May This Be Love

Album: Wrecking Ball (1995)
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Songfacts®:

  • Emmylou Harris recorded the Jimi Hendrix song "May This Be Love" for her 1995 album Wrecking Ball, a project that took her far beyond her traditional country roots. She recruited producer Daniel Lanois after admiring his work on Bob Dylan's 1989 album Oh Mercy. Harris later described Wrecking Ball as a major turning point in her career.
  • Lanois suggested the Hendrix track, seeing its potential as a duet. "He could always find the country element in a song," Harris explained to Grammy.com. He recognized that sharing the lead vocal would bring out the tender side of the lyrics, giving Hendrix's dreamy waterfall scene a warm, shared intimacy.

    "I knew that Emmy wanted to stretch and investigate other possibilities for herself, and I suggested that song," Lanois told Uncut magazine. "It's not a blues-based melody, it's almost a folk song, and there's just something very simple about the sentiment."
  • The lyrics belong entirely to Hendrix, capturing a moment where the singer surrenders to the calm behind a waterfall and wonders if that peaceful feeling might actually be love. Harris kept the original wording intact, but turning it into a duet transforms the question into a conversation between two people.
  • Lanois sang and played guitar alongside Harris on the track. They recorded it live in the studio with minimal overdubs: "We didn't even cut it with a bass, as far as I can remember," she recalled.
  • Wrecking Ball was recorded in New Orleans, Nashville and San Francisco. "May This Be Love" is one of two duets between Harris and Lanois on the record, the other being the opening track, "Where Will I Be."
  • U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. provided the rhythm, playing on nine of the album's 12 tracks. Lanois brought Mullen on board through their close working relationship, having produced several of U2's albums. He also joined them on the road during their Zoo TV tour.

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