Most Beautiful Songs that Break Your Heart

[sgtpepper64]

I know lists similar to this one have been done before, but I don't think this specifically.

 

Anyway, I was curious as what songs VCers find so gorgeous and break their heart at the same time. They don't necessarily have to be sad, or anything of that nature. Just really beautiful songs that hit you in the pit of your stomach. I'll start with a few:

 

 

Light Catches Your Face - Bell X1

Out of the Blue - The Band

Overs - Simon and Garfunkel

Detlef Schrempf - Band of Horses

Suburban War - Arcade Fire

It Just Is - Rilo Kiley

 

 

 

 

Take it away!

[thejokeexplained]

I know lists similar to this one have been done before, but I don't think this specifically.

 

Anyway, I was curious as what songs VCers find so gorgeous and break their heart at the same time. They don't necessarily have to be sad, or anything of that nature. Just really beautiful songs that hit you in the pit of your stomach. I'll start with a few:

 

 

Light Catches Your Face - Bell X1

Out of the Blue - The Band

Overs - Simon and Garfunkel

Detlef Schrempf - Band of Horses

Suburban War - Arcade Fire

It Just Is - Rilo Kiley

 

 

 

 

Take it away!

 

Wilco (the song) always brings a tear to my eye and a smile to my face at the same time when i hear it played live.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

Sparklehorse - Saturday, Maria's Little Elbows

DBT - Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife

Idiot Wind acoustic

Eels - I'm Going To Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart

 

And more. Sad music rules. Saturday's probably the one that most consistently does it though. And it would be even if Linkous didn't kill himself on a Saturday.

[lamradio]

Justin Townes Earle - The Ghost of Virginia

 

The song is about a ghost train from the Civil War. This part always gives me chills:

 

Ah but some say she wrecked and she rides these rails hopin' one day that she'll get it right

Others say she roams out picking up lost souls and carryin 'em down to Carolina

[PopTodd]

Flying Burrito Brothers - Hot Burrito #1 (I'm Your Toy)

Velvet Underground - I'll Be Your Mirror

 

And, mostly, this one:

Jason Isbell - Dress Blues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJb1_EGnapY

that is what songwriting is all about.

Jeezus, I'm sitting here listening, watching, and sniffling like a baby.

[tinnitus photography]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQU0xu9gUpE

[ih8music]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2e1UIy8NM4

 

always kills me, especially the part about "I only want what's best for you/And I know that might not include me"

[petemoss]

buffalo springfield - expecting to fly

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

Anyway, I was curious as what songs VCers find so gorgeous and break their heart at the same time.

 

What a provocative thread.

 

I usually connect to a song more around the musical componant. Although I have been fanatical about music for 45 years, I can't say that I often connect to songs in such a fashion that it breaks my heart per se.

 

However, that is not to say that I am untouched by what I listen too. I'm sure some of these songs will seem odd to this board; but that's ok. We all come from different places and have traveled different roads to get where we are now.

 

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER --- I'm not being ironic here. This song is so ubiquitous in our society that the actual lyrics are often lost into background noise. But I very often find myself actually tearing up over the last lines: Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? The very fact that the question is as relevant today as it was in 1812-1814 always hits an emotional note with me. It's not a given and we should never take it for granted.

 

DANCING QUEEN (Abba)--- For some reason, this nice little pop song from 1976 really makes me really melacholy. Sometimes, I hear it and it makes me almost frantic with remembering just how many miles I've traveled since I played this on the radio and how short the road remaining is.

 

TO LOVE SOMEBODY

WORDS (The Bee Gees) --- These two songs are so achingly beautiful and bring me back to a time when a silly little pop song could sum up all the emotions that cutting through my days.

 

YOU WEAR IT WELL (Rod Stewart) --- As one gets older, the nostalgic moments are sometimes wistful and sometimes filled with regret. Before Rod Stewart sold his soul, he was able to tap into emotional areas as well as has ever been done in song.

 

NO ONE'S GONNA LOVE YOU

MARRY SONG (Band of Horses) --- Ben Bridwell is really able to communicate the nuances of the emotions of adult love.

 

These songs always cause me to pause, sometimes to consider the aching for long past days, sometimes to consider the emotions inherent in doubt.

[PopTodd]

I have a hard time singing the final verse of "A Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues.

