Sad-Boi Special: Billie Eilish's Cover Of Yesterday
- Killjoy Reviews
- Jul 31, 2020
- 2 min read
By Dylan Shulman
Spun from a dream, it's the most covered song of all time. One of many flawless gems in songwriting pulled from Paul McCartney, the original track is simply vocals, acoustic guitar, and of course, a string accompaniment. It tells a tale of time taking a love, and some think it refers to McCartney's late mother, while others assume it recalls a lost romantic partner. Regardless, it's a song that presses on your chest. The 2020 Oscars occurred soon after the world was rocked by the sudden death of legend Kobe Bryant, and they picked the saddest girl in pop to sing the saddest song in his honor and in the honor of others who have been laid to rest. The song is short and sweet, cuts right to the heart, and is over before it starts.
Paul McCartney was 21 when he made his first American live performance with The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. It started a pop craze in the United States that may never be topped, and McCartney hadn't even written this song until 1965. Billie Eilish was 18 when she won five Grammy's and then performed the song live in the following weeks in front of the entire world. There's something to be said for the new queen of pop covering this song, written by one of the kings of pop decades before she was even born. And, she kills it. Her ethereal voice floats over the timeworn melody like it's brand new, with her brother Finneas' piano creating a helpful rigidity to the song, like McCartney's acoustic long ago. The strings return, swelling with emotion at all the right moments.
The only reason this isn't a perfect track is because it was never put to task in a studio, refined in production, and made into something truly pristine. It shouldn't be this hard to find on YouTube, either. This cover is a bonafide, chill-inducing sad-boi classic.
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