A Quiet Surrender: The Melancholic Grace of Linda Ronstadt’s It Doesn’t Matter Anymore
When Linda Ronstadt sang It Doesn’t Matter Anymore, she wasn’t just covering a hit – she was offering a deeply felt, mature reckoning with loss, grace, and the gentle release that comes with letting go.
From the outset, it’s worth noting that Linda Ronstadt’s version first appeared on her groundbreaking 1974 album Heart Like a Wheel, which itself soared to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and dominated the Country Album chart, cementing her status as a voice of both power and nuance. Though It Doesn’t Matter Anymore was released as the B-side of her single When Will I Be Loved, it still made a respectable showing: peaking at #47 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #20 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and #54 on the Country chart in the fall of 1975.
The Story Behind the Song
The song was originally written by Paul Anka for Buddy Holly, recorded in October 1958, and released in January 1959. Tragically, Holly died just weeks later — and the song gained a poignantly ironic weight in that context. Anka even donated his composer royalties to Holly’s widow, calling it the least he could do under the circumstances. Over the years, many artists covered the song — but when Ronstadt interpreted it, she brought something uniquely her own: a voice seasoned with introspection, a tenderness that only time can teach.
Meaning & Emotional Depth
At its core, It Doesn’t Matter Anymore is often misread as a defiant anthem of indifference. But under Ronstadt’s spell, it becomes something far more subtle and heartbreaking: not a declaration of not caring, but a whispered acknowledgment that some loves, even when they end, leave a soft, lingering echo inside us. In her hands, the song is not about turning bitter or hardened; it’s about accepting that sometimes, holding on hurts more than letting go — and that the dignity in moving on lies not in forgetting, but in learning to live with memory.
Her voice carries a gentle resignation, a wisdom born of hard-won experience. When she sings about past moments shared, her tone suggests she has replayed them quietly in her mind, felt them fully, and then made peace with their passing. There’s no bitterness here; instead, there’s a serene strength, a mature surrender.
Why This Version Resonates
For listeners, especially those who remember the time when Heart Like a Wheel was released, Linda’s cover feels like a warm letter to the past — as if she is reflecting on long-ago loves and heartbreaks under the soft light of memory. The arrangement is understated, often relying on acoustic guitars and soft backing textures, which allows her voice — gentle, clear, and honest — to carry the emotional weight. This delicate backing supports rather than competes, creating a space where vulnerability can breathe.
Older listeners, in particular, may hear in her voice the echoes of their own life journeys: the years of hope and longing, the heartbreaks that seemed crushing at the time, and finally the understanding that comes with age — that letting go doesn’t mean loving less, but that sometimes love evolves, and acceptance becomes its own kind of peace.
Cultural and Personal Legacy
Linda Ronstadt was known not only for her powerful vocals but for her interpretive brilliance: she could take a song written by someone else and make it deeply personal. It Doesn’t Matter Anymore stands as a testament to her gift — transforming what was once a pop ballad into a moving meditation on loss, closure, and quiet resilience.
For fans who grew up with her, the song can feel like returning to a familiar, wise friend — someone who understands that heartbreak isn’t a sudden rupture, but a gradual journey, and that the bravest thing we sometimes do is simply to keep breathing, day after day, until the ache softens into something like acceptance.