What songs bring a tear to your eye?

Mitsuman · « **on:** 25 Mar 2012, 03:26 pm »

It's ok guys, real men do cry.

Mike and the Mechanics - The Living Years
Dan Fogelberg - Leader of the Band

Both choke me up because they make me think of my dad passing away way too young.

macrojack · « **Reply #1 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 04:50 pm »

KILKELLY as performed by The Green Fields of America.

It's a live recording on LP. The true story of a series of letters from an illiterate old man in Ireland to his son in America. The young man never returns to his homeland and the old man dies never having seen his son again. It probably sounds corny as you read my account but it is one of the most beautiful and poignant performances I have ever heard. Please do try to check it out. The Irish have a way with words --- and melodies.

Here's a version I cribbed from YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N76kAivCb20&feature=related

thunderbrick · « **Reply #2 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 05:45 pm »

Quote from: macrojack on 25 Mar 2012, 04:50 pm

KILKELLY as performed by The Green Fields of America.

It's a live recording on LP. The true story of a series of letters from an illiterate old man in Ireland to his son in America. The young man never returns to his homeland and the old man dies never having seen his son again. It probably sounds corny as you read my account but it is one of the most beautiful and poignant performances I have ever heard. Please do try to check it out. The Irish have a way with words --- and melodies.

Here's a version I cribbed from YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N76kAivCb20&feature=related

+1!

Damn, Macro! I didn't know you were a sentimental old fool and appreciated songs from the old sod!

I have that CD and listen to that song a LOT! Very touching, as I grew up near and old graveyard where many of the dead came over in the Great Famine years.

For those of us who've lost their fathers, the Fureys and Davy Arthur's version of "The Old Man" always brings tears and a smile. They are "travelers" or what I assume to be Gypsies/Roma in Ireland, and saw them live in '83.
Some versions of that song are overproduced with strings, etc, but the original LPs come across very nice.

Great thread, BTW!

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #3 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 05:58 pm »

Just about anything by Eva Cassidy.

orthobiz · « **Reply #4 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 06:23 pm »

Not quite a tear but Please Send Me Someone To Love on Paul Butterfield's Better Days album is about as perfectly sung and as emotional as anything else...

Paul

fredgarvin · « **Reply #5 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 06:36 pm »

Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues-Danny O'Keefe

Rainy Night in Georgia-Brooke Benton

Dock of the Bay-Otis Redding

Mercy Mercy Me-Marvin Gaye

What's Going On?-Marvin

In Dreams-Roy Orbison

All those guys have several excellent songs each. And no cowboy hats!

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #6 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 06:54 pm »

.....Memory....

Diamond Dog · « **Reply #7 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 07:37 pm »

Quote from: fredgarvin on 25 Mar 2012, 06:36 pm

Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues-Danny O'Keefe

Rainy Night in Georgia-Brooke Benton

Dock of the Bay-Otis Redding

Mercy Mercy Me-Marvin Gaye

What's Going On?-Marvin

In Dreams-Roy Orbison

All those guys have several excellent songs each. And no cowboy hats!

Sorry, buddy...

Brook Benton

Marvin Gaye also sported a cowboy hat in a 1971 biker gang-war movie called "Chrome & Hot Leather " but fortunately, all photographic evidence of this appears to have been purged from the public record.

The power of the Internet...

D.D.

macrojack · « **Reply #8 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 07:55 pm »

Thunderbrick - You surprised me. I didn't expect anybody to know Kilkelly.

How about Christmas in the Trenches by John Mc Cutcheon from his Winter Solstice album. Also a true story and historically verifiable, this one tells of the Christmas eve encounter between German and English troops during WW I in France. Ian Calhoun, a Scot, was the commanding officer of the British forces,involved in the story. He was subsequently court marshaled for "consorting with the enemy" and sentenced to death. Only George V spared him from that fate.

If you know that one also, then try The Blind Veteran by Bob Franke. It's a very brief little acapella ditty that never fails to make me feel terrible about being human.

Oh, and maybe you can find an album by Gordon Bok, Ann Mayo Muir and Ed Trickett. I forget the name of it but it was recorded live at The Cafe Extempore in Minneapolis. It's loaded with great stuff but I wanted to suggest their rendition of The Sea Wife. It's a Rudyard Kipling poem that they put to music.

And don't forget The Highwayman as performed by Phil Ochs. It's a poem by Alfred Noyes that Phil recreates musically.

There's more............

Danberg · « **Reply #9 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 08:22 pm »

Karla Bonoff's - "The Water is Wide" gets to me. Her voice is haunting, and the vocal harmonies at the end send chills up my spine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EfHZtCKJGY

Discovered this version by chance on utube, one of those rare touching musical moments that will forever stay in my mind.

AB · « **Reply #10 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 08:35 pm »

Danny Boy

My Opening Farewell. Bonnie Raitt's version

Departure Bay. Diana Krall.

O Amante. Tony Furtado

At my wake, there won't be a dry eye.

