The First Cut is the Deepest
I think this post safely falls under the category of pet peeve, so tune out now if you don’t care about my musical quirks.
Still interested? Good. So here’s the deal – as everyone over the age of 18 living in the western world knows, The First Cut is the Deepest is a classic Cat Stevens song. As everyone under the age of 40 knows, it was covered a while back by Sheryl Crow. I’m not going to argue about which version is better, that’s pointless. But Sheryl Crow’s version is not entirely faithful to the original lyrically. Her deviation from the original has intrigued me since I first heard it…
In the covered version, she omits one line from the chrous throughout the song. The original Cat Stevens chorus is:
The first cut is the deepest, baby I know
The first cut is the deepest
‘Cause when it comes to being lucky she’s cursed
When it comes to lovin’ me she’s worst
But when it comes to being loved she’s first
That’s how I know
Sheryl Crow chooses to omit the line “But when it comes to being loved she’s first” (or “he’s first” as it would be in her cover). Now I don’t mind singers messing with lyrics a little bit when they cover a song. It can make things interesting and fresh. The Disposable Heros of Hiphopracy’s cover of California Uber Alles has about zero lyrics in common with the Dead Kennedys original, yet it’s a fantastic cover.
It’s not that she omits the line that bothers me. That’s her perogative. But why does she do it? The line is so revealing. It clarifies the point of view of the song. It hightlights the pain, the risk, the emotional exposure. Yet Sheryl doesn’t go there. Not all the way. I want to know why.
Yeah I know, there’s no point to even thinking about this. Welcome to my anal obsessive world. Perhaps part of why it bothers me is that it’s the first thing that popped into my mind when I heard her cover version, yet in all the time it’s been out and all the spins it’s gotten on the radio, I’ve never heard anyone raise the question.