Vagabon and Courtney Barnett Cover “Reason to Believe”: Listen

“I really admire Lætitia and am constantly inspired by her songwriting, production, and our sporadic FaceTime chats”—Courtney Barnett
Vagabon and Courtney Barnett
Vagabon and Courtney Barnett, photo by Pooneh Ghana

Vagabon and Courtney Barnett have teamed up for a cover of “Reason to Believe.” The song was originally written and recorded by Tim Hardin in 1965 and later covered by Karen Dalton and a number of different artists. Listen to Vagabon and Barnett’s version, as well as Dalton’s, below.

“I recently discovered the Karen Dalton version of ‘Reason to Believe’ for the first time,” Vagabon’s Lætitia Tamko said in a press release. “I became obsessed and so a few days after discovering it, I was encouraged to record a cover of it in my garage. The decision to have Courtney sing it with me came after we performed it together live at the Palace Theatre in Los Angeles on Valentine’s Day 2020, a month before lockdown. It was fresh in our brains then so not long after the show, CB came over and we recorded her parts. Oliver Hill plays slide guitar on it.”

Courtney Barnett added: “I’m a huge fan of Vagabon and Karen Dalton so this was a dream. They both have a voice that absolutely knocks the wind out of me. I really admire Lætitia and am constantly inspired by her songwriting, production, and our sporadic FaceTime chats.”

Vagabon released her self-titled studio album in 2019, following her 2017 debut Infinite Worlds. Courtney Barnett’s last full-length record was 2018’s Tell Me How You Really Feel.