9.18.2008

Sad Songs (and by Sad, I mean Poignant)

My very good friend over at I Know About Popular challenged me to post my 6 favorite, sad songs (view his list), and then took it a step further, and challenged me to make them all Damien Rice songs. I adore Damien Rice, I have nearly everything he has recorded, I've seen him live twice and this should've been much easier than it has been, but I couldn't choose. So, after 3 weeks and much thought, plus a minor tweaking of "sad" to "poignant" -- because that works better for me -- here is my list:

#6: "I Remember", from the album O. This song is interesting, because as he explained, he wrote half of it at the beginning of a relationship, and the other half after it imploded; this in itself would make it a poignant song, because it shows the two sides of a relationship, and Heaven knows we've all been there, but additionally, the first part of this song is very sweet. The tugs on my heartstrings: "I remember it well, the first time that I saw your head 'round the door, 'cause mine stopped working... Want you here tonight, want you here, 'cause I can't believe what I found... I remember it well; I was stood in your line, and your mouth, your mouth, your mind..."

#5: "Delicate", from the album O. This song kind of speaks for itself, but it tugs nonetheless: "We might make love in some sacred place/that look on your face is delicate. So why d'ya fill my sorrow with the words you've borrowed from the only place you've known; why d'ya sing hallelujah, if it means nothin' to ya, why d'ya sing with me at all?"

#4: "The Animals were Gone", from the album 9. This song is verging on straight up sad, which frankly, I love, but I also like this one for the Rapunzel reference. (I'm kind of a literary nerd; what can I say?) The tugs on my heartstrings: "I know that I've left you in places of despair; I know that I love you, so please throw down your hair. At night I trip without you and hope I don't wake up, 'cause waking up without you is like drinking from an empty cup."

#3: "Blower's Daughter", from the album O. This is actually the first Damien Rice song I ever heard. I was immediately hooked, and this song spawned our love affair. I had never heard anything so tragically romantic, or hauntingly beautiful: "And so it is, the colder water, the blower's daughter, the pupil in denial: I can't take my eyes off of you. Did I say that I loathe you? Did I say that I want to leave it all behind? I can't take my mind off of you, my mind,' til I find somebody new."

#2: "Rootless Tree", from the album 9 (although the various live versions are better, I think.) This song breaks my heart. It is difficult to imagine how hard things must have been, or how bad the relationship must've gotten for him to pen these tugs: "So f*** you, and all we've been through. I said leave it; it's nothing to you, and if you hate me then hate me so good that you can let me out, let me out of this hell when you're around." Ouch...

#1: "Accidental Babies", from the album 9. This song is profoundly sad. I heard it for the first time at a live show, and I wept. It is far and away my favorite Damien Rice song, even though it still makes me teary sometimes. The tugs on my heartstrings: "Is he dark enough, enough to see your light? Do you brush your teeth before you kiss? Do you miss my smell? is he bold enough to take you on? Do you feel like you belong? Does he drive you wild? Or just mildly free? What about me?... And I know I make you cry, I know sometimes you wanna die, but do you really feel alive without me? If so be free; if not, leave him for me before one of us has accidental babies, for we are ..."

Honorable Mention: "9 Crimes" from the album 9: "Leave me out with the waste, this is not what I do. It's the wrong kind of place to be cheating on you; it's the wrong time, she's pulling me through. It's a small crime, and I got no excuse."

And if you'll excuse me, I need a tissue...


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