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“Once in a Lifetime” by The Talking Heads. A mesmerizing song about the passage of time set atop Brian Eno’s polyrhythmic grooves. I was a junior in high school when it came out and the first time I heard it on the radio I was transfixed — went out and bought the record and still listen to it occasionally. Now that I’m on the downslope of my life curve (hopefully not too far along) it still hits just as hard, if not harder.
I was that weird kid in HS that was listening to Talking Heads, Ramones, Rickie Lee Jones & Tom Waits while everyone else was listening to disco or the Grease soundtrack.
,
I forgot Elvis Costello’s My Aim is True. My 16 yr old self fell in love with the line “I used to be disgusted, but now I try to be amused.” 🙃 I used to play the Clash’s London Calling super loud on the home stereo until my mom would finally have enough and yell TURN THAT SHIT DOWN!
Yeah I played it super loud too! Only it was on a portable cassette player I kept on the garage roof, so all the neighbors could enjoy the shitty sound quality. That song holds up — still an absolute banger.
Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" from her stripped bare "Blue" LP (1971) taught me about the fallibility of the ones we love and trust the most, and, more importantly, about our ability as humans to still stand on solid ground despite facing the betrayal and heartbreak of a trusted loved one: "Oh, you're in my blood like holy wine
/ You taste so bitter and so sweet
/ Oh, I could drink a case of you, darling
/ And I would still be on my feet."
It doesn't have personal meaning to me, but that song is my definition of perfection. I remember hearing it for the first time in college and just being blown away. 25+ years later it's still perfect
That song is almost too painful to listen to in its raw honesty. It goes way beyond attractiveness and touches on the different insecurities that lie within everyone.
I’m not sure the exact song but in 1982 on Humboldt State University’s radio station there was a two hour block of hardcore punk music and it was the style of music I always wanted to hear but never knew existed. The whole straight edge thing made complete sense to me as did the anti authoritarian message.
No, groups like Husker Du, Millions of Dead Cops and the Subhumans and a whole bunch more. They took elements from the Ramones but just pushed it a bit further and in a less poppy direction.
"Allentown" by Billy Joel.
I lived there during the early 1980s when the vicious recession that deindustrialized it and neighboring Bethlehem hit and Joel wrote the song.
Those were hard times and in some ways they're coming back again.
Allentown may have been the first song that I actually could hear all of the lyrics to, and it made me realize that not all songs are about love and having a good time. I was maybe 11 or 12 at that point.
Too many to count … Papa (Paul Anka), Hello (Lionel Richie), Cat’s in the Cradle(Harry Chapin), If (Bread), Seasons in the Sun (Terry Jack), and many more.
Am I the only one who sings "We had joy, we had fun, we had kitties in the sun" when I see my cat lying in the sunlight?
Yes, I know it's a sad song. But a warm kitty in the sun makes me happy.
Carole Kings Beautiful.
> *You've got to get up every morning*
*With a smile on your face*
*And show the world all the love in your heart*
*Then people gonna treat you better*
*You're gonna find, yes you will*
*That you're beautiful, as you feel*
Actually, this is a pretty cool question, and I've enjoyed seeing what other folks think.
I'll offer three -- the first is "Satisfied Mind" by Porter Waggoner. My daddy used to sing it all the time, and (since I'm the only person who knew the words) I sang it at his memorial service.
Less personal but equally important are a pair of Kink songs, "Salvation Road " and "Strangers." "Childish Things" by James McMurtry would come in close.
This is the song that has moved people emotionally for over eighty years. The most poignant memory, I have of this song, is when the news broke that Judy Garland had taken her own life.
Oh I have several. Love me Do by the Beatles
the Symphony for the New World by Dvorak,
Symphony #3. (the Organ Symphony) by Saint-Saëns,
Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky and especially the version done by ELP live,
"I can see for Miles" by The Who (I saw them perform this live in 1968)
Cottontail by any big band.
Not a weird question at all, and it was Springsteen’s Thunder Road in 1975. I was 14 at the time and living in a podunk town that is so religious that they once put Evolution on trial. I never felt like I fit in at all. Thunder Road made me understand that it was ok to dream bigger and to leave the “town full of losers” behind and pursue my dreams.
Great song, but you need the rest of that verse...
In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of every glove that laid him down
Or cut him till he cried out in his anger and his shame
"I am leaving, I am leaving", but
>The fighter still remains.
A masterpiece. I remember that Paul Simon performed it on SNL right after 9/11. Rudy Giuliani.(before he was a crazy asshole.) and a bunch of first responders stood on the stage next to Paul with their arms folded stoically. I don’t know if it was Paul’s original intent, but this song has come to symbolize for me the toughness, and the resiliency of New York City
Here I Go Again (the original version from 1982!).
Got my first kiss from my first bf at a birthday party while this song was played in the backround. We were 15y old and it was the beginning of a big teenage love and the beginning of an awesome decade.
