The path to and from The Mother Church stage is always a long one for The Pope of Mope. The former Smiths singer’s 2014 Ryman stop came after two cancellations the year prior. Then this year’s Nashville stop, in July, was moved from The Grand Ole Opry House to the Ryman and moved up a day on relatively short notice. But right out of the gate, Moz made the hassle worth it, kicking off his set with a wondrously lush cover of country legend Lynn Anderson’s 1970 real-talk-core classic “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden.” It was a Music City gesture that went miles beyond the band-comes-to-town-does-obligatory-Johnny-Cash-cover — and one that was sadly prescient, preceding Anderson’s death by a mere 28 days.
Best Lynn Anderson Cover
Morrissey Sings '(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden' at the Ryman
