# Covers that made a song happier or more upbeat **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2006, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311 "2006-05-18T20:23:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/21 "2006-05-19T07:11:29Z")
Candy Dulfer did a cheerful version of Miles Davis’s “So What?” Sheryl Crow pepped up GnR’s “Sweet Child of Mine.” I’m at a loss to find the “original” version of “Iko Iko.” Some sources call it a Traditional, some trace it back only to the 1950s. But the three covers of it I’ve heard. by Dr. John, Belle Stars and Zap Mama, all get progressively more upbeat, and those are not happy lyrics. “Man of Constant Sorrow” belongs on here somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/22 "2006-05-19T07:38:49Z")
First: There were the morose undertones of **Siouxsie and the Banshees** original 1980 version oh [Happy House](http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE47819D949AE7620CE9D374ACBA170F91ED247DA971F28455A92B63E45910579F44FF09D94EFB670AB78A6E02CA45A099FC9E454F8D662342DFC93&sql=50:2v8n1tg3zzba~T) Some 20+ years later, **Ginger Ale** ’s happier & peppier [Electronic Cover](http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE47819D949AE7620CE9D374ACBA170F91ED247DA971F28455A92B63E45910579F44FF09D94EFB670AB78A6E02CA45A099FC9E457FFD6653F2DFC93&sql=50:qsu364p471u0~T) pushed the upbeat envelope. ---
**Author:** ![M.Meursault](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@M.Meursault](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/M.Meursault)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/23 "2006-05-19T12:12:58Z")
Blind Melon had a very cheery cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Candy Says.” If you wanted to, you could actually dance to the Blind Melon version. There are also a couple of Richard Cheese covers that turn bleak/sad/stupid songs into something you want to swing to: “Down with the Sickness,” “Creep,” or “Loser” (by some stupid screaming band, Radiohead, and Beck, respectively). ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/24 "2006-05-19T16:30:33Z")
**Lama Pacos,** the point I’m making is that it’s IMPOSSIBLE for the Sixpence cover to be faithful to the original. Sixpence’s is a poppy love song of devotion. The original is an absolutely wrenching look into the longing and dedication that goes with unshakeable addiction. Sixpence have no way whatsoever to connect to that, no way to express that, and so their version, while musically almost congruent, has none of the merit of the original. Although they are almost identical, The La’s version is NOT upbeat, while Sixpence’s IS, simply by nature of who they are, and they ruined the song because of it. It’s not the music notes that make the song upbeat or depressing, it’s the meaning. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/25 "2006-05-19T17:00:10Z")
Happier, more upbeat cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colours” was done by Phil Collins. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/26 "2006-05-19T17:04:42Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] I’m at a loss to find the “original” version of “Iko Iko.” Some sources call it a Traditional, some trace it back only to the 1950s. But the three covers of it I’ve heard. by Dr. John, Belle Stars and Zap Mama, all get progressively more upbeat, and those are not happy lyrics. [/QUOTE] Try the Greatful Dead version. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/27 "2006-05-19T17:06:55Z")
Er, [Grateful Dead](http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=3407747&title=Reckoning+%5bDigipak%5d&artist=Grateful+Dead). ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/28 "2006-05-19T17:09:31Z")
In the movie “As Good As It Gets,” Jack Nicholson is constantly playing a cover of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” in an upbeat, played-straight manner. You’d never guess that it was originally an ironic song sungby cricified people in Monty Python’s “Life of Brian”. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/29 "2006-05-19T17:14:47Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller] In the movie “As Good As It Gets,” Jack Nicholson is constantly playing a cover of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” in an upbeat, played-straight manner. You’d never guess that it was originally an ironic song sungby cricified people in Monty Python’s “Life of Brian”. [/QUOTE] Th recent cast recording of “Spamalot” has a very upbeat version of this song as its closing number (and they use it in the commercial). ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/30 "2006-05-19T17:22:03Z")
Rufus Wainwright covered “Hallelujah” for the Shrek 2 soundtrack and tried to make it an upbeat song. Which, if you’ve watched the West Wing, is impossible. Jeff Buckley’s tortured, haunting cover of the song plays behind Secret Service agent Simon Donovan being shot during an armed robbery and C.J. Cregg’s subsequent tearful walk around downtown Manhattan. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/31 "2006-05-19T17:25:29Z")
**Krokodil** , if the Dead is still to upbeat, try [Mary Knysh](http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=3281058&title=Walk+About&artist=Mary+Knysh) or [Joanne Griffith](http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=3141398&title=Y%c3%83%c2%b4y%c3%83%c2%aa&artist=Joanne+Griffith). ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/32 "2006-05-19T17:32:29Z")
[QUOTE=pinkfreud] Bobby Darin’s version of “Mack the Knife” was a helluva lot more cheerful than the original. [/QUOTE] I had to hear Lyle Lovett’s version to really get the meaning behind the words. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/33 "2006-05-19T18:26:03Z")
[QUOTE=Yookeroo] > [@robardin](#): > > **Bananananarama** ’s (sorry, I got carried away typing) cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “A Hazy Shade of Winter”. Brrrr. I think you mean **the Bangles**. [/QUOTE] You’re quite likely right… Though apparently Bananarama also did a cover, as it is listed [on their Greatest Hits compilation](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000273M/002-9051341-7751220?v=glance&n=5174), so I’m not 100% sure which 80s-girl-band cover version I am hearing in my head. Double brrr!!! ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/34 "2006-05-19T18:31:31Z")
Rudy Vallee’s cover of “Brother, Can you Spare a Dime?” made it all peppy and bouncy. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/35 "2006-05-19T19:00:37Z")
I’ve been listening to Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet’s Under the Covers Vol 1. She tends to be the lead on most songs and the following are a bit peppier for it: Cinnamon Girl The Kids Are Alright (!) I don’t think they are being ironical. ---
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/36 "2006-05-19T19:20:20Z")
Johnny Cash covered Nine Inch Nails, the name of the song escapes me but while it was still a depressing song. I can at least listen to his cover around my mom without her thinking I’m a satan worshipper 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/37 "2006-05-19T20:49:23Z")
[QUOTE=brianjedi] Rufus Wainwright covered “Hallelujah” for the Shrek 2 soundtrack and tried to make it an upbeat song. [/QUOTE] It’s been a while, but that version didn’t strike me as particularly upbeat. Wasn’t that during the longing-montage scene when Shrek and Fiona were separated? ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/38 "2006-05-19T20:58:38Z")
Fun Boy Three released “Our Lips Are Sealed.” The Go-Go’s released the same song shortly after. Two very different versions of the same song, written by Terry Hall (FBT) and Jane Wiedlin (GG). ---
**Author:** ![storyguide3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@storyguide3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyguide3)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/39 "2006-05-19T21:57:50Z")
Barenaked Ladies’ cover of Bruce Cockburn’s “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” is a tad peppier than the original. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311/40 "2006-05-19T22:17:08Z")
[QUOTE=ronincyberpunk] Johnny Cash covered Nine Inch Nails, the name of the song escapes me but while it was still a depressing song. I can at least listen to his cover around my mom without her thinking I’m a satan worshipper 😉 [/QUOTE] The only NIN song Cash covered AFAIK is Hurt. But ‘happy’ and ‘upbeat’ aren’t exactly how I’d describe it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-made-a-song-happier-or-more-upbeat/357311.md?page=3)