2:42 - You Can't Take It With You

Paul Kelly and the Messengers, You Can't Take It With You

[purchase]

A study in tracktiming and popular song: this 2:42 original from iconic Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly was never released as a single, but thanks to a nice direct lyric, a poppy country and rock-fueled pace, and a simple yet political sentiment, the song helped make So Much Water So Close To Home Kelly's first album to hit the Australian top ten.

A decade later, Kelly rerecorded You Can't Take It With You on Smoke, an album which set many of his hits in the bluegrass mold. Despite a rousing fingerpickin' sound and the addition of some sweet harmony courtesy of Melbourne bluegrass band Uncle Bill, the new version of the song came in just a few seconds longer. The album topped out at #36 on the Australian charts. Not a single song charted.

Just goes to show you what a difference a decade, a few seconds, and a shift from rock to bluegrass can make.

(Note: Kelly Willis does a good version of You Can't Take It With You, too, at just a hair over three minutes.)