# 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:** 11
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/201 "2010-08-21T14:59:46Z")
> [@Barking\_Dog](#): > > The cover of [Hurt by Johnny Cash](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o22eIJDtKho). Anyone who doesn’t have [this](http://www.amazon.com/American-IV-Man-Comes-Around/dp/B00006L7XQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1282401929&sr=1-2) album, shame on you. Another [beautiful](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdSIlVZhsDw) one. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/202 "2010-08-21T16:46:55Z")
Another favorite of mine: “Rachel’s Song” from Vangelis’ \*Blade Runner \*Soundtrack. . ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/203 "2010-08-21T19:44:54Z")
**The Fountain** was a mess of a movie, but it had a really moving soundtrack. The only movie soundtrack I’ve ever bought, if memory serves. ---
**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 21, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/204 "2010-08-21T19:51:39Z")
**Superstar** , Karen’s voice is achingly beautiful. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SWkOryYF6CI/hqdefault.jpg "Carpenters - Superstar 1971") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWkOryYF6CI) ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/205 "2010-08-21T23:55:05Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > **Superstar** , Karen’s voice is achingly beautiful. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWkOryYF6CI&feature=search](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWkOryYF6CI&feature=search) Yeah. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/206 "2010-08-22T02:09:53Z")
[“Guru Ram Das Raakho Saranaa-ee”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrleQa0i5N4&feature=search) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/207 "2010-08-22T02:30:43Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > **The Fountain** was a mess of a movie, but it had a really moving soundtrack. The only movie soundtrack I’ve ever bought, if memory serves. My only soundtrack is _ **Local Hero** _. Beautiful, quirky, touching film. Same goes for the music. Haunting atmospheric synth work and the most understated, tasteful guitar ever. I’ve always heard that Mark Knopfler, as the roadies were tearing down the stage after Dire Straits concerts, would come out, sit on an amp, and play one of the acoustic pieces from the film. [Live version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsV53fZ2lqc&annotation_id=annotation_327139&feature=iv) from the 90s, with a “lipstick cam” on the head of his guitar. [Acoustic version.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kub4NpkUWA) Irish pipes, then guitar starts at 3:08… A recent [electric version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EyoXb4DtHA), starring his 1958 Les Paul. If that doesn’t cover “achingly” and “beautiful”… ```auto *(Those are the "Wild Theme" to Local Hero. here's the ["Going Home"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMwcGPjYAIk&NR=1) theme.)* ``` ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/208 "2010-08-22T02:33:02Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > **Superstar** , Karen’s voice is achingly beautiful. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWkOryYF6CI&feature=search](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWkOryYF6CI&feature=search) A little prettier than the original… … by Leon Russell. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/209 "2010-08-22T03:00:45Z")
Well, this might not be “achingly beautiful” for some, but I nominate: [“Candy”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bLOjmY--TA&feature=av2e), by Iggy Pop and Kate Pierson. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/210 "2010-08-22T03:30:57Z")
[Love bade me welcome](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNMnGNL0-uw) by Ralph Vaughn Williams [The Last Words of David](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J4J5kqyoTQ&feature=related) by Randall Thompson [Alleluia](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J4J5kqyoTQ) by Randall Thompson (please ignore kitschy religious image) [How lovely is Thy dwelling place](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZcxpl30NOw) from Brahms’ _Ein Deutsches Requiem_ Ravel: [La Flute Enchantee](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiQTqfPBU9s#t=1m20s) Bach - [Air on the G string](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkB2lYqH3qA) [Sheep may safely graze](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYjqnlc7MRw) Debussy - [Prelude to the afternoon of a faun](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7b1FkZYarU) (ballet performance, Nureyev) [Nuages](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRN8RA5Vph8), [Fetes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUXtsmV8LYs) (first 2 nocturnes for orchestra) [La Mer, 3rd movement](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfD8Hh8l4fk) Ravel - [Daybreak](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzwHjEOwVno&feature=fvw) from _Daphnis and Chloe_ Holst - Hymns from the Rig Veda, third group - [Hymn to the dawn](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WapVG8nZtG8) Liszt - [Un sospiro](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLHU2ES51uw) (concert etude) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/211 "2010-08-22T04:06:23Z")
