The Love Story of Joey + Rory: “If I Needed You”

The married duo Joey + Rory created some beautiful music out of their short time together, including their version of Towne Van Zandt’s “If I Needed You.”

Like many people, I love Townes Van Zandt’s song “If I Needed You.” And through the years, I’ve enjoyed many beautiful covers of the song. Recently, I discovered a version by Joey + Rory, and it has quickly become one of my favorite versions of the song. But then discovering a little more about the singers Rory Lee Feek and Joey Feek makes this version even more heartbreaking.

There’s something about finding an artist new to you and then finding out they are no longer around. That is the case for me with my recent discovery of Joey + Rory.

The husband and wife duo married in 2002 after falling in love and knowing each other only a few months. Rory Feek had served in the marines and was a single dad and successful songwriter, and Joey Martin had been part of a talented musical family. As a musical team, they achieved some success after a friend suggested they try out for a musical competition as a team. In 2008, they were among the finalists for CMT’s competition Can You Duet.  Later that year, they released their debut album, and several other albums soon followed.

“If I Needed You” appeared on Country Classics: A Tapestry of Our Musical Heritage, released in October 2014.  That year was a big year for both Rory and Joey, as in February they welcomed their first child, a daughter who was born with Down’s Syndrome.  Then, in May, Joey was diagnosed with cervical cancer. 

They initially thought that treatments had taken care of the cancer, but it returned in mid-2015.  And Joey Feek passed away in March 2016 at the age of 40.  

If I needed you,
Would you come to me?
Would you come to me?
For to ease my pain;
If you needed me,
I would come to you;
I would swim the seas,
For to ease your pain.

In her final months, Joey did get to see the couple receive a Grammy nomination for their version of “If I Needed You,” and she also saw the release of their final album, a collection of gospel hymns that also featured a song they had previously released, “When I’m Gone.” In that song about a wife dying and leaving her husband, Joey sang,  “And even though you love me still/ You will know where you belong/ Just give it time, we’ll both be fine/ When I’m gone.”

The background of the time period where “If I Needed You” was released adds a layer of poignancy and beauty, in the sense of how beauty often comes because everything is temporary.  Joey’s voice reminds me of another of my favorite singers, Kasey Chambers (who also breaks your heart on her version of “If I Needed You” that appeared on her album Storybook in 2012).

The video for Joey + Rory’s version of “If I Needed You” also celebrates a life that started at the same time as another one was preparing to leave us, even if they did not know it at the time.  Check it out.

Rory’s and Joey’s story was told in the 2016 documentary To Joey, With Love. And of course the story does not end there. Rory continues to make music and other activities. There has even been a TV series carrying on the story, This Life I Live, as well as a book, This Life I Live: One Man’s Extraordinary, Ordinary Life and the Woman Who Changed It Forever.

Since Joey’s death, Rory Feek has been raising their daughter Indiana as a single father on the family farm. But he reports that he has help from many family members and that his daughter spends a lot of time in a community schoolhouse built on the property with contributions made after Joey’s passing. Rory reports that he has learned that Indy can be whatever she wants to be:  “She just needs love, just like everybody else.”

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Allison Russell’s “Nightflyer” (Song of the Day)

    Allison Russell’s song “Nightflyer” is a powerful and beautiful song about strength and resilience in the face of trauma.

    One of the outstanding songs of 2021 is Allison Russell’s “Nightflyer.” During some of the dark days of the pandemic, it was a comforting and powerful song of confronting dark days and going forward.

    Allison Russell, who is French Canadian and lives in Nashville, released the album Outside Child, which includes “Nightflyer,” to wide acclaim in 2021. This solo debut followed her work with her husband and songwriting partner JT Nero called Birds Of Chicago.

    In “Nightflyer,” the singer addresses her abuse and sings of her hope and resilience: “His soul is trapped in that room; /But I crawled back in my mother’s womb,/ Came back out with my gold and my greens, / Now I see everything.” The song is a powerful statement, inspired by Russell’s own journey in becoming a mother.

    I’m the moon’s dark side, I’m the solar flare,
    The child of the earth, the child of the air;
    I am the mother of the evening star;
    I am the love that conquers all;
    Yeah, I’m a midnight rider,
    Stone bonafide night flyer;
    I’m an angel of the morning too,
    The promise that the dawn will bring you.

    The rhythm and structure of the song echoes he gnostic poem “The Thunder: Perfect Mind,” which Russell read when she was sixteen and which stayed with her. Having suffered trauma, including an abusive stepfather, Russell has explained: I’ve been meditating on the nature of resilience, endurance, and grace more deeply since becoming a mother. I was trying to bridge the divide and embrace shame and my inner divinity equally with this piece.”

    While the background gives some additional depth to the song, “Nightflyer” flies on its own wings even if you do not know anything about the inspirations. Check it out.

