# Name the song that cuts. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 8, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106 "2012-03-08T03:17:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/41 "2012-03-08T16:24:52Z")
Clapton’s _[Tears in Heaven](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTAMkbaXKXw&feature=fvst)_ always moves me. And I always find [Black Hawk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikkh-pLx94o) by Emmylou Harris very evocative. SS ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/42 "2012-03-08T16:33:24Z")
> [@crookedteeth](#): > > I’m sure it’s already mentioned somewhere, but “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley. +1 https://www.youtube.com/embed/vOoEYxt0PPA?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLA205911DB9510185 Beautiful. Next comes the swansong of Johnny Cash. His treatment of the song is extraordinary, changing the emphasis from drugs to old age: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/J36CRZzm9vg/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGHIgWygpMA8=&rs=AOn4CLAjAg-zcrwsiTyiV-zeIKWEfkmGBw "Johnny Cash Hurt Official Music Video") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J36CRZzm9vg) Moving. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/43 "2012-03-08T16:52:42Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Oh. “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King makes me tear up every. single. time. To think of someone who will hold your hand through every darkness so you won’t be afraid! > > In a lesser way, “Pretty Ballerina” by The Left Banke is so mesmerizing in its melancholy way. ‘Somewhere a mountain is moving’. This is a song to listen to while you have a cup of tea and look out at the pouring rain. I don’t know what it is about the mode of music, I’ll leave the explanation to a music expert. But it’s both sad and crushingly beautiful. I’m kind of stunned. This is the first time in over forty years that I’ve run across somebody else who remembers/likes _Pretty Ballerina._ ---
**Author:** ![President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/44 "2012-03-08T16:57:50Z")
Although it’s a pretty faithful cover, Crooked Finger’s version of “[The River](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hRiA6b2cPc)” gets me in a way that Springsteen’s original (but still great) never has. In a different direction, but still Bruce inspired, is the [Gaslight Anthem](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2Lk5NU0XQw). > [@appleciders](#): > > Funnily enough, **The Hold Steady** ’s _One For The Cutters_. Damn, but it’s dark. Coincidentally enough, I was listening to this song (with the entire album) for the first time in several months on the way to work this morning. Every time I listen to it I swear I’m going to make sure that my daughters don’t follow that path. ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/45 "2012-03-08T17:35:12Z")
> [@glee](#): > > +1 > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOoEYxt0PPA&feature=results\_main&playnext=1&list=PLA205911DB9510185](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOoEYxt0PPA&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLA205911DB9510185) > > Beautiful. > > Next comes the swansong of Johnny Cash. His treatment of the song is extraordinary, changing the emphasis from drugs to old age: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J36CRZzm9vg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J36CRZzm9vg) > > Moving. This won’t load for me… What is the song? Ditto to the others who’ve posted links without song titles… Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/46 "2012-03-08T17:52:03Z")
Loudon Wainright’s [White Winos](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ-EYZsBUCc) gets me every time. And my mom is fine and doesn’t really drink very much. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/47 "2012-03-08T18:15:11Z")
[I Got Sh\*t](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4Th-ksBFdY) by Pearl Jam > [@](#): > > All the advantage this lifes got on me > Picture an empty cup in the middle of the sea [Pain Lies on the Riverside](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4KIXOi-BTM) by Live > [@](#): > > Pain lies on the riverside, And Pain will never say goodbye > So put you feet in the water, Put your head in the water, Put your soul in the water > And join me for a swim tonight [Freshman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hxe85iErew) by The Verve Pipe > [@](#): > > For the life of me I cannot remember > What made us think that we were wise and we’d never compromise > For the life of me I cannot believe we’d ever die for these sins > We were merely freshmen [No Language in our Lungs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tju13IUmxIM) by XTC > [@](#): > > no we’re leaving nothing > just chiseled stones > no chance to speak before we’re bones ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/48 "2012-03-08T18:32:58Z")
“The '59 Sound” by **The Gaslight Anthem** , because it reminds me of my best friend who was taken by a fast and aggressive cancer in 2008: “Did you hear the rattling chains in the hospital walls? Did you hear the old gospel choir when they came to carry you over? Did you hear your favorite song one last time?” Even reading the lyrics gives me chills… ---
