“Lovin’ you again” by Emmylou Harris
Don Henley, The Heart of the Matter
I got the call today, I didn’t want to hear,
But I knew that it would come
An old true friend of ours, talking on the phone –
She said you’d found someone…
What are these voices outside love’s open door,
That make us throw off our contentment
And beg for something more?
…
I’ve been trying to get down to the heart of the matter
But everything changes, and my friends seem to scatter
But I think it’s about – forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if you don’t love me any more
She Thinks I Still Care by George Jones
Just because I ask a friend about her
And just because I spoke her name somewhere
Just because I saw her then went all to pieces
She thinks I still care
She thinks I still care
**Lips of an Angel ** by Hinder
Well my girl’s in the next room
Sometimes I wish she was you
I guess we never really moved on
It’s really good to hear your voice say my name
It sounds so sweet
Coming from the lips of an angel
Hearing those words it makes me weak
How about Strawberry Wine
I still remember when thirty was old
My biggest fear was September when he had to go
A few cards and letters and one long distance call
We drifted away like the leaves in the fall
But year after year I come back to this place
Just to remember the taste
My Ex-Lover Is Dead by Stars:
God, that was strange to see you again
Introduced by a friend of a friend
Smiled and said ‘yes I think we’ve met before’
In that instant it started to pour,
Captured a taxi despite all the rain
We drove in silence across Pont Champlain
And all of the time you thought I was sad
I was trying to remember your name…
It is one of my favourite songs ever.
Still one of my favorite schmaltzy songs, “I Go Crazy” by Paul Davis:
“Hello girl, it’s been awhile…”
I dare you not to finish the lyric.
Then there’s “I’ll be There” which was made a bit ridiculous by having the pint size Michael Jackson singing the lead.
Just look over your shoulder honey!
Trisha Yearwood’s The Song Remember’s When:
*I guess something must have happened
And we must have said goodbye
And my heart must have been broken
Though I can’t recall just why . . .
But for all the miles between us
And for all the time that’s passed
You would think I haven’t gotten very far
And I hope my hasty heart
Will forgive me just this once
If I stop to wonder how on earth you are . . . .*
Also by TY, On A Bus To St. Cloud:
*We were just gettin’ to the good part
Just gettin’ past the mystery
And it’s just like you, oh it’s just like you
To disagree . . . .
And you chase me like a shadow
And you haunt me like a ghost
And I hate you some, and I love you some
But I miss you most . . . .*
and Still by Reba McEntire
and not quite the same thing, but The Song Remembers When by Trisha Yearwood
Not an encounter, but a wistful remembrance:
The Best of Everything (YouTube clip) - Tom Petty. Sample lyric:
*She probably works in a restaurant
Thats what her momma did
But I dont know if she ever really
Could put up with it
Or maybe she sings in a nightclub
Cause sometimes she used to sing
But I dont know if it ever
Amounted to anything
But listen honey,
Wherever you are tonight,
I wish you the best of everything, in the world
And I hope you found
Whatever you were looking for*
“Goodbye” by Steve Earle is about as wistful as they come:
“I remember holdin’ on to you
All them long and lonely nights I put you through
Somewhere in there I’m sure I made you cry
But I can’t remember if we said goodbye”
Full lyrics here.
That’s a great one, Labdad.
There’s a really nice duet of “Goodbye” on YouTube (Steve Earle with Emmylou Harris).
The wist is only partial, at best, but how about ‘You’re So Vain’?
Cris Cagle, Look at What I’ve Done.
I saw it in her eyes
When I was sayin’ goodbye
That girl, she ain’t gonna be alright
‘Cause I could tell
She’d be goin’ through a livin’ hell
And I wouldn’t be there by her side
I walked up and said hello
She said, “it’s good to see ya
But hey, I’ve gotta go”
Look at what I’ve done to her
Look at how I made her feel
She’s standin’ tall, she’s got it all
Got the world at her heels
And look at what it’s done to me
Look at how it makes me hurt
If I could go back now
I swear somehow
I’d find a way to make it work
Ain’t life funny
Now I’m the one alone
Look at what I’ve done to me
She’s gone
Well a few obvious ones that no one mentioned:
James Blunt - Beautiful
There’s that song they play every Christmas by someone who sounds like Dan Fogelberg.
And I’m pretty sure that Billy Joel’s Scenes from an Italian Restaurant is about two old flames meeting in an Italian restuarant who are either discussing their old friends Brenda and Eddie or are Brenda and Eddie themselves.
The wondrous, Beatleseque “It’s Too Bad” by The Jam (on their 1978 album “All Mod Cons”)
“Same old feeling everytime I see you
and every avenue I walk I’m behind you
your back is turned and your eyes are closed girl
you move in circles that are out of my reach now”
etc
Always makes me shudder.
How could I possibly have forgotten Pictures of You, by the Cure?
If only I’d thought of the right words
I could have held on to your heart.
If only I’d thought of
the right words
I wouldn’t be breaking apart all
my pictures of you
For me, I like *Sixteen Down * by the Jayhawk’s or *Water’s Edge * by Seven Mary Three.
Crying by Roy Orbison.