Fiona Apple Covers Idaho State Song on This American Life

Fiona Apple has offered her first musical output in 2023 with a cover of Idaho’s official state song “Here We Have Idaho” for NPR’s This American Life.

On the May 26th episode titled “Jane Doe,” Apple’s incisive rendition follows a story about a 19-year old intern at the Idaho state legislature who reported that state Representative Aaron von Ehlinger raped her in 2021, and the repercussions she suffered after his public ethics hearing and subsequent resignation. The cover has not yet been widely released, but can be heard at the end of Act Two (starting at the 1:00:52 mark for the online stream).

The Idaho state song makes for an unexpected pick by the New York native, but also feels sonically familiar with backing from Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters collaborators, including drummer Amy Wood, guitarist David Garza, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and guitarist-engineer John Would. Her inclusion in the episode, however, feels unmistakably personal as a fellow survivor of sexual assault, an experience she’s addressed in her music as far back as her 1996 debut album, Tidal.

The typically reclusive singer-songwriter’s most recent original song, “Where the Shadows Lie,” was released in October 2022 in conjunction with Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings series The Rings of Power and was awarded our Song of the Week distinction.

If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual misconduct, you can reach out for support:

RAINN Hotline
1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
http://www.rainn.org

Crisis Text Line
SMS: Text “HERE” to 741-741
http://www.facebook.com/crisistextline (chat support)