STAYING UNDER THE COVERS

OK, so here's the deal. My father made a 2-CD mix of songs that have brought him to tears. It was good, and it inspired me to try a similar effort. The only problem is that there's like 10,000 songs that I'd want to put on there ("Dear Chicago," "Never is a Promise," "Fred Jones Pt. 2," Patty Griffin's live version of "Tony" immediately come to mind). So as I started collecting, I realized it would be far more manageable to do a covers album of sad songs.

Requirements:
1) It has to be a cover.
2) It has to be sad.

"Just Like A Woman" (Joe Cocker)
Nobody feels any pain
Tonight as I stand inside the rain
Ev'rybody knows
That Baby's got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
Have fallen from her curls
She takes just like a woman, yes she does
She makes love just like a woman, yes she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl.

Queen Mary, she's my friend
Yes, I believe I'll go see her again
Nobody has to guess
That Baby can't be blessed
Till she finally sees that she's like all the rest
With her fog, her amphetamine and her pearls
She takes just like a woman, yes she does
She makes love just like a woman, yes she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl.

It's was raining from the first
And I was dying there of thirst
So I came in here
And your long-time curse hurts
But what's worse
Is this pain in here
I can't stay in here
Ain't it clear that.

I just can't fit
Yes, I believe it's time for us to quit
When we meet again
Introduced as friends
Please don't let on that you knew me when
I was hungry and it was your world
Ah, you fake just like a woman, yes you do
You make love just like a woman, yes you do
Then you ache just like a woman
But you break just like a little girl.

Originally performed by Bob Dylan.

"Without You" (Harry Nilsson)
No, I can't forget this evening
Or your face as you were leaving
But I guess that's just the way this story goes,
You always smile....
But in you eyes your sorrow shows
Yes it shows

No I can't forget tomorrow
When I think of all my sorrows
When I had you there but then I let you go
And now it's only fair that I should let you know
What you should know

I can't live
If living is without you
I can't live
I can't give anymore
Can't live
If living is without you
can't give,
I can't give anymore

Well, I can't forget this evening
Or your face as you were leaving
But I guess that's just the way this story goes,
You always smile
But in you eyes your sorrow shows
Yes it shows

can't live
If living is without you
I can't live
I can't give anymore
Can't live
If living is without you
I can't live,
I can't give anymore

Ohhhhhh (No can't live)
No no no (No I can't live)
I can't live (No can't live)
If living is without (No I can't live)
I can't live (No can't live)
I can't give anymore (No I can't live)

Originally recorded by Badfinger.

"Superstar" (Bette Midler)
Long ago and oh so far away
I fell in love with you before the second show
Your guitar, it sounds so sweet and clear
But you're not really here
It's just the radio
don't you remember you told me you loved me baby
You said you'd be coming back this way again baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby, I love you I really do
Loneliness is a such a sad affair
And I can hardly wait to be with you again
What to say to make you come again
Come back to me again
And play your sad guitar.

Originally recorded by The Carpenters.

"Desperado" (The Langley Schools Music Project)
Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You been out ridin' fences for so long now
Oh, you're a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin' you
Can hurt you somehow

Don't you draw the queen of diamonds boy
She'll beat you if she's able
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet

Now it seems to me, some fine things
Have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can't get

Desperado, oh, you ain't gettin' no younger
Your pain and your hunger, they're drivin' you home
And freedom, oh freedom well, that's just some people talkin'
Your prison is walking through this world all alone

Don't your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine
It's hard to tell the night time from the day
You're losin' all your highs and lows
Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you, before it's too late

Originally recorded by The Eagles.

"Hallelujah" (Jeff Buckley)
I heard there was a secret chord
That david played and it pleased the lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Well your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrough ya
She tied you to her kitchen chair
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Well, maybe I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor
I used to live with leonard before I knew ya
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
But love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

There was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show that to me do ya
But remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath you drew was hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

And maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya
Well it's not a cry that you hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, halle...
It's not what you're told
It's not her face
It's not his touch
In the room you both share
Where he's gone when he loved
When your time and your memory fills your dreams
When you're honest and together
Together no more
No more
Hallelujah, until you're nothing
Hallelujah, baby, until she's everywhere
Hallelujah, until together you are somewhere I'd lost
Hallelujah, hallelujah.

