Cover Connection: For No One

There are lots of times when the cover version of a song is far superior to the original version. Johnny Cash's version of "Hurt" is a good example. Even Trent Reznor concedes that Cash "made the song his own" (to borrow a phrase from Paula Abdul).
Another song where that applies is the Beatles' classic "For No One" from the Revolver album.
Frankly I always hated the song. I thought it was just a bit of Paul McCartney fluff, not far removed from the ghastly Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da as far as I was concerned. But then, years later I heard the song done by Ricke Lee Jones on her album It's Like This. It was a revelation. This was the way the song should have been done the first time.
McCartney's version of the song features a jaunty little melody and bouncy lyrics about... about the breakup of a relationship? Wha? A happy tune about such a dark time? Talk about a lyric/melody mismatch.
Jones, on the other hand, slows the song down and brings a level of emotion to the song that Sir Paul never approached. A good part of that is due to her vocals which are painful (and I mean that in a good way). When she sings, "And in her eyes you see nothing, no sign of love behind the tears, cried for no one, a love that should have lasted years," the pain of a love gone sour is there. Now it's one of my favorites.

Listen here:

For No One, The Beatles

For No One, Rickie Lee Jones