Check Out Lorde’s Rendition of Martha Wainwright’s “Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole”

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As soon Lorde opened with the words “Poetry is no place for a heart that’s a whore,” the four-or-so people who recognized Martha Wainwright’s scathingly, vulnerably brilliant 2005 track “Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole” in those words whooped their approval. Surely those who heard the song in Big Little Lies also soon caught on. And, they were probably thrilled to hear that Lorde’s version was a bit more polished than Shaleine Woodley’s breathless just-ran-on-the-beach singalong. The track could be a daunting one to cover, though Lorde had the emotional range and control to pull off its pairing of sentimentality and fury.

The performance took place at Montreal’s Osheaga Festival, and as Consequence of Sound notes, it came a day after a storm ended Lorde’s Lollapalooza set rather prematurely. The cover was also seemingly site-specific, as Wainwright hails from Montreal.

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