Original version was Leonard Cohen.

"This Woman's Work" (Maxwell)
Pray God you can cope
I stand outside
This woman's work
This woman's world
Ooooh it's hard on the man
Now his part is over
Now starts the craft of the Father

I know you've got a little life in you left
I know you've got a lot of strength left
I know you've got a little life in you yet
I know you've got a lot of strength left

I should be crying but I just can't let it show
I should be hoping but I can't stop thinking
All the things we should've said that I never said
All the things we should have done that we never did
All the things we should have given but I didn't

Oh darling make it go
Make it go away

Give me these moments
Give them back to me
Give me that little kiss
Give me your ...
I know you have a little life in you yet
Give me your hand babe
I know you have a lot of strength left
Give me your prayers
I know you have a little life in you yet
Ooooh oooh oooh
I know you have a lot of strength left
Your loved child
I know you have a little life in you yet
Whatever you need baby
I know you have a lot of strength left
Give me your hand
I know you have a little life in you yet
Give me you hand
I know you have a lot of strength left

I should be crying but I just can't let it show
I should be hoping but I can't stop thinking
Of all the things we should've said that we never said
All the things we should have done that we never did
All the things that you wanted from me
All the things that you needed tell me
All the things I should have given but I didn't
Oh darling make it go away
Just make it go away now

Original version by Kate Bush.

"(They Long to be) Close To You" (Barenaked Ladies)
Why do birds suddenly appear
Every time you are near?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you

Why do stars fall down from the sky
Every time you walk by?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you

On the day that you were born
The angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon-dust
In your hair of gold
And starlight in your eyes of blue

That is why all the girls in town
Follow you all around
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you

On the day that you were born
The angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon-dust
In your hair of gold
And starlight in your eyes of blue

That is why all the girls in town
Follow you all around
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you

Just like me, they long to be
Close to you

Written by Burt Bacharach. Most famous version was The Carpenters.

"Everybody Hurts" (The Corrs)
When your day is long
And the night
And the night is your's alone
When you think you've had enough
Of this life
Hang on

Don't let yourself go
'Cause everybody cries
And everybody hurts
Sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong
Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night hold on
Hold on (hold on)
If you feel like letting go
(Hold on)
If you're sure you've had too much
Of this life
Hang on

'Cause everybody hurts
Sometimes
Take comfort in your friends
And everybody hurts

Don't blow your hand
Oh-oh no
Don't blow your hand
If you feel like you're alone
No, no, no, not alone

If you're on your own
In this life
The days and nights are long
You're sure you've had too much
Of this life
To hang on

Yeah everybody hurts
Sometimes
Everybody cries
Sometimes
Everybody hurts
Sometimes

Everybody hurts sometimes

So hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on

To know you're not alone

Original version by R.E.M.

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (Cat Power)
When I'm drivin' in my car
and that man comes on the radio
and he's tellin' me more and more
about some useless information
supposed to fire my imagination.
I can't get no, oh no no no.
Hey hey hey, that's what I say.

I can't get no satisfaction,
I can't get no satisfaction.
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try.
I can't get no, I can't get no.

When I'm watchin' my TV
and that man comes on to tell me
how white my shirts can be.
Well he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke
the same cigarrettes as me.
I can't get no, oh no no no.
Hey hey hey, that's what I say.

I can't get no satisfaction,
I can't get no girl with action.
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try.
I can't get no, I can't get no.

When I'm ridin' round the world
and I'm doin' this and I'm signing that
and I'm tryin' to make some girl
who tells me baby better come back later next week
'cause you see I'm on losing streak.

Original version by The Rolling Stones.

