Morgan Wallen’s “Cover Me Up” remarkably became an instant fan-favorite ever since he started singing it at concerts, including performances during his tour with country star Luke Combs. From the floor to the ceiling, the entire crowd would be on their feet, waving their flashlights, singing the song back to him.
So, it was no longer a surprise when the powerful ballad was chosen to be one of the thirty tracks to be included on Morgan’s sophomore album, Dangerous: The Double Album.
Written and originally recorded by country singer Jason Isbell, “Cover Me Up” is a song about getting sober and how love is more than enough to heal a person. It was released in 2013 as the first single off Isbell’s album Southeastern.
Isbell revealed that he wrote the song with his wife, fiddle player Amanda Shires, in his mind. The country singer credited Shires for being the catalyst for change. Isbell said that if it hadn’t been for his wife, he certainly wouldn’t have any real motivation to get sober.
Indeed, “Cover Me Up” has become Isbell’s signature song. It also earned the title of Song of the Year during the 2014 Americana Music Awards.
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Seven years later, Morgan Wallen once again brought the song to the mainstream. His version peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard’s Hot Country Songs while No. 52 on Billboard’s Hot 100 – making Isbell earn a great amount of royalties.
However, after Wallen was rebuked by the entire industry when he was caught using a racial slur, Isbell has announced that he will be donating all the money he will earn from Wallen’s recording to the National Association for the Advancement of Cᴏlored People.
Isbell has since criticized Morgan for his actions, calling the country star’s behavior “disgusting and horrifying” and even suggesting that the country music industry take this as an opportunity to “give that spot to somebody who deserves it.” Morgan Wallen’s songs were also instantly dropped from radio programming and were excluded from the playlists of different streaming-services.
You can listen to Morgan Wallen’s “Cover Me Up” in the video below.
