American indie-rocker Lucy Dacus has her first ever Auckland show and recently shared her bilingual version of Edith Piaf's ‘La Vie En Rose’ for Valentines day.
“['La Vie En Rose'] has always been one of my favourite songs,” Lucy says, en-route from Texas to Oklahoma.
She says that, knowing the original couldn’t be improved on, she just wanted to capture the excitement that it makes her feel.
“I imagine someone running to it, to the doorstep of someone they love.”
Since the song was originally written in 1945, it has reached the top of the billboard charts at least seven times, with covers by Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong and Grace Jones.
“It’s such a beautiful expression of love” Dacus explains.
“I really respect that acknowledgement of sweetness - it’s not asking for anything from the people involved, it’s a love that’s completely content with itself. A lot of love songs are setting up rules, or asking for more, or there’s obsession or qualifiers.
“But this is a song just about the feeling of the whole world brightening up because you have someone that you love in it.”
She says that the most romantic thing she’s ever done for someone is writing them a song.
“I’ve never recorded it, and I don’t love that person anymore, I think they suck.”
That person is the object of Night Shift, the epic break-up song that opens Dacus’ second album Historian, which made many end-of-year lists.
Reflecting on the year since that album came out, she says that she feels "at peace with having it out there".
"I feel like I've said something that is integral to who I am. I was a little anxious after [her debut] No Burden came out because I didn't feel like it was the full story of who I am. And I really wanted to help people get to know me at a base level, so the fans know who they're supporting."
"You can listen to the most core questions that I have, and answers that I've come to for myself. It contains what I want everyone to know about me, and I needed to say those things before I could say anything else. "
Lucy Dacus Photo: supplied
‘La Vie En Rose’ is the first of a series of singles Dacus will release this year, on special days. There will be an original song she’s written about her Mother, for mothers day, and a mix of covers and originals for July 4th, Bruce Springsteen’s birthday (September 23), Halloween, Christmas and New Years Eve.
It’s a genius marketing move that will see her as a constant presence in our Spotify playlists this year, though it wasn’t intended that way.
“I’ve just been recording these songs not really knowing what would happen to them, and I didn’t think of them as holiday songs until they were done.”
The finished collection will form an EP called 2019.
Lucy Dacus plays Thursday 4th April At the Tuning Fork, Auckland.
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