Norwegian artist Susanna has shared a beautiful interpretation of Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’. It’s the third track to be shared from Go Dig My Grave, Susanna’s 12th album; a project between Susanna, Swiss baroque harp player Giovanna Pessi, accordion player Ida Hidle and fiddle player/folk singer Tuva Syvertsen. The quartet has reworked ten songs from seemingly disparate worlds of old English ballads, traditional American folk music, poetry, and interpretations of modern classics such as ‘Perfect Day’.
Susanna’s version is slow and ethereal, cutting to the emotional core of the song. It starts off like the soundtrack to a fairytale, with just her voice and the harp strings. As the song progresses, there is slight discord under the beauty, slowly introduced by the instruments. This expresses the alternative reality in the song; the sadness in the vagaries of life – “I thought I was someone new; someone good.” The evocative instrumentation behind Susanna’s voice artfully lifts and seduces, leading us to the moment of reflection in the finale, “You’re going to reap just what you sow.”
With an accompanying video depicting a Perfect Day between a couple on a winter’s day in Oslo before Christmas, this is the perfect song and video for a perfect moment in time, allowing us to pause and enjoy the people in our lives while they are still here with us. Lou Reed would approve of this haunting version of his eternal song.
Go Dig My Grave is out 9th February via SusannaSonata.
Fi Ni Aicead
@gotnomoniker
