I must have listened to the song Losing it by (who else?) RUSH maybe twenty times if not more.
When I heard that song again the other day, I related to some of the lyrics in a different way.
What songs do you relate to the most?
Twenty times? No more? Add a zero or two for me for the following songs, which have been part of my life:
Suzanne, Dress Rehearsal Rag, The Stranger Song, by Leonard Cohen
Sweet Jane, Take A Walk On The Wild Side, Heroin, by Lou Reed (or the Velvet Underground, as you like)
Heroes, Ashes To Ashes, Station To Station, Life On Mars? by Bowie
London Calling by The Clash
Too many Beatles’ songs to list here.
Hit The Road, Jack, by Ray Charles
Summertime, in the Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Amstrong version.
Singapore, Clap Hands, Cemetery Polka, Jockey Full of Bourbon, Time, by Tom Waits
Alabama Song, by The Doors, and some older and German versions too.
April '74, by Lluís Llach (hardly known outside Catalonia, but that is my story)
Mediterráneo, Aquellas pequeñas cosas, by Joan Manuel Serrat
El corrido del mentado Juan sin Tierra, by Victor Jara
Rapsberry Beret, When Doves Cry, by Prince
Off the top of my hat. Mhhh… I’m getting old.
I never tire of addressing this crucial issue.
That’s what I’M talking about!
Madonna’s “I’ll Remember” - My song for my beloved Aunt who supported me 100% when I was growing up. We danced to it at my wedding. The older I get the more relevant it gets, because it’s also a song about letting go.
Madonna’s "Human Nature."
Did I say something true?
Oops, I didn’t know I couldn’t talk about sex
Did I have a point of view?
Oops, I didn’t know I couldn’t talk about you
And I’m not sorry
It’s human nature
I’m not your bitch, don’t hang your shit on me
The thing about Madonna is that the longer I live my life, the more I can relate to her music. And I started out relating pretty hard. It’s interesting to me that “Human Nature” was originally about my early life experience but then became about my art, and the people (including me) who effectively said, “You shouldn’t write about that.”
Chevelle’s “Family System” - No song better encapsulates my relationship with my mother. No song.
I’m tired of your open mouth
crawling inside my skin
Endless pain we never quit
The fight within that pride’s begun
With a really good bit at the end where the singer screams, “GROW UP! JUST GROW UUUUUP!” incoherent yelling
The Killers, “All These Things That I’ve Done” - This song has brought me back from the brink of despair as an activist many times.
I want to shine on in the heart of man
I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand
When everyone’s lost
The battle is won
With all these things that I’ve done
White Stripes “Seven Nation Army.” - To me, this song is about the work it requires to be an artist.
Chevelle, “Breach Birth” - Fragmented lyrics, but it’s pretty clearly about the willingness to take risks as an artist.
So create, reclaim
Sovereign shapes tempting us
Ration out, their schematics
Dare we live without molds
I love RUSH too, by the way, but listening to them is more like taking a long, strange trip than personally connecting with any of the songs.
At one time, it was Roy Orbison’s “Windsurfer”, about unrequited love. Now, Arlo Guthrie’s “Wedding Song” fits better, and has for almost a quarter decade.
I love Arlo… and never heard that song… it makes me a little sad, but thank you for posting it.
Jimmy Cliff’s You Can Get It if You Really Want.
A Change is Gonna Come, Sam Cook
I’m Feeling Good, Nina Simone
I’m Not In Love, 10CC
Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Tears For Fears
My Hometown, Springsteen
The Long And Winding Road, Beatles
At Last, Etta James (probably the most relatable song for me)
Loudon Wainwright III has a bunch of them for me, but “Living Alone” hits home lately.
“Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan.
Some days it feels like I’m singing it.
I high school, I was convinced this song was written just for me:
Johnny Cash – Sunday Morning Coming Down.
Glen Campbell – Galveston
Eagles – Desperado
Garth Brooks – Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)
Pirates of the Mississippi – Feed Jake
I once read that Elizabeth II enjoys ABBA’s Dancing Queen because she is a queen and she likes to dance.
Almost t many to count, but here’s a sampling…
The Who, Behind Blue Eyes
Linda Ronstadt, Long, Long Time
Emmylou Harris, Boulder to Birmingham
Edith Piaf, Non, Je ne regrette rien
Barbara Keith, A Stones Throw Away
And one that anyone who has lost, or almost lost, someone to suicide can’t help but have a deep relationship to…
Rainy Night In Georgia - Brook Benton
Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues - Danny O’Keefe
“Rose Parade,” Elliott Smith. This is basically a song about how I feel at parties.
“This Year,” The Mountain Goats. This has been the worst year of my life, for non-covid reasons, but I think it might not kill me after all.
