Keith Urban Explains How Ed Sheeran Inspired Him to Cover Foy Vance’s ‘Burden’ [Watch]
Keith Urban is taking fans behind the scenes to share the inspiration behind his new cover of Foy Vance's "Burden."
Urban debuted his cover of the Irish singer's powerful song in an emotional performance at the 2019 ACM Awards on Sunday (April 7), and released a studio recording afterward.
In a new behind-the-scenes video about the recording of "Burden," Urban says he was drawn to the song immediately when he first heard it.
"The brevity of the song spoke to me as someone that has needed to hear that in my life and needed to hear that offered to me," Urban explains. "I love songs that speak to the human condition of struggle and the idea that it’s okay, I can help you…let me carry your burden."
A conversation with Ed Sheeran led indirectly to Urban's cover.
“We played at the 02 in London and Ed came out to see us play,” Urban says. “We talked about Foy, who’s an incredible musician and songwriter. The next day, I had a day off in London, so I got on my bike and put my headphones on and rode around London for like two hours listening to Foy non-stop.”
Urban continues, “And when I got back to Nashville, I realized that I had never seen him play live – he must be fantastic – so I jumped on YouTube and heard this song 'Burden' and just fell in love with him. I thought, ‘I’d love to be able to do a version of the song' ... It's a song I wanted to be able to see if I could capture it and shape it the way that I was feeling it in my heart.”
Urban recorded the cover in Nashville and co-produced the track alongside Dave Cobb. Take a look at those sessions in the clip at the top of the story.
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