Lana Del Rey, contemporary music’s darling of the Americana dream, returned in early April with the laid-back yet sweeping “Henry, Come On”. The first single in what seems to be the rollout for May’s highly anticipated The Right Person Will Stay, “Henry” was closely followed by the release of “Bluebird” only a week later.
The track begins with the pleading, “I mean Henry, come on, do you think I’d really choose it?” This first sentence – alongside the later, “Some people come and they’re gone; they just fly away”, and the chorus’s repeated “Last call, hey y’all” – sets the song’s elegiac, imploring tone. The song’s lyrics instill listeners with a sense of nostalgia for something they’ve never experienced, yet which feels somehow familiar.
More than anything Del Rey has released recently, “Henry” embodies a return to her trademark Western-style Americana aesthetic on a level unheard since 2021’s Chemtrails Over the Country Club. With references to “Lonely rides to Houston” and “Soft leather blue jeans”, as well as the repetition of “Hey y’all”, “Henry” sets the stage for what is rumoured to be Del Rey’s furthest yet venture toward the country genre.
Near the ending, “Henry” features a heavily cinematic orchestral bridge that calls to mind imagery of rolling hills and valleys, and the instrumental beauty of which nearly brought a tear to my eye. A lovely and unmistakably Del Rey piece, “Henry” is nothing boldly new, but I think my friend described it most accurately when she called it “everything that Lana does best”.
“Lana Del Rey Releases Music Video For New Track ‘Burning Desire’” by jaguarmena is licensed under CC BY 2.0.