"I See A Darkness" (Johnny Cash)
Well, you're my friend
And can you see
Many times we've been out drinking
Many times we've shared our thoughts
Did you ever, ever notice, the kind of thoughts I got
Well you know I have a love, for everyone I know
And you know I have a drive, for life I won't let go
But sometimes this opposition, comes rising up in me
This terrible imposition, comes blacking through my mind

And then I see a darkness
Oh no, I see a darkness
Do you know how much I love you
Cause I'm hoping some day soon
You'll save me from this darkness

Well I hope that someday soon
We'll find peace in our lives
Together or apart
Alone or with our wives
And we can stop our whoring
And draw the smiles inside
And light it up forever
And never go to sleep
My best unbeaten brother
That isn't all I see

And then I see a darkness
Oh no, I see a darkness
Do you know how much I love you
Cause I'm hoping some day soon
You'll save me from this darkness

Original version was by Will Oldham, recording under the moniker Bonnie "Prince" Billy.

Just to See You Smile (Bonnie "Prince" Billy)
You always had an eye for things that glittered
But I was far from bein' made of gold
I don't know how but I scraped up the money
I just never could quite tell you no
Just like when you were leavin' Amarillo
Takin? that new job in Tennessee
And I quit mine so we could be together
I can't forget the way you looked at me

Just to see you smile
I'd do anything
That you wanted me to
And all is said and done
I'd never count the cost
It's worth all that's lost
Just to see you smile

When you said time was all you really needed
I walked away and let you have your space
Cuz leavin' didn't hurt me near as badly
As the tears I saw rollin' down your face
And yesterday I knew just what you wanted
When you came walkin' up to me with him
So I told you that I was happy for you
And given the chance I?d lie again

Just to see you smile
I'd do anything
That you wanted me to
And all is said and done
I'd never count the cost
It's worth all that's lost
Just to see you smile

I'd do anything
That you wanted me to
And all is said and done
I'd never count the cost
It's worth all that's lost
Just to see you smile

Most famous version by Tim McGraw.

"Mad World" (Gary Jules)

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow

And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very mad world mad world

Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday
Made to feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me, look right through me

And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very mad world ... world
Enlarge your world
Mad world

Original version by Tears for Fears

"Hurt" (Johnny Cash)
I hurt myself today
to see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
the only thing that's real
the needle tears a hole
the old familiar sting
try to kill it all away
but I remember everything
what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
you could have it all
my empire of dirt

I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear my crown of shit
on my liar's chair
full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
beneath the stain of time
the feeling disappears
you are someone else
I am still right here
what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
you could have it all
my empire of dirt

I will let you down
I will make you hurt

if I could start again
a million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

Original version by Nine Inch Nails.

"The Scientist" (Aimee Mann)
Come up to meet you
Tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you
Tell you I need you
Tell you I set you apart
Tell me your secrets
And ask me your questions
Oh, let's go back to the start
Running in circles
Coming of tales
Heads are a science apart
Nobody said it was easy
Oh, it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard
I'm going back to the start
I was guess guessing
At numbers and figures
Pulling your puzzles apart
Questions of science
Sience and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart
So tell me you love me
Come back and huant me
Oh, and I rush to the start
Running in circles
Chasing of tails
Coming back as we are
Nobody said it was easy
Oh, it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard
I'm going back to the start
It's such a shame...

Original version by Coldplay.

"Fast Car" (Xiu Xiu)
You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Anyplace is better
Starting from zero got nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make something
But me myself I got nothing to prove
You got a fast car
And I got a plan to get us out of here
I been working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
We won't have to drive too far
Just 'cross the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
And finally see what it means to be living
You see my old man's got a problem
He live with the bottle that's the way it is
He says his body's too old for working
I say his body's too young to look like his
My mama went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said somebody's got to take care of him
So I quit school and that's what I did
You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so we can fly away
We gotta make a decision
We leave tonight or live and die this way
I remember we were driving driving in your car
The speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
And I had feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car
And we go cruising to entertain ourselves
You still ain't got a job
And I work in a market as a checkout girl
I know things will get better
You'll find work and I'll get promoted
We'll move out of the shelter
Buy a big house and live in the suburbs
You got a fast car
And I got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinking late at the bar
See more of your friends than you do of your kids
I'd always hoped for better
Thought maybe together you and me would find it
I got no plans I ain't going nowhere
So take your fast car and keep on driving
You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so you can fly away
You gotta make a decision
You leave tonight or live and die this way

Original version by Tracy Chapman.

