The modern Americana music queen is back with the stirring and soulful escapism of Wild at Heart from her seventh studio album, Chemtrails over the Country Club, released in 2021. The album is steeped in country folk and Americana, and has one of the most irrepressibly charming and glamorous album covers I have ever seen.
The cover (above right) shows Del Rey (fifth from the right) with a number of her female friends, who also appear in the music video for the album’s lead single, Let Me Love You Like A Woman, yet another song by her I should add here. You see, I only came across Lana’s music a few years ago after a fellow blogger and huge Lana fan recommended songs by her, including today’s song, and I’ve been a fan ever since.
In Wild at Heart, Lana explores her desire for freedom and her need to be accepted for her wild nature, while also expressing her devotion to her lover. I’m wild about it as well, and when Lana sings, “If you love me, you’ll love me,” I can’t help but be slingshot back each time to If I Were a Carpenter and Bobby Darin’s famous version of it when he sings, “Would you marry me anyway?” I’d be curious to know if anyone else made that connection when they heard Wild at Heart.
Anyway, this song once again showcases her melancholic beauty and her ability to capture a cinematic sound which conjures wide, desolate Americana images. It feels like driving through an American desert when I hear it. Lana weaves an atmosphere that’s both intimate and vast in her music, and that’s on full display in Wild at Heart. It all feels utterly original.
According to Genius Lyrics, the song title might be a reference to David Lynch’s 1990 cult classic film Wild at Heart, which featured a song I covered here just two days ago, Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game. Lana and Lynch have expressed mutual appreciation for each other in the media as well.
On July 30th, 2019, Lana shared a necklace she had made via Twitter, alluding to the title of the song. It included the coordinates of LA on the front and Wild at Heart on the back.
“I made this necklace last week at xiv karats and I’m so proud of it! coordinates of la on the front
Wild at heart on the back.”
— Lana Del Rey
Wikipedia:
Chemtrails over the Country Club received widespread acclaim from music critics, with many comparing its sound to its predecessor Norman Fucking Rockwell!. The album debuted at number one in eight countries, including the United Kingdom, becoming Del Rey’s fifth number one album there. It reached the top five in twenty countries, including the United States, where it peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, becoming Del Rey’s sixth consecutive top-five album in the country.
What would you do if I told you
You made me crazy
To see your pretty pics on Sunset Boulevard?
And it makes me lazy
So I smoke cigarettes
Just to understand the smog
I love you lots like polka dots
You’re killing me more
Than coffee pots and Insta thots
With every drop I pour
And if I had to do it all again
I would because, babe, in the end
It brought me here to you
I left Calabasas, escaped all the ashes, ran into the dark
And it made me wild, wild, wild at heart
The cameras have flashes, they cause the car crashes
But I’m not a star
If you love me, you’ll love me
‘Cause I’m wild, wild at heart
If they love me, they’ll love me
‘Cause I’m wild, wild at heart
What would you do if I wouldn’t sing for them no more?
Like if you heard I was out in the bars drinkin’ Jack and Coke
Going crazy for anyone who would listen to my stories, babe?
Time after time, I think about leaving
But you know that I never do, just ’cause you keep me believin’
I love you lots, despite the odds
You’re killing me, Joe
And all these thoughts brought us apart
And that’s okay, too
‘Cause even in the worst of times
You saw the best of me
And that’s why I stay here with you
I left Calabasas, escaped all the ashes, ran into the dark
And it made me wild, wild, wild at heart
The cameras have flashes, they cause the car crashes
But I’m not a star
If you love me, you’ll love me
‘Cause I’m wild, wild at heart
If you love me, you’ll love me
‘Cause I’m wild, wild at heart
‘Cause, baby, I’m wild at heart
If you love me, you’ll love me
‘Cause I’m wild at heart
Baby, I’m wild, wild at heart
If they love me, they’ll love me
‘Cause I’m wild, wild at heart
If they love me, they’ll love me
‘Cause I’m wild, wild at heart
References:
1. Chemtrails over the Country Club – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Bobby Darin vs Wild At Heart connection? Absolutely yes. I make it every time. I really rate Lana. I think she keeps the “art” front and centre in a very smart mainstream pop way.