It’s rare that an artist covers a song and trumps the original recording by the original artist.

Shawn Colvin has that ability.

"This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)"

This version is wrecked by the tacking on of additional instrumentation to the naked live track.

But that’s like chipping a finger off Michelangelo’s David, or viewing the Mona Lisa through dusty glasses. The essence still shines through. But if these extraneous elements were scrubbed from the cut, it would be a masterpiece. Go see Shawn perform it live if you doubt me. Especially back in the day, when she had a limited number of originals, when she relied on covers to fill out her set.

Home is where I want to be

I don’t quite understand those people who live out of a suitcase. The older I get, the more I love the comfort of home. With everything in its right place.

And you’re standing here beside me
I love the passing of time

Media is all about toting up, cash and other assets. As if your money could keep you warm at night. Whereas life’s best moments are with another human being…with nothing special happening, feeling the warmth and electricity between you.

And I am just an animal looking for a home
Share the same space for a minute or two
Will you love me until my heart stops
Will you love me until I’m dead

My generation is riddled with divorce. Nobody believes anything’s forever except family…the kind you’re connected to by blood, your parents, siblings and children. Still, this is what we all desire… Acceptance, commitment.

Don’t leave me.

I’m counting on you.

I need you.

David Byrne wrote the song, but Shawn Colvin made it her own.

"Someday"

The original was done by Steve Earle on his legendary "Guitar Town" album. If they made music like that in Nashville today, none of you would bitch.

Still, Steve’s take is different. Aggressive, angry. Whereas Shawn’s is more depleted, more resigned. Steve’s definitely leaving…Shawn, we’re not so sure.

There ain’t a lot that you can do in this town
Drive down to the lake and then you turn back around

What a sensational rhyme!

Go to school and you learn to read and write
So you can walk into the county bank and sign away your life

They want to kill your dreams. But it’s so hard to go your own way, with everybody telling you not to take the risk.

Now my brother went to college ’cause he plays football
Me I never even got through high school at all
I got me a ’67 Chevy, she’s low and sleek and black
Someday I’ll put her on an Interstate, never look back

Wheels. With those and a tank of gas, your exit is primed. If you’re up to the challenge.

Meanwhile, Shawn changed the second line…in the original, Steve sings…

Well I’m still hanging ’round ’cause I’m a little bit small

Ooh, the perils of the younger brother!

"(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night"

Once upon a time, before Tom Waits became a national treasure, before his audience caught up with him, I spent a drunken evening with him at the Troubadour. This was when he still lived at the Tropicana, back when it was still standing. I might have been a bit more inebriated than he was. Needless to say, we didn’t get along.

Then again, it’s tough to be great and for few to get it. Tom had a couple of covers, but his label just could not put him over.

I don’t want to say Shawn’s rendition is better than Tom’s, but it’s different, it’s from a female perspective. You get the trepidation and hope of a girl on a date. Whereas Tom is singing from a distance, he’s almost uninvolved, it’s like he’s peering at the scene through a window, whereas you get the impression Shawn is there.

I don’t want to be single ever again. I don’t want to go out looking for the action. I don’t want to come home a bit buzzed, long after midnight, having endured another evening of wasted time. After a while, you lose hope.

Funny, this was never a famous hit, but it’s embedded in the culture.

Are you looking for momentary rewards or are you looking to make a difference?

Oftentimes, both.

But many times, they’re mutually exclusive, they certainly were in the case of Tom Waits.

"Twilight"

It’s a Band song. But it never appeared on one of their albums, not during their heyday. Eventually, it showed up as an extra. I’ve included multiple takes here.

But most people heard this song first by Shawn, it was as if it was an original.

Don’t leave me alone in the twilight
‘Cause twilight is the loneliest time of day

Once upon a time, it was cool to sing about your vulnerabilities, about hope, loss and want. Before music became a celebration of hedonism, when singers became winners kicking losers to the curb. As for those country warblers…too often their custom-made songs don’t ring true. It’s not like they personally have experienced the loss.

Don’t put me in a frame upon the mantle
For memories turn dusty, old and gray
Don’t leave me alone in the twilight
‘Cause twilight is the loneliest time of day

We never forget. But I don’t want to be in your past, I want to be in your present.

"Window To The World"

If you’re really good with Google, you can find the original, by the unheralded act the Questionnaires.

Alas, it’s not on Spotify.

But it’s a curio, an ancient scroll brought back to life in Shawn Colvin’s stripped down take. At least they got their royalties (hopefully!)

This is my window to the world
All of the lonely boys and girls
Are a reflection in my eyes
Of me and you

You know how you play an album so much that songs you were kind of meh about suddenly become your favorites?

That’s the story with "Window To The World".

That’s what this computer screen is, my window to the world.

We’re inundated with diatribes by people castigating technology, saying it kills sociability, human interaction.

The Internet is the best thing that ever happened to me.

I was living alone in my house, disconnected from the world and suddenly…everybody started playing on AOL, the world wide web burgeoned, the action was no longer out, but at home, where I had the entire world right in front of me.

I’d like to say I make a good first impression. But too often I’m so eager for connection, I blow it. I want to be a member of the group, but for most of my life, that’s been a challenge.

But no longer.

I just fire up my computer, log on to the net and I’ve got the world at my fingertips, both human and inanimate. I can see mountains via cams, I can connect with people twelve time zones away. It’s thrilling. After all, that’s how I met you…

This is my window to it all
I see the heroes rise and fall
This is my window to the world
And I can see…

Spotify link

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