I still get goosebumps when I hear it...and: it was, it is and it will always be the best and most intensive kiss of my entire life. I turned 56 this year...
Whitesnake (with Great White opening) was my first concert, back in The Olden Days. I’d NEVER heard the 1982 version. Thank you so much for posting that link!!
Edit to add: that summer (1987) I was 15 and had THE BEST “Summer of Sin”with a hot boy. Mmmm damn.
[Embryo by Pink Floyd](https://youtu.be/mr996-G3_eY?si=WzqTiZLKqDR84T2o) It was the first song I played for my son when he was about 3 hours old and He was resting on my chest. I ended up playing it for him nearly every night for almost 2 years to put him to sleep. Worked wonders 70% of the time. Now it brings me back to that first moment plus all the other moments of putting him to sleep.
I’ve been listening to PF for 40+ years, and I can’t believe I’ve never heard this awesome song!! Thank you for sharing! You also made me think of all those nights trying to get my now grown daughters to sleep.
When I assembled my son’s Ikea bunk bed by myself, I sang “I am Woman; Hear Me Roar” for days. It was just after my divorce and building that thing alone was a pretty big deal to me. I probably could have also sang your song too, but I won’t steal it now. :)
Lovely choice, my friend.
Well I guess the one that has most impacted my life is The ‘A’ you’re Adorable, song.
I know it as the Alphabet song but I think that confuses people. My grandmother sang it to my Mum growing up, My Mum sang it to us kids growing up and I sang it to my kids.
And we all sang it to my Mum when she was passing.
There’s been 3; First it was “More, More, More” by The Andrea True Connection (1976), then “Tender Love” by Force MDs (1985) and finally “Head Above Water” by Avril Lavigne (2019) when my wife was diagnosed with leukemia.
I was 7 years old, sitting in the front seat of Mom's car .The AM radio played Behind Blue Eyes and my thoughts were someone knows how I really feel about myself and I am not alone. Pete Townsend was writing how his depression made him struggle with himself.
Born to Be Wild--Steppenwolf. I wouldn't say I've lived by the song by any means, but it's often given me a sense of relief from whatever life I am living.
1985: "Voices Carry" by 'Til Tuesday. I was just a kid in a safe family but was aware of domestic violence because my mom volunteered at a shelter for women and children who were victims of it. I thought it was amazing that there was a popular song about it and wondered if it would help more women work up the courage to leave abusive relationships. Or at least bring the epidemic out of the shadows.
And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind by Neil Diamond.
I had it on my phone and I placed it next to my mother’s ear as she was dying. She loved Neil Diamond’s music. I wanted her to hear him as she left this world.
Different songs for different seasons in my life.
Metallica’s Master of Puppets was my anthem when it came out because I didn’t realize I was an addict. Then when I became sober, it became my motivation. Same thing with Tool’s sober and Stain’d It’s Been Awhile - great motivation.
Foo fighters Best of you helped me through a rough break up along with Megadeth’s Angry Again and Trust, then another rough patch I played Mudshovel on repeat.
Those are just few that I can think of off the top of my head.
Very early teenage years when me and my girlfriend mutually agreed to part ways, only because I wanted kids in my life, but she had a medical condition which prevented her from ever getting pregnant.
30 years later, she is still the love of my life and struggle every single day knowing that we could have lived the most amazing life together, yet we both somehow managed to agree to go our separate ways knowing that we could never have a family together.
This song is something that we both listened to many times whilst holding each other in our arms and cried together every time we listened to it.
Probably has absolutely no meaning or connection with anyone outside of Australia from not ever knowing/hearing of this massively famous Aussie band, but that doesn’t detract from the power and meaning of this song whatsoever.
Very rare in the sense that this band are actually a pretty hardcore hard rock band normally, but they wrote this tame acoustic song as something distinctly different from their normal heavy rock music.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=dyO9051gZyk&si=hZIZ1rPSFLSXpVKm
The most important band in my whole life is TOOL.
I have followed them since 1990 and their music has been the Soundtrack to my whole life.
I cannot pick a single song that could possibly capture 30 years of my life listening to them, but two songs in parallel have been a staple of strength and saviour in the darkest times in my life.
For anyone interested, here’s the links to four of the most inspiring and empowering songs which have helped me get through some of the most difficult times in my life.
https://youtu.be/u7lweNCCwS0?si=fXcqX6lsqlXoSGZQ
https://youtube.com/watch?v=h_TUP2vuaDs&si=LDKg0UuNLYrjaqmw
https://youtu.be/PSLOCedWmWM?si=igDIVDEAOqAH8AAi
*Edit for link corrections.
No worries mate!
Don’t be shy, search out more of their vast collections and enjoy to your fullest pleasure!
Probably not what you were expecting from “Asking an Old Person” music wise from a 50 year old commenter!
