Sunday, July 2, 2017

First Aid Kit covers list



The video above is a  video of First Aid Kit  performing a song originally done by Fleet Foxes, it was taped outside their home  in 2008. The song was their breakthrough video.

The  Swedish sister vocal duo, First Aid Kit has made quite a  reputation from performing covers as well as from singing original self written numbers.  Below you will find  list of the covers that they have done usually as live performances, Radio&TV appearances, or the occasional self produced video.
 At least nine songs, "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song", "Walk Unafraid", "Universal Soldier", "America", "Gloomy Sunday" , "On the Road Again" , "Come Give Me Love" and "When I Grow Up' have been formally released by the group as recordings but most of the songs have not been formally released as recordings. Among their most praised performances are their  three appearances at Polar Music Prize ceremonies  performing songs written by Emmylou Harris, Paul Simon and Patti Smith. In 2021, the group added a whole album of Leonard Cohen songs to their list of released cover songs.


Some of their covers are straight forward attempts at duplicating the original song such as "Crazy for You"- their Heart cover.   Many of their covers are different from the originals simply because they are women  performing songs originally performed by men.   However, many of their most potent covers change the song in fundamental ways such as the "Tiger Mountain Pleasant Song". Sometimes, First Aid Kit manages to  mutate itself into something different  such as in their trance-like version  of  "Dancing Barefoot".

All they do cover  current  songs on occasion, a surprisingly large number of their songs come from country rock and folk performers of the 1960's and 1970's.  First Aid Kit seem to prefer covering acts that are genuine and who lack artifice.

It is quite rare to hear vocal harmony today-especially by singers who match so well together..  The other refreshing  aspect of this act is their willingness to perform acoustically pretty much  alone, and live.  More than once I  have been blown away by their songs-and performances and  I can tell you that a rare thing nowadays.

Note: The act listed in parenthesis is the most famous person to record the song.  A few of  First Aid  Kit's covers were  performed   in collaboration with other acts. A few of the covers are only snippets of songs.   I have listed   72 songs here, though I believe there are a few more. In 2019, The group performed a whole Christmas concert with covers many of which they hadn't done before, but many of those songs haven't been shared on the internet.   I haven't included the dozen or so recordings by artists that First Aid Kit  perform backing vocals on. 

America (Simon and Garfunkel)
Angel From Montgomery (John Prine) 2020
Awake My Soul (Mumford and Suns)
Blue Christmas (Elvis)
Blues Run the Game (Jackson Frank)
Chandelier (Sia) 
Chelsea Hotel no 2 (Leonard Cohen)
Christmas TV (Slow Club)
Chiquitita (ABBA )
Colorado Girl  (Townes Van Zandt)
Come Me Give Me Love" (Ted Gardestad)
Complainte pour Ste. Catherine (McGarrigles)
Crazy On You (Heart)
Dancing Barefoot  (Patti Smith )
Devil in Disguise (Flying Burrito Brothers)
Diamonds and Rust (Joan Baez )
Enter the Ninja (Die Antwoord)
Fairytale of New York (Pogues)
Gloomy Sunday (Billie Holiday)
Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)
Harvest (Neil Young)
Happy X-Mas (War is Over) John Lennon
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Judy Garland)
Heart Like a Wheel (McGarrigle’s)
I Could Be The One (Avicii)
If It Be Your Will (Leonard Cohen)
It Ain't Me Babe (Bob Dylan )
It Hurts Me Too (Elmore James)
It Must Have Been Love (Roxette)
I Walk the Line (Johnny Cash)
Kathy's Song ( Simon & Garfunkel ) 
Love Interruption (Jack White)
Moving Up (Primal Scream)  
No Tears Left To Cry (Ariana Grande)
On The Road Again (Willie Nelson)
One More Cup Of Coffee (Bob Dylan)
Over the Rainbow (Judy Garland)
Perfect Places (Lorde)
Play With Fire (Rolling Stones)
Random Rules (Silver Jews)
Red dirt girl (Emmylou Harris)
River (Joni Mitchell)
Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush)
Runs in the Family  (The Roches)
Sån’t är livet (Anita Lindblom, Roy Hamilton)
Seven Nation Army (Redstripes)
Side of the road (Lucinda Williams)
Simple Man (Graham Nash)
Song for Zula ( Phosphorescent) 
Stand by your man (Tammy Wynette)
Still Feeling Blue (Gram Parsons)
Subterranean Homesick Blues (Bob Dylan)
Talk to Me Of Mendocino  (McGarrigles)
The Gambler (Kenny Rogers )
The Partisan   (Leonard Cohen)
The Rose (Bette Midler)
There's A Light (Beth Nielson Chapman)
The Swallow  Song (Richard & Mimi Farina)
Thinking Out Loud (Ed Sheeran )
This Land is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)
Those Memories of you (Trio)
Tiger Mountain Peasant Song (Fleet Foxes)
Universal Soldier (Buffy-Sainte Marie)
Visa vid midsommartid  (Anita Lindblom)
Waiter at the Station (Willy Mason)
Waiting Around to Die (Townes Van Zandt) 
Walk Unafraid (R.E.M)
War Pigs (Black Sabbath )
Waterloo Sunset (The Kinks) 
Went to War (Amason cover)
We're Going To Be Friends (White Stripes)
What's The Point (Johnossi)
When I Grow Up (Fever Ray)
White Winter Hymnal (Fleet Foxes)
Who By Fire (Leonard Cohen)
Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? (Carter family)
With God on Our Side (Bob Dylan)


"Dancing Barefoot", First Aid Kit's Patti Smith cover played at the Polar Music Prize ceremony.

(This post was originally published July 2, 2017 and has been updated regularly since then as the group covers new songs). Written by J.C.Bernhardt