Dear Joe Walsh,
I was in yoga the other day, minding my own business, trying to stretch my hamstrings without dislocating anything, when the unthinkable happened.
It started out fine—AC was on (a rare gift from the yoga gods), the new instructor was fantastic, the playlist was solid. She played “Come Undone” by Duran Duran and “Beds Are Burning” by Midnight Oil. I was impressed.
Then, just as I’m settling into child’s pose, I hear:
“They say I’m crazy, but I have a good time…”
Joe, I knew that song. I loved that song. But something was wrong. Terribly wrong. Someone had taken your masterpiece, “Life’s Been Good,” and bathed it in what I can only describe as hippie dust and unicorn farts. It was a cover. A bad one. The kind of bad that should be punishable by musical law.
It ruined the rest of yoga for me. I could no longer focus on my breath or the possibility of inner peace. All I could think about was you—not in a weird way—just trying to remember your name. I knew you were an Eagle, but not Glenn Frey or Don Henley. Which, apparently, is where my brain decided to give up and do a corpse pose of its own.
When the class ended, I rolled up my mat and made a beeline for my phone. I Googled the lyrics, and there it was—JOE WALSH! I yelled it out loud in the locker room like I’d just won a game show. People stared. They may have responded, but I wasn’t wearing my hearing aids, so I probably yelled something about how this cover was an abomination.
Then, I did what any good citizen would do: I told the yoga teacher about the original. She had no idea it existed, which is tragic in its own right. But here’s the thing—this isn’t her fault. It’s the fault of whoever got their hands on your song and decided to “improve” it.
So, Joe, I’m writing to you today to say: please, for the sake of art, for the sake of humanity, sue someone. Or at least issue a strongly worded press release. I will gladly serve as your emotional witness.
Namaste,
Lisa
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