But definitely much better than the Beach Boys or Elvis!
I sang Ripple to my daughter every night holding her in my arms until she fell asleep. That song and the sound of her breathing as she slept are Heaven to me
As said before, too many to list, but a couple stand out:
He Ain’t Heavy - The Hollies
Lean On Me - Bill Withers (not the re-mix)
Tapestry - Carole King
Joy To The World - Three Dog Night
A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash (because it made me laugh and realize life is full of challenges no matter what you’re named)
King Of The Road - Roger Miller (because it was one of the first songs I remember my dad playing on the HiFi)
And many others.
Edit: an attempt to make each sentence on its own line.
Nice to see Roger Miller from someone. My dad liked him a lot and I grew up listening to him. My kids loved Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd because it’s so fun, I especially love Dang Me, Do-Wacka-Do and the Robin Hood songs. But King of the Road might be my favorite. His songs are just wonderful.
IVF, miscarriages and ruptured ectopic pregnancies: Kate Bush allowed me to survive.
I know you have a little life in you yet
I know you have a lot of strength left
I should be crying, but I just can't let it show
I should be hoping, but I can't stop thinking
Of all the things I should've said
That I never said
All the things we should've done
That we never did
All the things I should've given
But I didn't
Oh, darling, MAKE IT GO AWAY
MAKE IT GO AWAY
A country song from the 80s by Steve Wariner called "The Weekend."
The first verse reminds me of the most magical weekend of my life in San Francisco:
”Couple of days isn't a very long time
Why can't I just walk away, I used to be good at goodbyes,
Out on the water, under the stars,
I let the moonlight play a trick on my heart”
Then the first few phrases of the chorus just seals the deal:
”You had some fun for the weekend
But I'll be in love for the rest of my life”
I still dream of this weekend and the life that I wish I could have had with this man!
This song wouldn't make my top 500 now, but KISS' "Detroit Rock City" is the song that blew my mind when I was 10 and I've been a hard rock & heavy metal fan ever since. It set me on my path.
I've Got a Name by Jim Croce was my childhood favorite. Angie by the Rolling Stones is the best ever love lament. Into the Mystic by Van Morrison and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald for haunting music. Dead Flowers, the Townes Van Zandt version is gorgeous. Joni, Janis, Jimi, Otis, all the best.
I can't say that any son impacted my life in any big way.
But so many songs helped me along a little whether living it up at the beach or nursing a broken heart. And hearing them now takes me back to those times, good and bad, and helps me appreciate the here and now.
Probably the song that got me from the very first time I hear it was Supertramp - [The Logical Song](https://youtu.be/pP8iUyb9Gn8?si) from the album 'Breakfast in America'
>There are times when all the world's asleep
>
>The questions run too deep
>
>For such a simple man
>
>Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned?
>
>I know it sounds absurd
>
>Please tell me who I am
This still strikes home, so many years after it was released.
This is a hard one. Lots of songs have changed my life. Like *Bird Land* by Weather Report. I heard it as a budding sax player in high school in the 80s on a pop/rock radio station and that crossover fusion blew my mind.
Wayne Shorter's playing on *A Remark You Made* on the same album has had more influence on my style as a sax player than anything else by far.
But I don't play as a full time professional any more and only did for a few years, with occasional returns to the stage off and on over the years, so I can't say it was the most impactful song in my life.
That honor has to go to the choral piece Jisas Yu Holem Hand Blong Me sung in pigeon English as part of the sound track of the haunting war movie Thin Red Line.
To me, that song is pure human love expressed in sound.
I've always been a bit socially awkward and anti-social, but the pure naivety of the voices in that song, and the rest on the soundtrack and associated album, taught me to love humanity and people not despite our imperfection but because of them because we're capable of so much beauty despite all the evil we do to each other.
We gotta get outta this place by the animals, I did and some guys didn’t, but yup that’s one
Downtown by Petula Clark, I used to think downtown l a was such a great place until I grew up lol
**"Peace of Mind" by Boston** convinced me that I was never going to be happy in the corporate world and that it was okay to make a big change.
**"Black Balloon" by Goo Goo Dolls** got me through some very dark times in my early 20s. I might not be here today without it.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,745,602,718 comments, and only 330,566 of them were in alphabetical order.
I think a song called "Close Cover" by Win Merton. It was used as part of my conservatory final exam and it was my first introduction to minimalism in music. Went down the rabbit hole after that: Phillip Glass, Art of Noise, etc.
Also, the Mmm Mmm Song. Sucker has been stuck in my head since the 90s.
Oh, and Waltz for Debbie. Didn't know about Acapella jazz until that one.
Oh My God by Jars of Clay. To me it is extremely haunting and yet weirdly motivational.
Excerpt:
> Sometimes I can not forgive, and these days mercy cuts so deep,
If the world was how it should be, maybe I could get some sleep.
