Because of its opening verse, a lot of people think The Wallflowers’ biggest hit “One Headlight” is about the death of a friend due to the lyrics of the first verse. But the consensus seems to be that the death that opens the song is more of a metaphor for a spiritual death. Regardless of what kind of death it’s about, the song’s upbeat chorus and the pulsating bass throughout the song don’t really fit that theme. They do fit the theme of perseverance in the chorus, of course.
Mackenzie Shivers is a singer-songwriter from New York City. She’s put out a couple of albums in the last few years and recently released a slow piano cover of “One Headlight” that definitely leans more towards the theme of death.
Shivers’ cover opens with solitary piano, a far cry from the tremolo guitar, drums and pulsating bass that opens the original. She sings the lyrics of the verses slowly and ethereally, as if she’s taking Jakob Dylan’s lyrics entirely literally. At the end of the first verse she is joined by an electric guitar.
For the chorus, Shivers whispers the lyrics and omits the title of the song on her two passes. For the second chorus, she double-tracks the whisper which gives it a haunting feel.
But on her third repetition of the chorus, she sings it and this time she does include the title, which she delivers melismatically. For the last verse she alternates between singing and the whisper she only used for the chorus before.
It’s a stark, pretty rendition anchored by that repetitive piano and Shivers’ dextrous vocal performance. It rarely resembles the original – except for once during the chorus – and it feels very much inspired by a literal reading of the opening verse. The result is a very different song than the original.
