Norah Jones and Mavis Staples have teamed for a new bittersweet ballad, “I’ll Be Gone.”
Written by Pete Remm, who co-produced the song with Jones, “I’ll Be Gone” is a slow and steady soul tune with a gospel edge befitting the song’s lyrics, which convey a potent mixture of grief, perseverance, struggle and absolution. “There’s a place far from here,” Jones and Staples sing together, “Gonna make it my home/It’s where I belong/When I get where I’m going, I’ll be gone/I’ll be gone.”
“The first time I met Mavis she held my hand and we sang side-by-side to honor Paul McCartney,” Jones said in a statement. “She is a beacon of love and light. It is always an honor, a pleasure, and a dream come true to sing with her. I hope we get to do more of it.”
Jones and Staples have performed live together on numerous occasions, including a rendition of “You are Not Alone” at Staples’ blockbuster 80th birthday concert in May. But “I’ll Be Gone” marks the first track the pair of recorded in the studio.
Both Jones and Staples released solo albums this year as well, with the former’s Begin Again arriving in April and the latter’s We Get By in May.