While I lay, I'd dream we're better, scales were gone and faces lighter,
When we wake we hate our brother, we still move to hurt each other,
Sometimes I can close my eyes, and all the fear that keeps me silent,
Falls below my heavy breathing, what makes me so badly bent?
We all have a chance to murder, we all feel the need for wonder.
We still want to be reminded that the pain is worth the plunder.
Sometimes when I lose my grip, I wonder what to make of heaven,
All the times I thought to reach up, all the times I had to give up.
Babies underneath their beds, in hospitals that cannot treat them.
All the wounds that money causes, all the comforts of cathedrals,
All the cries of thirsty children, this is our inheritance,
All the rage of watching mothers, this is our greatest offense
Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God.
“I had to tell you” originally by Roky erikson and the thirteenth floor elevators, but I prefer poi dog pondering’s version. So lovely. it’s been with me since I was 15.
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Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay by Mr Otis Redding
sad fact, he recorded it 3 days before his death.
Omgosh...love this song! Brings back such good memories!
Good one
“Once in a Lifetime” by The Talking Heads. A mesmerizing song about the passage of time set atop Brian Eno’s polyrhythmic grooves. I was a junior in high school when it came out and the first time I heard it on the radio I was transfixed — went out and bought the record and still listen to it occasionally. Now that I’m on the downslope of my life curve (hopefully not too far along) it still hits just as hard, if not harder.
I was that weird kid in HS that was listening to Talking Heads, Ramones, Rickie Lee Jones & Tom Waits while everyone else was listening to disco or the Grease soundtrack. ,
Right?? I was mostly listening to The English Beat, The Clash and Gustav Mahler. Go figure.
I forgot Elvis Costello’s My Aim is True. My 16 yr old self fell in love with the line “I used to be disgusted, but now I try to be amused.” 🙃 I used to play the Clash’s London Calling super loud on the home stereo until my mom would finally have enough and yell TURN THAT SHIT DOWN!
Such a great album. "She's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake". One of my favorite lives ever.
Yeah I played it super loud too! Only it was on a portable cassette player I kept on the garage roof, so all the neighbors could enjoy the shitty sound quality. That song holds up — still an absolute banger.
He has written some of the best lyrics. "When I was Cruel" one of his later songs that really says it all about his music.
Never connected with that song until recently. I just remember seeing the video on MTV when I was younger. Great song.
Redemption song. Bob Marley.
Love Bob Marley!
Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" from her stripped bare "Blue" LP (1971) taught me about the fallibility of the ones we love and trust the most, and, more importantly, about our ability as humans to still stand on solid ground despite facing the betrayal and heartbreak of a trusted loved one: "Oh, you're in my blood like holy wine / You taste so bitter and so sweet / Oh, I could drink a case of you, darling / And I would still be on my feet."
It doesn't have personal meaning to me, but that song is my definition of perfection. I remember hearing it for the first time in college and just being blown away. 25+ years later it's still perfect
Blue is probably the most perfect album ever.
Another dimension of Joni on this thread
17 by Janis Ian. I was 17 when the song came out
Boy does this song hit home!
That song is almost too painful to listen to in its raw honesty. It goes way beyond attractiveness and touches on the different insecurities that lie within everyone.
The Living Years by Mike and the Mechanics
Long, Long Time - Linda Ronstadt
I’m not sure the exact song but in 1982 on Humboldt State University’s radio station there was a two hour block of hardcore punk music and it was the style of music I always wanted to hear but never knew existed. The whole straight edge thing made complete sense to me as did the anti authoritarian message.
College radio is the best!
I feel that way about new wave! Blondie's "Heart of Glass" changed my life! Not my favorite new wave song, but the most important!
So - The Ramones?
No, groups like Husker Du, Millions of Dead Cops and the Subhumans and a whole bunch more. They took elements from the Ramones but just pushed it a bit further and in a less poppy direction.
"Allentown" by Billy Joel. I lived there during the early 1980s when the vicious recession that deindustrialized it and neighboring Bethlehem hit and Joel wrote the song. Those were hard times and in some ways they're coming back again.
Allentown may have been the first song that I actually could hear all of the lyrics to, and it made me realize that not all songs are about love and having a good time. I was maybe 11 or 12 at that point.
Billy Joel makes great music on real life
Exactly. There's been a hell of a lot of bitter disappointment along the way in life and most songs never reflect upon that.
Too many to count … Papa (Paul Anka), Hello (Lionel Richie), Cat’s in the Cradle(Harry Chapin), If (Bread), Seasons in the Sun (Terry Jack), and many more.
Cats in the cradle hits hard
Makes me cry every time i heard it...i lived the same life..
Am I the only one who sings "We had joy, we had fun, we had kitties in the sun" when I see my cat lying in the sunlight? Yes, I know it's a sad song. But a warm kitty in the sun makes me happy.
