# Cover songs that are better than the originals **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2003, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159 "2003-03-05T03:00:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/41 "2003-03-05T08:04:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ender\_Will \* > \*\* > [li]Blues Traveller-“Gin and Juice”[/li] \*\* If you’re thinking of the bluegrassy version of this, it wasn’t Blues Traveler, it was The Gourds. I have the CD. I’ve also seen it online attributed to a good dozen other groups. If there’s a BT version I haven’t heard, disregard this post. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/42 "2003-03-05T08:12:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by New & Improved Scott \* > \*\*I’m a big fan of **Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies** , who do punk covers of a lot of songs, like “Leavin’ on a Jet Plane”, “Rocket Man”, and “The Rainbow Connection”. \*\* Second that. Especially with “Rocket Man” and “Danny’s Song,” I hate the originals versions but can’t get enough of the covers. And I can tell this is going to make me lose all my street cred (as well as any guy points), but I have to say I really like all the covers done by **Sixpence None the Richer** , while I actively disliked the originals. “There She Goes” is the only one I can think of now, but I know that there are a couple others that always get played in the trailers to chick flicks. ANd I totally agree with the _Moulin Rouge_ version of “Your Song” being infinitely better than the original. ---
**Author:** ![Wordy\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d2c977/32.png) [@Wordy\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wordy_One)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/43 "2003-03-05T08:32:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SolGrundy \* > \*\* I really like all the covers done by **Sixpence None the Richer** , while I actively disliked the originals. “There She Goes” is the only one I can think of now, but I know that there are a couple others that always get played in the trailers to chick flicks. > \*\* They did a cover of Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” which I find vastly _inferior_ to the original, but that’s another thread. 🙂 I particularly like Teenage Fanclub’s version of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.” ---
**Author:** ![Hepcat421](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/34f0e0/32.png) [@Hepcat421](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hepcat421)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/44 "2003-03-05T09:05:07Z")
Five incredible covers that IMO blow the originals away. Snake River Conspiracy - How Soon Is Now (The Smiths) Spineshank - While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles) Siouxsie & The Banshees - Trust In Me (Richard and Robert Sherman - Disney’s The Jungle Book) Digital Assassins - Night Of The Living Baseheads (Public Enemy) Machinehead - Message In A Bottle (The Police/Sting) ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/45 "2003-03-05T13:43:09Z")
Man, I’m shaking my head in disbelief at some of these suggestions. To each his own, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/46 "2003-03-05T13:48:59Z")
Me, too, **Legomancer** - and I’m really chuckling over **RawkStah’s** creeping old age, given that I attended my first rock concert (Aerosmith) in 1977. The only contribution I can think of to add to this thread is Elvis Costello’s cover of the Dionne Warwick song “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again.” ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/47 "2003-03-05T14:06:25Z")
Eva Cassidy’s cover of Cyndi Lauper’s _Time after Time_. Cyndi did a great job with it (it’s one of the two songs she wrote that I can stand), but Eva’s version made me cry. Granted, they were burying Whitney’s father in the rain on _Smallville,_ but still. Great cover. ---
**Author:** ![dinahmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/48 "2003-03-05T14:23:42Z")
Phish does a great cover of the Beasties’ “Sabotage.” Also, a very…unique cover of “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit’ It.” ---
**Author:** ![Woeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Woeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woeg)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/49 "2003-03-05T14:27:39Z")
The Cure’s “Love Song” covered by Snake River Conspiracy (fantastic!) Depeche Mode’s “Stripped” covered by Rammstein U2’s “New Year’s Day” covered by Front Line Assembly, with Tiffany on vocals. Madonna’s “Material Girl” covered by KMFDM Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” covered by The Cure Gary Numan’s “Are Friends Electric?” covered by Information Society Information Society’s “Closing In” covered by Rosetta Stone Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” covered by Cake Rolling Stones’ “Painted Black” covered by Mephisto Walz The Police’s “Roxanne” by the cast of Moulin Rouge! Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Phantom of the Opera” by Blink 182 Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by The Sisters of Mercy Just to name a few… Did I mention that I collect cover songs? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/50 "2003-03-05T14:29:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hepcat421 \* > \*\*Five incredible covers that IMO blow the originals away. > > Snake River Conspiracy - How Soon Is Now (The Smiths) > \*\* :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/51 "2003-03-05T14:34:07Z")
