Cover Story: Jeff Buckley, Lana Del Rey, and Being “The Other Woman”
Could any artist ever top Nina Simone’s heartbreaking cover of “The Other Woman?” Probably not, but Jeff Buckley and Lana Del Rey offer sensationally different covers from the perspective of “The Other Woman.”
Written by Sydney Meier
Photos courtesy of Polydor/Interscope and Columbia Records
There is one aspect of “The Other Woman” that remains the same throughout all of the versions: the lyrics. It follows a mistress along her emotional journey of what it means to be the other woman as she reminisces in the third person. At the beginning of the song, the audience witnesses a third-person perspective of preconceived notions about existence as a side-piece. The mistress is characterized as a woman who “finds time to manicure her nails” who has “fresh cut flowers in each room,” whereas the wife and mother of his children has “toys scattered everywhere” and is seen “with pin curls in her hair.” His mistress allows for an escape from his everyday life but through the middle and end of the song, the audience as well as “The Other Woman,” come to the realization that “when he's by her side / It’s such a change from old routine.” In the end, he doesn’t need that escape as often as she needs him. She has to accept the reality of the inevitable end of her situation in that she “will spend her life alone.”
Nina Simone brought “The Other Woman” into the zeitgeist when she covered the original song written by Jessies Mae Robinson and Sarah Vaughan on her third studio album, Nina Simone at Town Hall. One of the cover’s shining aspects is Simone’s vocal cadence, which she ensures is loose and free to capture the raw emotion of the subject of the song, what it is to be the other woman. This vocal cadence partners with light piano notes and a steady drum beat entrenching the listener in a deeper sense of despair. Simone popularized the song by pairing her own hypnotizing vocals with the perfect amount of soft jazz instrumentation.
Similarly, Jeff Buckley’s career became cemented in history due to his uniquely personal covers, one being his version of “The Other Woman,” which was released on the legacy edition of his debut album Grace in 1994. To no one's surprise, Buckley served his audience an achingly vulnerable rendition of the song sporting his gentle tone and soft guitar.
Where Buckley differs from his fellow artists is his male vocal range, but this is not a negative. “The Other Woman” is typically sung by women, yet Buckley captured a similar feminine brokenness that plagues the song’s title. His heartbreakingly raw vocals are the star of the studio outtake because they display the titular other woman reflecting on her history from a saddened and embarrassed perspective. He narrates from her past as she reflects on her former relationship with a married man. She knows she didn’t deserve to be treated like that, wherein when “he’s by her side / it’s such a change from old routine.” Yet she recounts staying in hopes of one day becoming the man’s one and only partner. At the end of the song she reminisces on the moment she forced the veil from her eyes to the reality of her situation — she “will never have his love to keep” and she “will spend her life alone.” Buckley’s wavering, wounded voice exhibits the past anger of the other woman has dissipated to sadness and defeat at the relationship’s end.
Although Buckley’s vocals are the star, his cover of “The Other Woman” would not be as emotionally impactful without its subdued guitar strumming in the background. Had Buckley employed maximalism in his instrumentals, his vocals would have been overtaken and outdone, therein losing the meaning of the song. The minimalism of the instrumentals is as if the mistress is writing an intimate diary entry. Faint guitar notes set an ambiance to her thoughts without taking control of her introspective journey.
Lana Del Rey also does a great job making covers entirely her own, to the point of listeners being unable to recognize that it is in fact a cover. Her trademark vocals are oftentimes accompanied by intensely atmospheric instrumentals that suit Del Rey’s adopted persona for any cover. Whether she is a mistress scorned by a married man or a woman stuck in a relationship of mistreatment, Lana Del Rey will sport the same emotive authenticity.
Differing from Simone and Buckley, Del Rey offers a structured clean cut version of “The Other Woman” with her pristine vocals as well as a background of powerful string instruments, drums, saxophone, and guitar that tell an entirely different story. Buckley’s vocals are the principal element of his cover of “The Other Woman” while Del Rey chooses to put a spotlight on vocals and instrumentals. The jazz element of Simone’s version carries over to Del Rey’s version as well. However, Simone’s other woman is cathartically depressed, while Del Rey fosters a sense of bitterness, entitlement, and aggression through her vocals. As Del Rey’s vocals crescendo and the instrumentals incrementally layer on top of one another, the other woman is coming to the realization that even if she is perfect in every way — she “has time to manicure her nails,” she “enchants her clothes with French perfume,” and she “is perfect where her rival fails” — she will never never be his first choice.
Even in their performances of the same song, Buckley and Del Rey offer distinct interpretations of what it means to be “The Other Woman” through incorporating drastically different vocals and instrumentals. Buckley offers a commandingly vulnerable voice supported by an equally soft strumming guitar to portray a woman who is looking back on a past affair. Del Rey presents an unwavering vocal crescendo with different layered instruments as her other woman is coming to the realization that Buckley’s other woman has already come to, she is anything but a priority to the man who she is unconditionally in love with. However, each cover maintains a similar emotional journey from disillusionment — whether in anger or sadness — that this woman is perpetuating due to her desire to be treasured, knowing the unavoidable end of being a mistress.