You Can’t Give Me The Dreams That Were Mine Anyway

Aurora “Half the World Away”

This is an old Oasis song, a b-side from the “Whatever” single that eventually become better known than the a-side in that “Noel Gallagher couldn’t stop relegating his best tunes to bonus tracks at his peak” way. The original was sung by Noel and has a ragged charm to it, as though he just rolled out of bed and casually knocked it out on his acoustic guitar and electric piano. This cover by a young Norwegian singer takes a more refined approach to the song – her voice is more traditionally beautiful, and there’s gently swelling strings that give it a Disney-ish sentimentality. If this version nudged any further in any direction it’d be a bit too twee or mawkish, but the balance is just right and it’s quite moving. Gallagher’s original comes from a very sincere place, but there’s a bit of an ironic shrug to it, as though he’s not ready to be totally vulnerable but doing his best. This version totally owns the conflicted emotion of the song, and my heart breaks a bit every time I hear her sing “I’ve been lost, I’ve been found, but I don’t feel down.”

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