Fresh Track: Tom Brosseau Covers Hank Williams “You Win Again”
There is something so, incredibly pure about Tom Brosseau’s voice. An airy, light quality that is…its…it just makes me smile. He has a distinct ability to capture you, the whole you, and pause you in time with his striking vocals and plaintive, wistful guitar style. Uncomplicated and effortless, words flow off his tongue and notes dance off of his finger tips. You could just as easily see Tom sitting in with the Watkins at the Family Hour or envision him on tour with the likes of Hank Williams 66 years ago. He is timeless…and he has gone and covered the lonesomest singer in country to great effect.
Brosseau takes on an entirely alternate feeling the emotion that good Ol’ Hank reflected in “You Win Again” all those years back. About the cover he says, “When it rained we played board games and listened to records on the record player. Doris Day, Mario Lanza, Jerry Lee Lewis. That’s where I first came across the song “You Win Again”, on a Jerry Lee record. His rendition in particular is thrilling. His piano playing, the 1950s slap-back effect on his voice, what you might call the Sun Records sound.” While Tom’s version likely won’t get anyone jumping up on top of a piano or throwing their dance partner to and fro, it is evocative of emotions just as deep and affecting. There is such beauty in the way in which he tackles a song, be it one of his own or a cover of such a classic. He manages to really make this song a “Tom Brosseau song” without it losing it luster, its distinguishability as such a established song in the history of folk and country music.
Tom continues, “I have carried “You Win Again” with me nearly all my life. It brings back good memories and happy days.” and while the general demeanor and tone of the track are of the slightly downtrodden, perhaps melancholy is a better descriptor, it makes me smile like Tom Brosseau always manages to do. Check it out below.
