Emma Taylor

Professor Slye

English 1201

21 February 2021

Drift Away

“Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul, I wanna get lost in your rock ‘n’ roll and

drift away.” This is a quote from the chorus of the song “Drift Away.” This quote shows the

importance of letting go of the little things in life and living life to the fullest. If you pay too

much attention to the little things, life will end up passing you by. The song "Drift Away" by

Dobie Gray and the cover of the song “Drift Away” by Uncle Kracker both share the same claim

that it is important to live life to the fullest. However in Dobie's video he expresses a different

way to enjoy life and live it to the fullest than Uncle Kracker does in his video.

The original song was released in 1973 by Dobie Gray. The song was written as a

breakthrough for Dobie. He wrote about his feelings and let the world know that he was hurt and

that he was not afraid to share how he was feeling. Dobie knew that it was important to share

how he was feeling because he wanted to be true to everyone. He also wanted to share how

important it is to overcome your sadness and depression. Depression will keep you from living

your life to the fullest so he shared a way that helps him get through his sadness, singing and

playing the guitar. In his video he shows a peaceful, tropical area where he drifts away with the

music he sings. When Dobie said “And when I’m feelin’ blue, The guitars comin’ through to

soothe me” he was sharing how he made himself feel better and how he gets through all of his

hurt and sadness. This allowed Dobie to reflect on himself. He knew he was depressed and did

what he needed to do to start to make himself feel better.

 Uncle Kracker did a cover of this song in 2002. The song was in his album “No Stranger

To Shame.” In his video he shows the importance of family, friends, his home and he shows how

he lives his life to the fullest. Uncle Kracker replaced the guitar riff in the beginning of the

original song with an electric piano lick to make his cover more of his own. This song featured

Dobie Gray in the music video where he was singing the backing vocals. In Uncle Kracker's

cover video he wanted the setting to have a hometown feel so he decided to shoot the video in

his very own home town.

Not only does Uncle Kracker show the value of his music, relationship with musicians

and self reflection, like Dobie Gray does, he also shows the importance of his home, family, and

friends. His cover video takes place in his hometown, Detroit. In the video you will see Uncle

Kracker performing on a stage in front of an audience, working in a garage, and walking alone

on railroad tracks that are covered in snow. The setting shows the importance of family to him.

The garage in the video is owned by his brother. Kracker and his brother have shared very

special memories in that garage so he felt it was important to include the garage in his video.

Uncle Kracker also shows how he values friendship. Kracker was friends with Dobie Gray. In

the cover video the musician singing alongside Uncle Kracker is Dobie Gray. They share a

special moment on stage in the video.

While the ideas of these videos are present, some would say that both of the videos argue

that they share the same way to live life to the fullest. Both of the videos feature a scene or

scenes that show the artist by themself singing. In order to live life to the fullest you have to

spend time alone to reflect on yourself and understand what your needs are. The solo scenes

show the artists reflecting on themselves and taking everything in. They are able to see what is

important to them and they understand how they want to live their life. The videos also have an
emotional appeal of pathos. The solo scenes make you want to take time and reflect on yourself

and tend to your own needs. Both versions have the same message, but Uncle Kracker’s version

shares a deeper and more meaningful way to live life to the fullest by showing the things that are

important to him like his home, family, and friends.

 Works Cited

Gray, Dobie. “Drift Away” Youtube, uploaded by JefferychrislsAlive, 6 Sep. 2010,

gggggghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIuyDWzctgY

Kracker, Uncle “Drift Away” Youtube, uploaded by Atlantic Records, 26 Oct. 2009,

Ggggg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A69BertdSt4