“White Dress” by Lana Del Rey

Usually when we hear the term “white dress”, we think of marriage. Or more specifically, when a bride wears such clothing it is supposed to imply that she is a virgin. It can even be said that a white dress is symbolic of innocence and purity. And it is along those lines which Lana Del Rey uses the term in this track.

However, she is not referring to anything sexual. Rather the lyrics point to an earlier stage in her professional development where she was more of a struggling or unknown artist, working as a waitress in obscurity. This period of time was also highlighted by an edifying romance she was in with someone who shared in her overall experience. In fact like many of Del Rey’s songs, there is that romantic-nostalgic undertone present in “White Dress”.

So comprehensively, this is one of those kinds of tracks where the artist is reflecting on their earlier days being more fulfilling than the present. 

Lana does not mention her current standing outside of implying she is presently discontent compared to times past. Or rather back then she ‘felt like a god’. But we, the listeners know that since then she’s gone on to become one of the most-successful musicians in the world. 

So the unspoken implication is that whereas she may have indeed achieved success, back when she “was a waitress wearing a white dress” she was fulfilled nonetheless, apparently even more so than now. Indeed she was satisfied in such a manner that all the money in the world, which she now more or less possesses, still could not replicate that feeling.

When did Lana Del Rey release “White Dress”?

This is the third single from Lana Del Rey’s album “Chemtrails over the Country Club”. It was issued as such the same day the album itself was officially released, on 19 March 2021. 

And it is a product of Polydor Records and Interscope Records. And just to note, this is also the opening track on the album also.

This is a song which Lana first teased circa late-February 2021. And she continued to do so into March, until the song was finally released.

The full-length Lana Del Rey released prior Chemtrails is entitled “Norman F–king Rockwell “(2019). It was a huge success, topping the UK Albums Chart and being ranked one of the best albums of 2019 by virtually all major music publications. 

That is why it came as somewhat of a surprise to fans that even as Del Rey released Norman Rockwell she had already announced that she was working on her next project, which would be this one. 

At that time, it was tentatively entitled “White Hot Forever”, and it was slated to come out in early-September 2020, just a year after Norman Rockwell. However, the project was delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which basically slowed down the entire industry. But it was around that time that Lana announced the undertaking’s new title, “Chemtrails over the Country Club”.

Official Singles Lana released from “Chemtrails”

Lana and her team released only three proper singles in support of the release of her “Chemtrails” album of 2021. These songs are as follows:

• “Let Me Love You Like a Woman” came out as the album’s first single in October of 2020.
• The album’s title track (“Chemtrails…“) was released in January 2021. It was the album’s second single.
• “White Dress” was the third song to be released as a single from the project.

Writing Credits

This track was produced and co-written by Jack Antonoff, the musician who also served as the primary producer of “Norman F–king Rockwell” and most of “Chemtrails over the Country Club”. And Lana is the other co-writer of “White Dress”.

Lana, the Waitress

Concerning Lana’s past as a waitress, she took up said employment, while resident on Long Island, after graduating from prep school. 

It was during that time also that she learned how to play the guitar from her uncle. She promptly began writing songs and hitting up the local gig circuit. 

Shortly thereafter she moved to NYC, still performing in clubs and what have you. Concurrently she enrolled in college and in 2005, while she was just 19 years old, copyrighted her first self-written EP. And from there she just continued to excel in the music field.