Uncomfortably Numb

So far I have been doing cover songs that I believe are generally good, this week I am doing a cover song that really pales in comparison to the original. "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd and the cover done by Scissor Sisters.



The original by Pink Floyd sounds depressing and more like they're tripping on some drugs while singing it or possibly even when they were writing it. While the Scissor Sisters sound more like the Bee Gees or some other disco era band, I actually thought for a split second as I was listening to the Scissor Sisters' version that they were the Bee Gees. The Scissor Sisters' version sounds a little like techno too, throughout the song my ears felt like they were being raped by the beats from the song. They have too many unnecessary beats and tones in their song that really gives me a bit of a headache. While Pink Floyd sings their version really slowly, the Scissor Sisters sing their version extremely fast and a bit flamboyantly with their beats and tones.



The original lyrics by Pink Floyd make it clear that they are talking about being on some type of drugs. The best example of that being this stanza: "O.K./ Just a little pin prick/ There'll be no more aaaaaaaah!/ But you may feel a little sick." The pin prick they're talking about sounds like a syringe of some sort used for intravenous drugs like heroin. They also paint an interesting picture with this stanza: "There is no pain you are receding/ A distant smoke's on the horizon/ You are only coming through in waves/ Your lips move/ But I can't hear what you're saying." This stanza seems to show that they're probably high off of drugs and they're seeing things that aren't actually there.

The Scissor Sisters didn't really change any lyrics aside from making their version sound a lot more inappropriate. I couldn't help but notice that they seem to stress out the word "relax"which reminded me of the song "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood which is all about sex except that they're song is way more subtle than this one. They also changed the lyric from "Comfortably numb" to "Com-Com-fortably numb" I don't understand why they felt the need to stress out that particular word. They have to be alluding to sex, from the album cover that the song is featured on to the words they stressed out to their band name Scissor Sisters. It's like they were purposely trying to make the listener feel uncomfortable. Everything about the band seems to scream sex and it is really annoying that they seemed to miss the point of the original song altogether.

I think it's pretty obvious that I didn't particularly like the cover done by Scissor Sisters. Honestly it felt like they were mocking the song more so than trying to do a good cover of it. They really managed to change the whole meaning of the song though with the words that they stressed out. Some of the lyrics were sung so quickly that you can't even make some of them out especially with the beats and tones in the background overpowering the lyrics. However I've only ever listened to one other song by them that's not a cover which is good and they might be singing about sex in that one too, but it's more subtle and not as obvious.

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

The songs I am going to compare this week are "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen and the cover done by Jeff Buckley. Now more people are familiar with the cover by Jeff Buckley than they are the original. Honestly I myself was surprised to learn that Jeff's version is not the original because I have always heard his version, I had never even heard the original before.

 

Musicality
Leonard Cohen sounds more gruff and has a bit more of a baritone voice. He sings much more slowly like he is talking it out instead of singing it which reminds me of how Johnny Cash sings in most of his songs. While Jeff Buckley sings more softly and he has a mellifluous voice as if he is serenading the song to someone he loves. The way Buckley sings it makes me feel more connected to his words than when Cohen sings it. I still believe Cohen did a good job but I feel more connected when the chorus kicks in and they start singing "Hallelujah" over and over again. Cohen seems to be a bit more of a jazzy singer while Buckley sounds more depressed with the way he sings it compared to Cohen.

 

Lyrics
Jeff Buckley and Leonard Cohen both have the same lyrics. Jeff only changed a couple of random words that do not make much of a difference to the meaning of the song as a whole. Though Leonard Cohen has a few more lyrics that Jeff did not include in his cover. This song seems to be talking about faith and how people sometimes go through things that really affect them in profound ways that may make them lose that faith. One of the most powerful lyrics is this stanza:

"Your faith was strong but you needed proof/ You saw her bathing on the roof/ Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you/ She tied you to a kitchen chair/ She broke your throne, and she cut your hair/ And from your lips, she drew the Hallelujah."

The song itself is interesting because it takes a second person perspective, talking about a person namely the "you" who has been humiliated by this random woman. Another lyric that really shows how this person has lost their faith in either love or God is: "Love is not a victory march/ It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah." This person has been through love and knows what it's like to either have your heart broken or been through the highs and lows of being in love with someone.

