Songs that Inspire or Move you

Bruce Cockburn, Wondering Where the Lions Arehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6Lpx6JIMmkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW3F9jRTigE

Way too many to list, of course, but just to name three that particularly come to mind:

"Piano Sonata No. 3" -- Chopin (although it's not a song, of course)

"Alto Rhapsody" -- Brahms

"I Will Wait for You" -- Theme music from the 1964 French film "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg," composed by Michel Legrand

Regards,
-- Al

I've been listening Mozart, "Laudate dominum" from various singers for last 1 hour. I like Emma Kirkby's.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD-rtF6w4Mw
2nd: Anja Harteros
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKtktL31Fso
3rd: Barbara Bonney
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgoBDAZX4gI
This song is beautiful and additive. Which one is your favorite?

Thanks to all of you who recently posted. I actually felt like I was part of a like-minded community of lovers of music for a little while. That was great!

Anything by Van the Man anytime (except the song Moondance).

Yes another broken bells fan here.

As I'm writing this and reading your posts, I'm listening to Broken Bells "After The Disco" which is really a damn good/upbeat lp!

Thanks Swampwalker. You reminded me of a few I absolutely love that have escaped me recently. Jackson Browne's "`Sleep's Dark And Silent Gate" comes to mind as does Robert Plant/Alison Krause's " version of "Nothin'".

BeethoveN piano sonata #8.

Reminds me of Karl Haas and "adventures in good music". I loved that program on npr and learned more about classical music there than anywhere else that can recall. Also look up the word gentleman and Mr haas' photo might appear.

Louis Armstrong "What a Wonderful World" playing behind Good Morning Viet Nam

Slaw-
Almost too many to list. Here's just a few.

Jackson Browne- Before the Deluge
Matraca Berg- Oh Cumberland
Lyle Lovett- Family Preserve
John Fogerty- Deja Vu (All Over Again)
Patty Loveless- Goin' Back to Harlan
Cowboy Junkies cover of Sweet Jane
Long Black Veil- Anyone (hopefully Wm Shatner never covered it ;-) Or Scarlett Johansson.
Neil Young- Ohio
Townes van Zandt- Tecumseh Valley; Nancy Griffith & Arlo Guthrie cover.

And one that's really hit me lately- I'll just mention a couple that have really hit me lately- Alison Kraus and Robert Plante covering Your Long Journey.

Martykl: It's interesting that you mention Todd Rundgren as he's coming to my town very soon.

I've had the pleasure of seeing Richard Thompson live and while I get your point, he's absolutely wonderful! I actually meant to include a couple from Linda's lp "Fashionably Late", "All I See", @ "Dear Old Man Of Mine". As far as RT is concerned, my favorite lp by him is Pour Down Like Silver.

It's all about what makes you feel good, not what you think others think make you feel good.

A little heady but one for the vine by genesis is playing now. That's always affected me. Both the story and the music.

...that's a good start. Anyone else?

like the Ed and jfc version of love is the answer a lot. That was the hit
version I believe?

edajfc was a soft rock act and got a bum rap from the serious rock music
crowd back then. They had a lot of great tunes that were hits.

Crosby stills and Nash were considered cool however.

Mapman: You make a point, and I would hope/think the majority of us, me included, would use this site as an outlet to let others, (like-minded), know what kind of music really "moves us". We have this outlet/music that gives us the ability to express the music that "moves us" freely! It really is a great thing.

When I think of the hundreds/thousands of music lovers who log on here on an ongoing basis, supposedly for the love of music, I just wonder what keeps all of our brothers @ sisters from sharing? There IS no wrong answer.

A couple from Todd Rundgren:

Pretending to Care
Love is The Answer

Interestingly, both songs would benefit tremendously IMO from a singer with more range than Todd. Love has been covered by England Dan and John Ford Cooley, but that's probably a step in the wrong direction. There are a few wonderful covers of Pretending (notably by Fred Froom and by Jennifer Warnes), but those are pretty obscure.

