White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter - Lana Del Rey (Review)

Joey Gilbertson
1 day ago
3 min read

Cover art for White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter — Cover art for *White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter*

Hello everyone! Another week, another new song to review! There's been a good flow of new music lately and I've really been enjoying it. This one was a bit of a blindside, but Lana Del Rey announced and then released her latest single from her upcoming album this week. I was starting to wonder when we'd hear about this project again, but she's finally back. Lana works in mysterious ways. This ones a bit of a doozy, so let's get straight into it...

Sound

The vibe being curated in this song is a total departure from her last two releases Henry, come on and Bluebird. While those songs were quaint and bright, this new song is dark and even scary at times. It's been defined as a southern-gothic country ballad, which is a genre that doesn't get a lot of attention from mainstream artists. As a result, this song sounds so unique and really feels like an evolution from what we've come to expect from Lana Del Rey. The intro alone makes you feel like you are watching the title card to a vintage horror movie. The off-key strings sound like the groaning of an old machine. This soundscape complements Lana's somber singing style. On that subject, the vocals are completely haunting, but not in the way you'd expect. Lana sings in a higher pitch and utilizes falsetto to create a beautiful vocal performance, but there's a dissonance between the vocals and the lyrics. Perhaps the most memorable part of the song, "Whoopsie-daisie, yoohoo!", has a sense of uncanny weirdness that evokes anxiety in the listener. I'm not sure I can do the production justice here in these reviews, so I would recommend simply listening for yourself; it's pretty apparent.

Lyrics

Where to begin? Lana Del Rey lyrics are always challenging to dissect because she liked to blur the line between absurdity and profound insights. This song isn't very confusing to understand, but like most Lana songs, it's more like "feel" what she means rather than having complete understanding of what she's talking about. Isn't the title alone proof of that? This song is essentially a twisted version of a typical Lana "I love my man" affair. This time, however, it's being done in an... interesting... way. Honestly, it's kind of like shes doing trad-wife cosplay in these lyrics. That sounds troubling, but I also get the sense that it's for ironic effect, or that she's only being half serious. I thought the line "And I wanted to know if I could use your stove / To cook somethin' up for you.." was an interesting way to essentially ask someone for permission before moving onto the next stage in your relationship (since cooking for your partner is considered to be more intimate). At least, that was my interpretation. It's very possible that this lyric was meant to be taken at face value, but we will never know. That's the beauty of a Lana song. She's so singular in the way she writes her songs that it becomes very easy to become hooked, even if her lyrics can be quite absurd. The absurdity of it all is what keeps you coming back, and that absolutely holds true for this song as well.