Songs that speak to you?

[foodfiend]

Could be anything - not deep or romantic, necessarily. What song do you return to?

[LakeMartinGal]

One that I always like to hear, though I never can remember who did it, is "I can see clearly now, the rain has gone." It's just so upbeat and happy that I have to sing along.

Anything by Billy Joel -- if I hear a Billy Joel song before noon, without causing it to be played, nothing bad will happen that day! Yeah, I know that's nuts, but it got me through a very bad time, believing that!

Also, that Jason Mraz song -- can't think of the title right now, but I love the line, "and so, I drew a new face and I laughed!"

[amarante]

In The Living Years - Mike & The Mechanics
Badlands - Springsteen
Roll Me Away - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
Keep Me In Your Heart - Warren Zevon
Return of the Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons
Promised Land - Bruce Springsteen
Diamonds & Rust - Joan Baez
Into The Mystic - Van Morrison
Welcome To The Jungle - Guns n Roses
American Tune - Paul Simon
Deja Vu - John Fogerty

and a whole lot more.

[LakeMartinGal]

Ah! In the Living Years... that came out right after my father died, and it choked me up (actually made me cry uncontrollably) for months! Now, I can listen to it with only a slight glistening...

[jmarie]

"Softly As I Leave you"

[___Rhianna___]

I have to make the chorus of Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" my mantra sometimes.

"Make You Feel My Love."--I like Adele's version best.

On a religious note, "Peace in the Valley" & "How Great Thou Art."

Billy Joel's "Piano Man." In high school my best friend, my now-husband, and I used to ride around in his car singing it to the top of our lungs. It always brings a smile when I hear it now.

"The Last Resort" by the Eagles.

And I think one of the sexiest songs ever is U2's "All I Want is You."

[Shugness]

Miracles - Jefferson Starship
Sara - Fleetwood Mac
Searching for a rainbow - Marshall Tucker Band
Still loving you - Scorpions
November Rain - Guns & Roses
Angie - The Rolling Stones
Wild Horses - The Rolling Stones
Just remember I love you - firefall
Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix
Georgia - Ray Charles
Long as I can see the light - CCR
Sitting on the dock of the bay - Otis Redding
Just My Imagination - The Temptations
Thank You - Led Zeppelin

To name a few

[RiverFarm]

Shugness, have you ever heard Norah Jones's version of Wild Horses? It's really beautiful. I like most of her songs; I mostly just play music when I'm working in my studio, and she's a favorite.

Another song I love is Mireille Matthieu's La Dernière Valse; this Youtube version has wonderful views of Paris:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MYac...BB6AC79D4310C8

And also Hey Jude, Brown Sugar, and a lot of others from that era. I first heard Hey Jude when I was driving south on US 1 from San Francisco to LA, and I can still remember the scenery when it's playing.

[Shugness]

Shugness, have you ever heard Norah Jones's version of Wild Horses? It's really beautiful. I like most of her songs; I mostly just play music when I'm working in my studio, and she's a favorite.

I hadn't until you posted that, but found her singing it on youtube. You're right - it's beautiful.

I love to look up covers of my favorite songs on youtube, I've found some really interesting artists that way!

Like this girl, goes by Vika, does piano covers:

Knockin on Heaven's Door:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiZDg...ure=plpp_video

Wicked Games:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxhMD...ure=plpp_video

Wish You Were Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-MRE...ure=plpp_video

I forgot to add "Wish You Were Here" to my earlier list. A lot of songs have a deep association for me - that one and Wild Horses (the Susan Boyle cover especially) were both songs that I listened to after my greyhound passed away last year. Everytime I hear them I think of him.

[Shugness]

Side note - speaking of covers, I discovered an artist named Mike Masse' on youtube earlier this year, and fanned his facebook page. Last week he posted this cover of Let It Be, along with a story of why he's singing it - to help raise funds for his 11 month old sons cancer treatments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YAu...layer_embedded

[Soupandstew]

Sympathy for the Devil - Stones
You Can't Always Get What You Want - Stones
Little Pink Houses - Mellencamp
LIke a Rock - Seger
On the Road Again - Nelson
In the Arms of An Angel - McLachlan
Happy Christmas - Lennon
Mexican cantina music - various

These songs marked significant periods in my life and can transport me instantly. The cantina music thing dates back to a mission trip in 2007 when our Juarez campground was only a 1/2 mile or so from a cantina. The choice was to embrace the pulsating music and make it your lullaby or be really tired when the alarm went off at 5 a.m. And tired was not a good option with 12+ hours of physical labor in 100 degree heat ahead. I'm smiling as I type because this was one of the best times of my life and just the thought of the falsetto and guitar takes me back.

[fldivegirl]

Aretha Franklin version of Respect
Love the One You're With by Stephen Stills

[Jewel]

A little known song by Travis Tritt called The Best of Intentions has a solid place in my heart. It is like that song could have been written by my now-deceased former fiancee, and it touches me every time I hear it. I've always felt like it was written just for me.

For some reason also, Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water and Gordon Lightfoot's If You Could Read My Mind make me stop whatever I'm doing just to listen quietly. Both songs just speak to me!

[zwieback]

There are many, many songs that I love and, each song has a specific part that is the best part of the song. Although I could sit here all day and list countless numbers of songs , here are a few that I can think of that are very special to me:

At Last by Etta James - First dance with my husband at our wedding

Let My Love Open the Door by Pete Townsend - playing on iPod when my daughter was born

Darth Vader's theme song that plays in the movie when he's walking down a hallway - my son hums it constantly when he plays

[foodfiend]

This is weird but lately I've been hearing Firework by Katy Perry. It's all about self-empowerment, and is a good pick-me-up.

