# Exceptionally Powerful Songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 28, 2007, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760 "2007-09-28T01:28:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/41 "2007-09-29T16:37:32Z")
Since people have already mentioned _Throwing Copper_’s powerful nature, I’ll put in a vote for Chevelle’s \*[Family System](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOLYbptxYCg) \*. You really have to crank this one up on a good sound system to feel the sheer power. It kicks off their _Wonder What’s Next?_ album and I think it’s a perfect opening. I want to break stuff whenever I hear this song–in a good way. 😃 I also love how the fragmented, earnest lyrics \*I’m tired of your open mouth Crawling inside my skin \ Forget the time I said I would, Replace that with i never will, Beyond the facts held in your face, Ignore the facts beyond your nose, Say that its too late, What a man’s got he’ll learn to hate. \* And how all that just explodes at the end into this huge angsty ball of \*JUST GROW UP! RRUHH!!! RRUHH!!! RRUHH!!! RRUHH!!!\* I’m not normally a fan of excessive angst, but they do it so well. You feel like you are literally standing right in the middle of the argument in question. It just really pounds you with the frustration inherent in those kinds of relationships. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/42 "2007-09-29T17:16:33Z")
I once blew out a fuse listening to Queen’s “We Are the Champions.” Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![dgrdfd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@dgrdfd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dgrdfd)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/43 "2007-09-29T17:45:27Z")
[QUOTE=erie774] [Killkelly](http://www.chivalry.com/cantaria/lyrics/kilkelly.html) is one of the most moving, depressing songs I have ever heard. It makes _Cats in the Cradle_ seem chipper. The first time I heard it was at an Irish fest outdoor concert. When the song ended, I found the tears pouring down my face. [/QUOTE] Thanks for posting that. I had never heard of the song and it is really good. I don’t particularly like the person singing it (youtube video) but the lyric was very moving. I would like to nominate [Alice in Chains - Junkhead](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9GAEFTeWko) Many people may not feel the same way, and that’s great!, but I personally think the song is great when you consider all of Layne Staley’s work. Particularly how his life ended. I find most of Layne Staley’s work to be very powerful. For instance, [Nutshell](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/a/alice+in+chains/nutshell_20005988.html) > [@](#): > > We chase misprinted lies > We face the path of time > And yet I fight > And yet I fight > This battle all alone > No one to cry to > No place to call home ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/44 "2007-09-29T18:55:05Z")
“Eyes on Me” by Faye Wong. Sometimes “suteki da ne” from FFX, but it depends on my mood. “Life is like a Boat” by Rie Fu. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/45 "2007-09-29T19:03:46Z")
Forgot to add “Wind Nocturne” from Lunar Silver Star Story Complete, and it’s kitten version “Shii’s Song.” [Wind Nocturne](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ8nyFGuqBo&mode=related&search=) [Shii’s Song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irF5fEMixng) ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/46 "2007-09-29T19:25:11Z")
Oh! How Could I forget “Pray,” the lyrical version of the main Final Fantasy theme, done by Risa Ohki. Maybe it’s the nostalgia, but it tears me up every time. [Pray (starts at 2:30 in the video)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ_46M7QxMw) ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/47 "2007-09-29T19:43:00Z")
[QUOTE=Shamozzle] “The Host of Seraphim” by “Dead Can Dance” is a very powerful piece. Here’s a [clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-A2k9NqywQ) where it was used in the film “Baraka”. [/QUOTE] Lisa Gerrard sang this when I saw in concert in May, it was great. Another powerful DCD / Lisa song is “Sanvean”, particularly the live version from “Toward the Within” (which you can see [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygHBv2CZ3PY)). She performed this both at the solo show I saw and the DCD show I saw in 2005. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/48 "2007-09-29T20:30:51Z")
Tom Waits’ “Hoist That Rag” punched me in the gut when I first heard it. It’s raw and dirty sounding and fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/49 "2007-09-29T21:20:13Z")
My first thought was Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors.” Gets me every time. Hearing her play it in concert almost did me in. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/50 "2007-09-29T21:31:22Z")
Jim and Jean’s performance of _Crucifixion_ by Phil Ochs. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/51 "2007-09-30T02:11:16Z")
Tori Amos’ _Silent All These Years_ just did me in the first time I heard it. I had a similar reaction to Pearl Jam’s _Better Man_. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/52 "2007-09-30T14:03:42Z")
[QUOTE=EJs Girl] Tori Amos’ Silent All These Years just did me in the first time I heard it. [/QUOTE] That whole album, _Little Earthquakes_, is mind-bogglingly powerful. The one that moves me the most is _Mother._ \* Go go go go now Out of the nest It’s time Go go go now Circus girl without a safety net Here here now Don’t cry You raised your hand for the assignment Tuck those ribbons under your helmet Be a good soldier First my left foot Then my right behind the other Pantyhose Running in the cold Mother the car is here Somebody leave the light on Black Chariot for the redhead Dancing dancing girl And when I dance for him Somebody leave the light on just in case I like the dancing I can remember where I come from\* ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Ryle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8dc957/32.png) [@Mark\_Ryle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Ryle)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/53 "2007-10-01T03:49:40Z")
