My cover song list is an ongoing project I’ve been working on since my teenage years. Now, it has expanded to over 120 songs, ranging from classics to pop to modern rock. As I perform several times a week, a lot of these songs get pretty heavy rotation. For some of them, I just kind of coast through, performing them because they’re crowd-pleasers. However, some songs still hit me hard as I sing the lyrics, no matter how many times I play through them. A song takes on so much more meaning when I am able to identify a piece of my story in its lyrics.
These are the 8 song lyrics that hit me hardest while performing. I’ve included some youtube links at the relevant time marks so you can see exactly what I mean!
Counting Stars – OneRepublic
This is a song I had heard ubiquitously for a couple years before I attempted to cover. I had been intimidated by the speed and length of the lyrics, but after I looked at the song I realized it wasn’t that bad. There’s a decent amount of repetition, and the lyrics are catchy enough to stick.
At the core, it’s a song many of us can relate to – dreaming about bigger things and finding the conviction in yourself to continue striving.
Lately I been, I been losing sleep
OneRepublic, Counting Stars
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby I been, I been prayin’ hard
Said no more counting dollars
We’ll be counting stars…
As an up-and-coming musician, I definitely relate to this struggle. At the end of the night, I am literally counting the dollars that I have received as tips 😛 I’m doing all right financially, but it’s still gratifying to find a piece of myself in OneRepublic’s journey.
I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
When I first heard this song, I was in my indie/slightly emo teen phase, so I had a tendency to write off songs like this that sounded generic and poppy. But after revisiting a couple years later, I find a beautifully universal message wrapped in surprisingly clever lyrics.
So I won’t hesitate no more, no more
Jason Mraz, I’m Yours
It cannot wait I’m sure
There’s no need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate, I’m yours
I also have the tendency to overcomplicate situations in my head. However, my latest musical push has been showing me that sometimes I have to relax and put my type-A predilections aside. I just have to go where the path takes me, and enjoy myself along the way, because that’s the whole point 🙂
I have a short video of my loop cover of ‘I’m Yours’ here!
7 Years – Lukas Graham
I’m a sucker for any song that shows the progression of the singer’s life over time. Some other examples are 100 years by Five for Fighting, and Handlebars by Flobots. I think 7 Years does an excellent job of capturing Lukas Graham’s journey at each point of his life, even extending into the future.
Soon I’ll be sixty years old, my daddy got sixty-one
Remember life and then your life becomes a better one
I made a man so happy when I wrote a letter once
I hope my children come and visit, once or twice a monthSoon I’ll be sixty years old, will I think the world is cold
Lukas Graham, 7 Years
Or will I have a lot of children who can warm me…?
This part, building up to the final chorus, really hits me hard. Especially as it’s contrasted by the return to the first “7 Years” chorus at the very end. Old age is something that is still very abstract at this point to me as a 25-year old. But deep down, I know I will get there someday, and it’s only natural to ask these questions about myself. This is one reason I’m working so hard on my musical journey. I never want to look back in my old age, and wonder if I could have worked harder to achieve my dream.
Foo Fighters – Best of You
The Foo Fighters is my all-time favorite rock band, and I think they will go down in history as the strongest rep of modern rock. This is one of their classic songs, and it’s really fun to find a balance between intensity and sensitivity when I perform it acoustically.
Were you born to resist or be abused?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?…
I swear I’ll never give in, I refuse
Foo Fighters, Best of You
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
These are the snippets that hit me hardest. As a naturally chill person, I very rarely engage in any kind of conflict. Stuff just doesn’t bother me that much, and I’m able to quickly deescalate situations with my natural friendliness. However, this song reminds me that sometimes I will need to fight and stand up for myself more to make it in this world.
Incubus – Drive
‘Drive’ is one of my all-time favorite covers to perform, and one of the earlier ones I learned. Incubus has always done a stellar job of infusing quirky and eclectic rock sounds with deceptively profound lyrics.
So if I decide to waiver my chance
To be one of the hive
Will I choose water over wine
And hold my own and drive?
…Whatever tomorrow brings
Incubus, Drive
I’ll be there with open arms and open eyes…
After a first inspection, you can decipher that the song covers drunk driving, and the singer’s determination to steer clear. But I think you can take it a step further than that. In ‘Drive’ you can find a vow to really examine the cost of following the crowd in all aspects of life, and strike out on the strength of one’s own values. As I sing out the chorus, I infuse the lyrics with my own personal intent to continue living life with ‘open arms and open eyes’, ready to reach out and connect with others in common humanity.
Move Along – All American Rejects
This is another punk/pop/rock classic from my middle school days, but I’ve had a good time bringing it back and keeping it alive. AAR have their moments as defiant angsty rockers, but the simple message of this song hits surprisingly deep.
When all you got to keep is strong
All American Rejects, Move Along
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
Sometimes, this is all the message needs to be. Move along, move along just to make it through. When everything seems like it’s crashing down, sometimes the answer is to just keep powering through. Even one more day of striving can lead to renewed strength or encouragement. I find I am able to summon energy to ‘move along’ as I sing out these words.
Rivers and Roads – The Head and The Heart
Rivers and Roads is a great indie singer-songwriter classic. It’s a pretty simple song, cataloguing the inevitable turns of life as friends and family grow apart and end up in different places.
Been talking ’bout the way things change
And my family lives in a different state
And if you don’t know what to make of this
Then we will not relate…
Rivers and roads
Rivers and roads
Rivers til I reach you…
The Head and the Heart, Rivers and Roads
This song is true for me as well. Now, I live in Ocean City, which is only three hours away from my family home in Virginia, so that’s not too bad. But when I was living in South Korea for two years, it was definitely more than just a ‘different state’ that my family lived in 😛
And as I invest further in an unorthodox life, that will no doubt involve travel and frequent states of change, I do feel a growing distance between myself and people who choose more typical paths. Still, I completely own my choice and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But I still can’t avoid it being bittersweet.
Right now, I don’t know who the ‘you’ is at the end of my rivers and roads, but I know someday I will find them, and find my satisfaction in my path.
Here’s a quick video of a performance I did of Rivers and Roads back in Korea!
Falling Slowly (from ‘Once’) – Glen Hansard
‘Once’ is an Irish musical/drama about a struggling musician and busker in Dublin. It’s a classic for other buskers like me! The standout track ‘Once’ is a classic, hard-hitting ballad about finding hope through trying circumstances.
Take this sinking boat and point it home
Glen Hansard, Falling Slowly
We’ve still got time
Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice
You’ll make it now
The cadence and melody of the words in the chorus is soaring and timeless, and one of the reason this song works so well. Sometimes we can all feel like a sinking boat, but the prospect of returning home, or creating a new one, can be a powerful spur to keep on fighting.
In Conclusion
These are the 8 songs that hit me the hardest while performing! I hope you enjoy my choices and find some meaning and inspiration in them as well.
I’m still working on getting cover videos of some of these, but in the meantime, check out my loop pedal performance of ‘Closer’!