Roy Orbison's version reaches high as it dreams of home. It is beautiful but a little distant—technique stands in front. It did not hit then, and stayed buried for a while.
In Linda's version the voice sits closer, and “I want to go home” comes through clearly. Not a dream—an ache to return now. It reached No. 2 in the U.S. and became a song many people keep.
The same longing for “Blue Bayou” shifts from a beautiful dream to an urgent desire to go home.