Willie Nelson reinterprets a modern psych-pop classic with his cover of The Flaming Lips‘ “Do You Realize??”. Shotgun Willie’s take on the Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots favorite will appear on the country icon’s largely covers album Last Leaf on the Tree, out November 1st.
The original’s lush instrumentation and sweeping melodies are instead replaced with Nelson’s stripped-down, bare-bones approach. Produced by his son Micah Nelson (Particle Kid), “Do You Realize??” becomes a tearjerking tome of ancient wisdom gained from Willie’s 91 years of experience.
Of course the line “Do you realize / That everyone you know someday will die” hits hard from a man who has had to bury many of his friends and contemporaries. But rather than being a lament on things and people lost, Willie’s cover is one of thanksgiving as he sagely cautions, “And instead of saying all your goodbyes, let them know / You realize that life goes fast / It’s hard to make the good things last.”
“It’s one of those dreams come true you didn’t have a dream for,” Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne said in a reaction video, comparing the cover to Johnny Cash‘s iconic version of “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails. “[Willie] probably brings more meaning to it than we do.”
Willie’s 76th solo studio album and 153rd album overall hears the Grammy, Rock & Roll, and Country Music Hall of Famer largely interpret songs by other artists. He covers classics by fellow venerated songwriters Warren Zevon (“Keep Me in Your Heart”) and Robbie Robertson (“Broken Arrow”), jazz icon Nina Simone (“Come Ye”), seminal indie-rocker Beck (“Lost Cause”), deep cuts from contemporaries Neil Young (“Are You Ready For the Country?”) and Tom Waits (“Last Leaf”), and more.
Last Leaf on the Tree also includes a new recording of one of Willie’s oldest songs “The Ghost” and a new song he wrote with Micah, “The Color of Sound”. In addition to producing the album, Micah performed many of the instruments and designed the cover. Other instrumentalists included The Doors’ John Densmore, celebrated producer Daniel Lanois, Wille’s harmonica player of 50-plus years Mickey Raphael, and more.
Listen to Willie Nelson cover The Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize??” below and pre-order Last Leaf on the Tree here. Do you realize that Willie is out on tour, closing out his Outlaw Music Festival tour tonight, September 20th in New Hampshire ahead of Farm Aid in Saratoga Springs, NY on Saturday? Find tickets here.
Willie Nelson — “Do You Realize??” (The Flaming Lips)
The Flaming Lips On Willie Nelson’s Version Of “Do You Realize??”
The post “Do You Realize??” Willie Nelson Covered The Flaming Lips [Listen] appeared first on L4LM.
