14 February, 2011

Someone To Watch Over Me // Willie Nelson



Although she may not be the girl some
Men think of as pretty,
To my heart she carries the key
-----

Someone To Watch Over Me written by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, performed by Willie Nelson, 1978, from "Stardust", Written in 1926 for the musical Oh, Kay!

This is one of those songs that has been recorded and interpreted and reinterpreted by multitudes of artists. These include Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald as stated before, Roberta Flak, and Amy Winehouse. A great singer named Linda Ronstadt covered the song for her 1983 album "What's New", a collection of jazz songs from the 1920's, 30's, and 40's which she referred to as "little jewels of artistic expression".



I consider Ronstadt's version second to Willie Nelson's version, which is like saying I consider blueberry pie second to warmed-up blueberry pie. I think that makes sense. Willie Nelson's version for the album Stardust is the best there is. His choice to change the original lyric "Although I may not be the man some/ Women think of as handsome" to "Although she may not be the girl some/ Men think of as pretty" brings a new viewpoint to the song, this time centered more on the girl in mind. It gives the song a more genuine feel as the singer seems to care more about the girl and who she is and rather than what he is to her. His relaxed style of singing brings a heartfelt warmth to the song that no other artist can. Like this song was made for him.

Happy Valentine's Day, all you lucky singles!

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