Nina Simone singing Strange Fruit in that raw voice of hers.
Dire Straits - *Brothers in Arms *. I’m really supposed to be too cool to like those guys, but I cry like a baby every time I hear that song. It can be embarrassing in public.
Echoing Iron & Wine’s Jezebel.
Dead Can Dance - The Host of Seraphim.
Good call there. Beautiful melody.
Another fiddle tune that gives me a melancholy vibe (even though it has a more upbeat tempo) is Jerusalem Ridge
And then there’s Lorena
Endeavor by Dash Rip Rock on Boiled Alive. Hard to believe, but they really can make you misty eyed in the middle of some good ole Cajun thrash.
Damn, I don’t know. Something by Mozart, to be sure. The 23rd Piano Concerto, particularly the 2nd movement? Something from one of his operas? Perhaps the last minute or so from the fourth movement of his 41st symphony. Or maybe the concerto for winds that was featured in Amadeus.
It’s a tough one. The guy just cranked out beautiful music.
Unless I missed it, I’m really surprised that nobody mentioned “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt.
Also, “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word” - Elton John
“If I Had a Child” by Dusted
It reduces me to tears
“Tank Park Salute” by Billy Bragg, about the death of his father.
I’ll second “Footsteps” by Pearl Jam.
I’ll also add:
“Working Hour” - Tears for Fears. Beautiful and melancholy tune about living life in quiet desperation.
“Ticket to Ride” - The Beatles… if this truly is about John’s mother abandoning him as a child. Lots of debate about that one though.
“Times of Trouble” - Temple of the Dog. Wow… lotta passion and conviction in that one. Also reprised in “Footsteps” mentioned above.
La Minute De Silence by Vanessa Paradis is a strong contender.
Mylène Farmer, with her pas le temps de vivre, particularly around the 3 minute mark and onwards.
More so one of Athena Andreadis’ songs in Greek that she only ever performs live, more’s the pity.
It’s a strange coincidence but yesterday I received a DVD of the very elegant TingTing’s (thanks for bringing her to my attention, Jjimm) “Slow Life Traveller” and the closing sequence is TingTing on the seashore playing what could almost be Alan Jackson’s “Remember When”, that I had never heard before today.
Beautiful song, by the way.
Although it has rather been done to death lately, I’d say that Samuel Barber’s Adagio For Strings requires a very heard heart not to be moved by it.
“Sadness is bauty” (Kerouac)
Annie’s Song by John Denver
The most beautiful melody I’ve ever heard, coupled with the emotions of an amazingly talented singer, makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time. I must’ve heard this song 5,000 times in my life, and I can say with absolute truth, that I have the same reaction to it now than I did when I first heard it.
Also:
Pachelbel’s Canon in D. It brings out in me a sense of overwhelming nostalgia (about nothing in particular) and and at the same time, apprehensive melancholy… if that makes sense.
A fun song I’ve heard lately in Jo Dee Messina’s I’m Alright. I don’t know what it is, but I think this a great song. The arrangement is perfect, it tells a great story, and Jo Dee can sing.
Strangely enough, Danny’s Song by Loggins and Messina is also up there. A pure song about young love, commitment, dealing with everyday adversity, bringing in a new addition to a family, and looking ahead to a bright future.
Finally, The Wind by Cat Stevens. IMO, no one can convey feelings and thoughts through music better. This two-minute song is a showcase of all of his attributes: musicianship, depth, sincerity, faith, and poetic wit.
Back to add this to the list:
Romanza by Salvador Bacarisse.
It brings out nostalgia because it’s in every song ever.
Very good. Reminds me of the influence of Cockney music on the classical repertoire (though this is not in the least based in reality).
**My Father ** by Judy Collins. Her stunning voice and songwriting skills reduced me to tears the first time I heard this, somewhere back in the late sixties or early seventies. I heard that she wrote it to honor her own father, who was blind, and which makes the song the more poignant.
Damn, my eyes are starting to tear up. Must be the onions I cut up a few hours ago. Sniff.
Sorry. Didn’t think about that. :smack: Problem is, you took out the most poignant verse! Here’s just that verse again:
*I want you as the dream,
Not the reality.
That clumsy goodbye-kiss could fool me,
But I’m looking back over my shoulder
At you, happy without me.
*
One that’s not so well-known: “Two of me, two of you” by Jackson Browne. He performed this on the ‘Later’ show and it was magnificent and very moving. I bought the album (“I’m Alive”) but the studio version is sadly not as good. It has some utterly superfluous tabla drums all over it, which more or less ruin the song. I wish there was a good, studio-quality version of it the way he sang it on ‘Later’ - just him and solo piano. The lyrics are worth a look as well. On this YouTube clip, the sound quality isn’t magnificent, but you at least get the gist:
I was about 13 and feeling particularily low, so my dad sat me down on the couch, put on Bridge over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel, and hugged me all the way through.
And yes, I’m crying now, just thinking about it.
Rufus Wainwright’s Hallelujah.
Wall in your heart-Shelby Lynne
The sound and production of this song is so special, very poignant. Reminds me of a friend.
Lucky 13 beat me to the first song that popped into my head: Love, Me by Collin Raye.
A couple of others I thought of were already mentioned as well. Living Years by Mike and the Mechanics and Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down. It has one of my favorite lines ever sung:
“You called me strong, you called me weak, but still your secrets I will keep. You took for granted all the times I never let you down.”
I can relate to that quite a bit.
Oh, one that pulls on my heartstrings is Betterman by Pearl Jam
“She lies and says she’s in love with him. Can’t find a better man.”