"Where words fail, music speaks."
- Hans Christian Andersen
"Part of getting over it is knowing that you will never get over it."
- Ann Finger
"He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than the living man."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life. The word is love."
- Sophocles
Okay, so this is a pretty different kind of opening for me, I admit. I was listening to "Over You" on repeat as I do and was thinking about what the song is about and what it is and that gave me the idea to look up some quotes about love and loss and pain and music. There are so many great quotes out there that it was hard to narrow it down, but I'm pretty happy with what I chose. All of the above seem to apply to this song. Before you continue to my thoughts on the song, I'd like you to take a second or two and read them again. I invite you to take another second or so to think about what they mean. Go with me here.
In my opinion, the greatest songs are the ones that are the most real, the ones that come from a place in the songwriter(s) that few people ever get to see. The ones that seem to come from the soul. The ones that are so open and honest that they feel raw almost. To me, they are the greatest because they speak to us in a way that other songs can't. And this is one of those songs.
As some country fans may know, Blake Shelton's brother Richie was killed in a car accident when Blake was 14 and that is what inspired this song. This was written by Blake and Miranda Lambert one night when he opened up to her about his feelings about his brother's death and how he's never quite gotten over it. And anyone who has ever lost someone who meant a lot to them knows exactly what that feels like. This is the kind of song that is so personal, in such a painful way, that there is no way Blake Shelton could ever do it. So Miranda did and in doing so, this song became an act of love. "Over You" is Blake's way of honoring his brother and Miranda's way of honoring her husband and I think it's beautiful. I almost don't want to pick it apart because of that, but I'm going to.
Lyrically, what I like about this song is that it's not trying too hard. There's a simplicity to the lyrics; they weren't looking to write a flowery poetic piece of music and that's not what you'll find here. The words are real. They're honest. They're true. The whole song is sad, but it's the second verse that really hit me: "Living alone here in this place/ I think of you, and I'm not afraid/ Your favorite records make me feel better/ Cause you sing along/ With every song/ I know you didn't mean to give them to me". That last line especially. I really like the concept of this song as a whole. The idea that you never get over the ones who have passed away really struck a chord with me on a personal level and there's a couple of people that this makes me think of and I relate in a very real way. As many listeners will.
Musically, I love that this was not overly produced because I feel that that would've ruined it. This was beautifully produced and features some very nice playing by the musicians. This is another example of music that serves to kind of cradle and support the lyric. I particularly like the guitar part in this. I'd imagine that some people are going to see this as boring, but honestly I feel like this is the way it needed to be. Less is more in this instance.
What sells this song, however, is not the music: it's Miranda's delivery which is just perfect. There's a difference between a singer simply singing the lyric and a singer living it. I can hear the pain and sadness in her voice, a little bit of anger at the appropriate times. It's the kind of emotion that just can't be faked. I believe that she was really feeling it. I love the restraint I feel she has in the choruses, she could've gone for a more powerful vocal there but didn't and I'm happy she didn't. It's just a beautiful delivery for a beautiful song. This is Miranda Lambert at her strongest, I feel.
"Part of getting over it is knowing that you will never get over it."
- Ann Finger
"He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than the living man."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life. The word is love."
- Sophocles
Okay, so this is a pretty different kind of opening for me, I admit. I was listening to "Over You" on repeat as I do and was thinking about what the song is about and what it is and that gave me the idea to look up some quotes about love and loss and pain and music. There are so many great quotes out there that it was hard to narrow it down, but I'm pretty happy with what I chose. All of the above seem to apply to this song. Before you continue to my thoughts on the song, I'd like you to take a second or two and read them again. I invite you to take another second or so to think about what they mean. Go with me here.
In my opinion, the greatest songs are the ones that are the most real, the ones that come from a place in the songwriter(s) that few people ever get to see. The ones that seem to come from the soul. The ones that are so open and honest that they feel raw almost. To me, they are the greatest because they speak to us in a way that other songs can't. And this is one of those songs.
As some country fans may know, Blake Shelton's brother Richie was killed in a car accident when Blake was 14 and that is what inspired this song. This was written by Blake and Miranda Lambert one night when he opened up to her about his feelings about his brother's death and how he's never quite gotten over it. And anyone who has ever lost someone who meant a lot to them knows exactly what that feels like. This is the kind of song that is so personal, in such a painful way, that there is no way Blake Shelton could ever do it. So Miranda did and in doing so, this song became an act of love. "Over You" is Blake's way of honoring his brother and Miranda's way of honoring her husband and I think it's beautiful. I almost don't want to pick it apart because of that, but I'm going to.
Lyrically, what I like about this song is that it's not trying too hard. There's a simplicity to the lyrics; they weren't looking to write a flowery poetic piece of music and that's not what you'll find here. The words are real. They're honest. They're true. The whole song is sad, but it's the second verse that really hit me: "Living alone here in this place/ I think of you, and I'm not afraid/ Your favorite records make me feel better/ Cause you sing along/ With every song/ I know you didn't mean to give them to me". That last line especially. I really like the concept of this song as a whole. The idea that you never get over the ones who have passed away really struck a chord with me on a personal level and there's a couple of people that this makes me think of and I relate in a very real way. As many listeners will.
Musically, I love that this was not overly produced because I feel that that would've ruined it. This was beautifully produced and features some very nice playing by the musicians. This is another example of music that serves to kind of cradle and support the lyric. I particularly like the guitar part in this. I'd imagine that some people are going to see this as boring, but honestly I feel like this is the way it needed to be. Less is more in this instance.
What sells this song, however, is not the music: it's Miranda's delivery which is just perfect. There's a difference between a singer simply singing the lyric and a singer living it. I can hear the pain and sadness in her voice, a little bit of anger at the appropriate times. It's the kind of emotion that just can't be faked. I believe that she was really feeling it. I love the restraint I feel she has in the choruses, she could've gone for a more powerful vocal there but didn't and I'm happy she didn't. It's just a beautiful delivery for a beautiful song. This is Miranda Lambert at her strongest, I feel.
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