Pat Green, ‘All Just to Get to You’

Pat Green takes a second break from writing his own songs to honor ten artists who’ve influenced him on ‘Songs We Wish We’d Written II.’ The lead single finds the Texas-born hitmaker taking a rock n’ roll approach to ‘All Just to Get to You’ by Joe Ely.

Green’s urgent delivery and a gritty slide guitar take this song to a level the original never reached. He finds that sweet spot an artist looks for when recording a cover. Make it your own, but stay true to the original.

“I have stumbled on the plains / Staggered in the wind / Stood at a crossroad or two / Cried to a river / Swept to the sea / All just to get to you,” he sings to begin the song. Things really heat up after the first chorus.

“I ran too hard, I played too Rough / I gave my Love, not near Enough / I bled too red, I cried too blue / I beat my fist, against the moon / All just to get to you.”

The guitar work noodles around until Green unleashes his player between the second chorus and the bridge, creating a cathartic moment that you long to see performed live. Green’s subtle vocal fluctuations also cause one to give the song a second look if at first it passes by like highway traffic.

“From the California Shore / Where the mighty ocean roars / To the lands of the Hopi and the Sioux / I walked the desert sands / Crossed the Rio Grande / All just to get to you,” he sings.

‘Songs We Wish We’d Written II’ will be available on May 8.

Listen to Pat Green’s ‘All Just to Get to You’