it's over?
Baby, how's life treatin' you now that I told you?
Honey, how is it feeling now?
(Honey, how's it feeling? Honey, how's it feeling?) I told ya
(Honey, how's it feeling? Honey, how's it feeling?) I told ya

Credits[]

Personnel

Lana Del Rey — songwriting, vocals
Rick Nowels — songwriting, production, acoustic guitar, piano
Kieron Menzies — production, engineering, mixing, programming, drums, sound effects
Dean Reid — production, engineering, mixing, programming, keyboards, electric guitar, sound effects
Mighty Mike — additional production, programming, drums
Trevor Yasuda — engineering
David Levita — electric guitar
Zac Rae — keyboards
John Christopher Fee — assistant engineering
Chris Rockwell — assistant engineering
Chris Gehringer — mastering