Singer-songwriter Ilsey teamed up with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon for a cover of Neil Young’s 1972 classic “Heart of Gold.”
“This song has always spoken to me in a deep, personal way,” Ilsey said of the Canadian singer’s Harvest hit, in a release. “There’s something about the plaintive melody and the simple, evocative lyrics that go straight to the heart of what we all feel.
“The image of a miner searching for a precious metal – searching for love, connection, something true… it’s a difficult, often frustrating process, but the reward is so worth it. I kept coming back to the thought and the song.”
Ilsey said she listened to Young’s song on repeat one day before meeting with Vernon and producer BJ Burton “to see if we could play it in a new way, that felt like us, and would do it justice.”
The cover arrived Friday with a lyric video. Watch it below.
Ilsey, the 37-year-old daughter of one-time Wings guitarist Laurence Juber, has co-written hits like “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” by Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus and “High Hopes” by Panic! at the Disco as well as tracks by Beyoncé, Drake and The 1975. She provided the vocals on the 2015 Robin Shulz dance track "Headlights."
Over the years, dozens of artists have put their spin on “Heart of Gold,” including Boney M, Johnny Cash, Kacey Musgraves and Passenger.