Just for Fun: Top Five Songs

So, last week my friend Ned asked for people's favorite albums. This week it's singles. Here are five songs that just pluck at my heartstrings no matter how many times I hear them.

This Woman’s Work--Kate Bush

I discovered Kate Bush when I was about 16. Thank God. Even today, This Woman’s Work is my favorite song. It’s perfection for me.


The Highwayman--Lorenna McKennitt
Oh, Bess!  I really love stories about men or women loving someone they shouldn't—even if it means it eventually ruins them. While I’m not the world’s biggest romantic, hearing her sing, “Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky, with the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!” when the Highway man learns his love is dead makes me swoon a bit. Each time I hear the song, I think, “He went back. He.went.back.”





Closer to Fine--Indigo Girls
Okay, I’ll admit this song has become something of a cliché. A song for folks who hang out in coffee shops (read: my people). I don’t care. It makes me happy.





All That’s Known--Spring Awakening
I could put together a list of my favorite songs from musicals. However, I doubt Ned will be doing a “Music: Theater Geeks Edition” list.  Of all the musical numbers I love, I think it’s funny that this song makes the list. Why? I’ve not seen Spring Awakening!  I think that’s why I had to include this song in my top five. A song from a musical that *gets* you even if you haven’t seen the show? Awesome!





Piano Man—12 Gardens Live Version--Billy Joel
Of course Joel’s classic Piano Man is, ya know, classic. I like it alright but I adore the live version from later in his career. There is something about a voice that’s aged—reflecting a life that’s been lived—that imbues this song with a depth that original can’t match.

(In the same vein, I love Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now-Remastered. Her voice, so radically different than when she first recorded the song, is just perfect.)




Honorable Mention

I Love Rock N’Roll—Joan Jett

Numb—Linkin Park

Annie’s Song—John Denver

Live to Tell---Madonna

Jack and Diane—John Mellencamp