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Adam Bush

Morean

English 1201

2-9-2020

Hardships of Marriage

The song titled “Cover Me Up” was originally performed by Jason Isbell. The song was

symbolic and was easy for many to relate to. The song became extremely popular in the country

music realm which lead Morgan Wallen, a famous and respected country singer, to sing “Cover

Me Up.” Both artists published music videos accompanied by their songs. Jasen Isbell and

Morgan Wallen both sang the same song and attempted to communicate the same message.

However, the two country singers took different approaches to the task and their music videos

reflect this idea. Jason Isbell and Morgan Wallen both sang “Cover Me Up” and had the same

main claim, addiction is a problem that ruins families, but a loving and caring spouse can guide

you out of the darkness.

Jason Isbell’s music video rendition of “Cover Me Up” has two main characters, a

husband and wife presumably. The husband is singing to his wife, and she then follows suit. The

wife knows the song, and it is implied that the couple has performed this song as a duet many

times before. From the context of the video, we gather information and conclude the husband

sang this song to his wife as a form of an apology and thank you gift. The couple chooses to

embrace the hardship they experienced rather than dismissing it like it never happened. The

husband most likely suffered from addiction, and thanks to his loving wife, he was able to beat

this psychological and physical monster. Mogan Wallen’s music video carried the same message

as Jason Isbell’s video. This being said, there is also more than one way to skin a cat. Morgan
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Wallen’s video told a story. Morgan Wallen’s video begins with a couple getting out of bed and

in the background, a tri-folded American flag is very noticeable. The husband has flash backs of

his time in war and this drives him into a state of depression fueled by alcohol. Later in the

video, the drunken spouse grabs the wife in a physically abusive way. Immediately the husband

is aware of his actions. This causes him to want to stop drinking and with the help of his wife, he

overcomes alcoholism. Through symbolism and props, information was gathered, and the

conclusion can be made that the main character in this video suffered from alcoholism. The

couple did not allow it to rule their relationship by sending it crashing and burning extinguished

by addiction and divorce.

Jason Isbell does not plainly state that his song is about the journey he took to get free

from addiction. He does implement several lyrics and symbols to lead the viewer to the

conclusion that his song is about defeating addiction. Jason Isbell sings, “I swore off that stuff,”

and, “I sobered up,” to guide his audience’s conclusions about the message of his song. We

know that this is a logical conclusion because the word sober typically refers to the come down

of a high. Because of this assumption, we know the things he “swore off” were drugs. These

lines are significant because they make the rest of the lyrics in the song have meaning.

Morgan Wallen’s version of “Cover Me Up” is much more up front with the message it

attempts to convey. The flag in the background leads the viewer to believe he is former military.

The beer bottles on his nightstand make it clear he wakes up and falls asleep drunk. The climax

of Morgan Wallen’s story is when the actor grabs his wife aggressively. He is instantly aware of

his actions and almost sobered up from the experience. This event kicks off his sobriety. Morgan

Wallen’s take on “Cover Me Up” is significant to the huge population of people who struggle

from mental illness and attempt to mask the issue with substance abuse.
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Jason Isbell and Morgan Wallen use literary appeals in their versions of “Cover Me Up”

to communicate with their audience more effectively. Jason Isbell does not try to relate explicitly

to his audience like Morgan Wallen does. Morgan Wallen appeals to pathos in his music video

multiple times. At the beginning of the video, a triangular folded American Flag can be seen in

the background. This appeals to the large population of people in the military. Later in the video

you realize a character struggles with addiction. Many people have people in their lives who

struggle with addiction, and this pulls on the emotions of those viewers. In Morgan Wallen’s

version, there are many more characters than Jason Isbell’s. The characters differ in race, age,

gender, and socioeconomical backgrounds. This allows the audience to be broader because

people do not feel they are being discriminated against.

Jason Isbell and Morgan Wallen sang the song “Cover Me Up” with the same purpose in

mind. The country artists both struggled with addiction and alcoholism which damaged

relationships with the loved ones who meant the most to them. They sang this song to give hope

to everyone who has something ruining their life. They want struggling individuals and their

loved ones to know the issue can be fixed. Jason Isbell and Morgan Wallen effectively

communicate to their audience by providing a glimpse of their testimonies. Jason Isbell and

Morgan Wallen both communicate the same message through “Cover Me Up” and the

accompanied music videos but go about communicating the idea differently, utilizing their

talents with music.

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Works Cited

Isbell, Jason. “Jason Isbell - Cover Me Up (MWM Ft. Andrew Rodgers).” You Tube, 2019,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVM4O0-Gefo.

“Morgan Wallen - Cover Me Up (Short Film).” You Tube, 2019,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEnFCa-5p9E.