The Drinking Song by Moxy Früvous. It’s about two best friends who get drunk every chance they get and just enjoy the whole hell out of life. Until one of them collapses (from alcohol poisoning, I assume), and the other is too drunk even to fetch help until it’s too late.
Damn.
Man, I can’t believe I didn’t say Cat’s in the Cradle, even after the earlier Chapin discussion. It’s a good song, I suppose, but there is no level on which I could say I enjoy it. There may be a cheese factor, but to me, that is a seriously frightening and tragic song.
As far as songs to play really loud and be overwhelmed by, “Goodnight Saigon” by Billy Joel.
“Badlands” by Bruce Springsteen to me is about shouting about how crappy things are and I like to blast that one. It feels like it comes from the pit of his stomach.
“The Ballad of Lucy Jordan” by Marianne Faithfull and “Lies” by Stan Rogers are both very emotional for me, but they don’t have to be experienced at full blast.
“Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton
Gottingen (french) by Barbara (Monique Serf). The singer is a Holocaust survivor who in the song compares Paris with the German city of Gottingen, treasuring the latter as much as the former, and despairing at the thought of anything bad happening to Gottingen. A beautiful, beautiful song, even if you don’t understand the words.
Leonard Cohen’s “Bird on the Wire”
Kinky Friedman’s “Ride Em Jewboy.” The best Holocaust song ever written by a Texas Jewboy, or anyone else for that matter.
Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” is a remarkably sad song, and magnificently arranged and performed to make the words as poignant and tragic as possible. Its story - about a poverty-born war veteran, hopeless and abandoned by his country - just becomes more and more relevant every year.
Of course, it’s been misused as a purely patriotic song. Which, really, has become part of what makes it so brilliant.
“The Host of Seraphim” by “Dead Can Dance” is a very powerful piece. Here’s a clip where it was used in the film “Baraka”.
Immerse yourself in it without watching the clip, and then run it again while watching the clip. “Baraka” is a very powerful film in and of itself.
“Heaven on Their Minds” and “Judas’ Death” from Jesus Christ Superstar–the original London cast with Murray Head as Judas
Beethoven’s 5th Symphony
Powerful songs?
More Than Words by Extreme has the power to get you into the pants of any woman who was watching MTV in 1991. As long as you’ve got a good voice, and can play an easy song on acoustic guitar.
Kind of funny, considering the lyrics basically say, “Please shut up so we can screw.”
Kinky also sings a song about Charles Whitman (the Sniper in the OP), but it’s not in any sense a deep one. He has a flip and snarky side.
I’m away from my song lists and might get the titles wrong, but “Nashville Casualty” and “Sold American” are other Kinky Friedman songs that pull on the heart strings.
Casimir Pulaski Day - Sufjan Stevens
Fall Of Troy - Tom Waits, especially a live version of this.
Brick - Ben Folds Five
I’m sure it’ll come as a huge surprise that I’m going to mention Alice Cooper ( 
), but as someone whose had more than her share of mental afflictions, The Ballad of Dwight Fry[e] is chilling for anyone. However, if you’ve been on that side of the coin, it’s especially so. And incidentally, very true feeling.
*See my lonely life unfold
I see it everyday
See my lonely mind explode
when I’ve gone insane
I wanna get out of here
I wanna, I wanna get out of here
I gotta get out of here
I gotta get out of here
IgottagetoutahereIgottagetoutahereIgottagetoutahere
Ya gotta let me out of here
Let me outta here
I gotta get outta here
Let me outta here
I gotta get outta here
Let me outta here
I gotta get outta here*
One of the all time tops is:
Amazing Grace sung by everyone from Elvis local choirs. It has some serious emotional power.
I would also nominate:
Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright and appeared in movies such as Shrek.
For rock, I will nominate:
Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N Roses.
It has a heavy metal song coupled with perfectly innocent themes. That is why it still gets constant airplay 20 years after it was released and most metal was cast aside.
Sufjan Stevens has a few. Personally, I find Chicago to be exceptionally powerful. Mainly because the song follows my life a bit. I moved to Chicago, then to New York. And there were lots of hard times and mistakes. It’s very hard for me to listen to it without being overcome with emotion.
(Funny, I’m in Chicago for the weekend, staring out my hotel window at the Hancock Tower. I really miss living here. I think I should play the song right now…)
Please don’t think I’m trying to rain on the parade here. This song can be considered a major downer by some, but I did not quite see it that way.
So yeah, it may be juvenile, but one song I thought was exceptionally powerful was one by Peggy Lee called “If That’s All There Is”.
Kinky went to school with old Charlie.
Another powerful one is “They Ain’t Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore” if you actually listen to it and realize what it is about. “We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to You,” ditto.
One of Kinky’s many talents is his ability to combine snarky and powerful in one breath.
America the Beautiful by Ray Charles
It is a powerful song. It’s unique in being a mostly spoken-word song. All four of the verses are spoken, and, as I recall, one of the choruses. Peggy Lee (1920-2002) provides the appropriate world-weary voice and delivery. She recorded it in her late 40’s, and the song benefits from that.
It was written by Mike Stoller and Jerry Lieber. Some other Lieber-Stoller songs: Jailhouse Rock, Hound Dog, On Broadway, Under The Boardwalk, Searchin’, Kansas City. Also, a favorite of mine, Stand By Me. Ben E. King had the original hit with that in the 60’s and John Lennon covered it.
The inspiration for Is That All There Is? may have been Thomas Mann’s 1896 short story “Disillusionment,” written when he was 20. The house fire in verse one is their common element, but also the overall mood, the questioning of the value of life.
Two gripping songs;
Hey Lady - we’ve all seen the lady/guy who wallops the children in the checkout line and thought of doing something, seeing the fear/hardness developing and starting the cycle of violence.
That Could of been Me is next. The small chances/choices in life that could make you a sucess or homeless.
Great thoughts, worth finding and hearing.