If I Could appeared on the single of Kasey’s version of Cyndi Lauper’s True Colours and peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Her rendition reached No. 76 on the End of Year Top 100 Singles for 2003 and was certified as a gold record. Kasey’s music has featured prominently here, and this rollicking amusing song drew me straight in. For sheer originality, this song gets bonus points from me. She is playing below live with her long-time guitarist who just happens to be her father Bill Chambers.
If I could make my livin’
Goin’ fishing
Then I would make my livin’
With a line and pole
Put food on the table
Give the money to the landlord
Buy some workin’ clothes
Cause I ain’t
Making money goin’ fishing
Like I’m paid in the factory
If I Could is a cover version of Tim Carroll’s original release in 1993. He was a long time ago a punk rocker in the Indiana group The Gizmos. He has a great deal of punk rock influence in his music, but you wouldn’t know it hearing Kasey’s version below. Carroll remembers when he first fell in love with guitar. He was about 7 and had never been around a real guitar before.
“My dad came home from work one day and he had an acoustic guitar with him,” he recalls. “When I walked in the house, I saw this guitar and sort of raked my fingers across it, and I just thought it was magic. Since that moment, I’ve been hooked on guitar.”
This song has been covered by many artists, including John Prine, Kasey Chambers, Sunny Sweeny, & Sonny Burgess.
References:
1. Kasey Chambers – Wikipedia
2. Tim Carroll – Discogs
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I really like her a lot Matt…she could have fit in different eras of country music.
Kasey knew nothing else. Her and the family travelled in their van from bar to bar in the Australian Desert and played music with family for a living and cooked rabbits on campfires by the car in the middle of nowhere. As we would say in Australian lexicon – Kasey is ‘Fair Dinkum’. Haha
I just completed an article by the Beatles written by George which is easily one of my mid Beatles period favourite songs, ‘If I Needed Someone’ which I believe I got from your page. That song is just so good!
That is why she seems so down to earth…and it comes out in her singing.
Yes that is a good song from George…that is song showed a lot of growth by him as a songwriter.
Speaking of Australia…. I saw a great low budget Australia movie….it’s from 1971 and it’s called Wake In Fright…. it’s really good in that early seventies way.
I haven’t heard of that Australian movie, but I noticed the entire feature is on YT, so I will definitely get round to watching in the coming days. Cheers.