[QUOTE=Scarlett67] My first thought was Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors.” Gets me every time. [/QUOTE] I agree. I never cared for Cyndi Lauper until I heard her sing _True Colors_, sometime in the mid-90’s. I rate Phil Collins’ cover just a little higher though. _The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia_ always gives me a chill up the back (means it’s powerful). I only ever hear it, it seems, driving late at night struggling to stay awake by surfing the FM dial. There are so many Country Music stations and the songs are so incredibly inane they can hold my interest and thus stave off dozing just marveling at their unrelieved fatuousness. Surprisingly often, though, a station will happen to play _The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia_, by Reba, and suddenly I find myself listening with respectful rapt attention. This, even though I have never been able to figure out the plot behind the chain of events. Sleepiness is dispelled long after the song ends as I ruminate on those events. Wikipedia has a full description of the [chain of events](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_the_Lights_Went_Out_in_Georgia) and also some surprising facts relating to the song’s hit-status for two performers, Reba McIntyre and Vicki Lawrence, of all people. It was written by Bobby Russell (1941-1992), Vicki Lawrence’s first husband (married 1972-1974). He also wrote _Little Green Apples_, which won a 1969 Best Song Grammy jointly for O. C. Smith (1932-2001) and Roger Miller (1936-1992). Cher was offered _The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia_ first but, _unbeknownst to her_(!), husband Sonny Bono turned it down. Vicki Lawrence, then a regular on The Carol Burnett Show, recorded her husband’s handiwork in late 1972. It achieved Number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and also reached the Top 40 of Billboard’s Hot Country Singles. I can only imagine how Cher must have coveted a crossover – possibly a signature – hit like that. I don’t know enough about Country Music to know whether it’s Reba’s signature hit or not. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/54 "2007-10-01T11:51:12Z")
[Peat Bog Soldiers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peat_Bog_Soldiers_%28song%29) by, oh, just about anybody - though I like The Home Service’s version. In fact the Home Service’s [first album](http://www.geocities.com/gtaylorpage/LyrHsEarly.htm) is an amazingly powerful set of songs (with the exception of ‘Doing the Inglish’ which was a single and not on the original version) from Bill Caddick’s relentlessly downbeat ‘Never Going to be a Cowboy Now’ and ‘She Moves Among Men’ to John Tams’ socialist anthems ‘Don’t Let Them Grind You Down’ and ‘Walk My Way’ which open and close the set. The rock-group-with-a-brass-band arrangements add to the impact, too. Not bad for a bunch of English folkies. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/55 "2007-10-01T17:06:25Z")
Also by Chapin [The Mayor of Candor Lied](http://www.lyricsdir.com/harry-chapin-the-mayor-of-candor-lied-lyrics.html) ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/56 "2007-10-01T18:10:36Z")
“Don’t Speak” by No Doubt has always been able to powerfully affect me, even when I wasn’t a hundred-percent clear on what the song was _about_. I’ve broken to it a few times. ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2007, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/57 "2007-10-02T06:42:17Z")
Okay, if **Faithfool** can do it, so can I - obligatory Alice Cooper song here. _“Might As Well Be On Mars”_. Oh wow. It’s unrequited desperation at it’s best. The scene is a man standing on the roof of his building, looking across and down at the corner bar where his former girlfiend sits. “Baby I can’t fly If I could, I’d come down to you Maybe I should try…” The first time I heard it and realized he was talking about jumping…major shivers. It’s simply one of the most moving songs I know. ---
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/58 "2007-10-02T18:28:54Z")
One of the songs I find most powerful is the Pogues’ rendition of [The Band Played Waltzing Matilda](http://youtube.com/watch?v=GPFjToKuZQM). It’s the story of an Australian conscript in WWI who gets his legs blown off in Gallipoli. It wasn’t written by Shane MacGowan, but I think his voice is perfect for the song. Maybe it’s the resigned, matter-of-fact way he relates the horror of war. It was the first song I ever heard by the Pogues, and now they’re my favorite band. It’s definitely worth a listen, even if it is a bit long. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/59 "2007-10-02T19:16:08Z")
[QUOTE=Angel of the Lord] “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt has always been able to powerfully affect me, even when I wasn’t a hundred-percent clear on what the song was _about_. I’ve broken to it a few times. [/QUOTE] Second “Don’t Speak”. Some others I thought I might see mentioned: “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot “Candle in the Wind” by Elton John “We’re All Alone” by Boz Scaggs “Kiss and Say Goodbye” by the Manhattans ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760/60 "2007-10-02T19:20:32Z")
_How To Save a Life_, The Fray. It was the big popular thing for a while, thanks to _Grey’s Anatomy_, and it still feels very real and honest and true. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exceptionally-powerful-songs/420760.md?page=4)