Personal dispatch #5

This is a dispatch from Meredith DiMenna, who recorded a cover of "The Way Young Lovers Do." Despite sounding all buttoned-up and reposed, DiMenna's rendition manages to burn with a bit more intensity than the original. To start, DiMenna offered some background information on herself.

I was born in Westchester County, New York, but grew up in Connecticut. I've lived in New York City and San Francisco, but since 2006, I've been a part of the Bridgeport, Connecticut, music scene. I was in a band called Saint Bernadette. I am currently in the studio with a new project called Oh, Cassius! with another singer/songwriter from Bridgeport named John Torres. That's my main project right now.

I've been singing since I was a little girl, and I perform and record consistently. (I am writing this from the studio right now!) I've done a lot of collaborations and guest appearances. I recorded on the single for another band from Bridgeport called The Stepkids. I did a few tracks with a DJ called Black Panther, including this one. And I just do some vox on the new Johnny Winter album that hasn't come out yet.

Then DiMenna offered a wonderful interpretation of the track's lyrics.

I am a huge fan of Astral Weeks. That song ["The Way Young Lovers Do"] is considered by a lot of people to be the worst song on the record and very out of place. It was always my favorite because of the horn arrangement, but I can understand why people don't like it. It's a departure from the overall vibe of the rest of the album.

Then I recently read an interview with Van Morrison and when they asked him about it, he was apparently very coy and said something about it being a simple love song, but his tone sounded very sarcastic. It motivated me to take another look at the lyrics. They seem like the lyrics to a genuine love song, but it's actually about how young love is kind of a ruse, how each person is really in his own dream bubble and not always as connected to the other as they think. That made me realize that the song is misunderstood because the horn section makes it seem like a different song that it is. I wanted to do a version that illustrated the dark side of young love he seems to be talking about.

I recorded this version at Gold Coast Recorders in Bridgeport. This is a very simple arrangement, so the whole thing took about an hour.