The Lumineers Cover Willie Nelson’s “Pretty Paper”

Pretty Paper

Christmas is upon us. The season for holiday cheers and festivities are definitely being felt! This time, we have The Lumineers take on “Pretty Paper” – A Willie Nelson classic!

The Lumineers have released a very mellow version of Nelson’s holiday classic. With Nelson’s version, it had the quintessential southern twang and country stamp. The cool timbre of The Outlaw’s voice made the song all the more magical and nostalgic. It certainly paints you a picture of a peaceful Christmas night.  Listen to the original here!

The Lumineers certainly captured the indie-acoustic feel that they might have been going for. The song is stripped down, to just the guitar accompanying the soft voice of Wesley Schultz, their vocalist. It certainly captures a different night from Nelson’s version. This is a softer, almost melancholic vibe. It almost feels like the singer is alone for Christmas, or is having maybe a more subdued spirit. Yet, they are still trying their best to keep the spirits up because of the season. Come listen to the hauntingly beautiful version here!

The Spirit of Giving

The holiday spirit is well within the efforts, because all proceeds of this song in its first year of sales and streams will benefit the Brown Paper Bag Movement (BPBM), a grassroots program aired at feeding and clothing the homeless in New York City.

This effort is accompanied by their participation in the movement 24 Hours of Reality: Protect Our Planet, Protect Ourselves. Former Vice President Al Gore hosted the event.

This isn’t the first song that the indie band released for charity. In early October, they also did a cover of Tom Petty’s “Walls” to benefit the company MusiCares.

We can see that the efforts of the band are truly what the spirit of Christmas really is, and we hope to see the initiatives go to other artists as well. As the season come to its peak, we must remember that the joy of Christmas is truly in the spirit of giving.