|
|
My Top 10 songs for feeling sadAug 21 '11 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Music
The Bottom Line If you are in the mood to think back on the hard times in your life, these songs fit that situation.
The human experience can be joyous and full of happiness. The birth of child, the child’s first steps and first words, a wedding, a fiftieth anniversary, a new job, a promotion, a first car: these can all be causes to smile, to laugh, to toast one another, and even to weep tears of joy. Life is not always like this. Music is a reflection of the human existence on Earth and, as such, it can convey any emotion that people can feel. There are times I can relish a well-crafted, well-performed song of sadness. These songs can tell us we are not alone in our occasional misery, pain, or despair. If the song is weak, it only serves to stir up feelings that are unwanted and unappreciated. But, if it is done right, the listener can sit back, let the music wash over him or her, relive their past pains -- and often the happinesses that preceded or followed that pain. This guide is to point out songs of sadness that I see as having true value as art and as a reflection of, and enhancement of, the entirety of the complex human condition. Some of these songs are well-known, while others might be unfamiliar to many. Some are sad through and through, while others have only piece of sadness to them. I was inspired to write this after discovering one of these melancholy treasures today. It moved me, it haunts me, and I found myself on the verge of tears as I strained to hear its magnificent beauty playing in the background at my doctor’s office today. 1. Tom Traubert’s Blues (Waltzing Matilda) by Tom Wait or Rod Stewart. This song was written by Tom Waits in 1976 and released on his album Small Change. I have listened to both Wait’s original version and Rod Stewart’s 1993 remake. I might be in the minority in this, but I prefer Rod Stewart’s rendition. The song is long, powerful in its lyrics and melody, and relentless in the melancholy mood it carries. The story of the lyrics can be interpreted in different ways. I initially took it to be the tale of a soldier returned from war and now down on his luck, poor and battling alcoholism. The “Waltzing Matilda” refrain is what caught my attention, as I like that song. Here, in seems to refer to the narrator looking for a night on the town and a moment of happiness and fun. I prefer Rod Stewart’s version simply because I prefer his voice; Tom Wait’s voice is more gravelly and, while it might fit the jazz style better, Stewart’s voice is soulful and easily understood. 2. Green, Green Grass of Home sung by Tom Jones. This song was written by Claude Putnam, Jr. and is essentially a country song, originally sung in 1965 by Porter Wagoner. The rendition with which I am most familiar is the 1966 Tom Jones one. The song starts by a man telling of his happy return home after a long absence and his reunion with his beloved Mary. Then, the song pulls the rug out from under the listener as one realizes that was all a dream, and the narrator’s situation is much, much more dire than that. 3. Prom Theme by Fountains of Wayne. This song comes from the album Utopia Parkway by Fountains of Wayne, released in 1999. The powerful melody and lyrics take the listener back to the senior year in high school. The narrator tells of how he and his classmates have great dreams, but they are on the verge of having to move into the adult world, where compromises and realities will make most of those dreams wither away. 4. I Am A Rock by Simon and Garfunkel. This 1965 song by Paul Simon tells about how someone defends against emotional pain by trying to feel nothing at all, like a rock. It is a perfect analogy for the isolation and withdrawal that go along with moderate to severe depression. 5. Honey by Bobby Goldsboro. This song is a tribute by a man to his wife who has passed away. This one gets to me every time. This 1968 song was written by Bobby Russell. 6. Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen performed by K.D. Lang or John Cale. We are never so vulnerable to pain of many kinds as when we give away our heart. This song speaks eloquently to that. Leonard Cohen wrote the song, and I became aware of it through the movie, Shrek. That version is sung by John Cale. K.D. Laing also does it extremely well. 7. Crying (Llorando) performed by Rebekah del Rio. This song is better known as Crying, with Roy Orbison doing the most popular version. This Spanish-language version was seen in the movie Mulholland Drive. Crying was written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. While Orbison’s quirky, creative renditions are the best known, Rebekah del Rio has a stronger, clearer, purer voice. It tells of the seemingly incurable sadness that can come after love ends. 8. Horses by Alexander Rybak. Alexander Rybak is a Norwegian singer-musician-composer, who won Eurovision’s version of America’s Got Talent in 2009, with his song, Fairytale. He wrote both Fairytale, about a young man seeking to reclaim the love he once had, and 13 Horses. While there is some debate about the meaning of the lyrics of 13 Horses, the surface meaning is the tale of 13 horses that try to swim what they believe is a river, but is actually the ocean. The ending is inevitable, but the song is ruthlessly heart-breaking, as it follows the efforts of the horses. Rybak’s voice is perfect here, and I have trouble listening to this one without crying. 9. Seasons In The Sun by the Terry Jacks. I did not know this until now, but this song is actually the English-language adaptation of Le Moribund, by Belgian singer-composer Jacques Brel. Originally published in 1961, it was translated into English by Rod McKuen. The Terry Jacks performed it in 1974 and sold over ten million copies worldwide. It tells the tale of a young man who is dying, as he says farewell to the people and the things important in his life. I heard this while in intensive care in 1975, when my own survival was somewhat in doubt. It is melancholy, somewhat repetitive, and heart-wrenching. 10. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot. On November 10, 1975, the freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a storm on Lake Superior, taking all twenty-nine of its crew into the cold waters. No one survived, and no bodies were recovered. In August of 1976, Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot released The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a haunting memoriam to the crew and the ship, which had been the largest freighter on the Great Lakes. The first time I heard the song, it gave me the shivers. It was done perfectly. If we dwell on all the sadness, losses, and tragedies of our lives, depression becomes a danger. However, if we push aside all the sadness in our lives and try to forget that which was not joyous or happy, we deny an important part of our lives and are not living fully in reality. When you feel like you want to remember those sad, tragic, or troubling times, music can sometimes help us put our feelings into words that make sense. This list is, by no means, exhaustive, but these are the songs that resonate for me. If you want my YouTube play list of these songs, feel free to e-mail me.  |
| Read all comments (13)|Write your own comment |
in Online Stores & Services, Music, Magazine Subscriptions, Movies, Home and Garden, Hotels & Travel, Musical Instruments, Books
in Books|
Ads by Google
|
by starcollector by starcollector
![Jersey Boys [Original Broadway Cast Recording] by Original Broadway Cast Reviews](http://di2.shopping.com/images/pi/95/a4/8a/2006752046-100x100-0-0.jpg?p=p24.f5f3f4647afca2fefc30&a=2&c=1&l=8071320&t=120603130823&r=2)
