We could spend hours, if not days, debating what cover songs best their originals. I'm not trying to get into that debate today (or ever, really). However, I will say that there are also certain covers that have that stop-you-in-your-tracks emotional weight and make you hear a song like you've never heard it before. Al Green's take on R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" certainly fits in the later category (I'll let you decide if you think it beats the original), his tender rendition adding a new layer of feelings as his age shows through this moving and rather tear-jerking cover of an already despondent tune. If you yourself have a soul and currently live in America, you probably have felt a little hurt yourself lately so hearing this song in our new state of the world can also bring forth a new set of emotions. Green himself said that when "recording 'Everybody Hurts,' I could really feel the heaviness of the song, and I wanted to inject a little touch of hope and light into it. There's always a presence of light that can break through those times of darkness." Hopefully this brings so levity as we all push forward. Sometimes everybody does hurt, but in this moment we can find comfort in one another.
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