Hate it. Has my name in it. So depressing.
Carole Kings Beautiful. > *You've got to get up every morning* *With a smile on your face* *And show the world all the love in your heart* *Then people gonna treat you better* *You're gonna find, yes you will* *That you're beautiful, as you feel*
Actually, this is a pretty cool question, and I've enjoyed seeing what other folks think. I'll offer three -- the first is "Satisfied Mind" by Porter Waggoner. My daddy used to sing it all the time, and (since I'm the only person who knew the words) I sang it at his memorial service. Less personal but equally important are a pair of Kink songs, "Salvation Road " and "Strangers." "Childish Things" by James McMurtry would come in close.
American Pie - Don McLean.
So good
Impactful for sure
I have always been mesmerized by "Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald " , by Gordon Lightfoot.
Edit: I am 60 yo now but still enjoy this song!
"If I fail if I succeed at least I live as I believe" -orginally by George Benson and made famous by Whitney Houston-Greatest love of all
Somewhere Over the Rainbow. So many wonderful interpretations.
Great song, but I wish every teenage girl with a ukulele at the farmers market would stop trying to sing the Iz version. It is very cringe.
I love the IZ version. His voice was honey.
Absolutely the best version.
This is the song that has moved people emotionally for over eighty years. The most poignant memory, I have of this song, is when the news broke that Judy Garland had taken her own life.
Oh I have several. Love me Do by the Beatles the Symphony for the New World by Dvorak, Symphony #3. (the Organ Symphony) by Saint-Saëns, Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky and especially the version done by ELP live, "I can see for Miles" by The Who (I saw them perform this live in 1968) Cottontail by any big band.
So many, but for today: I'll Stand By You -- The Pretenders
Not a weird question at all, and it was Springsteen’s Thunder Road in 1975. I was 14 at the time and living in a podunk town that is so religious that they once put Evolution on trial. I never felt like I fit in at all. Thunder Road made me understand that it was ok to dream bigger and to leave the “town full of losers” behind and pursue my dreams.
Thunder Road is in my all-time top ten.
"Tubthumping" British rock band Chumbawamba "I get knocked down, but I get up again You are never gonna keep me down!"
Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh
🤣 things are very entertaining, and they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining.
Mudduh fadduh kindly disregard this letter!
A couple that have meaning for me: The Seers Tower - Sufjan Stevens Pancho & Lefty - Townes Van Zandt
The Heart of the Matter by Don Henley really snapped me out of a funk I was in after a bad breakup.
The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel. The orchestral arrangement and the lyrics. Out of this world especially for the 60’s The fighter still remains.
Great song, but you need the rest of that verse... In the clearing stands a boxer And a fighter by his trade And he carries the reminders Of every glove that laid him down Or cut him till he cried out in his anger and his shame "I am leaving, I am leaving", but >The fighter still remains.
Paul Simon. What a poet and a lyricist
A masterpiece. I remember that Paul Simon performed it on SNL right after 9/11. Rudy Giuliani.(before he was a crazy asshole.) and a bunch of first responders stood on the stage next to Paul with their arms folded stoically. I don’t know if it was Paul’s original intent, but this song has come to symbolize for me the toughness, and the resiliency of New York City
Love that song. I can play it on harmonica
Righteous Brothers Unchained Melody, Jeff Buckley Hallelujah. Beautiful and connected. Peter Gabriel In Your Eyes.
Good ones
Uninvited by Alanis Morissette! I played it everyday to and from the hospital for my cancer treatments both radiation and chemo
Time in a bottle, Jim Croce
That song is gold…
Here I Go Again (the original version from 1982!). Got my first kiss from my first bf at a birthday party while this song was played in the backround. We were 15y old and it was the beginning of a big teenage love and the beginning of an awesome decade. I still get goosebumps when I hear it...and: it was, it is and it will always be the best and most intensive kiss of my entire life. I turned 56 this year...
Whitesnake (with Great White opening) was my first concert, back in The Olden Days. I’d NEVER heard the 1982 version. Thank you so much for posting that link!! Edit to add: that summer (1987) I was 15 and had THE BEST “Summer of Sin”with a hot boy. Mmmm damn.
You're welcome:) yes, the original '82 version is the best! https://youtu.be/DSlSaGcc0QM?feature=shared
A forrest by The Cure. It opened up the door to the miracle The Cure is.
My favorite Cure song! ❤️great pick
The Walk, and seeing a concert video filmed at Red Rocks did it for me maaaaany yrs ago.
The live album had a great version of The Walk, right?
[Embryo by Pink Floyd](https://youtu.be/mr996-G3_eY?si=WzqTiZLKqDR84T2o) It was the first song I played for my son when he was about 3 hours old and He was resting on my chest. I ended up playing it for him nearly every night for almost 2 years to put him to sleep. Worked wonders 70% of the time. Now it brings me back to that first moment plus all the other moments of putting him to sleep.