Richard Thompson is another songwriter who, like Rundgren, is an excellent singer but lacks the pipes to fully do justice to his own songs. Walking on a Wire is one example.

Interestingly, both guys are hugely skilled and expressive guitarists, so maybe the vocal limitations find outlet in their fingers.

I've had stages in life where little music moved me. Lots of things can contribute to that. But I have been into audio now for so many years only for that reason ie in order to be affected by the music as much as possible.

The lack of participation here, may be a sign of who/what this hobby is/has become? Is it more about the equipment or the music?

I ask myself, Why... why aren't the answers flooding in from all of the members here? Really, it's kind of amazing!

This hobby, this thread, is boiled down to "the music". Therefore, why should it be so difficult for us to express the music that "moves us"!?

This should be The one thing that binds us all together.

...and the "Beat Goes On"...

Wilco "Impossible Germany"
Alice n Chains "Nutshell"
Dusty Springfield "Son Of a Preacher Man"
Lenny Kravitz "Mr.Cab Driver"
Bill Withers "Use Me".......

This thread is really the essence of what this community is all about! I'm surprised there are no more than this so far.
This thread should fill up easily and be the longest thread here very soon.

Randy Newman "Baltimore"
Dire Straits "You @ Your Friends"
Lyle Lovett "If I Had A Boat"
ZZ Top "Blue Jean Blues"
Neil Diamond "Red,Red Wine"
PF "Wish You Were Here", "Have A Cigar" "Mother" "Hey You"
Led Zeppelin "Tangerine"

Roger Hodgson "In Jeopardy"
Dire Straits "Communique" (entire lp)
Bob Seger "Beautiful Loser"

"Reverend Mr. Black" Kingston Trio

The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore the Walker Brothers...

Linda Ronstadt--Long, Long Time
Gillian Welch--Dear Someone
Beethoven--Symphony #7, Mvt. II
Bartok--Quartet #6, Mvt. IV (Julliard Qt., 60s stereo recording)

Another point... regarding the singer's importance....

I can listen to ANY song sung by Natalie Merchant and just melt. I hope her latest album is released on vinyl at some point.

Another meaningful song... Radiohead "Fake Plastic Trees".

Another point... regarding the singer's importance....

I can listen to ANY song sung by Natalie Merchant and just melt. I hope her latest album is released on vinyl at some point.

Martykl: Great point! Just like this thread's topic. It's all in how the question, or in this case, the thread topic is presented. Regarding the importance of the meaning of a song vs, a particular artist's rendering of that same song, well, they kind of go hand in hand but I have a comparison for you... My post of Vic Chesnutt's "Square Room". A great song, IMO,... it is more meaningful sung/interpreted by Margo Timmins. This IS just my opinion. I agree with you as well with Rosanne Cash & Stevie Nicks.

Glen Campbell "Wichita Lineman"
Cowboy Junkie's version of Vic Chesnutt's "Square Room"
Johnny Cash "The Beast In Me"
Damien Rice "I Don't Want To Change You"
Bruce Cockburn "If I Had A Rocket Launcher"
Blood Sweat & Tears "And When I Die"
Supertramp "Lord Is It Mine"

I also get really choked up when a national anthem is played, could be any national anthem. Must be all the conditioning I imagine.

"Oh Canada"

The National Anthem

Kate Wolf singing, "Give Yourself to Love," when she knew she was dying of leukemia.

"Never Blame the Rainbows for the Rain" by The Moody Blues

"I Dreamed a Dream". From Les Mis

"highway Star". By Deep Purple

"Motherless Child". Van Morrison's version
"
"What is Truth". By Johnny Cash.

"Uprising" by Muse

"The Unforgiven". By Metallica

"Suppers Ready". By Genesis

"Come Sunday" Mahalia Jackson/Duke Ellington

"Sunday Morning Coming Down". Johnny Cash

"Night Nurse". Gregory Isaacs

"three Little Birds". bob Marley

"Long Goodbyes". By Camel

Sometimes it's as much the singer as the song.

Warren Zevon's take on "Knocking' on Heaven's Door" as he was dying from brain cancer is pretty moving.

