I loved this exquisite music moment too. So beautifully described here. I had tears welling up too. Feeling all the layers of this song, and even more in awe of Tracy Chapman’s legendary talent and Luke Combs’ moving tribute to her and deep respect. One of those moments when you know you’re witnessing magic. So glad to see it live on the Grammy Awards along with so many other incredibly moving performances too numerous to name in one comment! Coolest Grammy’s ever.
I've only seen this clip and Annie Lennox's trbute to Sinéad, but those two alone made it seem like a very different awards night. I didn't see it live--I read about it courtesy of someone who objected to anyone but Tracy Chapman singing the song. I get that, certainly. His argument was that the song loses something if you take it out of its original context as a song about a Black woman's experience, and I see that, but while I will always prefer the original, I also think Combs couldn't possibly have had more respect for her or for the song, and that art doesn't exist in a vacuum. It has to be allowed to breathe and grow, and be reinterpreted.
My mom, who among other things was a choir director at one point, once told me that once you put your music out into the world, you lose control of it. Anyone can pick up a piece of sheet music and play it whatever way they want, and there's nothing you can do about it. I experienced the same thing when I wrote a 10-minute play and it was performed in a very different style than I expected (which rankled me when I first heard about it, but I ended up liking the production a lot). You have to be willing to give up control if you're going to put it out there and allow for other possibilities to grow out of what you created.
I loved this exquisite music moment too. So beautifully described here. I had tears welling up too. Feeling all the layers of this song, and even more in awe of Tracy Chapman’s legendary talent and Luke Combs’ moving tribute to her and deep respect. One of those moments when you know you’re witnessing magic. So glad to see it live on the Grammy Awards along with so many other incredibly moving performances too numerous to name in one comment! Coolest Grammy’s ever.
I've only seen this clip and Annie Lennox's trbute to Sinéad, but those two alone made it seem like a very different awards night. I didn't see it live--I read about it courtesy of someone who objected to anyone but Tracy Chapman singing the song. I get that, certainly. His argument was that the song loses something if you take it out of its original context as a song about a Black woman's experience, and I see that, but while I will always prefer the original, I also think Combs couldn't possibly have had more respect for her or for the song, and that art doesn't exist in a vacuum. It has to be allowed to breathe and grow, and be reinterpreted.
My mom, who among other things was a choir director at one point, once told me that once you put your music out into the world, you lose control of it. Anyone can pick up a piece of sheet music and play it whatever way they want, and there's nothing you can do about it. I experienced the same thing when I wrote a 10-minute play and it was performed in a very different style than I expected (which rankled me when I first heard about it, but I ended up liking the production a lot). You have to be willing to give up control if you're going to put it out there and allow for other possibilities to grow out of what you created.