A cover version of Graceland from Paul Simon and Willie Nelson has been hailed as “the best version” of the song by fans.
The music legends joined forces for a performance of the song which has since been praised for pairing two unlikely voices together. Fans were thrilled by the overlap in quality from Simon and Nelson, whose work together was praised for having a “real energy”. An upload of the Graceland cover to YouTube has left listeners thrilled, with many suggesting the overlap of Nelson and Simon is just what the track needed. One person wrote: “This has to be one of the best versions of Graceland that I’ve ever heard. These two sound so good together. There’s a real energy between them, just watch them jamming together – no egos to stroke, just two epic musicians enjoying a moment of pure musical awesomeness. Love it.”
Another added: “Holy. Fuck. I’ve always liked this song and been a huge Paul Simon fan, and heard him talk about how much he likes this song. I just watched the version for the first time, and it clicked for me, and now I GET it. IT’S BRILLIANT.
“Thanks to Willie for connecting to the song in such a way that I understand the desperation behind a guy who is losing everything and says, ‘Fuck it. I’m going to Graceland as a desperate attempt to feel good about anything.'”
A third praised the two “giants” behind the cover and suggested it could be one of the “greatest” songs of all time. They wrote: “I cannot watch this enough… two giants from different genres performing one of the greatest songs ever! The ‘Mississippi Delta is shining like national guitar’ is one of the greatest lyrics ever!”
Others hope the audience realised what they had just witnessed in listening to the performance. The listener wrote: “I hope that the audience realised that they experienced one of the best events in the universe’s history.”
Another added: “This is great! I never realised how much of a country song this is. Willie’s voice sounds great on this song…gives me chills. They are both legends and American icons!!”
A third shared: “This is a pairing I never would have guessed on… yet to hear Willie and Paul do this and ‘Homeward Bound‘ is one of the more pleasant surprises I’ve had in a while. Indeed, two legends, two icons … and two men who play wonderfully together!”
Simon is no stranger to collaborating with music legends, with a series of performances in 1999 putting him on stage alongside Bob Dylan. The pair would perform the likes of The Boxer together, while also treating attendees to their greatest hits.
You can listen to Simon and Nelson perform Graceland below.
