Blog Assignment #5: Song Deconstruction

"Kiss Me" by: The Cranberries

"Kiss Me" Cover by: Jason Walker

I first heard the song “Kiss Me” when I was very young. It was in the 90’s that it came out by The Cranberries and I fell in love with the upbeat song. Recently though, I found Jason Walker’s cover of the song and I fell in love with his version. Though these artists play the same song, they couldn’t be any more different in style.

First off, The Cranberries version of the song has an upbeat and fun rhythm. When listening to the lyrics, it feels as though the meaning is more cute and relaxing. It has many instruments including a bass guitar, multiple other guitars, an accordion, drums, and vocals. This makes for a complex song with many layers to it. Therefore, the depth is quite large. Also, the song’s tempo is moderate. Not too fast to make it intense or too slow to make it depressing. The Cranberries’ version of “Kiss Me” has multiple instrumentations driving the song, such as the guitar, bass, and drums. With these attributes, The Cranberries made a song that is quite relaxing. A perfect song for a summer day.

And then there is Jason Walker’s version of the song. He decided to go the complete opposite direction and make his cover have a sad, sorrowful and depressing groove. His tempo is slow, using instruments such as the piano and violin to make the song emotional. The lyrics are also more meaningful in his version. Unlike The Cranberries, Jason Walker does not have much depth. He only uses three instruments (Piano, violin, and vocals), yet this simple instrumentation leads for a more sorrowful tone. Also, he starts off with not much height to the song. As the song progresses though, he adds the violin and a woman’s voice to add height to the song. With this, the emotion becomes greater when listening to the song.

Though I love both versions of the song, I would have to say that Jason Walker has stolen my heart with this version of “Kiss Me.” I loved how he turned an upbeat song into a sorrowful yet beautiful piece of work. Also, I love songs with piano and violins, so it’s obvious that I love his version better.