# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/141 "2010-08-19T14:03:13Z")
Just to add to the flood of replies I’ll submit [The Art Of Suicide](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPrD-Bowbr4) by Emilie Autumn. It’s my New Favorite Thing. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/142 "2010-08-19T14:06:12Z")
Some cracking ones already mentioned. One that hasn’t [“scattered Black and whites” by elbow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U4VgvTCKU4) I think the man has infiltrated my childhood! ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/143 "2010-08-19T14:21:08Z")
[Casimir Pulaski Day](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGEMx3TKxNc) - Sufjan Stevens [Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuvcZwD9CfU) - Smashing Pumpkins [Lullaby](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR8KWQKYMag) - The Dixie Chicks [Save Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNbTC6xLVg0) - Aimee Mann ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/144 "2010-08-19T14:24:02Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > > [@AHunter3](#): > > > > The Alan Parsons Project was consistently pretty damn good on doing hauntingly beautiful… > > I have to agree with your assessment of Alan Parsons, but I’d have chosen The Traveller (Days Are Numbers). If I’d kept going with my listings (which was tempting!) I’d have certainly included that one. And “Shadow of a Lonely Man”. And “May Be a Price to Pay”. And “Dr. Tarr & Professor Fether”. And “The Eagle Will Rise Again”. And… ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/145 "2010-08-19T14:43:20Z")
Anyone yet mentioned _Fairytale of New York_ by the Pogues? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fLb213lak5s/hqdefault.jpg "The Pogues - Fairytale of New York") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLb213lak5s) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/146 "2010-08-19T14:48:46Z")
If somebody already mentioned these two versions, I missed seeing them. I’m one of those people who believe a “song” has to be sung. However, I’ve adjusted my thinking for the sake of the majority opinion at SDMB and include [Blue in Green by Miles Davis](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoPL7BExSQU) and [Tommy Emmanuel - Somewhere Over the Rainbow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ubVGiyAhkY) as two of the ones that do it for me every time I hear them. ---
**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 19, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/147 "2010-08-19T15:31:43Z")
Icarus. [The original](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Df3a3dfWQ) (Paul Winter Consort, with David darling on cello) [Ralph Towner](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38k2W5UFyjM&feature=related) (the composer and guitarist) [LAGQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfkoPMAl7to&feature=related)-The LA Guitar Quartet goes all fancy-schmansy on it… I prefer the original. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/148 "2010-08-19T16:51:29Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > > [@DragonAsh](#): > > > > Nocturnes, Op 9 - Chopin > > There are _two_ pieces in in Chopin’s Op.9. I’m going to guess you mean the more famous [Op. 9, No. 2 Nocturne in E-flat Major](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI_2MSxiMIA). Actually, there are _three_ pieces to Op. 9. And while I love No. 2 - my wife plays it, and it’s also her favorite piece - I absolutely love the lesser-known but hauntingly melancholic No. 1. It’s deceptively hard; my wife still struggles with it. And I forgot to add: _Music of the Night_, from Phantom of the Opera ---
**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 19, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/149 "2010-08-19T17:13:05Z")
> [@Archergal](#): > > Eva Cassidy’s [Fields of Gold.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGwDYBWEDSc) > > I love it unapologetically. I’ve heard that Sting said that her version is his favorite but I don’t have any primary evidence ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/150 "2010-08-19T17:20:36Z")
Glad to see the Smashing Pumpkins getting some love by the OP, though I’d suggest the most achingly beautiful song in their catalog is [Luna](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3nDnz6AQ78). But my top most achingly beautiful song is Sigur Rós’ [Glósóli](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr_MJAOyOeU). Their aforementioned Untitled 4 is a close 2nd. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/151 "2010-08-19T17:27:20Z")
A few more, just for the halibut: “Cool Change”, Little River Band “Seven Bridges Road”, The Eagles “Rose of Cimmaron” and “Crazy Love”, both by Poco “Calypso”, Suzanne Vega and of course, “Dust In The Wind”, Kansas Interesting side topic: What makes a song “hauntingly beautiful”? From my own selections, I clearly prefer strong vocals and vocal harmonies, but that’s just me. What do the rest of you find “haunting”? ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/152 "2010-08-19T17:40:28Z")
In My Life - The Beatles Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum ---
**Author:** ![williambaskerville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@williambaskerville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williambaskerville)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/153 "2010-08-19T17:52:28Z")
Apologies if I 've missed it, but I don’t think I have. Puccini’s “Un bel di vedremo”, from Madama Butterfly. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ddFj_eMPCnE/hqdefault.jpg "Kiri te Kanawa - "Un bel di vedremo" - Madama Butterfly") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddFj_eMPCnE) ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/154 "2010-08-19T18:58:08Z")
[Arvo Pärt - Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e348n660zrA&feature=related) Just these heart-breaking washes of strings with a church bell punctuating the sound. Off of the album [Tabula Rasa](http://www.amazon.com/Tabula-Rasa-Arvo-Part/dp/B0000262K7/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1282243972&sr=8-2), which in its entirety is achingly beautiful. [Max Richter - On the Nature of Daylight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbdikSY7sZY) from his 2004 album, [The Blue Notebooks](http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Notebooks-Max-Richter/dp/B0001FT2EE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1282244075&sr=1-3), which is amazing. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/155 "2010-08-19T20:27:04Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > > [@John\_Mace](#): > > > > Has anyone mentioned _Hey Jude_ yet? I’ve seen a few Simon and Garfunkel, but did anyone mention _Bridge Over Troubled Water_? > > I did! And I’ll throw in “Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme” and “Homeward Bound”. I’ll see your “Homeward Bound” and raise you one “The Boxer”! ---
**Author:** ![bink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@bink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bink)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/156 "2010-08-19T20:59:49Z")
I want to understand why things like this happen. I wonder if there are some themes that go through a lot of these songs–some kind of chord progression, some key they may be in…I wish I understood music theory better. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/157 "2010-08-19T21:07:23Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Anyone yet mentioned _Fairytale of New York_ by the Pogues? > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLb213lak5s&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLb213lak5s&feature=related) Not sure, but I came in here to mention The Pogues’ “Lullaby of London”: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FO8iatdgse4/hqdefault.jpg "Lullaby of London - The Pogues") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO8iatdgse4) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/158 "2010-08-19T21:16:22Z")
Not really “songs”, per se, but I consider Mozart’s work to be our civilization’s standard for beautiful music. K364 (Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major (I think)), the piano concertos, Symphony 41, 4th movement. ---
**Author:** ![meanoldman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@meanoldman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meanoldman)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/159 "2010-08-19T21:29:43Z")
Seems to me we have a confusion of terms, and not just a difference of opinions. Achingly beautiful in what way? Lyrics? Instrument/sound? Ambiance? Combination? Some songs are lyrically beautiful. Some have beautiful musical arrangements. Others show an amazing pure beautiful vocal ability. A rare few have all. All of these are a matter of opinion, of course. Ear of the beholder and all. Just had to get that out there, because I read some people’s entries and think “WTF! Really?” ---
**Author:** ![Proudest\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/proudest_monkey/32/13257_2.png) [@Proudest\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Proudest_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584/160 "2010-08-19T21:56:27Z")
Good call on “Vincent”, **Sam Stone**. I came in to say that. Since you took it, I’ll add Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” and “Levon.” [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRK5vLUYLmg) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lXOuZgm_eY) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-achingly-beautiful-songs-ever/550584.md?page=9)