āI'll close my eyes, then I won't see
The love you don't feel when you're holding me
Morning will come and I'll do what's right
Just give me till then to give up this fight
And I will give up this fightā
Bonnie Raittās āI Canāt Make You Love Meā is a perfect song.
Just ask Phil Collins. Or Missy Higgins. Or Charlie Puth, who calls it āthe Grandaddy song of them allā.
Charlie Puth Covers Bonnie Raittās āI Canāt Make You Love Meā Live on the Stern Show
Howard Stern: What is it about this Bonnie Rait song? Why are you doing this cover out of all the covers you ā¦ could possibly do?
Charlie Puth: I think I just wanted to play the grandaddy song of them all. The most beautiful, tormented but still ā¦ you donāt know what you want your heart to feel when you hear this because itās so beautiful musically but itās such a painful message to hear that you canāt make somebody love you. And I just donāt know if there will ever be a song thatās written like this. I think this song took the slot. And itās, itās just, itās just a song that I wish that I wrote.
Bon Iver - I Can't Make You Love Me / Nick of Time
Iāve gone searching for āI Canāt Make You Love Meāsā best covers (Joy Oladokunās, with Jason Isbell on guitar is a great example), but still, Bon Iverās remains the zenith.
āI Canāt Make You Love Meā was written by Nashville writers Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin who said: āwe'd worked on this song for more than six months. One day, [Mike'] said, 'Come up to the living room,' where his piano was. He sat down and started playing this melody, and it was one of the most moving pieces of music I'd heard. I mean, it hit me in a hard way ...ā
āInstantly, I knew it was the best thing I'd ever been a part of."
Inside a Magical Home with Breathtaking Views of the Coastal Landscape
On the original recording of āI Canāt Make You Love Meā, Bruce Hornsby played keys.
You already know Bruce Hornsby because youāve heard his song āThe Way It Isā sampled on the Tupacās song āChangesā.
Here is Hornsby and Bon Iver, live, covering āI Canāt Make You Love Meā.
Hornsby, and specifically his song āBarren Groundā provided the inspiration for āBeth/Restā, arguably one of Bon Iverās best songs.
Like Deadheads swapping cassette tapes, there is a devout community of Bon Iver aficionados, sharing best versions of live songs. Indeed, even poorly recorded, live Bon Iver transcends the recorded experience. This is the best version of Beth/Rest.
And here is Hornsby himself, playing āBeth/Restā live with Bon Iver. Just listen to those keys, especially from around 3:30. Unmistakeable.
āThis is a song that came from all my Bruce listening over the decades.ā
Beth/Rest Bon Iver with Bruce Hornsby
āOur love is a star
Sure some hazardry
For the light before
and after most indefinitelyā
Four years ago, Bon Iverās founder Justin Vernon shared that after a period of musical burnout, the four CERCLE shows they played at the Opera House in 2016 were: āone of THE highlights of any of our lives as artistsā.
Of the Opera House itself, he said: āThe building has power. You know, you walk and you see it for the first time, and itās ā¦ stunning. It does something, you know what I mean? And that art, that architecture, that true vision plays in this world and is more important than we give it credit for.ā
Bon Iver 2016 | CERCLE back in time with us | House Vault | Ep 3
Some of the songs those CERCLE shows have since been released, most notably this breathtaking acapella version of āHeavenly Fatherā.
I like to think that Vernonās yelp at 2:06 is the exact moment he rediscovered his connection to playing the music live.
āThatās how this should feel. Thatās us at our best.ā
Bon Iver - "Heavenly Father" (Acapella) | Live at Sydney Opera House
Paul Keatingās description of the Opera House, applies equally to Bonnie Raittās āI Canāt Make You Love Meā: ālike all great art, [it] never weakens. No matter how often you see it or from what angle you look at it or in what light it is cast, it always hits you in the heart because it is simply so good.ā
No matter how often you hear it
it always hits you in the heart
because it is simply so good.
Bonnie Raitt & Bruce Hornsby - I Can't Make You Love Me
āCause I can't make you love me if you don't
You can't make your heart feel something it won't
Here in the dark, in these final hours
I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power
But you won't, no you won't
Cause I can't make you love me, if you don'tā