You are all making me want to go out and spend a few hundred bucks through iTunes and Rhapsody. I have a playlist of Songs That Rip My Heart Out Tell it Like it Is – Aaron Neville How Can You Mend a Broken Heart – Al Green Down to the River to Pray – Alison Krauss Cold, and The Gift – Annie Lennox All I Know – Art Garfunkel Yesterday, and Let it Be-- The Beatles Stand by Me – Ben E. King Light as the Breeze – Billy Joel If – Bread The Way It Is, and The End of Innocence – Bruce Hornsby Blood Brothers – Bruce Springsteen That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be – Carly Simon We’ve Only Just Begun – Carpenters Color My World – Chicago Somebody’s Crying – Chris Isaak Sailing – Christopher Cross Traces – Traces Just To Be Close To You – Commodores Everything by The Cranberries – there is just something about Dolores O’Riordan’s voice The Look of Love – Diana Krall Daniel – Elton John Layla – Eric Clapton (for the most evocative piano piece EVER in rock & roll, rips my heart out) At Last – Etta James Dream – The Everly Brothers One Less Bell to Answer - The Fifth Dimension Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – Frankie Valli This Masquerade – George Benson Midnight Train to Georgia – Gladys Knight Without You – Harry Nilsson Dog And Butterfly, and These Dreams – Heart He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother – The Hollies Carolina In My Mind, and You’ve Got A Friend – James Taylor You Are So Beautiful – Joe Cocker Imagine – John Lennon Unforgettable – Johnny Hartman The Circle Game, and The River – Joni Mitchell Over the Rainbow – Judy Garland Dust in the Wind – Kansas Danny’s Song – Loggins and Messina What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong Love’s Theme – The Love Unlimited Orchestra Inner City Blues, and Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye Mona Lisa – Nat King Cole The Needle & The Damage Done – Neil Young I could go on. That’s only about half. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/212 "2010-08-22T04:32:37Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I have a playlist of Songs That Rip My Heart Out Are you a masochist? Irish? Emo? I’m picturing you with the lights down, watching the Packers get beat to that short kick by the Seahawks, with your playlist going, and tears streaming down your face. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/213 "2010-08-22T04:36:58Z")
The duet “Au Fond du Temple Saint” from The Pearl Fishers by Bizet, sung by [Sherill Milnes and Placido Domingo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIVXxRHGtdM&p=89F0CEF02A6B3123&playnext=1&index=3), who was foolish enough to marry somebody other than me. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/214 "2010-08-22T04:46:46Z")
> [@digs](#): > > > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > > > I have a playlist of Songs That Rip My Heart Out > > Are you a masochist? Irish? Emo? > > I’m picturing you with the lights down, watching the Packers get beat to that short kick by the Seahawks, with your playlist going, and tears streaming down your face. You wouldn’t be far from the truth. Are there any dirges about Bret Favre? I now realize I stopped just before Patsy Cline – she had so many gorgeous ballads… ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/215 "2010-08-22T04:48:39Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > > [@digs](#): > > > > Are you a masochist? Irish? Emo? > > > > I’m picturing you with the lights down, watching the Packers get beat to that short kick by the Seahawks, with your playlist going, and tears streaming down your face. > > You wouldn’t be far from the truth. Are there any dirges about Bret Favre? There’s a [Waffle Song.](http://www.weebls-stuff.com/songs/Waffles/).. ---
**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 22, 2010, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/216 "2010-08-22T04:58:46Z")
> [@Maiira](#): > > Say what? No Azam Ali? > > From one of the groups she’s a vocalist in, Vas: > [Kali Basa](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd-te93n_Go) > [Prayer for Soheil](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTMIz5KCsuo) > [In the Garden of Souls](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fxrLIZpuvo) > > From her solo stuff: > [Abode](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kDj_uAT83Y) > [Endless Reverie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRT7L3913BU&feature=related) > > Really, though, all of her stuff is great. Her voice is hauntingly beautiful. This isn’t a lie. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/217 "2010-08-22T05:10:26Z")
> [@digs](#): > > > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > > > You wouldn’t be far from the truth. Are there any dirges about Bret Favre? > > There’s a [Waffle Song.](http://www.weebls-stuff.com/songs/Waffles/).. Oh man, I don’t know how long I listened to that before I realized it was an endless loop. Since I’m from the home of Oscar Mayer, you could at least come up with a bacon song. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/218 "2010-08-22T05:59:43Z")
[Heartbeats](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iECKm2uSN1o) by Jose Gonzalez [Hometown Glory](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW9Fzwuf43c&feature=av2n) by Adele [The Look You Give That Guy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQwsiIlIfH8&feature=channel) , [Fresh Feeling](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw1YfzAyhh4), and [It’s a Motherfucker](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWUVBSwGVjQ) by Eels. [The Shining](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4o5tGajfYE) by Badly Drawn Boy [Waiting for My Real Life to Begin](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4tcRlHY-3Q) by Colin Hay [Song Beneath the Song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDF-AXOEaBw&feature=av2n) by Maria Taylor [Open Your Eyes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk1Q9y6VVy0&feature=av2e)by Snow Patrol Honestly, the impact of most of these songs has worn off through endless repeats, but hopefully some of them are new to you. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/219 "2010-08-22T06:29:39Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > Bach - > [Sheep may safely graze](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYjqnlc7MRw) Yes! . ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/220 "2010-08-22T06:53:42Z")
Okay, so I already know someone mentioned Ashokan Farewell, but I cannot hear [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa2hv8U8cWU) version of it without blubbering helplessly. (Not entirely sure why the video uploader felt the need to add that cheesy intro, though. The real action starts about 35 seconds in.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584.md?page=12)