The late singer-songwriter David Olney's album Whispers and Sighs (out March 26, 2021) features the final songs recorded by the Americana pioneer, who penned songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and more.
The latest release from the album, "The World We Used to Know," is a duet with Eastern European singer-songwriter Anana Kaye.
"It was natural for David to enter another world and immerse himself in it," Kaye tells Wide Open Country. "He really related to our stories about growing up during a revolution or civil war... and its consequences. Felt like he lived them with us and experienced the physical and psychological ruin that come with it, the division between people, the division within people's hearts and souls. That was not imagination for us, and it was something we lived through and continue to do so."
Kaye explains that the song is written from the point of view of a soldier writing a letter to a loved one.
"The song is in the form of the letter that is presumably written by a soldier to his beloved left behind. The world we knew is gone and there's no turning back. But the longing is natural and real and painful," Kaye says. "Who are the bad guys, who are the good guys? Yesterday's heroes are today's villains and vice versa. Yet life goes on and it's the only life we have."
Watch the video for "The World We Used to Know" below.
All 13 tracks on Whispers and Sighs were written by Olney, Kaye and Kaye's husband and musical partner Irakli Gabriel.
Olney passed away last January while on stage at the 30A Songwriters Festival in Florida. The Rhode Island native moved to Nashville in 1973 and recorded over 20 albums, including Deeper Well and 2018's This Side or the Other.
Olney also recorded a regular YouTube series titled You Never Know.
Now Watch: Willie Nelson's Children Are Carrying On His Legacy
