Ooooh Peach, I remember reading that in school. Very chilling .
Bruce Springstein’s The River has simple but powerful words.
Another Bruce Springsteen favorite of mine is Promised Land. Specifically, the final two verses. . .
Well, as anti-war songs go, there are few that come close to “The Band Played Waltzing Mathilda.”
http://mysongbook.de/msb/songs/r_clarke/banplayd.htm
“The Mary Ellen Carter”, particularly the end:
And you to whom adversity
Has dealt the final blow
With smilin’ bastards lyin’ to you
Everywhere you go
Come to and put out all your strength
Of heart and soul and brain
And like the Mary Ellen Carter
Rise again!
Rise again! Rise again!
Though your heart be broken
And life about to end.
No matter what you’ve lost
Be it a home, a love, a friend,
Like the Mary Ellen Carter
Rise again!
“Goodbye Blue Sky” by Pink Floyd creeps me out lately.
“Did you see the frightened ones?
Did you hear the falling bombs?
Did you ever wonder why we had to run for shelter
As the promise of a brave new world unfurled
Beneath a clear blue sky?”
eerily appropriate.
Brick by Ben Folds Five.
It tackles abortion without taking sides…very poweful song.
Just thought I’d switch up the tone a little bit. Not all “powerful” lyrics make you want to slit your wrists.
Oh, yeah.
essvee beat me to “Billy Austin,” so I’ll have to add Steve Earle’s other “death penalty” song, “Ellis Unit One.” Consider:
“I’ve seen 'em fight like lions, boys
I’ve seen ‘em go like lambs
And I’ve helped to drag them when they could not stand
I’ve seen their mamas crying when they heard that big door slam
And I’ve seen the victims’ families holding hands.
Last night I dreamed that I woke up with straps across my chest
And something cold and black was pulling through my lungs
And even Jesus couldn’t save me, though I know he did his best
But he don’t live on Ellis Unit One”
Gives me chills every time!
The song by Everclear “Wonderful” ( I think is the title…been mentioned earlier)gives me chills and I cried when I first saw the music video.
Another one that gets me every single time is “Too Bad” by Nickleback.
*You left without saying goodbye, although I’m sure you tried
You call the house from time to time to make sure we’re alive
But you weren’t there right when I needed you the most
And now I dream about it… and how it’s so bad
It’s too bad, it’s stupid
Too late, so wrong, so long
It’s too bad we had no time to rewind
Let’s walk, let’s talk*
Always reminds me of when my parents split up and my dad almost never saw us unless there was something he wanted/needed my mom to do for him.
Funny how about a year ago my sister called me and said Dad wanted to reconcile,make good or something.I told her to tell him he could forget it.He’d had time to try and be a good father when we were growing up.I’ve made my peace with t he fact that he was a complete screwup and was never really a part of my life.
IDBB
Two Beds and a Coffee Machine by Savage Garden never fails to give me goosebumps.
Never Again by Nickelback also packs a punch for me.
Stole by Kelly Rowland - utterly depressing, but…well-written, I think.
I don’t know if this is my favorite protest song; I don’t agree with the sentiment, but I’ve always considered “I’m A Good Ole Rebel” to have some of the most powerful lyrics of any song I’ve ever heard.
“…And I won’t be reconstructed,
And I do not give a damn.”
http://www.contemplator.com/folk2/rebel.html
Johnny L.A., when I first heard Johnny Cash doing a NIN song, my jaw dropped. Isn’t that one of the signs of the apocalypse?
But I have to disagree with you. I prefer NIN’s version. Johnny just sounds tired.
Miller, as always, you make a good point.
This Is My Song
Text: Lloyd Stone
Music: Jean Sibelius (Finlandia)
D G A D
This is my song oh God of all the nations
G A D
A song of peace for lands afar and mine
Bmin A G
This is my home, the country where my heart is,
D A D
Here are my hopes my dreams my holy shrine,
Bmin A G
But other hearts in other lands are beating,
D A D
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
G A D
My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,
G A D
And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine,
Bmin A G
But other lands have sunlight too and clover,
D A D
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine,
Bmin A D
Oh hear my song, oh God of all the nations,
D A D
A song for peace for their lands and for mine.
Adding to one of the running themes, I’ve always thought Todd Snyder’s “You Think You Know Somebody” was paticularly moving, especially the sting in the tail.
I’ll third the nomination for Dylan’s Masters of War, particularly the Eddie Vedder version from the 30th anniversary concert. The only political song I can think that matches it is Elvis Costello’s ode to Mrs Thatcher "Tramp the Dirt Down."
But it’s this on that always gets me tearing up.
That’s what made it so powerful. NIN’s version was played ad nauseum on the local station. To me, it was just another song. When Johnny Cash did it, it took on a whole new meaning because he shounded tired. The lyrics only became powerful to me when I heard them in a different context.
Another song that comes to mind is 99 Luftballons by Nena. The English version was just another '80s pop song. The German version was “heavier”. (“99 Ministers of war / Matches and jerry cans / Shouting “War” and wanting power…”)
And I agree with astorian about The Band Played Waltzing Matilda.
Pink Floyd. The poor guy in Hey You always evoked empathy.
I like “Dust In The Wind,” by Kansas.
And about seven hundred and twenty-three other songs as well, by “Dust In The Wind” is the first song that popped into my head when I read the thread title.
There are two songs that never fail to move me:
Mike & the Mechanics, “The Living Years”
*I wasn’t there that morning
When my father passed away
I didn’t get to tell him
All the things I had to say
I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I’m sure I heard his echo
In my baby’s new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It’s too late when we die
To admit we don’t see eye to eye*
And Billy Joel’s “Allentown”
Well we’re waiting here in Allentown
For the Pennsylvania we never found
For the promises our teachers gave
If we worked hard
If we behaved
So the graduations hang on the wall
But they never really helped us at all
No they never taught us what was real
Iron and coke
And chromium steel
And we’re waiting here in Allentown
But they’ve taken all the coal from the ground
And the union people crawled away
Also, Tracey Chapman’s “Fast Car,” although I haven’t listened to it in a very long time.
"And you know it’s time to go
Through the rain and falling snow
Across the fields of mourning, to lights in the distance…
Oh, don’t sorrow, no don’t grieve
For tonight, at last
I am coming home.
I am coming home…"
A Sort of Homecoming, U2
"The bravest fell,
And the requiem bell
Rang mournfully, and clear.
For those who died
That Easter-tide
In the springing of the year.
The world did gaze in deep amaze
At those fearless men, but few,
Who bore the fight, that freedom’s light
Might shine through the foggy dew!"
The Foggy Dew, Traditional (Irish)
Originally posted by Miller
So true. Some songs are happy and powerful.
This far in the thread and no one has mentioned “American Pie”?
It runs a gamut of emotions.
It’s not always pop songs. What about “John Brown’s Body”?
The lyrics are here:
http://www.contemplator.com/folk2/johnbrown.html
P.S. I’m not an admin., but I think we’re not allowed to post entire lyrics to songs. Just a warning, even though I can’t do anything about.