The Most Beautiful Song You've Heard Lately

My choice is the version of “Mansion On The Hill” on Bruce Springsteen’s “Live In NY City” album. It opens with some absolutely lovely slide guitar work by Nils Lofgren. And then Bruce starts singing and he is filled with emotion as he tells the tale of the lyrics. There are some absolutely stunning harmony vocals and then the band drops off for a verse and the twenty thousand people in Madison Square Gardens are silent as he sings a capella. The song ends on a falsetto yodel that complements the arrangement perfectly.
So what is your nomination?

Keith

I think I’d have to say either “Speedway” or “Chelsea” by Counting Crows. “Speedway” sums up my feelings on life at the moment, and “Chelsea” is just all around beautiful…piano and horns working in perfect union.

Sample lyrics:

Speedway-
“In all this time
The bottom line’s you don’t know how much I feel
You say you see
Well, I don’t agree
You don’t know…don’t know how I feel”

Chelsea:
“It’s good for everybody
To hurt somebody once in a while
But the things I do to people I love
Shouldn’t be allowed…
Is anything different these days?
The light in her eyes goes out
I’ve never had light in my eyes anyway…
I dream I’m in New York City some nights
Angels flow down from all the buildings
Something about an angel just kills me
I keep hoping something will”

If by “lately”, you mean the last couple of months, I’d say Moya by Godspeed You Black Emperor.

If it’s really recently, I’d say something by Sigur Ros, or Mogwai.

A song called ``Snare, Girl’’ from Sonic Youth’s A Thousand Leaves. Particularly these lines:

Hold out your hands
and take these poems
I’ve been given;
they are wild
with beauty faded
and they can guide
this child to heaven.

That seems completely Hallmark when it’s written out like that, but it sounds great when Thurston sings it on top of all the droning wah-wah noises.

Prior to this weekend, Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton. So beautiful it makes me cry every time I hear it.

After this weekend, Truly, Madly, Deeply by Savage Garden (although I’ve heard an unbelievable a capella version that isn’t them). Because this is now what I consider to be “our song” for my SO and me. It just says exactly what I feel.

jayjay (newly in love…fear the sugar-death!)

“Spanish Guitar” by Gene Clark.

Or maybe the closing track to Radiohead’s new disc. Can’t remember the title of the song, regrettably. “Crazy”?

I’m narrowing my time frame to the last 4 days.

Funniest song: “There’s Always the Backseat” [Live] - Lucky Boys Confusion.

Best song: “All Apologies” - Nirvana.

Most Beautiful song: “Everlong” - Foo Fighters.

Come on, people, get serious. This is about beautiful songs. Let’s deal with somthing with a haunting melody and heartfelt lyrics that has some significance in life. As middle age slips away my vote is for “The Parting Glass” sung by some whisky vioced old Mick with a tear in his eye and a lump in his throat.

    Oh, all the money that e're I spent,
    I spent it in good company.
    And all the harm that e're I done'
    Alas it was to none but me,
    And all I've done for lack of wit
    To memory now I can't recall.
    So fill to me the parting glass,
    Good night and joy be with you all.

    Oh, all the comrads that e're I had
    Are sorry now I'm going away,
    And all the sweethearts that e're I had
    Would wish me one more day to stay.
    But since it falls unto my lot
    That I must rise and you should not,
    I'll gently rise and softly call
    Goodnight and joy be with you all.

If I didn’t think that the righteous would creat a spectacle to the dishonor of the whole congregation, I’d have that sung at my funeral, preferably as the moldering corpse in drug out to the dead wagon.

It’s a toss-up!

It’s either Goodbye Girl by David Gates (the real brains behind Bread), or anything by Loggins and Messina, but especially Celebrate Me Home.

Yellow by Coldplate.

Where Did You Sleep Last Night by Nirvana…the way Kurt’s voice craks at the end gives me the chills.

"May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always know the truth
And see the light surrounding you

May you build a ladder to the stars
Climb on every rung
And may you stay…"

Forever Young by Bob Dylan.
Lately or whenever, it’s a pretty song.

Mary by Patty Griffin is a fairly new song that qualifies. A song she wrote about her Grandmother.

And I gotta say it once again;
I Still Cry by Julie Miller.

Just heard it now for the first time…

Mogwai - 2 Rights makes 1 Wrong

Wow.

Also, Wheat - Summer

There is some incredible music out there these days, ya know?

Rammstein-Sonne
Depeche Mode-Dream On

The only time I hear a beautiful song is when I play CON TE PARTIRO.

“Tonight We Fly” by the Divine Comedy.
Tonight we fly
over the mountains, the beach and the sea
over the friends that we’ve known
and those that we now know
and those whom we’ve yet to meet
and when we die
will we be that disappointed or sad
if heaven doesn’t exist
what will we have missed?
This life is the best we’ve ever had

Nothing really sounds beautiful to me right now. A lot of sad stuff though.

It’s quite old, but I hear it much more often now that it’s used in a car commercial. :slight_smile:
“At Last” by Etta James

Bernadette by Leonard Cohen, but especially as sung by Jennifer Warnes.

“So many hearts I find
Hearts like yours and mine
Torn by what we’ve done and can’t undo…”

[Edited by Eutychus55 on 04-18-2001 at 03:54 AM]

Love Letter by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Two hundred words; I live in hope.