A good cover can make you hear a favorite song in a new light. Here’s a powerful example:
Elysium is an Irish cover band out of Wexford with a wide-ranging repertoire of acoustically arranged hits and deep cuts, featuring beautiful guitar melodies paired with gorgeous harmonies.
A few weeks ago, they released their poignant, mesmerizing cover of Bruce’s “Drive All Night.” By the end of it, I was in tears.
That segue you hear in the final minutes blends “Drive All Night” with the Scottish/Irish standard “The Parting Glass,” a traditional farewell to friends, family and loved ones.
By placing it in the context of “Drive All Night,” Elysium transforms Bruce’s song of young romance into something eternal: a pledge of remembrance to a love lost.
But since it fell into my lot
That I should rise and you should not
I’ll gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
That I should rise and you should not
I’ll gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
So fill to me the parting glass
And drink a health whate’er befalls
Then gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
Good night and joy be to you all
Then gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
Good night and joy be to you all
Released in the midst of the great pandemic of 2020, it’s hard not to hear their performance of “Drive All Night” in a completely different light–love laced with loss. It’s simultaneously healing and heart-aching.
“Drive All Night” has long been one of my favorite Springsteen songs, and now I have yet another reason to love it. Thanks for that, Elysium.