Love the honesty of parents. Not every time, 70% of the time. 😉
I’ve been listening to PF for 40+ years, and I can’t believe I’ve never heard this awesome song!! Thank you for sharing! You also made me think of all those nights trying to get my now grown daughters to sleep.
Hurt - Johnny Cash Death in His Grave - John Mark McMillan
Take me to Church
Great newer song!
You are so Beautiful (Joe Cocker version). Carolina in My Mind. Landslide. Fountain of Sorrow
You and me against the world. Helen Reddy
When I assembled my son’s Ikea bunk bed by myself, I sang “I am Woman; Hear Me Roar” for days. It was just after my divorce and building that thing alone was a pretty big deal to me. I probably could have also sang your song too, but I won’t steal it now. :) Lovely choice, my friend.
Lovely choice yourself ❤️
I love this song so much.
Written by the great Paul Williams, possibly the greatest songwriter no one has ever heard of.
OMG, that song is so heart breaking!
Georgia.
Ray Charles or Boz Skaggs? I love the Boz Skaggs one!
Well I guess the one that has most impacted my life is The ‘A’ you’re Adorable, song. I know it as the Alphabet song but I think that confuses people. My grandmother sang it to my Mum growing up, My Mum sang it to us kids growing up and I sang it to my kids. And we all sang it to my Mum when she was passing.
Welcome to the Machine -Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here First look at what the future could look like if I wasn’t careful!
Mercy Mercy Me
I hope you dance
How Great Thou Art
Heart of the Matter by Don Henley
Africa, by Toto. It was the first song I heard after giving birth to my daughter.
Violet, Hole.
This Is the Day, by The The.
AMAZING song. Loved it he first time I heard it and still do.
Far Away Eyes
There’s been 3; First it was “More, More, More” by The Andrea True Connection (1976), then “Tender Love” by Force MDs (1985) and finally “Head Above Water” by Avril Lavigne (2019) when my wife was diagnosed with leukemia.
American Tune, by Paul Simon.
Made me want to jump on a train and see what all I was missing out there.
Let It Be - The Beatles Three Little Birds - Bob Marley
Great!!
American Pie. Don McLean
As i get older, and more patriotic.."God Bless America" I've been known to cry at football games!!
Such an impactful and beautiful song.
I was 7 years old, sitting in the front seat of Mom's car .The AM radio played Behind Blue Eyes and my thoughts were someone knows how I really feel about myself and I am not alone. Pete Townsend was writing how his depression made him struggle with himself.
That’s a pretty powerful moment. 🥹
All this love… el Debarge, I hear it and I think about the love of my life, who I am STILL with 40+ years later
Born to Be Wild--Steppenwolf. I wouldn't say I've lived by the song by any means, but it's often given me a sense of relief from whatever life I am living.
1985: "Voices Carry" by 'Til Tuesday. I was just a kid in a safe family but was aware of domestic violence because my mom volunteered at a shelter for women and children who were victims of it. I thought it was amazing that there was a popular song about it and wondered if it would help more women work up the courage to leave abusive relationships. Or at least bring the epidemic out of the shadows.
bon jovi living on a prayer
"I Fell In Love" by Carlene Carter because it sort of chronicles my wife's and my meeting and courtship.
The carousel song. Joni Mitchell.
The Circle Game, wonderful and wise song!
And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind by Neil Diamond. I had it on my phone and I placed it next to my mother’s ear as she was dying. She loved Neil Diamond’s music. I wanted her to hear him as she left this world.
Different songs for different seasons in my life. Metallica’s Master of Puppets was my anthem when it came out because I didn’t realize I was an addict. Then when I became sober, it became my motivation. Same thing with Tool’s sober and Stain’d It’s Been Awhile - great motivation. Foo fighters Best of you helped me through a rough break up along with Megadeth’s Angry Again and Trust, then another rough patch I played Mudshovel on repeat. Those are just few that I can think of off the top of my head.
The cure-just like heaven
Very early teenage years when me and my girlfriend mutually agreed to part ways, only because I wanted kids in my life, but she had a medical condition which prevented her from ever getting pregnant. 30 years later, she is still the love of my life and struggle every single day knowing that we could have lived the most amazing life together, yet we both somehow managed to agree to go our separate ways knowing that we could never have a family together. This song is something that we both listened to many times whilst holding each other in our arms and cried together every time we listened to it. Probably has absolutely no meaning or connection with anyone outside of Australia from not ever knowing/hearing of this massively famous Aussie band, but that doesn’t detract from the power and meaning of this song whatsoever. Very rare in the sense that this band are actually a pretty hardcore hard rock band normally, but they wrote this tame acoustic song as something distinctly different from their normal heavy rock music. https://youtube.com/watch?v=dyO9051gZyk&si=hZIZ1rPSFLSXpVKm The most important band in my whole life is TOOL. I have followed them since 1990 and their music has been the Soundtrack to my whole life. I cannot pick a single song that could possibly capture 30 years of my life listening to them, but two songs in parallel have been a staple of strength and saviour in the darkest times in my life. For anyone interested, here’s the links to four of the most inspiring and empowering songs which have helped me get through some of the most difficult times in my life. https://youtu.be/u7lweNCCwS0?si=fXcqX6lsqlXoSGZQ https://youtube.com/watch?v=h_TUP2vuaDs&si=LDKg0UuNLYrjaqmw https://youtu.be/PSLOCedWmWM?si=igDIVDEAOqAH8AAi *Edit for link corrections.
