For the final session of The Song According to Matt Munisteri, you’ll work on a song by the iconic singer and songwriter Hank Williams: “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You).” Matt says “Hank really walked the line between folk and pop music; his songs are often full of melodies that, to my ears, are just begging for some intriguing harmonies to flesh out the musical movement. As if that isn’t enough, his lyrics serve up indelible images that have etched many of his songs into our national consciousness. Check out Hank’s version of ‘I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You)’ and listen to the relaxed way he swings the melody (a lead sheet with a rough approximation of Hank’s elastic phrasing is included), and compare that to the relatively button-down reading that Patsy Cline gives it. In this lesson, We’re going to look at various permutations of the melody; work at phrasing it in a ‘singer-like’ way; and then we’re going to use many of the voicings we’ve been learning to slowly explore how we can create a harmonized solo guitar version.”

In this video, Matt starts by going over the lead sheet and looking at Hank’s phrasing of the basic melody.

Links to recordings:

 "I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You)" Hank Williams

"I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You)" Anita Carter and Hank Williams

 "I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You)" Linda Ronstadt

"I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You)" Patsy Cline