Nick Drake, River Man
Cast of Godspell, By My Side
Cast of Godspell, On the Willows
The Beatles (John Lennon), Julia
Linda Ronstadt, Faithless Love
The Flamingos, I Only Have Eyes for You
Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez, Aria from La Wally
The Beach Boys, In My Room
Stevie Wonder, You and I
Joni Mitchell, Green
Simon & Garfunkel, Scarborough Fair
Simon & Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water
Rickie Lee Jones, On Saturday Afternoons in 1963
Original post by Spooky:
My first year in college, my roommate played that every night as we were going to sleep. When I transferred schools, I had to go and buy the record so that I could get some rest.
Later in college, I had broken up with a piano student who played this with the orchestra for his final recital. Afterwards, he threw me a kiss. Oh it was so marvelously tragic!
I have the exact same image of falling stars when I listen to the second movement of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony.
Bruce Springsteen, Meeting Across the River
Julie Andrews, Whistling Away the Dark
Extreme, Only Words
Matthew Sweet, You Don’t Need Me
Ella Fitzgerald, Little Boy Blue
“Io t’ho ghermita” from Madama Butterfly
Buddy Holly, True Love Ways
Radiohead specialize in this sort of thing. Subterranean Homesick Alien, The Tourist, Kid A, Pyramid Song, How To Disappear Completely . . .
Also, I nominate Jane Siberry’s The Valley and The Roches’ Quitting Time.
Matte Kudasai by King Crimson. Birthday, the Sugarcubes.
And in the interest of complete obscurity, Morton Feldman’s Rothko Chapel, particularly the last part. (Can you spot the ex-music-grad-student?)
I notice that stylize includes "Songbird” by Fleetwood Mac, that photopat includes Isreal Kamakawiwo’ole’s versions of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World”, and that Trancey and Wearia include Louis Armstrong’s version of “What a Wonderful World”. Eva Cassidy has done versions of all those songs, and I think her versions are the best anyone has ever done.
Here are some that I do not think have been mentioned yet:
“Janis” by Country Joe and the Fish. Yes, it is about the one and only Hippie Rock and Roll Goddess, Ms. Joplin herself. I have listened to this with my eyes closed and I swear that I feel the presence of her spirit. The Grateful Dead also did a tribute to Janis, titled “Bird Song.”
Also from the Grateful Dead, “Black Muddy River” and “Box of Rain.” Two very emotionally moving songs which also happen to be the last two that the Dead played in concert.
To add to the instrumental lists here, I gotta go with Finlandia, (I mean, the piece caused riots!) which I had the good fortune to play at one point, and American Symphony from the Mr. Holland’s Opus soundrack- A crap disc overall, but rescued from complete suckiness by that song, and Hey Jude!
It’s by Sarah McLachlan, and I agree, it is beautiful.
The Velvet Underground - Stephanie Says
OMG! I haven’t heard that in over a decade! Excellent choice!
Going through my MP3’s…
Must be love - Rickie Lee Jones
Maybe I’m amazed - Wings
Don’t let the sun go down on me - Elton John
In a daydream - Freddy Jones Band (It’s like…the sunrise)
Let my love open the door - Pete Towsend (the re-mix from the Gross Pointe Blank soundtrack)
I just downloaded Tom Waits’ Innocent when you dream. Very nice.
Stevie Wonder: Overjoyed, As, Lately, and Never Dreamed you’d Leave.
Don’t Stop Believing --Journey
Fields Of Gold – Sting
Just You And I – Eddie Rabbit & Crystal Gayle
Romeo and Juliet - Dire Straits
A Perfect Indian - Sinead O’Connor
Any version of Silent Night
“America” by Simon and Garfunkel
“Send in the Clowns” by Judy Collins
and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” coverd by Tori Amos
Good stuff.
Walloon & Bomzaway, I think the Extreme song is titled More Then Words and Maybe I’m Amazed is officially a Paul McCartney solo tune.
Bette Midler --The Rose
Oasis --Wonderwall
Guns N’ Roses --Sweet Child O’ Mine
Guns N’ Roses --Estranged
Stevie Nicks & Don Henley --Leather & Lace
Pale September by Fiona Apple. And I hear ya on Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed”.
Walloon, Callas’s version of La Wally has about as much depth and feeling as I can tolerate without doing something tragic. Good choice!!! But can you tell me if it is pronounced just as it is spelled?
**
One of my friends mistakenly referred to the music at our wedding as “Are You Coming with Me?”
That’s a good question, Zoe. La Wally is the female lead in the opera of the same name. The libretto is in Italian, but it’s from a German novel titled Die Geier-Wally, and is set in the Tyrol. Given that Italian doesn’t have native words that begin with “w”, and given the German origin and setting of the story, I am guessing that “La Wally” is pronounced “La Vally”.