Hear Ellie Goulding's Yearning Take On A Joni Mitchell Holiday Classic

Ellie Goulding unveiled a holiday surprise for Amazon Music listeners on Thursday (November 14).


The "Lights" singer appeared in a "making of" video that noticed her laying down the pieces for her cover of a Christmas classic: "River," from folk singer Joni Mitchell. You might recognize the track from a particularly memorable efficiency on The Politician, where it was sung in tribute to a character named River.


It's actually a Christmas folk song off of Mitchell's 1971 album Blue, and one of the best songs regarding Joni over the years. Ever since its debut, it's been covered by a collection of artists, including Corinne Bailey Rae, Aimee Mann, Travis, along with several others.


It's a little bit of a heartrending tale that finds the singer wishing she had a "river" that she might "skate away on" in a task to forget the pain of the relationship she was in that's just ended. It's a melancholy tune that also incorporates "Jingle Bells" near the end in a unexpected way that drives residence how painful a lost love can really be throughout the holidays.


Ellie has named Mitchell as one of her influences, and one of the singer-songwriters she ended up falling in love with as a young woman.


"Only As soon as I got into my teens did I discover song-writing," Goulding told Billboard in a recent interview. "That was Whenever I learned the guitar, and I listened to Imogen Heap and Björk, Ani DiFranco and especially Joni Mitchell."


you could listen to the song by means of the Amazon Music, because the track generally seems to be an exclusive so far. Just add it to the lengthy list of emotional covers, with Ellie's breathy vocals bringing it to life. Be advised, nevertheless, you could hope to have a box of tissues on hand if you're going to be in for repeated listens.