There is probably no better version of Anna Begins than on the original studio version on August and Everything After. The song is done on numerous occasions in live concert and also appears on multiple live albums such as Across a Wire: Live In New York Disc 1, Live at Town Hall, and August and Everything After Deluxe Edition Disc 2. Most of the live versions are done acoustically and have a softer sound. To me the live versions seemed artificially drawn out and does not have the melody and harmony that Counting Crows captured in the studio version.
In the studio version, the song and lyrics build to the one of my favorite parts when Anna is mentioned for the first time:
"This time when kindness fall like rain,
It washes her away and Anna begins to change her mind
'These seconds when I'm shaking leave me shuddering for days', she says
And I'm not ready for this sort of thing"
And then the song finishes off amazingly with the chorus and Anna is mentioned again:
"The time when kindness falls like rain,
It washes me away and Anna begins to change my mind
And every time she sneezes I believe it's love and
Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing
She's talking in her sleep.
It's keeping me awake and Anna begins to toss and turn
And every word is nonsense but I understand and
Oh lord, I m not ready for this sort of thing
Her kindness bangs a gong,
It's moving me along and Anna begins to fade away
It's chasing me away... She disappears and
Oh lord , I'm not ready for this sort of thing
The music that build up to lyrics is what makes the studio version great. It is the build up that I think the live version doesn't capture for me. Although the live versions are still good, I would listen to the studio version every time when listening to Anna Begins.
Below are the studio versions and an acoustic version.
Studio Version of Anna Begins
Acoustic Version of Anna Begins
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