Cover Songs

George Michael - Faith

Limp Bizkit - Faith


About a week ago I was watching South Park and when Eric Cartman was walking he was randomly singing a song. I knew I had heard the song before but I couldn't figure out what the name was. After a quick Google search I found out the song he was singing was Faith by George Michael. After hearing the song again I remembered that Limp Bizkit had remade the song. So for my cover song I chose Faith by George Michael and also Limp Bizkit.

The lyrics for Limp Bizkit's version of Faith are similar, however Fred Durst did take the liberty of changing and removing some of them. Although the lyrics are subjective I believe the original song is about a girl who possibly lied or cheated on George Michael and he is telling her that they need a break (Oh but I need some time off from that emotion / Time to pick my heart up off the floor). Although the girl might not be lying to him George needs a break from the relationship because he feels like a fool in love, or almost in love and doesn't want to get hurt like a previous time(Maybe you mean every word you say / can't help but think of yesterday / And another who tied me down to loverboy rules). George is also saying at the end that he may not be in love yet, but the longer the relationship goes on the more likely he will fall in love(Before this river Becomes an ocean). Throughout the song and in the chorus George Michael is acknowledging that he needs to have faith, but he is not yet strong enough or ready for another heartbreak (Well it takes a strong man baby But I'm showing you the door 'Cause I gotta have faith). In Fred Durst’s version of Faith he switches a couple lyrics but leaves out quite a few lines throughout. Instead of talking about the girl’s body in the beginning he says “not everybody has a body like me”, which adds to the stereotypical cockiness of rap-metal music. Besides that, the song’s lyrics are very similar and just a little different in order.

The melody is very catchy and the same in both songs. However, in the Limp Bizkit version the melody is driven by an electric guitar when an acoustic guitar was used in the original. The intensity is also a lot different in both of the songs. Limp Bizkit is known as a rap metal band, so naturally if they were to remake a song it would have to be high intensity and that is exactly what happened. To create this high intensity music Fred Durst’s loud screaming vocals are followed with a loud electric guitar and heavy hitting drums. This song has a feeling of tension throughout and then when Fred Durst hits the chorus and starts screaming you get a sense of release. The speed of this song is also a lot faster in the remake version. Limp Bizkit speeds up the lyrics and also the melody, making a 3 minute song into two minutes.

Over all, I enjoy both of these songs because they have very similar simple lyrics and catchy guitar chords. But, depending on the mood I'm in that day would determine what song I would listen to. If I absolutely had to choose which version I liked better I would have to go with Limp Bizkit’s version. Although I'm not a huge fan of Limp Bizkit I feel the way they went about remaking this song was solid. Fred Durst's vocals put an all new spin on this song, bringing out a new set of emotions and view on the song that George Michael probably did not intend. The use of the electric guitar and heavy drums really makes this song vibe well and gives it a good feel.