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Young Summer's take on country classic "Old Chunk Of Coal" is incredible

08 December 2016, 16:00 | Written by Laurence Day

Washington D.C.'s Young Summer takes country classic "Old Chunk Of Coal" and polishes it up into a heart-stopping pop ballad.

The Billy Joe Shaver-penned track has been tackled by the likes of John Anderson and Johnny Cash - the original is bittersweet, upbeat, and full of hope.

"I fell in love with the song... when I heard Cash's heartfelt rendition," says Young Summer's Bobbie Allen. "I recorded this last year and I knew exactly how I wanted my version to feel... exactly the way it hits me, hopefully but laced with melancholy."

"This song has always meant so much to me," continues Allen. "It captures a moment in time in which the realization is made that you are full of potential and good. The message of the song is so universal, the desire to be better than you are and make a difference in the world. I’ve been waiting to release it and it being the holidays, with the current political climate it feels more relevant than ever to release a hopeful song about knowing you can be, and having the desire to be, better than you ever imagined."

The Young Summer take repurposes the sentiment and brings it to a whole new arena - this is a titanic tearjerker with somnambulant synths and gently whispered vocals. The bittersweetness remains, with both sides of the emotion amped up - this is frequently devastating, but that deep low only serves to heighten the euphoric high.

"We are all full of potential to change, ourselves and the world," Allen implores. "We must maintain our hope and the knowledge that we can be better than we are."

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