What’s Lana Del Rey Doing Working at Waffle House?

“I took a trip to Spain /Just a notebook in my hand/ Then I went to see some friends of mine/ Down in Florence, Alabama.” sings Lana Del Rey on the song “Paris, Texas” from her latest album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. Well, looks like our girl stayed down in Florence, Alabama, because she’s picked up a job working at the Waffle House there.

“She was there, wearing a uniform and everything,” Karina Cisneros Juarez, a fan of Del Rey told the local outlet AL.com. “It was a bit surreal. I just told her how much I loved her music and her work in general. She was super lovely, and incredibly nice.” Videos and photos show Del Rey working behind the counter and wearing the restaurant chain’s signature yellow name tag.

According to AL.com, there have been multiple Del Rey sightings across the Southern state this week, including at a Starbucks and nail salon in Birmingham. While those don’t make the most captivating lyrical details, color me intrigued! The outlet also checked with legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, which is across the river from Florence, to see if Del Rey was recording there. They were told she was not.

So what is a New York-born and bred, current Los Angeles taxpayer like Miss Norman Fucking Rockwell doing in the Roll Tide state flipping pancakes? Well, as her song mentioned, she does have friends there. Truly could be as simple as that. Though, maybe the Waffle House gig is method acting for a future music video for “Paris, Texas.” Or maybe she’s picking up shifts to make some extra bucks between albums. Maybe she wants that sweet, sweet employee discount on their country ham biscuits?!

Some folks on Twitter are wondering if it’s a publicity stunt to promote an upcoming project. While I normally wouldn’t peg spending a lot of time in a state not normally trafficked by famous people as proof of promo, Del Rey is one of the few exceptions I’d make to that doubt. Remember last year when she promoted her album with a lone billboard in her ex’s hometown? We’re working with a galaxy-brain girly when it comes to the “Chemtrails Over the Country Club” singer.

Whatever the reason, Del Rey bussing tables at a Waffle House in Alabama works for me. She’s a sucker for hyperlocal lyrical references to fill out the pop-Americana mythology she’s built within her music. What’s more emblematic of the perplexing American promise that roadside hash browns for long-haul truckers?