**Author:** ![President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/49 "2012-03-08T18:40:26Z")
> [@gurujulp](#): > > Ditto to the others who’ve posted links without song titles… > > Thanks! Sorry, as I was one of the guilty ones. My 2nd link: > [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](#): > > In a different direction, but still Bruce inspired, is the [Gaslight Anthem](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2Lk5NU0XQw). was this song: > [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > “The '59 Sound” by **The Gaslight Anthem** , because it reminds me of my best friend who was taken by a fast and aggressive cancer in 2008: > > “Did you hear the rattling chains in the hospital walls? > Did you hear the old gospel choir when they came to carry you over? > Did you hear your favorite song one last time?” > > Even reading the lyrics gives me chills… ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/50 "2012-03-08T18:45:32Z")
The Billboard number one when my mom died: “Because You Loved Me”. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/51 "2012-03-08T19:04:23Z")
“Let it Be,” The Beatles “Black,” Pearl Jam ---
**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:** [March 8, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/52 "2012-03-08T19:30:27Z")
Several songs from Beth Nielsen Chapman’s album _Sand and Water_, written after she lost her husband to cancer. The most powerful of these, “No One Knows But You”, is not on YouTube. But here’s [the title track](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT44lPii87U) which is a close second. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/53 "2012-03-08T19:50:32Z")
Ryan Adams’ [La Cienega Just Smiled](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2jYzr1FH0g). ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/54 "2012-03-08T19:51:58Z")
Van Morrison - ‘T.B. Sheets’ Eva Cassidy - ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ Drive-by Truckers - ‘Danko/Manuel’. As a musician who’s lost band mates, it’s a tough listen. ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/55 "2012-03-08T21:06:26Z")
[These Days](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPk11AugG4c) by Jackson Brown I’m partial to the Nico [version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1N8GtDkYfQ) “These days I seem to think about all the things that I forgot to do and all the times I had the chance to” primes the well, and “don’t confront me with my failures, I had not forgotten them” finishes it off ---
**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:** [March 9, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/56 "2012-03-09T00:52:29Z")
Kate Rusby’s superlative version of the folk ballad [“The Night Visiting Song”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME1deASN6AU) is my current cutter. If I may nominate another, longer standing one, I’d pick “[Frank And Jesse James](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvxwUWyu4WE)” by Warren Zevon. ---
**Author:** ![kirk1168](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@kirk1168](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk1168)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/57 "2012-03-09T01:33:02Z")
> [@whole\_bean](#): > > [These Days](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPk11AugG4c) by Jackson Brown > > I’m partial to the Nico [version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1N8GtDkYfQ) > > “These days I seem to think about all the things that I forgot to do and all the times I had the chance to” > > primes the well, and > > “don’t confront me with my failures, I had not forgotten them” > > finishes it off Beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/58 "2012-03-09T02:18:50Z")
Paul Simon’s _An American Tune_. But I’m alright, I’m alright I’m just weary to my bones … and then later … I don’t know a soul that’s not been battered I don’t have a friend who feels at ease I don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered Or driven to its knees ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/59 "2012-03-09T03:24:16Z")
> [@StuffLikeThatThere](#): > > Paul Simon’s _An American Tune_. > > But I’m alright, I’m alright > I’m just weary to my bones > > … and then later … > > I don’t know a soul that’s not been battered > I don’t have a friend who feels at ease > I don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered > Or driven to its knees and: > [@](#): > > But tomorrow’s gonna be another working day > and I’m trying to get some rest > that’s all, I’m just trying to get some rest mmm ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106/60 "2012-03-09T03:34:33Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Kate Rusby’s superlative version of the folk ballad [“The Night Visiting Song”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME1deASN6AU) is my current cutter. > > If I may nominate another, longer standing one, I’d pick “[Frank And Jesse James](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvxwUWyu4WE)” by Warren Zevon. Speaking of Warren Zevon… “Desperados Under The Eaves” “Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner” “Don’t Let Us Get Sick” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-song-that-cuts/615106.md?page=4)