Sara Bareilles Sang ‘She Used to Be Mine.’ Now Fans Are Making It Theirs.

The song by Bareilles managed to strike a chord with my 12-year-old granddaughter. She's an aspiring guitar player and songwriter who discovered "She Used to Be Mine," after her mother, my daughter-in-law, was murdered a year ago. Watching and listening to the little girl sing this song is heart-breaking, though, strangely it seems to help, too. The song isn't about her mother, but it surely could be. True art touches us, as Bareilles song does, even if it isn't really about our own lives.

Sadly, the NYT does not mention Adrienne Shelly the original creator of 'Waitress', but many of the commenters do. What the NYT and the commenters fail to mention, which is no surprise, is that Ms. Shelly was brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant who had smuggled himself into the US and was working illegally in construction at her West Village building where he saw her and targeted her. Construction being the primary field of jobs for illegal immigrants, according to Pew Research. New York City, as a so called 'sanctuary city' and violating federal laws has nearly one million illegal immigrants, also according to Pew Research. He is now serving 25 years with no parole in prison for her murder. New York City was not a 'sanctuary' for Adrienne Shelly.

This is my favorite song from the last few years. I was waiting tables at a high-end restaurant in Nashville when it first came out, and the lines "These shoes and this apron/That place and its patrons/Have taken more than I gave them" hit a rather exposed nerve. I just might have cried a little when I first heard it. My favorite version is Sara's original, and I'm also a huge fan of Jeremy Jordan's version, although it is a hair too slick. It is a measure of Sara's gifts, and the song's beauty, that radically different interpretations can be equally effective. And Zach Braff just earned my complete admiration. What a generous gesture.

Never heard of this song (or, to be honest, the play either). I listened to some of the clips and was quite impressed. I'll have to spend some time listening to the whole thing later.

To Adrian Matthew, in case you are reading these comments: I was moved by your quote about tapping into your experiences with bullying. You are a wise young man, to make use of that hurt rather than taking the diminishment to heart. I was bullied and belittled, even well into adulthood. It may sound silly, but it wasn’t until I was in my 40s that I fully understood how bullying works. People who diminish others do it from a a dark place of insecurity. They put down and harm others to feel bigger themselves. That is true whether the bullies are seventh graders, high school cool kids, romantic partners, teachers, employers, spouses, or even (unfortunately, sometimes) parents. A bully may be jealous of the person he or she torments, or they may be aimlessly redirecting anger or disgust they feel for themselves. The one thing to remember is it is never about you, but the person causing the hurt. You’ve probably heard all that a hundred times before, but it bears repeating. Never let anyone tamp down your light.

Beautiful article on Sarah Bareilles' gem of a song. Just wish it had a word for the work of Adrienne Shelly who started it all, as she can't speak for herself anymore, her name willl never ever be mentioned enough : https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/feb/04/adrienne-shelly-wild-genius-waitress-stage

Please don't leave our loss of Adrienne Shelley out of this story. Imagine all the things she never became, the things whenever created, because of a man's violence.

I plan to listen to every version of this song ... Readers: listen to a song by The Cars, from a different era, different type of music - great band with great lead singer - it's called 'My Best Friend's Girl' .... if my memory is accurate the last line is ... 'She used to be mine' ... followed by a tasty little blues lick ... ENJOY !

I heard this song a few years ago on Pandora and was immediately moved to sobbing by it. I think most people (women especially) can relate to it living in a world that pressures us to conform to what is expected. Our dreams and our true selves are put aside to survive in society.

I just took a little break from my chores to read the Times and found this lovely article. Thank you! I can return to my day, inspired, uplifted, reminded of the incredible beauty that lies within so many people. Keep up this good work, NYTimes...this is what keeps me subscribing.

I first came across this song during the Tony's a few years ago. Jessie and Sara sang it together. In a show full of that year's Broadway showstoppers, this one felt different. I watched the clip over and over again, crying through it each time. I'm not at all surprised to hear that this song has moved others the way it moved me. Well done, Sara. Thank you for this gift.

That first rendition, by the fourteen-year-old boy, is extraordinary. I think what really stands out about this story is the level of empathy involved - on the part of the song, on the part of the performers. It reminds me of the way the song "Angel from Montgomery" took on a life of its own, so that anyone, of any age, any gender, can sing the lines, "I am an old woman, named after my mother," and mean them.

This is a spectacular story. Well done, NYT. Well done, Sara Bareilles. Well done humanity.

I have a daughter who is a baker and a daughter who is a lawyer and this song resonates with me as their mom...I feel like I could sing it about one of them on one day and the other on another day, and sometimes even about both of them on the same day. It's just so good.

Now I am going to listen to this song. (can't play the music in the library - too any people studying)

Thank you, NYT, for this great story, and the clips! And thank you, SB, for such a beautiful song! In his young (hard to comprehend) wisdom, Adrian does do the best rendition - allowing the emotion to come through the lyric and then building to such a powerful crescendo. Anyone who could watch that first video of him without weeping....., well, that wouldn,t be me!

This song gets to me every time, no matter who sings it. Adrian Matthew’s interpretation is as raw and true as any I have heard. This is not a song to be belted out, or overmanipulated. The singer has to convey a range of emotions — building up to a crescendo —but there has to be some holding back, even at the high points. That young man got it. He nailed it. He has a great future, I think.

This is such wholesome coverage, NYT. Thank you for sharing these artists and their music with us.

This song is perfect (pie line notwithstanding) and these renditions are amazing.