Here is a list of songs that at various times have made me long, ache. For what? I am not sure. Maybe beauty. Maybe love. Maybe eternity.
“Pure” by The Lightning Seeds from Cloudcuckooland
“Sit Down” by James from James
“The River Will Flow” Whiteheart from Freedom
“The Dance” by Servant from Swimming in a Human Ocean
“Sar Kiye Ye Pahar” by Strings from Strings II
“Such Great Heights” by the Postal Service from Give Up
“If I Stand” by Rich Mullins from Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth
“Calling Out Your Name” by Rich Mullins from The World as Best As I Remember it Volume I
“Here in America” by Rich Mullins from A Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band
“Turn” by Travis from The Man Who. Two video versions, British and American, here (song #4)
“Driftwood” by Travis from The Man Who. Video here (song #2)
“Don’t Panic” by Coldplay from Parachutes. Video here
“Speed of Sound” by Coldplay from X & Y. Video here
“Yellow” by Coldplay from Parachutes. Video here . Love it as much as the song, and first saw it in college across the cafeteria. I wandered over transfixed.
“Dreams” The Cranberries from Everybody’s Doing It, So Why Can’t We
“Gorgeous” by The Violet Burning from Demonstrates Plastic and Elastic
“With or Without You” by U2 from The Joshua Tree. Video here
“Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2 from The Joshua Tree. Video here
It is a pretty eclectic mix of Christian and regular pop, and I may have left some out. Is there a common thread? They all have lovely melodies (aside from the caterwauling at the end of “Dreams”). And I think in most of them either the vocals or the music soar at some point in the song. In some, such as “If I stand,” the lyrics are deeply meaningful.
Ultimate top five?
“Dreams”
“Yellow”
“Gorgeous”
“If I Stand”
“Where the Streets Have No Name”
If you get the concept and are inclined to play along, list your melancholy/beautiful favorites in a comment or add your “Amen” to one/some of these.
Click here for the continuation of the Melancholy/Beautiful discussion…
Oh I am all over this. I think I know just the feeling you are talking about and in fact I carry a little working list around in my head. Neil, I am unfamiliar with many of your songs. Thanks for not forcing me to limit it to five like the guys in High Fidelity always did. I am numbering them for bullet point purposes, not because I have ranked them.
1. First I’ll get U2 out of the way. I hope this isn’t a cop out but I have to say all of U2 through Rattle and Hum. I remember that feeling very well when thinking back to high school and college, and it would come when listening to those cassettes in their entirety.
2. Rich Mullins’ Sometimes by Step, the volume II version.
3. The hymn Just As I Am, as sung at a church revival when I was a kid, about nine. Dave Lucas and the Watchmen were the evangelists that week.
4. On the Wings of a Dove as sung by Robert Duvall in the film Tender Mercies.
5. The hymn Softly and Tenderly as sung by Geraldine Page in the film A Trip to Bountiful.
6. Pink Moon by Nick Drake.
7. Songbird by Eva Cassidy.
8. Fire and Rain – J.T.
I have a closely related category. These songs make me feel something really similar, but with a portion of exhilaration added to it; it’s probably joy.
1. Shannon McNally’s Now That I Know What I Know.
2. Joy to the World but only sung by BeBe and CeCe Winans.
Long Time Gone by Dixie Chicks has it’s own category. That song makes me feel something intense, but not so much as to qualify for the above list. It reminds me of those few precious people in my life who understand who I was back then and get who I am now.
O.K. people. Take a turn because you know you want to. I give you permission to be self indulgent for ten minutes.
the lightning seeds. fabulous.
“O.K. people. Take a turn because you know you want to. I give you permission to be self indulgent for ten minutes.”
Or, you could start a blog and be self-indulgent every day ; )
Thanks for your list, Nancy. I am unfamiliar with some of these. One cool aspect of hearing another person’s list, though, is that when I do stumble across a song on it, it may like “Ah, I see now.”
Ditto on your thoughts about Rich and U2. Oh, but I think I would have to do an entire separate post for sacred songs…
hmmm…songs that leave me longing
1) Glance by Misty Edwards
2) These Words by Natasha Bedingfield
3) There is a Coldplay song on Rush of Blood to the Head about green eyes (I can’t remember the name of it).
4) Many of Waterdeep’s worship songs leave me longing to sing all of the time. Especially the Worship Circles.
5) You and Me by LifeHouse
6) Whate’er My God Ordains is Right words by Samuel Rodigast, music by David Braud
7) This World by Caedmon’s Call
a link for you 🙂 http://www.narniaweb.com/news.asp?id=258&dl=2756730
Oh Neil, your blog is not self indulgent. It is thought provoking. And who is Travis? I feel it from Coldplay also, it just didn’t quite make my list.
Nancy, if you have a high speed connection watch the Travis videos. Very cool. Yeah, many people find Coldplay too slight and light, but I like them, particularly the album Parachutes, even though it is somewhat depressing.
Definitely “Glance” and “Eternity” by Misty Edwards… isn’t she awesome??? Her lyrics are so intense, yet simple. She seems like a woman after God’s own heart. Check out onethingglobal.com, where Misty is a worship leader…
Also “Beautiful One” by By The Tree.
“In The Secret” (contemporary P&W song)