Songs that stab you right in the heart.

Or many other versions of this song that all reach deep.

In an interview he gave shortly before his death he told the story of when Bob Dylan asked him how long it took to write that song and he said he sheepishly told him it took him two years, but in truth it was almost five.

The Rufus Wainwright version is pretty moving as well.
 
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Speaking of Jimmy Buffett and great ballads... from the same live album, You Had To Be There... this beautiful delicate song called He Went To Paris is a heartfelt delight celebrating appreciation for the human experience. I do believe Jimmy Buffett to be fully appreciated has to be heard live, and this is a great live recording.

I saw him in college at the University of Florida in 1976. I left Florida for San Francisco the summer of 1977. So many of the people I grew up with in Pensacola are still stuck in Margaritaville.

At his best, Buffett has a larger, heartfelt vision of the human condition. But he can still enjoy a laugh, as in "Why Don't We Get Drunk." I guess laughter is part of wisdom.

Still, I always thought that his later works, from "Coconut Telegraph" on suffered a bit from hypocrisy in that he was selling a fantasy of escapism while he himself was a hard-working musician and businessman.

Still, his legacy is a fine contribution to the musical arts.
 
These do it to me every time I hear them, plenty more...


Neil Young has a huge portfolio with many gems, I just discovered this one recently.
Neil Young - Powderfinger (Hitchiker)


This is sung so well, just conveys emotion. Beautiful voice, just a killer vocal.
Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face


Wanted to check out the, local to me, Classic Album Sunday event. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds "A Boatmans Call" was the featured album. I never heard of Nick Cave prior to that. Some great tracks on that album. Actually the whole album is enjoyable.
Nick Cave - Into My Arms

 
I saw him in college at the University of Florida in 1976. I left Florida for San Francisco the summer of 1977. So many of the people I grew up with in Pensacola are still stuck in Margaritaville.

At his best, Buffett has a larger, heartfelt vision of the human condition. But he can still enjoy a laugh, as in "Why Don't We Get Drunk." I guess laughter is part of wisdom.

Still, I always thought that his later works, from "Coconut Telegraph" on suffered a bit from hypocrisy in that he was selling a fantasy of escapism while he himself was a hard-working musician and businessman.

Still, his legacy is a fine contribution to the musical arts.
Oh... I tend to agree.. both the heartfelt vision and laughter being, if not a part of wisdom, certainly an aspect of it that allows us to laugh at ourselves, not taking ourselves too seriously... leaving room, much room for humility. To be honest I am not familiar with his later works and, with due respect to Mr. Buffett, success like his has a business side and if he doesn't tend to it others will steal from him... selling a fantasy of escapism is what many rock stars do, some are born of anger and deadly serious about it... Collins, Baez, Crosby, Stills, etc.,.. come to mind while they themselves live above and beyond the condition they present for others as social gurus... and even so, I enjoy some of their music.
 
I remembered the song I said I played a million times (when not feeling great). This song fit a couple of occasions in my life.


The Man In Black's version of "I See A Darkness". Worth a listen if you do not know it. It is surely not the lyrics alone but the man singing them, his intonation and emotional commitment to the material that can only come from a clear sense of a life filled with pain.
 
Huge Bowie fan. I was shocked and saddened the day he passed and as we remember, that was a terrible year for heroes leaving us. As I was driving home, the local rockstation was doing a tribute and they played "Five Years". I burst into tears and just sobbed. I'm a gaddam grown man but so many had died and it just "hit" me. I pulled over, got my $hit together, and rode around listening to Ziggy for awhile.
 
Here's another one from the classical world. The fusion of Walt Whitman's poetry and the masterful vocal writing of Ralph Vaughan Williams makes this music incredibly moving, at least in my opinion.

 
Dear Lover/ Social Distortion, Ryan Adams/ Gimme Something Good. There's more in my mind somewhere.....these are off the top of my head. I'll second some Jason Isbell/ Live oak/ Traveling Alone.
 
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Eternal Father, Strong to Save. If you were alive when President Kennedy was buried or have been to a funeral service for a USN service man where the hymn has been played,or especially if sung by a large choir, I know you will remember this hymn, that always brings tears to my eyes.

I was a member of a church choir for 10 years and our Priest was a Graduate of Juilliard in applied Organ. He Studied for the Priest hood at St John of the Devine in NY, NY. So he was quite accomplished. Anyway he chose the Hymns most of the time with the Choir Director. And Eternal Father would appear on the Hymn board 2 or three times a year. Either for a burial service or when we were celebrating someone from the Navy or sometimes a special day of remembrance for the armed services. Another song we would sing was about the Flying Amongst the Clouds as a remembrance to the USAAF or to the USAF. Father was a medic in the Army on the Philippines in WW II.

He was another Mcintosh owner and loved his ML-2s and !'s. He had a C-28, MR-77, 754, MCD 7005, Nakamichi and Ampex R2R, etc. . He loved Opera, and of course and any piece composed by Frank and Bach. He was a member of Naxos and was just becoming fond of streaming when he passed this year at 93.
 
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Lately, it’s been OV Wright for me, and this one’s the most intense...

“I Don’t Know Why”, from his 1978 album The Bottom Line. Only two years later he was dead at age 41...

 
This version of "To Love Is To Bury". Natalie Merchant just kills it. I mean Margo did it first but Natialie did it better.

Tragically Hip "Fiddler's Green"

Don McLean "The Grave"

Paul Simon "Silent Eyes"
 
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