WATCH: Brandi Carlile Tackles Tears for Fears’ ‘Mad World’
Brandi Carlile's Sunday night (Sept. 13) livestream performance concluded with a timely cover of a nearly-40-year-old song: Tears for Fears' "Mad World."
Accompanying herself on piano, Carlile offered up the haunting 1982 single, written by band co-founder Roland Orzabal, her voice soaring and aching across the melody as it grows darker and darker. Josh Neumann assisted with cello during the performance, too.
"I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad / The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had," Carlile sings in the chorus. "I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take / When people run in circles it's a very very / Mad world, mad world ..."
“It’s a mad world, but we’re in this together,” Carlile said at the end of the performance. "Vote.”
Carlile's cover earned the approval of Tears for Fears member Curt Smith, who responded by saying, "I approve this tweet!"
Carlile's newest album, By the Way, I Forgive You, arrived in 2018. In 2019, she released a project with Amanda Shires, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby as the Highwomen, and co-produced Tanya Tucker's new album, While I'm Livin', with Shooter Jennings.
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