Bragg said his rendition ended up being "a mash-up between 'Only the Young' and 'Levi Stubbs' Tears'"
Billy Bragg has shared his charity cover of Taylor Swift‘s ‘Only The Young’ — watch him perform the track below.
Bragg announced last week that he intended to cover a Swift song as part of the ‘Covers For Others’ fundraising series, which is raising money for the Royal College of Nursing Foundation’s COVID-19 Support Fund.
Uploading his take on the Miss Americana-accompanying track online yesterday (May 31), Bragg revealed that he chose to cover Swift after a closely contested fan vote saw ‘Only The Young’ narrowly seeing off competition from Jackson Browne‘s ‘Before the Deluge’.
My cover of @taylorswift13 'Only the Young' for @coversforothers ended up being a mash-up of her song + 'Levi Stubbs' Tears' + her statement condemning Trump for stoking the fires of white supremacy. If you missed it live on Facebook last night here it is https://t.co/KjyrJEEEIs
— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) May 31, 2020
“When I sat down to learn how to play the song, it came out as a mash-up between ‘Only the Young’ and ‘Levi Stubbs’ Tears’,” Bragg explained in a description that accompanied the YouTube upload of his cover, referencing his own 1986 single.
“The same day, Taylor posted a powerful statement on Twitter calling out the white supremacy and racism inherent in Donald Trump’s condemnation of rioters protesting the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, so I tagged that onto the end of the song too.”
Bragg confirmed that the fan vote for his ‘Covers For Others’ contribution raised £1707 for the RCN Foundation’s COVID-19 Support Fund, which is providing wellbeing support to healthcare workers during the coronavirus outbreak.
Bragg recently acclaimed Swift as “a kindred spirit”, with the two having struck up a friendship after meeting at the NME Awards 2020.
The post Watch Billy Bragg cover Taylor Swift’s ‘Only The Young’ appeared first on NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM.