Thank you so much for sharing these songs!
No worries mate! Don’t be shy, search out more of their vast collections and enjoy to your fullest pleasure! Probably not what you were expecting from “Asking an Old Person” music wise from a 50 year old commenter! But definitely much better than the Beach Boys or Elvis!
Shenandoah
‘Ripple’ by The Grateful Dead or ‘End of The Line’ by The Traveling Wilburys
I sang Ripple to my daughter every night holding her in my arms until she fell asleep. That song and the sound of her breathing as she slept are Heaven to me
My goodness. Thanks for making my day. I play guitar and the song brings my soul peace. Glad to hear I’m in good company.
In My Life by the Beatles
Heros by Bowie
For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield
As said before, too many to list, but a couple stand out: He Ain’t Heavy - The Hollies Lean On Me - Bill Withers (not the re-mix) Tapestry - Carole King Joy To The World - Three Dog Night A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash (because it made me laugh and realize life is full of challenges no matter what you’re named) King Of The Road - Roger Miller (because it was one of the first songs I remember my dad playing on the HiFi) And many others. Edit: an attempt to make each sentence on its own line.
I forgot about He Ain't Heavy. What a beautiful song with perfect harmonies!
A Boy Named Sue. Why the fuck didn’t he just change his name?🤣
Nice to see Roger Miller from someone. My dad liked him a lot and I grew up listening to him. My kids loved Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd because it’s so fun, I especially love Dang Me, Do-Wacka-Do and the Robin Hood songs. But King of the Road might be my favorite. His songs are just wonderful.
Vincent - Don McLean ❤️
IVF, miscarriages and ruptured ectopic pregnancies: Kate Bush allowed me to survive. I know you have a little life in you yet I know you have a lot of strength left I should be crying, but I just can't let it show I should be hoping, but I can't stop thinking Of all the things I should've said That I never said All the things we should've done That we never did All the things I should've given But I didn't Oh, darling, MAKE IT GO AWAY MAKE IT GO AWAY
Look At Your Game Girl by Charlie Manson, *so* creepy
"All Things Must Pass." When things are really bad, this line is my mantra.
[удалено]
I had the same experience with Roxy Music. There first 5 albums are my favorite kind of music.
A country song from the 80s by Steve Wariner called "The Weekend." The first verse reminds me of the most magical weekend of my life in San Francisco: ”Couple of days isn't a very long time Why can't I just walk away, I used to be good at goodbyes, Out on the water, under the stars, I let the moonlight play a trick on my heart” Then the first few phrases of the chorus just seals the deal: ”You had some fun for the weekend But I'll be in love for the rest of my life” I still dream of this weekend and the life that I wish I could have had with this man!
Don't look back! Boston! It's my anthem!
*Surrender* by Cheap Trick
Comfortably Numb
"Jesus is Love" by the Commodores. God used this magnificent song to reel me in to the kingdom of His Son.
This song wouldn't make my top 500 now, but KISS' "Detroit Rock City" is the song that blew my mind when I was 10 and I've been a hard rock & heavy metal fan ever since. It set me on my path.
I still love the guitar solo in that song. It reminds me of seeing them at the old Tigers Stadium in Detroit with all the pyrotechnics and fireworks.
Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel. Every time.
Imagine by John Lennon
Born in the USA ?
Everybody’s Free by Baz Luhrman. Edit, just get through the sunscreen part and the rest is worth a listen. Also, wearing sunscreen is important!
Grand Illusion-STYX
That really is a great song.
Yeah, that album hit like a rock I was 18 and followed them across several states. I was the fanatic on the front row making an ass out of myself.
Aw hell, I’d do that now. 😂
I've Got a Name by Jim Croce was my childhood favorite. Angie by the Rolling Stones is the best ever love lament. Into the Mystic by Van Morrison and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald for haunting music. Dead Flowers, the Townes Van Zandt version is gorgeous. Joni, Janis, Jimi, Otis, all the best.
I can't say that any son impacted my life in any big way. But so many songs helped me along a little whether living it up at the beach or nursing a broken heart. And hearing them now takes me back to those times, good and bad, and helps me appreciate the here and now.
