“Godspeed” is the quietest, tenderest moment on ‘s 2016 masterpiece, Blonde. A fun fact about the track is that is a co-writer on it. In December, Blake embarked on a mini solo piano tour, which consisted two shows in New York and two in Los Angeles. Following these performances, videos surfaced online the British singer-songwriter-producer playing intimate renditions “Godspeed” for enraptured crowds.
For those who couldn’t it make it to these shows and were not satisfied with the sound quality concertgoers’ footage, Blake just shared a snippet him playing the Blonde ballad and it’s beautiful. “New decades resolution was to spend more time at my instrument than at a laptop,” Blake wrote in his video post. “So here’s a cover I play a song I helped write – Godspeed by Frank Ocean. I think I messed up a lyric near the beginning but hey, none these are gonna be perfect.”
In an interview with Variety, Blake explained the inspiration behind his short string piano shows: “I love playing the piano and haven’t done solo shows] in a long time. Right now, I’m … in England we use the term “bricking it” — it means sh—ing yourself with fear] — about the show tomorrow. Maybe it’s best to temper the audience’s] expectations, send out a caveat tweet. Anyway, I do one or two solo songs during my standard] live show, like Joni Mitchell’s] “A Case You” or “Vincent” by Don McLean, and I always crave more.”