# Most achingly beautiful songs ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 17, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584 "2010-08-17T23:15:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/1 "2010-08-17T23:15:43Z")
Inspired by [this quite excellent thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=12811968&posted=1#post12811968), I got to wondering what Dopers considered to be some of the most gorgeous songs ever recorded. I’ll start with these: [ul] [li][“Winter”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXcTZWOb6Kg) - Tori Amos[/li][li][“Mayonaise”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA3UnaKpe4E) - Smashing Pumpkins[/li][li][“Bad”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyfaYHMNIuA) - U2[/li][li][“In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ImGP33hcc4) - Frank Sinatra[/li][li][“Vienna”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9WdUgn0XkU&feature=av2n) - Ultravox[/li][li][“Enjoy the Silence”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diT3FvDHMyo) - Depeche Mode[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/2 "2010-08-17T23:27:17Z")
Christmas Canon [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4cP26ndrmtg/maxresdefault.jpg "Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Canon (Official Music Video) [HD]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cP26ndrmtg) Adiemus [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ovVPmm7_Ezg/hqdefault.jpg "Adiemus") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovVPmm7_Ezg) ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/3 "2010-08-17T23:29:59Z")
Good call on the Enya. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/4 "2010-08-17T23:34:17Z")
I could probably come up with several. But, for now, I’ll go with [Stardust](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFyKAUBkdOs). ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/5 "2010-08-17T23:37:15Z")
The Righteous Brothers: [_Unchained Melody._](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-idDbIfGvw) Nat King Cole: [_Stardust._](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtZKwp6cjd4) ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/6 "2010-08-17T23:51:14Z")
[Somewhere Over The Rainbow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I) by Iz. Yes, it’s my answer to a lot of these threads. No, I’m not getting tired of it. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/7 "2010-08-18T00:02:18Z")
Three by Cat Stevens: [Trouble](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwdJUcMHRSs) [Lady D’Arbanville](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjfI3uSN8DQ)\* [Angel of War](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnYYehZgOBE)\*\* * * * ## [In the Real World](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3iFY_ULLkw) by Roy Orbison # [Hallelujah](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKnxmkOAj88) by Jeff Buckley Covers of Hallelujah by [Leonard Cohen](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q&feature=av2n), [k.d. lang](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTv9m8c6hnw&feature=fvst) and [Alexandra Burke](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEvJzvAsO20)- equally good. The hymn [Softly & Tenderly](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgRcljuaf-E) (particularly the version by Cynthia Clawson that opens the movie Trip to Bountiful) \*Written while he was dating actress/model/celebrity [Patti D’Arbanville](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001091/) \*\*Essentially the same melody as Lady D’Arbanville, proving what many have suspected: that Patti D’Arbanville is in fact the angel of war ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/8 "2010-08-18T00:06:11Z")
[Agnus Dei](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkObnNQCMtM), the choral version of _Adagio for Strings_ by Samuel Barber ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/9 "2010-08-18T00:06:29Z")
Just thought of three more, all by the Red-Headed Stranger: [ul] [li][“Rainbow Connection”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deebKNI-dTE&feature=av2e)[/li][li][“Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJTsTwD587I)[/li][li][“Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgNxAGjgt-Y)[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/10 "2010-08-18T00:06:46Z")
[Massive Attack - Protection](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Epgo8ixX6Wo&playnext=1&videos=JwhCkkboYEU). [Denez Prigent + Lisa Gerrard](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7HKktNbUCQ&feature=related) [Sarah McLachlan - When Somebody Loved Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px0j1EHF8Y0) ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/11 "2010-08-18T00:10:34Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > # [Hallelujah](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKnxmkOAj88) by Jeff Buckley Covers of Hallelujah by [Leonard Cohen](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q&feature=av2n), [k.d. lang](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTv9m8c6hnw&feature=fvst) and [Alexandra Burke](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEvJzvAsO20)- equally good. Small quibble: Leonard Cohen didn’t cover “Hallelujah”, so much as he wrote the thing. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/12 "2010-08-18T00:16:13Z")
Van Morrison has several that fit the catagory, including “In The Garden” and “Listen To The Lion”… ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/13 "2010-08-18T00:16:29Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > [Agnus Dei](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkObnNQCMtM), the choral version of _Adagio for Strings_ by Samuel Barber Slatkin conducting Barber. The performance is only a few days after the horror. There’s a bit of the film that is a few weeks after. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RRMz8fKkG2g/hqdefault.jpg "Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings, op.11") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRMz8fKkG2g) You’ll need something to wipe your eyes, btw. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/14 "2010-08-18T00:19:48Z")
Sinead O’Connor probably has a few candidates but I’ll go with [This Is A Rebel Song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBFf44V5fmI) and [In This Heart](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w09mDTbQoIU). ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/15 "2010-08-18T00:34:12Z")
[Rank 1 - Airwave](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypDtUUtuNzQ) [Solarstone - Seven Cities](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs-jemAvpxw) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/16 "2010-08-18T00:36:14Z")
As in the other thread, I’ll go with “I Only Have Eyes For You”, as sung by The Flamingos. However, the _[Va, pensiero](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG93aYu7S-0)_ chorus from the Verdi opera **Nabucco** is possibly the most gorgeous music ever composed. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/17 "2010-08-18T00:40:44Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > [“Winter”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXcTZWOb6Kg) - Tori Amos Makes me cry more often than not but I gotta give a link to Tori on the piano and not that anime stuffs: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWmETxWM0h0&feature=fvw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWmETxWM0h0&feature=fvw) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/18 "2010-08-18T00:52:01Z")
[E Lucevan le Stelle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mX7ugJ5NM8) ---
**Author:** ![Haste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Haste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haste)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/19 "2010-08-18T00:58:56Z")
The Dance by Garth Brooks. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/20 "2010-08-18T01:02:19Z")
[My Immortal](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-A-4NQfFRs) by Evanescence [Falling Slowly](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkFB8f8bzbY) by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova from the movie _Once_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584.md?page=2)