Last week, it seemed, a lot of people were experiencing some type of loss, be it the loss of a friendship, relationship, or the loss of life. What often follows is a storm of confusion, complete with conflicting emotion, the vain questions about why does a loving God do this to people, reminisces, laughing, crying, rioting, dogs and cats living together, etc. What it all comes down to is saying goodbye. Goodbye to a friend, a lover, or a state of being we didn’t think would ever end. Saying good-bye can be hard, to which these songs can attest.
Top 5 tunes for saying goodbye:
1. “Late,” Ben Folds
Folds wrote this lament for his friend, the brilliant singer-songwriter Elliot Smith, after Smith took his own life. The fact that “Too Late” is sung to Smith makes it all the more poignant.
2. “Your Thesaurus Won’t Help You Now,” Paper Moon
Ever had to let someone go, but couldn’t find the right words? So has Canadian band Paper Moon.
3. “Almost Lover,” A Fine Frenzy
A song filled with sorrow, regret and ache. Alison Sudol sounds hurt beyond her years.
4. “Leaving Home Ain’t Easy,” Queen
Guitarist Brian May handles the vocals on this tune that is as subdued (at least by Queen’s standards) as it is bittersweet.
5. “Into the West,” Annie Lennox
Written for “Return of the King,” the Fran Walsh-penned lyrics are inspired by Cameron Duncan, a young filmmaker who died of cancer. As tragic as that sounds, the song is filled with a hopefulness that there are better things, once we venture beyond sorrow. Or, as our favorite wizard says, “not all tears are an evil.”
[skip to 0:35 to avoid unintentional laughter at Liv Tyler's "Seven Year Itch" voice]
Runners up: “Still Pretty Angry,” Blues Traveler; “Don’t Think Twice,” Bob Dylan; “Bobby Lee,” Kris Delmhorst; “Tuesday’s Gone,” Lynyrd Skynyrd; “Goodbye to You,” Michelle Branch; “Entre Nous,” Rush. What are your Top 5 tunes for saying “auf wiedersehen”?
Elliott Smith is actually an artist I will consistently go back to when I need to deal with emotions. XO is one of my all-time favorite albums. The emotion is so palpable, and there’s such a vulnerability in it, that it’s hard for my own feelings not to come to the surface when I listen! I hadn’t heard the Ben Folds tribute song; thanks for sharing it.
Ray Lamontagne is what I tend to listen to when I want to get really sad about something. But for some reason, your question makes me think of the Muppets song: “Saying goodbye, going away, seems like goodbye’s such a hard thing to say…”
Sorry, I hope I didn’t get that stuck in anyone’s head besides my own!
1. Who wants to live forever? Queen: (cheesy due to Highlander, maybe, but I still sat in my highschool bedroom for hours sobbing my eyes out to that song, so it gets in the five)
2. Yellow, Coldplay: People say this is supposed to be some sort of love song, I don’t care what the musicians intended, yellow means cowardice to me and this was pretty much my theme song for my entire “major” break up. And yes, still makes my stomach plummet when I hear it.
3. Tuesday Afternoon, Moody Blues: Love Song, yes, but melancholy and sad, only thoroughly enjoyable after a break-up.
4. Yesterday – The Beatles: Obvious
5. The Lady of Shalott – Loreena McKennit, a literal drowning in your sorrows, what could be better.