Last night in bed I thought of a story I'd read years ago about how at 3AM
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
was given 15 minutes to arrive at the studio. Initially the studio manager was closing down and suggested they record the next day. But Isreal insisted, saying that he"had an idea."
He arrived and recorded what is now the most popular and recognizable version of
Over the Rainbow
in one take. I had even thought until just now that this was the original and that everybody else was covering this version.
I thought of how he really did have an idea. Whatever his week or day had been like, something had gone through him like air flowing through trees. Some substance had gifted itself onto him and he captured it in the middle of the night.
Even though he was covering an existing song, the substance he captured was original. Laying in bed I was in awe by how far that substance has traveled across time and people. Borders and cultures. Across languages and biases.
That's a great version EXCEPT for the end where he starts dogging it with those grunts, and the sound engineer agreed because the song quickly fades out at that point. 😂
