The two most prominent instruments here are Emily's banjo and Martie's fiddle. It's great to hear them again (but also, for me, a poignant reminder of the wasted years of that long wait for the trio to agree on what sound to produce.) I''m wondering if there'll be live performances of this collaboration - as they also have a new album expected some time this year, I should think the chances of them doing guest appearances with each other on at least a couple of occasions are reasonably good). I also wonder if the Chicks will include this song in their own set lists - which would presumably mean Natalie taking the lead vocal. She can impart a different form of sorrow (the vocal in "Voice Inside My Head" being a possible example). However much of the poignancy in "Soon You'll Get Better", especially for fans, lies in the real-life circumstances of her mother's own recurring battle with cancer. That is something the close fans can feel with the singer, in a specially intimate way - and it might be felt that the song is best left to Taylor to express itself.
The initial impact of the song, at least for listeners not already invested in Taylor or her album, is likely to depend on the vocal - and I feel that may be a little divisive. For some, it will appear heartbreaking and wistful - but there are aspects of the delivery that I do find more difficult to take to. One is the almost mechanical rhythm of the semi-spoken lines, especially in the early part of the song - and another is the frequent use of "ooh -ahs" in the choruses. Both are devices I find rather unhelpful in almost any song - but that is just a matter of personal taste. More seriously, perhaps, it often seems to me that Taylor tends to sound as if she's singing rather below her actual age. That may be difficult to explain, but I listen mainly to Country and Roots, where many female singers, regardless of actual age, tend to have a more time-worn quality to their vocal delivery - in comparison to which Taylor's singing often seems to me a little lacking in maturity. That, though, I stress, probably also depends on tastes and listening experience - and may not be apparent to most of the album's audience.
As written, though, the song can touch emotions in anyone who has been through a similarly harrowing time, and faced the up and down emotions of hope and the fear of possible loss. It deserves to be considered widely as a song outside the album - and there is memorable imagery, such as the lines about a prayer-like faith in the medicine bottles, leading on to grasping again at a faith in the Divine. Probing the song and exploring its message is well worth while, even if the album as a whole is not in the listener's general ambit.