[newcook]

These still get me, no matter how many times I listen to them

Lara Fabian - Je Suis Malade http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGthVEza97U

Richard Cociante-Quand Un Amour http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6htOhzjkOXU

Dan Hill - Sometimes When We Touch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVf940pO5ME

Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKfoB...hPT4nRGnWrn5hI

Mahalia Jackson - Silent Night, Holy Night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QGj2xgnN8A

[RiverFarm]

Newcook, if you like French songs, have you heard Isabelle Boulay's Perce les nuages?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfJR1DCVuJM

That gives me goosebumps, too. But her spoken French in the intro is so different from the French she uses when she sings!

[leebee]

Right now, I'm stuck on Dala, a Canadian duo. I got to spend a little time with them, and they are absolute delights, in addition to beautiful & talented. "Horses" is just heart-achingly beautiful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=YrFJFHRlsp8, and "Best Day" is the opposite, lilting & sunny: http://www.myspace.com/dalagirls/mus...t-day-87188597

I also love a new song by Luka Bloom, called "Dignity & Backbone" that wants to live in my head for awhile: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxCeu...layer_embedded

[Angelina]

These still get me, no matter how many times I listen to them

Richard Cociante-Quand Un Amour http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6htOhzjkOXU

Hey! That's an Italian singer, Riccardo Cocciante! I love his songs...I only know the ones he sings in Italian though.

[Soupandstew]

These still get me, no matter how many times I listen to them


Mahalia Jackson - Silent Night, Holy Night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QGj2xgnN8A

Oh, Newcook, I grew up in the 50's listening to this and other Mahalia Jackson songs which were my mother's favorites. My mother was ahead of the curve on racial issues and said Mahalia Jackson had to have a voice twice as good as a white woman to get half the respect.

[newcook]

Hey! That's an Italian singer, Riccardo Cocciante! I love his songs...I only know the ones he sings in Italian though.

Yes, I first heard it in Italian, and loved it even though I couldn't understand the words. An Italian friend told me what the words meant. I used to listen to that song over and over again. A while later, I found out he sings in French too.

[newcook]

Right now, I'm stuck on Dala, a Canadian duo. I got to spend a little time with them, and they are absolute delights, in addition to beautiful & talented. "Horses" is just heart-achingly beautiful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=YrFJFHRlsp8, and "Best Day" is the opposite, lilting & sunny: http://www.myspace.com/dalagirls/mus...t-day-87188597

I also love a new song by Luka Bloom, called "Dignity & Backbone" that wants to live in my head for awhile: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxCeu...layer_embedded

I really enjoyed listening to Dignity & Backbone. I love the links, it makes it easier to find the songs to listen to them

[newcook]

Newcook, if you like French songs, have you heard Isabelle Boulay's Perce les nuages?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfJR1DCVuJM

That gives me goosebumps, too. But her spoken French in the intro is so different from the French she uses when she sings!

It is very nice!

[newcook]

Sympathy for the Devil - Stones
You Can't Always Get What You Want - Stones
Little Pink Houses - Mellencamp
LIke a Rock - Seger
On the Road Again - Nelson
In the Arms of An Angel - McLachlan
Happy Christmas - Lennon
Mexican cantina music - various

These songs marked significant periods in my life and can transport me instantly. The cantina music thing dates back to a mission trip in 2007 when our Juarez campground was only a 1/2 mile or so from a cantina. The choice was to embrace the pulsating music and make it your lullaby or be really tired when the alarm went off at 5 a.m. And tired was not a good option with 12+ hours of physical labor in 100 degree heat ahead. I'm smiling as I type because this was one of the best times of my life and just the thought of the falsetto and guitar takes me back.

I love the song Happy Christmas - Lennon

[newcook]

In The Living Years - Mike & The Mechanics
Badlands - Springsteen
Roll Me Away - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
Keep Me In Your Heart - Warren Zevon
Return of the Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons
Promised Land - Bruce Springsteen
Diamonds & Rust - Joan Baez
Into The Mystic - Van Morrison
Welcome To The Jungle - Guns n Roses
American Tune - Paul Simon
Deja Vu - John Fogerty

and a whole lot more.

I love Bruce Springsteen Tougher than the rest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MRaw9P07mM

I had never heard In the living years before, I'm glad I found out about it

[newcook]

"Softly As I Leave you"

That is just so so sad. Beautiful though.

[newcook]

I love all those oldies, very partial to Motown.

Sometimes it is a type of voice that gets to me. Roger Whittaker comes to mind, there is something about his voice. I get the same feeling listening to Felix Leclerc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wcLjT4nZQo, and to think that was recorded some 50 years ago.

[RiverFarm]

Oh, Newcook, DH and I loved the Félix Leclerc song! Thanks so much for linking to it. We didn't know about that era and the Abitibi work force, which sounds much like our WPA in the States. His accent isn't at all what you'd expect from a Québecois, though; he sounds more southern French with the rolled 'r's.

Where are you hearing all these neat French language songs?

[newcook]

Oh, Newcook, DH and I loved the Félix Leclerc song! Thanks so much for linking to it. We didn't know about that era and the Abitibi work force, which sounds much like our WPA in the States. His accent isn't at all what you'd expect from a Québecois, though; he sounds more southern French with the rolled 'r's.

Where are you hearing all these neat French language songs?

I'm a French Canadian living in Montreal Quebec. I was taught by the nuns in elementary school that the proper way to pronounce the r is to roll it. It is no longer in fashion to do that though. You mostly only hear it from the older generation.

[RiverFarm]

Aha, that explains it! What do you think of Isabelle Boulay's accent, then? It reminds me of the accents on the show "Catherine".