Lykke Li has released a haunting cover of Johnny Cash’s classic song, “Ring of Fire” which marks Li’s first new release since 2022’s EYEYE. The single arrives as part of the soundtrack for the new Netflix film, Damsel, due on March 8th.
In a new interview with Variety, Li explained that she wanted to honor the song’s specific vibe while leaning into its tone, “I sat down at the piano and the first thing that came out of my mouth was what I recorded,” she said. “To be honest, the only version I’ve ever heard in my whole life is the Johnny Cash version, so I had no real history. I just went into it blank… You can feel that energy on the recording, so it’s a very important process for me to keep it live and keep the tension.”
Li’s recording of the song will appear over the credits for Damsel, and its poetically “tense” feel will match the tone of the film. Starring Millie Bobbie Brown and directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, it’s about a woman who marries into a royal family, only to find that she’s been chosen to be sacrificed to a dragon.
Cash’s version of the song is optimistic, and it has a faster tempo than Li’s version. It’s about how love is this burning feeling everyone has deep down. Speaking of down, he sings “I went down down down and the flames went higher”. The original is relatable like that. The instrumentals sound like that of a mariachi band; it’s upbeat like that. In addition, there are backup singers that accompany cash’s vocals. There’s themes of innocence in the song as well. Near the end, Cash says “I fell for you like a child”; it’s a feeling that everyone has been through before. Li’s version sounds like something you’d expect in a film with a darker tone. She takes her time delivering the lyrics; its otherworldly, and it contrasts the original.
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