Seriously, whenever I try to sing the damn thing, whenever I get to the line, "I kept them with me, babe/I packed them with my own/Can't Make it out alone/I built my dreams around you"

I get a lump in my throat that is hard to sing around. Blocks any sound that tries to come out, and I just end up with a couple of little sobs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv0hlbWpa1w

Okay, so maybe it's not the heartbreak that brings the lump to my throat, but the unabashed, left field sweetness of it all. Still, a very real, observable physical reaction to emotion takes place there. Every time.

[Mr. Heartbreak]

 

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER --- I'm not being ironic here. This song is so ubiquitous in our society that the actual lyrics are often lost into background noise. But I very often find myself actually tearing up over the last lines: Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? The very fact that the question is as relevant today as it was in 1812-1814 always hits an emotional note with me. It's not a given and we should never take it for granted.

 

TO LOVE SOMEBODY

 

Good call on To Love Somebody. I have a live Nina Simone version of that song, and it always gets me.

There's another one that always brings a lump to my throat and I'd actually like to see it replace the Star Spangled Banner as our national anthem: This Land Is Your Land by Woody Guthrie.

 

Other top contenders:

 

Joni Mitchell - A Case Of You

Elton John - Skyline Pigeon

Neal Casal - On The Mend

Graham Nash - I Used To Be A King

Jerry Garcia - Mission In The Rain

Golden Smog - Please Tell My Brother

Emmylou Harris - Boulder To Birmingham

Emmylou/Gram - Love Hurts

Bob Weir - Looks Like Rain

Dylan - If You See Her, Say Hello

Beach Boys - Don't Worry Baby

[nodep5]

I concur about Detlef Schrempf Band of Horses (beautiful sentiment)

 

Oh, there are so many

 

Just yesterday put on YHF and Reservations got me like it did back in the day.

 

I will always lose it for Rocky Votolato's White Daisy Passing or

 

I just lost it two days ago to Fever Dream by Iron and Wine

[moxiebean]

There are a few songs that I tear up just thinking about, including:

 

Sufjan Stevens - Casimir Pulaski Day

Wilco - Handshake Drugs (live version w/ Nels can have me weeping over how beautiful music can be)

The Tennessee Waltz (if it's a version done by one of those old country guys)

The Battle Hymn of the Republic (especially the "in the beauty of the lilies" verse)

[Magnetized]

Oh, I love this thread. So many reminders of songs that grab me (Reservations, You Wear It Well) and many more that I want to check out. I learn so much from this board!

 

A few of my favorites, just off the top of my head:

 

Vincent Black Lightning by Richard Thompson

In Germany Before the War by Randy Newman--also Marie, Louisiana 1927, Rollin', Sail Away, I Miss You. . .I could go on and on, pure genius

Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen

So Much Wine--Jeff Tweedy's cover of the Handsome Family song

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams

Angel from Montgomery by John Prine--also Everybody Wants to Feel Like You, Paradise, Hello In There, many more

Lua by Bright Eyes--also First Day of My Life and Bowl of Oranges

 

There are tons more. I reserve the right to amend this list when I have more time!

[Oil Can Boyd]

The first two that came to mind for me:

 

Remember the Mountain Bed

Your Sweet Voice - Matthew Sweet

[airtaco]

I have a hard time singing the final verse of "A Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues.

Seriously, whenever I try to sing the damn thing, whenever I get to the line, "I kept them with me, babe/I packed them with my own/Can't Make it out alone/I built my dreams around you"

I get a lump in my throat that is hard to sing around. Blocks any sound that tries to come out, and I just end up with a couple of little sobs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv0hlbWpa1w

Okay, so maybe it's not the heartbreak that brings the lump to my throat, but the unabashed, left field sweetness of it all. Still, a very real, observable physical reaction to emotion takes place there. Every time.

 

Ditto as well for me. Just about every time.

[tinnitus photography]

not sure what the hell the nonsense is before 0:16, but when The Delgados start singing Burns' "Parcel Of Rogues" it's great

 

[froggie]

mountain bed - wilco

end of the innocence - don henley

you're my home - billy joel

avalon - roxy music

seasons in the sun - terry jacks

that's the way - led zeppelin

[people are leaving]

chocolate genius - my mom

joe pisapia - dancing partner

nick drake - northern sky

joni mitchell - a case of you

it's not - aimee mann

[sgtpepper64]

 

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER --- I'm not being ironic here. This song is so ubiquitous in our society that the actual lyrics are often lost into background noise. But I very often find myself actually tearing up over the last lines: Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? The very fact that the question is as relevant today as it was in 1812-1814 always hits an emotional note with me. It's not a given and we should never take it for granted.

