Morgan Wade is just awesome, isn’t she?
One of my favorite pastimes is to scour YouTube and the internet to try to find new covers or performances by her.
That’s how I found this mashup from back in July during a performance in Lexington, Kentucky.
First in this mashup is The Outfield’s “Your Love,” which Wade absolutely kills. The song starts off on a really high note and seems to just stay there the entire time.
About a minute and a half into the video, the guitar changes almost seamlessly to the recognizable tune of Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl.” I never really thought about “Jessie’s Girl” being a very emotive song, probably because it’s so popular as a fun, upbeat song that the meaning is sort of lost.
But watch any cheesy teen drama that uses this song as the crux of a plot point (I’m looking at you, Glee), and you’ll see it’s actually got some complexity to it emotionally and morally. I mean, it’s essentially about wanting your friend’s girlfriend, but usually that type of thing is frowned upon.
So, having the singer (who we are supposed to root for) be the one doing the lusting adds a immediate level of complexity.
All of that overanalyzing to say that Wade’s voice is always emotive when she sings. She knows when to get loud or soften, when to be smooth or add gravel and a crack. And that is really showcased in this performance.
Of course, this isn’t to say that “Your Love” is any less emotive, especially when sung by Morgan Wade. This song reminds me quite a bit of some of her other songs like “Take Me Away,” which deal with the complexities of intimacy and companionship.
When you look at the lyrics of “Your Love,” the singer is basically asking if they can use this person for the night because no one else is around. As long as it all stays a secret. It’s also implied that the singer is probably cheating on someone named Josie.
See, kinda complicated.
I’m not saying that any of this played into why Morgan Wade decided to cover these songs at one of her shows, but they do remind me a lot of themes that she often explores in her own music.
Good shit.