It is never made clear as to whether this person has lost their faith in love itself or God for what he/she has gone through. I always assumed that the song was referring to a man, however it is unclear as to who the singer/songwriter is really referring to because it is in a second person perspective. The stanza that shows that this song is either talking about losing faith in love or God is:

"Maybe there's a God above/ But all I've ever learned from love/ Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you/ It's not a cry that you hear at night/ It's not someone who's seen the light/ It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah."

I take "Hallelujah" to mean thank God, however I do not understand why anyone would thank God for making love so complicated and hard for this person. Maybe the singer/songwriter meant that if love was not as complicated as it is, no one would grow and everything would be tedious and predictable. I always took this song to have some sort of religious connotations in it. Maybe love is supposed to be a manifestation of what God should or would be if you met him.

I would also like to touch up on the lyrics that Buckley did not include in his cover that seem to give more clues as to what the song is supposed to be about.

"You say I took the name in vain/ I don't even know the name/  But if I did, well really, what's it to you?/ There's a blaze of light in every word/ It doesn't matter which you heard/ The holy or the broken Hallelujah."

Personally I believe the whole song has beautiful lyrics, even though I myself am not a religious person. I also noticed that the singer/songwriter starts with "I" then switches to "you" then goes back to "I" and it is unclear whether he is talking about himself the whole time or just some random person when he says "you". The other stanza that Buckley did not include is:

"I did my best, it wasn't much/ I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch/ I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you/ And even though it all went wrong/ I'll stand before the Lord of Song/ With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah."

Cohen continues to mention God in some way or refer to God by saying Hallelujah in every stanza in the song. In the end the only lyric that Buckley changes is instead of the original lyric "how to shoot someone who outdrew you" he changes the "someone" to "somebody".

Crown of Shit Versus Crown of Thorns

I believe that some cover songs are good and some not so much. So this week I am going to start off with the song "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails.



The cover is done by Johnny Cash. I like the original, however I prefer Johnny Cash's version. Nine Inch Nails sound very raw in their singing while Johnny Cash sounds a bit more worn and depressed. Some of the lyrics really resonate and stand out like the first stanza:

"I hurt myself today/ To see if I still feel/ I focus on the pain/ The only thing that's real/ The needle tears a hole/ The old familiar sting/ Try to kill it all away/ But I remember everything."

These lyrics seem to work better for Johnny Cash because he has more experience with pain and loss. When he sings it I can feel his pain and relate to it more so than I can with the Nine Inch Nails version. Even the music video for his version of the song is interspersed with several different clips of when he was young which shows his nostalgia for being young again. The last stanza in the song is a perfect example of this:

"If I could start again/ A million miles away/ I would keep myself/ I would find a way."

After assessing the lyrics it is seems that Nine Inch Nails is singing about doing drugs or cutting themselves when they mention the line “The needle tears a whole.” While Johnny Cash seems to be singing about possibly committing suicide because he has gone through this loss and there really is nothing left for him to live for because he's already so much older and I can feel his pain when he sings "Everyone I know goes away/ in the end". Which is why Johnny Cash's version sounds so much better, because it's more understandable for him to want to do that and his soulful voice adds to the song and the lyrics. Nine Inch Nails also paint a picture with the lyrics with the lines “You could have it all/ My empire of dirt” as well as the lines “I wear this crown of shit/ Upon my liar’s chair.” It’s interesting that they refer to their empire as a “pile of dirt” and their crown is made of shit. I normally associate terms like empire and crown with royalty and wealth not as something as negative as shit or dirt. Except in Johnny Cash’s version he replaces “crown of shit” with “crown of thorns” which somehow sounds more painful and depressing than the original lyrics.

Though both the band and Johnny Cash seem to be implying suicide in the song I believe that each of the songs is good for different reasons. I also find it interesting that Nine Inch Nails is considered an industrial rock or alternative rock band whereas Johnny Cash is better known as a country singer. Though Johnny Cash did not try to make the song sound country at all, it still sounds like a rock song. I find it very ironic that “Hurt” was Johnny Cash’s last hit before he passed away and the song happens to be talking all about suicide. Johnny Cash’s lyrics are not all that different from Nine Inch Nails’ lyrics since he only replaces one word and where some of the stanzas and lines start and end. I believe the main difference is how both of the songs are performed and what kinds of emotions both the band and Johnny Cash manage to evoke in the audience. I would have assumed that Nine Inch Nails’ version would be more depressing, however after looking at the lyrics and listening to the songs again I have come to the conclusion that Johnny Cash’s version is much more depressing.