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    Sting Performs “Russians” in Plea to Help Ukraine

    Sting makes an appeal to help Ukraine, revisiting his 1985 song “Russians.”

    Making an appeal to help the people in Ukraine, Sting recently posted on Instagram a video of him singing his song, “Russians,” originally released in the 1980s. In the song, he pleads, “We share the same biology, regardless of ideology;/ But what might save us, me and you,/ Is if the Russians love their children too.”

    “Russians” first appeared on Sting’s debut solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985). At the time, the song, mentioning both “Mr. Krushchev” and “Mr. Reagan,” highlighted the idiocy of cold war policy that was fueling a nuclear arms race.

    Sting made the new recording as a world power’s aggression is causing great tragedies in Ukraine. He notes in the video that he has rarely sung “Russians” since it was written because he thought it would not be relevant again.

    “But,” he explains, “in the light of one man’s bloody and woefully misguided decision to invade a peaceful, unthreatening neighbor, the song is, once again, a plea for our common humanity. For the brave Ukrainians fighting against this brutal tyranny and also the many Russians who are protesting this outrage despite the threat of arrest and imprisonment – We, all of us, love our children. Stop the war.”

    [March 20, 2022 Update: Unfortunately, the recently posted video no longer seems to be available for embedding, so below is the original video for “Russians.” You may also check Sting’s Instagram account for the video.]

    With the posted video, Sting provides a way to help: “Supplies shipped to this warehouse in Poland are delivered in coordination with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and are guaranteed to go to people most in need. Wherehouse address:
    Pol-Cel; Ramos Breska 63, 22-100 Chelm, Poland. Every box should be labeled “HELP UKRAINE” and indicate the contents: “Medicines,” “Clothes,” “Food,” “Humanitarian Aid.” For more info, contact: UK +44 1353 885152; USA +1 855 725 1152. helpukraine.center.

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    It’s Like Deja Vu All Over Again

    The invasion of Ukraine has left many of us asking how we got to this point, what we can do, and some of the questions John Fogerty raised in the song “Deja Vu (All Over Again)”

    As we watch events unfold in Ukraine, there is a feeling of helplessness around the world. Those who hope for a better world and wish for more to be done to stop the senseless killing, may understand the logistics of the world standing by. But it is a sad reminder of the state of affairs of humanity throughout history.

    In 2004, John Fogerty released a song comparing the U.S. invasion of Iraq with the Vietnam War. He explained that the song, “Deja Vu (All Over Again),” was not meant to be political but about the sadness of the destruction caused by war. Not surprisingly, considering the name of the song, as well as the flow of history, the song unfortunately remains relevant today.

    So tonight as I watch the humanitarian crisis unfolding, like many others I feel helpless in that I only am offering up a small prayer, finding a small bit of solace knowing that other humans around the world have the same feelings of despair and the same unanswered prayers.

    Day after day another Momma’s crying;
    She’s lost her precious child,
    To a war that has no end.

    Did you hear ’em talkin’ ’bout it on the radio?
    Did you stop to read the writing at The Wall?
    Did that voice inside you say,
    I’ve seen this all before;
    It’s like Deja Vu all over again.

    The Inspiration for Jason Isbell’s “Elephant” (Song of the Day)

    Jason Isbell’s song “Elephant” is a rare heartbreaking song capturing the realities of dying and relationships.

    Like many others, when I first listened to Jason Isbell’s wonderful 2013 album Southeastern I was blown away from the first listen to the song “Elephant.” As you listen to the song, it slowly dawns upon you what the “elephant” in the room is and it is heartbreaking. If you have never heard the song before, watch the video below before reading further.

    In the song, the singer tells about his close relationship with a woman dying of cancer. The singer recounts their interactions while trying to “ignore the elephant.”

    But I’d sing her classic country songs,
    And she’d get high and sing along;
    She don’t have a voice to sing with now;
    We burn these joints in effigy,
    And cry about what we used to be;
    Try to ignore the elephant somehow;
    Somehow    .

    The song seems so personal, detailed, and truthful, that for a long time I had assumed Isbell wrote it about a friend who had died. But that is not the case.

    The source for “Elephant,” however comes from real people. Isbell has said “Elephant” was generally inspired by watching regulars at an Alabama bar and over time seeing some of them disappear from the scene due to cancer. He explained to NPR, “I imagined a couple of folks who were drinking buddies, nothing more than that, and how their relationship changed when one of them got sick. I’ve known a lot of people who have gotten cancer and died. I think everybody has at this point in time, but those two folks aren’t necessarily people who exist in reality.”

    Although the characters are not “real,” the descriptions are genuine and the conversations seem to exist in reality. It is one of the greatest songs about dying, loss, and friendship.

    Below, Isbell performs the song in 2013 for SiriusXM Outlaw Country. Check it out, but only if you have tissues handy.

    What is your favorite song about death? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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