Holly Macve has shared her take on Joni Mitchell’s ‘River’.
The songwriter recently returned with her first album in three years, the joyous, often revelatory ‘Wonderland’. Closing her year on a high, Holly Macve has just shared a cover of Joni Mitchell’s mid-winter staple ‘River’.
The lyrics are thought to have been prompted by the close of her relationship with English artist Graham Nash, while the melody interpolates aspects of ‘Jingle Bells’ into something both moving and comforting.
In Holly Macve’s hands, ‘River’ is played straight, with the emphasise on her own melodic ambitions, helping to add individual aspects to her performance.
She comments…
I think Joni won when she wrote this song (along with many others…). I don’t think it’s easy to write a classy Christmas song that is in equal parts sad, beautiful, nostalgic and comforting, but she managed it. I always come back to this song around this time of year and I love to sing it, so it only felt right to share.
Time to fall for Joni’s evocative lyrics all over again…
It’s coming on Christmas
They’re cutting down trees
They’re putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
Tune in now.
Photo Credit: Laura-Mary Carter
