Ethan Hawke & Maya Hawke Cover Willie Nelson’s ‘We Don’t Run’ For Light In the Attic Compilation
Ethan Hawke and daughter Maya Hawke share one of their family’s beloved go-to playlist tracks on an upcoming Record Store Day Black Friday compilation Light in the Attic & Friends. The compilation, due out on Nov. 24, features covers of songs released on the reissue label including the Hawkes’ hushed take on Willie Nelson’s “We Don’t Run.”
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The song appeared on the country icon’s bare bones 1996 Spirit album and in a statement, Ethan Hawke explained, “This song is off Willie’s brilliant album Spirit, which has been a mainstay in our home since it was released in 1996. Everybody needs a good anthem song. This is one of the best.”
The Hawke family Nelson cover opens with Ethan singing over gently picked acoustic guitar, “You are the road, you are the only way/ I’ll follow you forever more/ We’ll look for love, we’ll find it in the eyes/ The eyes that see through all the doors.”
Maya then comes in for the third verse, matching her dad’s hushed, vulnerable vocals with the lines, “There is a train that races through the night/ On rails of steel that reach the soul/ Fueled by fire as soft as candle light/ But it warms the heart of a love grown cold.”
The family then comes together for the inspiring chorus, “We don’t run, we don’t compromise/ We don’t quit, we never do/ We look for love, we find it in the eyes/ The eyes of me and the eyes of you.”
Stranger Things star Maya released her sophomore studio album, Moss, last month, which she said was “super inspired” by Taylor Swift’s Folklore. Dad Ethan has long kept a hand in music, from directing the 1994 video for Lisa Loeb’s breakthrough hit, “Stay (I Missed You),” to his 2014 documentary debut with “Seymour: An Introduction,” a profile of classical pianist/composer Seymour Bernstein. He also portrayed a fictional musician in the 2018 film Juliet, Naked and directed the biopic of obscure country singer Blaze Foley in that year’s Blaze; he also portrayed jazz icon Chet Baker in 2015’s Born to Be Blue
In a statement about the collection, archival label Light in the Attic said it has long sought to spotlight the “most unique — and often forgotten — voices” in music. “We believe that an essential component of archival work, aside from simply honoring the music, is to seek ways in which to bring fresh perspectives, context, and reverence to the original artists and their work,” said LITA Founder and co-owner Matt Sullivan. The 20-track collection collections LITA’s 7″ vinyl and digital singles from its Cover Series, in which contemporary artists pay tribute to their favorite LITA artists and songs.
Among the other notable covers are Iggy Pop & Zig Zags covering funk queen Betty Davis’ “If I’m in Luck I Might Get Picked Up,” Mac DeMarco taking on Japanese pop singer/songwriter Haruomi Hosono’s “Honey Moon” and Swamp Dogg, John C. Reilly, Jenny Lewis and Tim Heidecker doing the Louvin Brothers’ “The Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea.” The collection also includes covers by Vashti Bunyan and Devendra Banhart, late Screaming Trees singer and solo star Mark Lanegan and Angel Olsen, among others.
Listen to the Hawkes sing “We Don’t Run” and see the Friends announcement below.
Billboard
Billboard
