PJ Harvey has released a cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Who by Fire’, from his 1974 album New Skin for the Old Ceremony. Harvey’s version was recorded with composer Tim Phillips for the soundtrack of the new Apple TV+ show Bad Sisters. Listen to it below.
“It was a very enjoyable day spent recording the version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Who By Fire’ for Bad Sisters,” Harvey said in a statement. “I had spoken to Sharon Horgan in advance of the recording session, so I understood why she felt the song’s lyric was so perfect for the series, but also understood what nuances of Leonard’s performance she most loved, and therefore what to try and recapture but in my own way. Tim Phillips and I worked together on my performance for the song. I found Tim to be an inspiring and exciting work partner which made the whole experience flow.
Horgan added: “I thought of the words of ‘Who by Fire’ soon after the series was picked up and thought how perfect it would be. Pretty soon after that, I thought of Polly’s voice singing those words and asked Apple if we could make that happen. I had been a fan of Polly for years and was nervous when we zoomed with her. I don’t have a musical vocabulary, but I know what I wanted. But we told her our ideas and about the series – it was quite fledgling at that stage, just photos and words, nothing filmed to show her, but she got it and loved it. We paired her up with Tim Phillips who had scored Shining Vale, so we knew he was genius at what he does. The tone of the whole series is effected by the music and Polly’s voice. I still can’t quite believe we pulled it off.”