"Sam Stone" (Laura Cantrell)
Sam stone came home,
To his wife and family
After serving in the conflict overseas.
And the time that he served,
Had shattered all his nerves,
And left a little shrapnel in his knee.
But the morphine eased the pain,
And the grass grew round his brain,
And gave him all the confidence he lacked,
With a purple heart and a monkey on his back.

Chorus:
There?s a hole in daddy?s arm where all the money goes,
Jesus christ died for nothin? I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don?t stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Mmm....

Sam stone?s welcome home
Didn?t last too long.
He went to work when he?d spent his last dime
And sammy took to stealing
When he got that empty feeling
For a hundred dollar habit without overtime.
And the gold rolled through his veins
Like a thousand railroad trains,
And eased his mind in the hours that he chose,
While the kids ran around wearin? other peoples? clothes...

Repeat chorus:

Sam stone was alone
When he popped his last balloon
Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
Well, he played his last request
While the room smelled just like death
With an overdose hovering in the air
But life had lost it?s fun
And there was nothing to be done
But trade his house that he bought on the g, i. bill
For a flag draped casket on a local heroes? hill

Repeat chorus

Original version by John Prine.

"Against All Odds" (The Postal Service)
How can I just let you walk away
Just let you leave without a trace
When I stand here taking every breath with you (ooh..)
You're the only one who really knew me at all

How can you just walk away from me
When all I can do is watch you leave?
'Cause we shared the laughter and the pain
And even shared the tears
You're the only one who really knew me at all

So take a look at me now
There's just an empty space
There's nothing left here to remind me
Just the memory of your face
But take a look at me now
There's just an empty space
And you coming back to me is against the odds
And that's what I've gotta face

I wish I could just make you turn around
Turn around and see me cry
There's so much I need to say to you
So many reasons why
You're the only one who really knew me at all

So take a look at me now
There's just an empty space
And there's nothing left here to remind me
Just the memory of your face

But take a look at me now
There's just an empty space
But to wait for you is all I can do
And that's what I've gotta face

Take a look at me now
I'll just be standing here
And you coming back to me
Is against the odds
And that's a chance I've gotta face

Take a look at me now
Take a look at me now
(Take a look at me now)
Take a look at me now
(Take a look at me now)
Take a look at me now
(Take a look at me now) [2x]
Take a look at me now
(Take a look at me now) [2x]
Take a look at me now
(Take a look at me now) [2x]
Take a look at me now
(Take a look at me now)
Take a look at me now

Original version by Phil Collins.

"Maps" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Pack up;
I’m straight;
Enough;
Oh say, say, say;
Oh say, say, say;
Oh say, say, say;
Oh say, say, say;
Oh say, say, say …

Wait, they don’t love you like I love you;
Wait, they don’t love you like I love you;
Ma-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aps;
Wait! They don’t love you like I love you.

Made off;
Don’t stray;
Well, my kind’s your kind;
I’ll stay the same!
Pack up;
Don’t stray;
Oh say, say, say;
Oh say, say, say!

Wait! They don’t love you like I love you;
Wait! They don’t love you like I love you;
Ma-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aps;
Wait! They don’t love you like I love you!
Wait! They don’t love you like I love you!
Ma-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aps!
Wait! They don’t love you like I love you …

Wait! They don’t love you like I love you;
Wait! They don’t love you like I love you;
Ma-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aps;
Wait! They don’t love you like I love you!
Wait! They don’t love you like I love you!
Ma-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aps!
Wait! They don’t love you like I love you …

This is an original.