DaveyW · « **Reply #11 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 09:33 pm »

Uriah Heep's version of Come Away Melinda gets me every time

macrojack · « **Reply #12 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 09:38 pm »

Lui Collins - ever heard of her? Folks in the Goshen, CT. area might recognize the name. I knew her many years ago and I bought a few of her records. If you can find an album rolled Baptism of Fire, it is loaded with emotional, thought provoking material. Right now I'm recommending one in particular called The Tinker's Coin. It was written by Jack Hardy.

Just tried to find Lui's version on YouTube - no dice - but here's a very satisfactory rendition by the author himself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6pi1JqTK7I

Also, for those of you who can handle grown up topics, I'll recommend Tom Waits' Road to Peace from his Orphans CD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78YpvJI6eSw

macrojack · « **Reply #13 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 09:51 pm »

You know, the more I think about this topic, the more I realize that pretty damn near anything Tom Waits does is beautiful and charged with emotion. He'a a strange sort of talent to say the least, but I believe he is the single greatest talent of the generation we share. And yes, that includes Bob Dylan.

Way back in September 1978 Waits introduced an album called Blue Valentines that many of you may own. It's probably not his best but it contains 3 consecutive cuts that showcase his talents and sensibilities in a tidy capsule. They are, in order, Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis, Romeo Is Bleeding and $29.00.

Tears, maybe, but a lump in your throat and a sense of compassion are guaranteed. Enjoy!

thunderbrick · « **Reply #14 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 10:11 pm »

Quote from: macrojack on 25 Mar 2012, 07:55 pm

Thunderbrick - You surprised me. I didn't expect anybody to know Kilkelly.

How about Christmas in the Trenches by John Mc Cutcheon from his Winter Solstice album. Also a true story and historically verifiable, this one tells of the Christmas eve encounter between German and English troops during WW I in France. Ian Calhoun, a Scot, was the commanding officer of the British forces,involved in the story. He was subsequently court marshaled for "consorting with the enemy" and sentenced to death. Only George V spared him from that fate.

If you know that one also, then try The Blind Veteran by Bob Franke. It's a very brief little acapella ditty that never fails to make me feel terrible about being human.

Oh, and maybe you can find an album by Gordon Bok, Ann Mayo Muir and Ed Trickett. I forget the name of it but it was recorded live at The Cafe Extempore in Minneapolis. It's loaded with great stuff but I wanted to suggest their rendition of The Sea Wife. It's a Rudyard Kipling poem that they put to music.

And don't forget The Highwayman as performed by Phil Ochs. It's a poem by Alfred Noyes that Phil recreates musically.

There's more............

I might surprise you, MJ! I have at least two Gordon Bok albums and am looking for more. Canadian folk group Tanglefoot has some similar themes in their music, as do The Brandos that a fellow AC member turned me on to. David Kinkaid, lead singer of the Brandos, put out a great LP called "The Irish Soldier", done on an old style.

Another Canadian, Stan Rogers (who died a heroic death helping people from a burning jet airliner some 20 years ago) sings some dark tributes to people who lived the maritime life, some tunes that recall the War of 1812, the U.S. Revolution, and even the IRA.

I love "The Highwayman" but I don't have the Phil Oaks version.

Remember, in the last 200 years, life sucked a LOT more than it does now, and some amazing, inspiring music came out.

vinyl_guy · « **Reply #15 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 10:22 pm »

Amazing Grace -- everytime, doesn't matter who is singing it

schuesmp · « **Reply #16 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 10:33 pm »

Jeff Buckley - Lilac Wine

A cover, but undeniably beautiful. Jeff Buckley was an awe-inspiring artist during his short life.

DeadFish · « **Reply #17 on:** 26 Mar 2012, 01:16 am »

Off the top of my head:

"Ripple" \
"Box Of Rain" >The Grateful Dead
"Walking On The Moon" /

decal · « **Reply #18 on:** 26 Mar 2012, 01:24 am »

Anything by Yoko Ono is sure to bring a tear to your eye and a busted eardrum!!!!!

Delacroix · « **Reply #19 on:** 26 Mar 2012, 01:39 am »

Quote from: macrojack on 25 Mar 2012, 04:50 pm

KILKELLY as performed by The Green Fields of America.

It's a live recording on LP. The true story of a series of letters from an illiterate old man in Ireland to his son in America. The young man never returns to his homeland and the old man dies never having seen his son again. It probably sounds corny as you read my account but it is one of the most beautiful and poignant performances I have ever heard. Please do try to check it out. The Irish have a way with words --- and melodies.

Here's a version I cribbed from YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N76kAivCb20&feature=related

Ouch --- you hit my nerve right there. I have a version on an old compilation of Irish songs I bought once and it reminds me of my own parents back in Ireland. "Danny Boy" pulls the strings, "Amazing Grace" always moves me, Diane Schuur's "You've got to hurt before you heal" always stills me to silence, but "Kilkelly, Ireland" makes me cry, to the point that I cannot listen to it easily. To describe the song's themes themselves is likely to invoke ridicule, but to hear the lines, in context, with that air, almost defies human endurance.