# What is the most beautiful song you have ever heard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 25, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369 "2008-11-25T02:30:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![fizzestothetop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e79b87/32.png) [@fizzestothetop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizzestothetop)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/81 "2008-11-25T21:13:44Z")
One song that I find to be heart breakingly beautiful is “The Upper Peninsula” by Sufjan Stevens. It can get me very teary if I’m in the right mood. Georgia on My Mind by Ray Charles is one I want to second as well. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/82 "2008-11-25T21:28:08Z")
“Lullaby of London”, The Pogues. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/83 "2008-11-25T21:53:34Z")
While I wouldn’t say it’s the most beautiful ever, this song certainly tugs at the heartstrings: [Ballad of the Windfish - perfomed on Double Ocarina by Docjazz4.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnTnhmwwUYs&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/84 "2008-11-25T21:58:56Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > \From his [self titled first album](http://www.musicscotland.com/acatalog/MusicScotland_Martyn_Bennett __first_album__ 192.html), I point to Erin. I linked to pages that have soundclips of both songs. (Track 2 is Erin on the Martyn Bennett album page.) Er, making sure that I point out that there is both a track 2 and a sample 2 at the above link, and it is Track 2 to which I refer. :o ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/85 "2008-11-25T22:02:52Z")
The Nimrod movement from Elgar’s _Enigma Variations_ blows me away every time I hear it. It really does depend on my mood, though. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/86 "2008-11-25T22:12:38Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6nZGv8VTBVE/hqdefault.jpg "Book of Love-Peter Gabriel") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nZGv8VTBVE) ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/87 "2008-11-25T22:14:14Z")
[Nessum Dorma](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VATmgtmR5o4) [Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, “Into Your Arms”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEjz5hNZF-A) (our wedding dance song) [Talking Heads, “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68KLZCVFDQI) ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/88 "2008-11-25T22:32:29Z")
> [@Stauderhorse](#): > > Sarah McLachlan - [In The Arms Of An Angel](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVbkz_3lO3c) (video) > > It’s so soft and beautiful, almost like a caress from someone who cares about you when you need it most. Always has the ability to take me away. The commercial of the battered animals ruined for me. It’s just too sad, then turns to cloying after the commercial has been on about a kajillion times. Pretty song, thought. You’re absolutely right. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/89 "2008-11-25T22:38:36Z")
I can’t decide: Jewel and Bjorks duet of _Leaving on a Jet Plane_ Liz Phair’s cover of Gnarls Barkley’s _Crazy_ Evanescence’s _My Immortal_ Sarah McLachlan’s _In The Arms Of An Angel_ ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/90 "2008-11-25T22:44:34Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > The commercial of the battered animals ruined for me. It’s just too sad, then turns to cloying after the commercial has been on about a kajillion times. Pretty song, thought. You’re absolutely right. What she said. If not for that GD commercial, it would be up there on my list as well. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/91 "2008-11-25T22:47:27Z")
Nicolai Gedda singing [“Je crois entendre encore”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o_Y3FALzyU) from Bizet’s _Les pêcheurs de perles_. A nice enough aria on its own merits, but Gedda makes it something else entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/92 "2008-11-25T23:06:24Z")
Michael Hedges…Aerial Boundaries. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JE7eVfIAkkE/hqdefault.jpg "Michael Hedges -- Aerial Boundaries") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE7eVfIAkkE) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/93 "2008-11-25T23:25:04Z")
A friend of ours sent us a couple of songs by Bill Douglas, that I find inexpressibly beautiful. But then, I’m an absolute pushover for choral music. Y’all might not be. [Wind of the Western Sea](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG3PAzUzMWk), from a poem by Tennyson. [The Clouds](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjqT5GVS7Uo), a poem by Percy “Mr. Frankenstein” Shelley. ---
**Author:** ![tds1273](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@tds1273](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tds1273)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/94 "2008-11-25T23:48:29Z")
Just listening to it, Kool and the Gang’s “Summer Madness” has a certain beauty to it. Erykah Badu’s “Bump It” is very beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/95 "2008-11-25T23:54:49Z")
I don’t know about most beautiful ever, but when I want something nice, I load up Farewell, by Apocalyptica: [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zdnD8660\_W0](http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zdnD8660_W0) Those high notes at the end give me chills every time. Oooh, just happened again…hey! They cut off the end in that video! Oh, well. Try another one. ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/96 "2008-11-26T00:10:30Z")
Thanks for that link **Smeghead**. I love those guys, and that was a tune I hadn’t heard before. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/97 "2008-11-26T01:10:22Z")
I don’t know why I think of beautiful voices when I think of beautiful music _Down To The River To Pray_ by Alison Krause _All I Know_ by Art Garfunkel _Lean on Me_ by Bill Withers _Everybody Plays the Fool_ by Aaron Neville ---
**Author:** ![as\_u\_wish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@as\_u\_wish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/as_u_wish)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/98 "2008-11-26T01:27:24Z")
From my daughter the musician… For her it is not the piece in abstract, but usually a specific performance or recording that evokes a particularly intense musical experience. There are, however, certain pieces that seem to channel this experience more than others. A hearty agreement with **Arac’s** selection of Barber’s \*Adagio for Strings \*and **Spoike’s** choice of _Gabriel’s Oboe_, and may we please add **Dvorak’s Symphony #9, Movement 2 (the largo), specifically the English Horn solo at the beginning.** ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/99 "2008-11-26T01:51:19Z")
[For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhRwNqybWog) still gives me chills when I hear it. And [Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fsYyErZKEs) still makes me cry when I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369/100 "2008-11-26T01:54:54Z")
> [@spoike](#): > > [“Gabriel’s Oboe”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRb8KKyenSY) by Ennio Morricone > > (This video features a lovely version of the piece, but I wish the oboist would just sit still, dammit.) That’s the first piece I thought of when I saw the thread title. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-beautiful-song-you-have-ever-heard/474369.md?page=6)