 

TO LOVE SOMEBODY

WORDS (The Bee Gees) --- These two songs are so achingly beautiful and bring me back to a time when a silly little pop song could sum up all the emotions that cutting through my days.

 

These songs always cause me to pause, sometimes to consider the aching for long past days, sometimes to consider the emotions inherent in doubt.

 

I don't think it's ironic at all. I think there is something about the way the melody and words work together, and what they mean that is really heartbreaking and prideful at the same time. There is something stunning and utterly patriotic about hearing this song performed in front of 40,000 people, all standing in silence out of respect for something bigger than themselves. It's pretty incredible.

 

Also, I think so much of the early Bee-Gees stuff is underrated. Many of their early albums contain so many good songs, it's a shame people only know them for their disco stuff. I would add the songs "First of May" and "I started a joke" to that list as well.

 

 

Graham Nash - I Used To Be A King

Beach Boys - Don't Worry Baby

 

Glad you mentioned these two. The whole Songs for Beginners album is just incredible, with "I used to be the a king" and "simple man" as my two favorite tracks. And the way Don't Worry Baby comes together at "She told me baby when you race today, just take along my love with you." It's stunning.

 

 

The Battle Hymn of the Republic (especially the "in the beauty of the lilies" verse)

 

I'm am literally the furthest away you could get from someone who celebrates religion of any kind, but the lyrics in this verse are my favorite of all time, cenetered around the lyric "As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free." Has a more beautiful sentiment ever been written? I don't think so. Gorgeous, glad you mentioned it.

 

 

end of the innocence - don henley

 

People like to poke fun at him, but man, he can write (or co-write) a beautiful song. My parents love this song, and I used to like it a lot, but always hated the lyric "I need to remember this/so baby give me one more kiss/and let me take a long last look before we say goodbye" but then one day, I finally got it, and it hit me how meaningful and important that lyric is. If you've ever been in a situation where "let me take a long last look before we say goodbye" could possibly apply to you, this song can't help but destroy your heart.

 

I want to add a few more to the list:

 

High Flying Bird - Elton John

In My Life - The Beatles (seems like an obvious choice, but just an incredible song)

Child for a Day - Cat Stevens

Be Not So Fearful - Bill Fay

[Vacant Horizon]

Good call on To Love Somebody. I have a live Nina Simone version of that song, and it always gets me.

There's another one that always brings a lump to my throat and I'd actually like to see it replace the Star Spangled Banner as our national anthem: This Land Is Your Land by Woody Guthrie.

 

Other top contenders:

 

Joni Mitchell - A Case Of You

Elton John - Skyline Pigeon

Neal Casal - On The Mend

Graham Nash - I Used To Be A King

Jerry Garcia - Mission In The Rain

Golden Smog - Please Tell My Brother

Emmylou Harris - Boulder To Birmingham

Emmylou/Gram - Love Hurts

Bob Weir - Looks Like Rain

Dylan - If You See Her, Say Hello

Beach Boys - Don't Worry Baby

 

A Case of You-Joni Mitchell

 

great call. i love it in the opening credits of one of my favorite movies 'waking the dead'. oh so good.

 

the last song that got me a bit choked up was Breathless by Miranda Lee Richards. very validating tune.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

mountain bed - wilco

end of the innocence - don henleyyou're my home - billy joel

avalon - roxy music

seasons in the sun - terry jacks

that's the way - led zeppelin

 

Nice song...co-written with Bruce Hornsby

[okp greg]

The first ones that come to mind for me are:

 

Matthew 25:21 - The Mountain Goats

Inherited Scars - Sage Francis

How to Disappear Completely - Radiohead

Do You Realize - The Flaming Lips

[Plumplechook]

It Makes No Difference - The Band

Casimir Pulaski Day - Sufjan Stevens

Batchelor Kisses - The Go-Betweens

Bell Bottom Blues - Derek and the Dominoes

Country Disappeared - Wilco

[tinnitus photography]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUl1A7zSvCI

 

 

this ends with the particularly devastating line of:

 

"When was the first time you realized the next time would be the last time?"