Of course, this could be sung by any of a whole host of people but I'm plumping for the version by Johnny Cash on his American IV: The Man Comes Around album.
What you have here is a truly rare combination - a song written with genuine poetic gift (Ewan MacColl), sung with an honesty & power that are beyond doubt and produced (by Rick Rubin) with a deft & sympathetic touch that illuminates. It genuinely sounds as though a heart has been opened and its emotional caverns chiselled-out.
As an aside, on the album this track is followed by Cash's version of Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus. Now that's how to put an album together....
ps. For the Badger's sake - and to allow others to compare & enjoy another stunning reading of this great song, here is the Roberta Flack version (live).
2 comments:
First song on your list that I thought about putting on mine (but in a fiercesome effort to get things down to 25 tracks, it was culled; so I'm glad it's here).
However, I would go for Roberta Flack than the man in black. I would like to like Cash more than I do - after all, Van Morrison can't sing either, and I like him.
Anyway, here's a small postscript about Kirtsy's parents:
1972 - Written by Ewan MacColl 1957 Folk singer Ewan MacColl wrote this in 1957 for his wife, Peggy Seeger. She was in a play and phoned him for suggestions on a song for a romantic scene. MacColl wrote this song in less than an hour, and taught it to her over the phone
I've put a ps on the post to link to Roberta Flack - a live recording so maybe not the one you're familiar with.
Love the story behind the song. For me, the genius is summed up in the use of 'mouth' where 'lips' might have been expected.
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