Song of the Day: 'Day After Tomorrow,' Linda Thompson

linda-thompson.jpgThe cover of Linda Thompson's album, "Versatile Heart."

I liked "Day After Tomorrow" when the Tom Waits-written song came out on his 2004 album, "Real Gone." But I grew to love it when Linda Thompson included a live version of it on her 2007 release, "Versatile Heart."

The song is written in the style of a letter from a solider, stationed overseas. Waits sings it in a offhand manner, as if the solider is just casually talking. But Thompson's more artful, deliberate delivery adds heart-breaking power: you get the sense that the soldier is really speaking her mind, and trying to express what's most important to her. The sparse, tasteful instrumentation helps underscore an important point: this soldier is a stoic character, and it means a lot for her to be speaking like this.

Check it out:

Here's Waits' version, if you want to compare:
