If you like sad songs, try this one on for size.
In his first release since June, Tommy Prine laid down a chilling cover this week of John Moreland’s heartbreaking classic “You Don’t Care For Me Enough To Cry.”
With the release of his debut record This Far South last summer, one of the best records of 2023, Prine proved to the country music world that, despite the nascency of his budding career, he deserves to be considered in the upper echelon of country music’s current songwriting landscape. Hitting the road hard ever since in support of the album, Prine has quickly grown his fan base organically and has left fans wanting more and more music.
And in his first release since the emphatic debut, Prine, a Nashville native, decided to tip his cap to Tulsa, Oklahoma’s own John Moreland. An under-appreciated talent who is revered as one of the best in the business by his musical contemporaries and critics in the know alike, Moreland has a propensity for beautifully somber and emotion-evoking lyricism. And “You Don’t Care For Me Enough To Cry” is no exception.
Give Tommy Prine’s brand new cover of the tune a listen here:
“I dreamt I’d take you with me
And you’d say you forgive me
And we’d live out some easy easy ancient song
Now where I am unattended
In a splendid love’s remembrance
You lost the mind to even do me wrong
And I’m the kind of love that hurts to look at
But once I was enough to make you try
Now I’m underneath the rubble
Tryin’ not to feel the trouble
And you don’t care for me enough to cry”
What a cover.
Originally included on Moreland’s 2015 cult classic High on Tulsa Heat, “You Don’t Care For Me Enough To Cry” is not only a staple in Moreland’s deep catalog of spectacular songwriting, but a staple in all of country music.
Check out this video of Moreland performing it himself a while back.
I love seeing great songwriters in their own right perform covers of the music that has inspired them over the years, and Tommy Prine singing John Moreland is about as good as it gets. If you haven’t spent much time with either of their music, I highly suggest you change that. It’s in your best interest.
Here are a few of my favorites from each to get you started.
Tommy Prine
“Ships in the Harbor”
“Mirror and a Kitchen Sink”
John Moreland
“Break My Heart Sweetly”
“A Thought is Just a Passing Train”
Both of these artists have plans to hit the road this spring, so if they’re playing a show near you, get out their and hear these songs live.
Tommy Prine Tour Dates
John Moreland Tour Dates