Even tho her voice is largely gone, hearing Stevie Nicks sing Landslide is always a moving experience for me.

Roseann Cash has the ability to make a good song great and does so regularly. I'll go with "500 Miles" and/or "Bury Me Under The Willow Tree".

There's a Bottlerockets song called "Waiting on a Train" that might be the saddest rock n roll song I've ever heard.

I find "The Christians and The Pagans" by Dar Williams a moving plea for tolerance.

Nice idea for a thread. Lots more to save for a follow up post.

Easy

The Safety Dance. By Men without Hats.

AND

The Police - De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da

Although I consider them both a bit on the "corny" side, I always liked the theme songs from "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Dirty Dancing". There's something about Jennifer Warnes singing that appeals to me. Plus you get Joe Cocker and Bill Medley thrown in. What's not to like?

Cross the Green Mountain by Bob Dylan

"Alone" by heart and "All for love" by Bryan adams and others.

and the West Side Story medley of Carlos Barbosa-Lima and Sharon Isbin

"Golden Ribbons" and "Pathway to Glory"...Loggins and Messina
"Lonesome Suzie"...Blood, Sweat & Tears
"Shiver Me Timbers"...Tom Waits
"Blue Ronda A la Turk"...Two Generations of Brubeck
"I Still Can't Say Goodbye" and "Happy Again"...Chet Atkins
"The Dutchman"...Steve Goodman
"Song About the Moon"...Paul Simon
"Joyful Sound"...String Cheese Incident
"Laudate Dominum" from Mozart's Vespers...Christopher Parkening
Brahms, Op.117, No.2...Steven Kovacevich
and Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony 2

Space Wrangler.....Widespread Panic.....Bell and Houser back in 1988 on the debut LP...the title track is a tune I could hear daily and never tire of!

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Brothers in Arms (Dire Straits)
Wild is the Wind (Bowie BBC Live)
Wearing the Inside Out (Gilmour/Wright)
Lush Life (Strayhorn)
God Bless the Child (Herzog)
Shooting Star (Dylan)
La Villa Strangiato (Rush)
A Face in the Crowd (Petty)
We're Going Wrong (Cream)
Every Time You Go Away (Paul Young)
...many more

You don't always have to understand the words ...

Puccini - 'Recondita armonia' (Tosca)
Donizetti - 'Una Furtiva Lagrima' (L'elisir d'amore)
Verdi - 'O Terra, Addio' (Aida)

And for when you do ...

Elvis Presley - 'Kentucky Rain'
Jayhawks - 'Blue'
Jeffrey Gaines - 'Hero'

And It Stoned Me - Van Morrison
Imagine - John Lennon
The Valley - Jane Siberry
John Wayne Gacy Jr. - Sufjan Stevens

lots more

Bill Withers - Use Me

1)Pocket Full of Gold, Two of Us....Vince Gill
2)Ghost in this House, Winter of a Broken Heart, Whiskey Lullaby...Allison Krauss
3)In Dreams...Roy Orbison

and probably many more!!

Resurrection Fern- Iron and Wine
In My Life- Beatles
This Land Is Your Land- Peter, Paul, and Mary
Columbus- Mary Black
Love Of My Life- Queen
September When It Comes- Roseanne Cash
The Boxer- Simon and Garfunkel
Tears In Heaven- Eric Clapton
Brothers In Arms- Dire Straits
Blood Of Eden- Peter Gabriel
You Can Never Go Home- Moody Blues
Frozen Charlotte- Natalie Merchant
Into The Mystic- Van Morrison
House Of Cards- Radiohead
Johnny Ace- Paul Simon

These I play guitar and sing to women I want to sweep.

If I Ever Loose My Faith To You...Sting
Fields of Gold
When We dance
Set Them Free
Wonderful Tonight...EC
I'm Your Man -- Leonard Cohen
On The Beach -- Chris Rea

When I drive I like
Benzin -- Rammstein
Feuer und Wasser.

Totally inspired by the song
'Dogs'/PF.