Aaron Espe: Everyday

I happened across a collection of cover songs by Aaron Espe last week. They’re all acoustic covers, all slowed down a bit… and it was his cover of Everyday by Buddy Holly that caught my ear.

I’m familiar with the song and even remember when I first heard about it – back in middle school, I think. I have this memory of studying the song in one of my music classes, circa 6th grade.

The original version by Holly is chipper, upbeat. I think of it as a sugary little song, representative of a lovesick teenager from the 50’s.

But there’s this shift in Espe’s cover that I really liked and latched onto. It’s weird because it’s nearly just one chord, just one word, that has me listening to his version over and over again.

Love like yours will surely come my way

It’s the shift that happens on the word way. I’m not certain, but I feel like it slides every so slightly into a minor key there. Right on that word. It resolves back to major two notes later. Maybe it’s not a minor shift, maybe it’s a … minor seventh? I dunno – something happens there and I really dig it.

With that change, right on that word, the whole song takes on more of a somber tone. Espe’s cover is slower, and his voice paired with an acoustic guitar helps to remove some of the sugar from the song. But it’s that note, that shift on the phrase “come my way” that really makes me look at this as an incredibly sad song.

I read over the lyrics a little more, and where I had heard optimism in the past… I now see a kind of sad, reluctant acceptance of unrequited love.

The phrase “love like yours” suggests to me that the singer will never be in a relationship with his beloved. His love is not returned, and so he’s looking ahead – looking beyond to some future time where he might receive a love that’s similar to what he hoped to receive.

It’s not a song saying “Some day you’ll love me.” Rather, it’s a song that says “Some day I’ll find someone who loves me how I hoped you would love me.”

To me, this interpretation balances on that musical shift that happens with the word “way.” It’s a dramatically different song for me now, and I’ve been listening to this over and over again, just so I can experience that little word, that little moment.

Related:
Commuting to Work: Every Day is a Train Ride
Roller Coaster Days
3 Years, 3 Minutes
EDEN: Billie Jean

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