the most "hart" touching song ever

I got a few

the soldier.....harvey Andrews
trains and my grandfather........brian mcneil
no mans land ( aka green fields of france) eric bogle
reason for it all.....Eric Bogle
As if he knows....eric bogle
and the band played walktzing matilda....yep you guessed right another Eric Bogle

I remember "you light up my life" Debbi Boon and Bette Midler's cover of "Wind beneath my wings"were very emotional songs

Spiritual by Johnny Cash   How can you beat this line when sung as a prayer rather than a blasphemy     "Jeeeeeeesus.  Jeeeeeesus!   I don't want to die (pregnant pause) alone." 

Unchained by Johnny Cash  I'm learning this one, I can play it OK with the music but get wrapped up in the lyrics and forget the chords to play.  Johnny Cash didn't write it from what I can recall of the liner notes.  It moved him and so he did it as a cover.  Anyway, there's a line in it that compares the singer (it's written in first person) to a homeless person and perfectly epitomizes how some people's spirits just don't seem to be at "home" on Earth. 

I have a soft spot for people who have given their lives over to the bottle.  I've seen a lot of good people go down that path, some family among them.  So, I think "Early Morning Rain" by Gordon Lightfoot is one that touches me deeply.  A woman comes to take him home. He misses home terribly but he can't stay sobor long enough to get on the plane and breaks his own heart.  It is a measured and decisive entry into the Hell of drinking one's self to death.  I don't know if I've ever heard a song that so aptly describes a person confronted by the choice of love and family or the bottle, and selecting the bottle knowing what it means.  I've heard several versions and I don't know who wrote it, but the version I prefer to hear is Gordon Lightfoot's.  I've been working on that one too.  Mine is nowhere as poignant (skillful, interesting, etc.) as his.  It's brilliant how early in the song he sings about the fun of drinking "Now the liquor tasted good, and the women all were fast" and later in the song it's obvious that he's already passed the stage of social drinking and has lost a lot of himself to the booze when he sings "I'm stuck here in the grass, cold and drunk as I can be".  The first line is sung almost whistfully, as a fond memory, and the second line is practically spit out with a real hardness to his voice.  What a skilled storyteller Gordon Lightfoot is. 

- Zurf

4 Songs !

Could it be that Eric Bogle is just a dour old man, something to do with being Scottish maybe ?

**Edited to remove an offensive word. As a newcomer to the site you may not know but many ladies and children are Members of Chordie and offensive language is not allowed**

Other than Unchained Melody, which I think is a beautiful song, Bruce Springsteen does "If I Should Fall Behind", is another great song.  I played this one at my youngest daughters wedding and she loved it.  That one gets the girls crying.

I've always loved Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails.  Several of the songs off of Clapton's Unplugged album as well including "Tears In Heaven" and "Running On Faith"....my newest favorites are Skillet's "Say Goodbye" and "Yours To Hold".

"it's yesterday once more" by the carpenters, just for the way they sing it.

and Bette Midler again, in one of her films she sings "in my life" to an audience of soldiers in Vietnam, it's a very touching scene and she sings one of Lennon's best songs brilliantly.

phill

Eh No and I take offence to your unwanted words " something to do with being scottish",
why bother saying anything like this at all without wanting to start an argument?

Dour?, not at all. Do not show your pathetic ignorance here, it will do you no good.

If you knew any of eric bogle's stuff you would know he has a lot of cheery funny songs.

go grow up and do not try to argue with someone that is far superior to you in being a human being.

goodbye

Oh, hang on

Bruce Springsteen's 41 Shots - real powerful!

Cheers Lieven, for another great topic

OK, so I checked him out on Pandora and it turns out Eric Bogle is pretty darn good.  I wasn't so sure about it, knowing Ken's preference and my general aversion for punk music, but Eric Bogle is about as far from punk as .... well I don't know what but it's quite a difference. 

Thanks for the tip you dour old Scotsman.    (wait while I duck) 

- Zurf

I'll keep quiet about learning Take That songs for a party then.....