Ive heard plenty of covers that i preferred to the “originals”, I put that in quotes because in these situations, I hear the cover first, so I get jarred by hearing the original. But as for songs I’ve heard first in the original and still prefer the cover, the one that pops into mind is “Dancing Days”, STP’s cover of Led Zep. SNR’s cover of How Soon is Now is the worst version I’ve heard (I’ve heard at least 4, by SNR, the Smiths and of course Love Spit Love, and i forget who else, no, not everclear.) ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/52 "2003-03-05T14:34:58Z")
I know you won’t agree, and I don’t know if it was ever recorded, but I saw Toni Tennille on Midnight Special once sing Natural Woman, and I think it was done better than the original. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/53 "2003-03-05T14:35:28Z")
oops, SNR = Snake River Conspiracy, sorry ---
**Author:** ![Winnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e480ec/32.png) [@Winnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnie)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/54 "2003-03-05T14:38:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by New & Improved Scott \* > \*\*I’m a big fan of **Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies** , who do punk covers of a lot of songs, like “Leavin’ on a Jet Plane”, “Rocket Man”, and “The Rainbow Connection”. \*\* Whoo hoo! I was waiting to see if someone brought up **Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies** before I posted! Love these guys… my favorite covers of theirs are **Walk Like An Egyptian** and **Hotel California**. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/55 "2003-03-05T15:02:54Z")
**Nickel Creek** ’s cover of _I Should’ve Known Better_ takes a mundane pop song and makes it something worth playing over and over. ---
**Author:** ![S\_Puppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@S\_Puppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/S_Puppy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/56 "2003-03-05T15:37:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Philosophocles \* > \*\*Mr. Tambourine Man–sure the Byrds did alright, but Shatner really brought out the true paranoid delusional angst of what seemed like a simple mellow hippie tune. \*\* Didn’t all of Mr Shatner’s song interpretations bring out something that hadn’t been seen in the song before? ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/57 "2003-03-05T16:44:54Z")
the Stranglers do a bitchen version of ‘Walk On By.’ Anyone heard it? ---
**Author:** ![Woeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Woeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woeg)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/58 "2003-03-05T17:25:31Z")
Essvee!!! You mean someone else in this world likes the Stranglers besides me??? Holy Sh!t!!! 😃 [hijack] Meninblack is my favorite tune by the Stranglers, followed by Time to Die. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/59 "2003-03-05T18:19:17Z")
Some I haven’t seen mentioned yet: **U2** , “Merry Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” – originally by one of those Phil Spector girl groups that I can never keep separated in my head. (Yes, I know I’m a heretic for saying this, but I don’t care.) **Elvis Costello** , “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” – the Animals, I think **Fountains of Wayne** , “Better Days” --a minor, late Kinks song that they make absolutely wonderful **Tanya Donelly** , “Trust In Me” – whoever did the voice of the snake in Disney’s _The Jungle Book_ **The Ramones** , “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” --Tom Waits. Ramones covers are _always_ better than the originals – it’s a law. But Waits’s own “Jersey Girl” kicks Springsteen’s ass. **Elvis Costello** , “Withered and Died” – Richard & Linda Thompson and that’s probably enough obscure crap no one has ever heard of for now… ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159/60 "2003-03-05T18:54:28Z")
The Mary Tyler Moore Show theme song, covered by Joan Jett. The Carpenters’ **Top of the World** , covered by Shonen Knife. Aerosmith’s **Walk This Way** covered by Run DMC (can’t believe I didn’t see this one posted by someone else). The Bobby Fuller Four’s **I Fought the Law** covered by Black 47 (I saw a couple of references to the Clash’s version, but that’s nothing to what Black 47 does with the song). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-are-better-than-the-originals/159159.md?page=4)