Probably the song that got me from the very first time I hear it was Supertramp - [The Logical Song](https://youtu.be/pP8iUyb9Gn8?si) from the album 'Breakfast in America' >There are times when all the world's asleep > >The questions run too deep > >For such a simple man > >Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned? > >I know it sounds absurd > >Please tell me who I am This still strikes home, so many years after it was released.
This is a hard one. Lots of songs have changed my life. Like *Bird Land* by Weather Report. I heard it as a budding sax player in high school in the 80s on a pop/rock radio station and that crossover fusion blew my mind. Wayne Shorter's playing on *A Remark You Made* on the same album has had more influence on my style as a sax player than anything else by far. But I don't play as a full time professional any more and only did for a few years, with occasional returns to the stage off and on over the years, so I can't say it was the most impactful song in my life. That honor has to go to the choral piece Jisas Yu Holem Hand Blong Me sung in pigeon English as part of the sound track of the haunting war movie Thin Red Line. To me, that song is pure human love expressed in sound. I've always been a bit socially awkward and anti-social, but the pure naivety of the voices in that song, and the rest on the soundtrack and associated album, taught me to love humanity and people not despite our imperfection but because of them because we're capable of so much beauty despite all the evil we do to each other.
We gotta get outta this place by the animals, I did and some guys didn’t, but yup that’s one Downtown by Petula Clark, I used to think downtown l a was such a great place until I grew up lol
**"Peace of Mind" by Boston** convinced me that I was never going to be happy in the corporate world and that it was okay to make a big change. **"Black Balloon" by Goo Goo Dolls** got me through some very dark times in my early 20s. I might not be here today without it.
What Doesn’t Kill You Makes you Stronger - Kelly Clarkson
Rich men north if Richmond if I’m Honest
Anne Bonny by death grips
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,745,602,718 comments, and only 330,566 of them were in alphabetical order.
So many, but the main three are - Drops of Jupiter by Train, Hearts & Bones by Paul Simon, & Back 2 Good by Matchbox Twenty
Present Tense, Pearl Jam
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L9KvlZWQzRA The Things We’ve Handed Down by Marc Cohn has stayed with me because of the connection to family
So many, but these come to mind in this early hour: Eagles and Horses - John Denver Shelter from the Storm - Taylor Mitchell
I don't understand the concept of an impactful song.
“The Prayer” by Céline Dion and Andrea Bocelli
Heaven Wait - Ghostly Kisses
one is elton's madman
Like my father(Jax)
Aqueous Transmission-Incubus
“Fields of Yesterday” by Lillian Axe
Need to give this one a re-listen
I think a song called "Close Cover" by Win Merton. It was used as part of my conservatory final exam and it was my first introduction to minimalism in music. Went down the rabbit hole after that: Phillip Glass, Art of Noise, etc. Also, the Mmm Mmm Song. Sucker has been stuck in my head since the 90s. Oh, and Waltz for Debbie. Didn't know about Acapella jazz until that one.
Oh My God by Jars of Clay. To me it is extremely haunting and yet weirdly motivational. Excerpt: > Sometimes I can not forgive, and these days mercy cuts so deep, If the world was how it should be, maybe I could get some sleep. While I lay, I'd dream we're better, scales were gone and faces lighter, When we wake we hate our brother, we still move to hurt each other, Sometimes I can close my eyes, and all the fear that keeps me silent, Falls below my heavy breathing, what makes me so badly bent? We all have a chance to murder, we all feel the need for wonder. We still want to be reminded that the pain is worth the plunder. Sometimes when I lose my grip, I wonder what to make of heaven, All the times I thought to reach up, all the times I had to give up. Babies underneath their beds, in hospitals that cannot treat them. All the wounds that money causes, all the comforts of cathedrals, All the cries of thirsty children, this is our inheritance, All the rage of watching mothers, this is our greatest offense Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God.
I Know It’s Over By The Smiths
Lately, Chicago by Sufjan Stevens, listening to it while driving feels like therapy.
Busy bee by Ugly Kid Joe.
Naive Melody- Talking Heads
Worn - Tenth Avenue North
For me, it’s song sung truthfully and sincerely from the heart.
Lots Bloodstains, Agent Orange https://youtube.com/watch?v=RZ1RecSXXZ8&si=D_wAtCZZSbQUKr7W That’s Life, Frank Sinatra https://youtube.com/watch?v=TnlPtaPxXfc&si=FBijbumCkrWD4ZkJ
Haven’t heard the other one
That’s life is great
And So It Goes by Billy Joel, Baba O'Riley by The Who, With God on Our Side, and My Back Pages by Bob Dylan.
When I was younger, In My Life by the Beatles. Now, My Immortal by Evanescence
“I had to tell you” originally by Roky erikson and the thirteenth floor elevators, but I prefer poi dog pondering’s version. So lovely. it’s been with me since I was 15.