Tough

Album

Single

Label

Quality Control Music

Genre

Alternative Pop

Duration

8:00

Composer(s)

Elizabeth Grant;Quavious Marshall

Entered Chart

Jul 20, 2024

Peak Date

Jul 20, 2024

Released

July 3, 2024

Lana Del Rey teamed up with rapper Quavo for this playful song about resilience and overcoming hardships. The pair flirt and trade lines about how life has made them both "tough." Del Rey sets the scene with the opening chorus, weaving American imagery into a celebration of hard-won strength. Quavo then takes the reins, transforming "Tough" into a love song that highlights how facing difficulties together creates a deeper bond. Del Rey responds in kind with the second verse, offering her own unique metaphors for toughness. The song ends with a playful invitation from Quavo for Lana to visit his turf. "Tough" originated in January 2024 when Del Rey and Clayton Johnson sat in Nashville freestyling songs on an acoustic guitar. "I showed her a few songs I had been working on, and played her a song idea from a different session," Johnson recalled on Instagram. "She had a vision for it." Del Rey and her regular collaborator gave Johnson a call when she got home and asked if they could rework the Voice Note idea that he'd sent over for "Tough." Del Rey and Quavo then fleshed it out with Cirkut, Nick Bailey, Elysse Jane Yulo, Benny Negrin, Jaxson Free, Josh Dorr and Maddox Batson. Cirkut co-produced the track with Andrew Watt, blending Del Rey's trademark dreamy Americana with Quavo's trap and country elements. It continues the trend of artists exploring country-influenced sounds in 2024 following similar moves by the likes of Beyoncé and Post Malone. Lana Del Rey and Quavo first performed "Tough" during her headline show at Fenway Park in Boston on June 20, 2024. They released the song on July 3, 2024. Directed by Wyatt Spain Winfrey, the music video for "Tough" takes viewers on a journey through a rugged rural landscape. Quavo and Lana Del Rey portray themselves as resilient companions facing life's challenges head-on. Their contrasting styles are highlighted: Quavo, a symbol of strength with his shotgun, and Del Rey with her guitar representing artistic resilience. Wyatt shot the videos for three of Quavo's previous group Migos' songs: "Modern Day," "Need It" "Why Not."

Tough like the scuff on a pair of old leather boots
Like the blue-collar, red-dirt attitude
Like a .38 made out of brass
Tough like the stuff in your grandpa's glass
Life's gonna do what it does
Sure as the good Lord's up above
I'm cut like a diamond shinin' in the rough
Tough
Tough

Come on, take a ride with me
Like the 808s beatin' in the trunk in Atlanta, it was tough
It was kinda hard for me
Crawlin' through the mud, I couldn't find love, then we came up
Look at what we are, baby
Standin' through the storm, still shinin' like a diamond in the rough
Still shinin' and that's hard
If you ever lost someone that you love

Through the pain, gotta show 'em, give 'em light
Still family if you're wrong or you're right
No matter, we together
It's not somethin' that you wanna do, it's just somethin' you goin' through

Tough like the scuff on a pair of old leather boots
Like the blue-collar, red-dirt attitude
Like a .38 made out of brass
Tough like the stuff in your grandpa's glass (grandpa's glass)
Life's gonna do what it does (ooh)
Sure as the good Lord's up above
I'm cut like a diamond shinin' in the rough (shine, shine)
Tough
Hard

Tell me how it's hard for you
Like the nickel on strings and your good old Gibson guitar
Tell me what it feel like
Like the smoke and the drawl every now in the way you talk slow
Oh yeah, yeah
Like the songs that your mama sing to you
And the way that it makes you tell the truth
If you come from where you come, then you were born tough

Here, say where you come from
It's not what you wanna do, it's what you're gonna do
Now, it's no place to run
If that's what you're gonna do, what am I gonna do? (Tough)

Tough like the scuff on a pair of old leather boots
Like the blue-collar, red-dirt attitude (yeah, yeah)
Like a .38 made out of brass
Tough like the stuff in my grandpa's glass (grandpa's glass)
Life's gonna do what it does (ooh)
Sure as the good Lord's up above
I'm cut like a diamond shinin' in the rough (shine, shine)
Tough

You wanna come to the Nawf? (Mm-hm)
I'll show you around
That's why I said, "Come take a ride with me"
When?
Whenever, whenever you ready
Call on me, brr
I'll give it back when I get there
Aight, that's a bet