The Greatest Song Ever Written.

mind you this is rather good too:

Danny Kirwan – in Fleetwood Mac
“Without You”

A great song is still a great song when sung in the shower or by the fire with an acoustic guitar, or by reading the lyrics and following the melody along the sheet music with one finger on the piano. Gimme Shelter is amazing but much of it is in the performance, not the writing

Garbage. What makes a great song for me isn’t the same thing as makes a great song for you. Fact.
I hate covers, so if you’re right there’s no such thing as the greatest song ever. 😛

So many to choose from – here’s a few contenders from various genres:

The Boxer – Simon and Garfunkel
Me and Julio down by the schoolyard – Paul Simon
Crash – Primitives
Twisting the night away – Sam Cooke
Core n’grato (opera) – don’t know by whom, but just listen to Pav sing it!
Gimme some lovin – Spencer Davis Group
Only you – Yazoo
New England – Kirsty MacColl
Pressure Drop – Toots and the Maytals
Girlfriend in a coma – Smiths
Ghosts – the Jam

My CD collection is eclectic to say the least…………

Will have a look for some Steve Earle stuff, sound good.

North wind if you’re gonna go ff7 (playing it at the moment actually) Shirley you mean main theme orchestral version? Close tho.

It isn’t garbage. It’s like how a great play is about the script, not the performance. Or indeed a great car/bike is different to a great drive/ride. I think Gimme Shelter is the best thing the Stones have ever done but it isn’t a great song but a great performance of a good piece of music. There is a difference between songwriting and arranging/playing/singing – if you can’t understand that then you don’t understand how music works. Personally I often get more excited about recordings of great performances than I do about great songs but I can see the difference! Things get confused in rock music because often the writers are some of the performers. But Dazed and Confused, for example, although credited to Page, was allegedly by an uncredited earlier blues artist.

Thats not steve earl its Townes van Zandt. The quote is from Steve Earl.

Dulli giving it all…..

Oh or since everyone else is picking several, possibly this:

Thats not steve earl its Townes van Zandt. The quote is from Steve Earl.

doh! Cheers

Sugar Hill Gang – Rappers Delight

Stone Roses – Sally Cinnamon

Faithless – Insomnia

Eton rifles – the jam

Garbage. What makes a great song for me isn’t the same thing as makes a great song for you. Fact.
I hate covers, so if you’re right there’s no such thing as the greatest song ever.

Why, exactly, do you hate covers? When do you know that a song that you happen to be listening to is the original, or any one of a number of different versions? I’ll bet I could find any number of songs where I could give you three, possibly four, different interpretations, and without looking it up, never be able to guess which is the original.
I love covers, because, when done properly, the cover should bring something completely new to the song.
Anyhoo, the greatest song ever written? Damifino, but Sandy Denny’s ‘Who Knows Where The Time Goes’ is high on the list, and the Beach Boys’ ‘God Only Knows’ sits very high up there too.

Ironically given the discussion above, I googled the lyrics to I see a darkness:

Well, you’re my friend and can you see,
Many times we’ve been out drinkin’,
Many times we’ve shared our thoughts,
But did you ever, ever notice, the kind of thoughts I got?

Well, you know I have a love, a love for everyone I know.
And you know I have a drive to live, I won’t let go.
But can you see this opposition comes rising up sometimes?
That it’s dreadful imposition, comes blacking in my mind.

And that I see a darkness.
And that I see a darkness.
And that I see a darkness.
Did you know how much I love you?
Is a hope that somehow you,
Can save me from this darkness.

Well, I hope that someday, buddy, we have peace in our lives.
Together or apart, alone or with our wives.
And we can stop our whoring and pull the smiles inside.
And light it up forever and never go to sleep.
My best unbeaten brother, this isn’t all I see.

Oh, no, I see a darkness.
Oh, no, I see a darkness.
Oh, no, I see a darkness.
Oh, no, I see a darkness.
Did you know how much I love you?
Is a hope that somehow you,
Can save me from this darkness.

Bonnie Prince Billy

I don’t think I’ve heard the Johnny Cash cover but there is no way on earth I would actively want to hear it, it would just feel wrong. Like a cover I heard at work today of Love Will Tear Us Apart that made me want throw my shoes at the speakers 🙁

For me it would have to be one of Van Morrison’s but I would have a helluva job to narrow it down to one.

Go on, flame me. 😉

It changes hour by hour but at the moment.

@chiefgrooveguru – repeating yourself in a longer winded way doesn’t make you right.
I know what you’re saying, but I don’t agree.

I don’t think I’ve heard the Johnny Cash cover…

Ha, I was doing a bit of painting and decorating years ago whilst listening to the radio and it came on. I remember thinking my god that sounds like Johnny Cash singing I see a darkness, surely it just can’t be…. But it was. I was, well taken aback to say the least.

It’s actually not bad, and Will himself does backing vocals. He seems to have been genuinely honoured to have been a part of the process.

One of my all time favourite songs.

And we can stop our whoring and turn the smiles inside
And light it up forever and never go to sleep….

Oh just marvellous.

A change is gonna come by Sam Cooke .

Good lord. 😯 Focus, I’ve seen them a few times and have their albums, on vinyl naturally!

My Curse by The Afghan Whigs.

“hyssop in your perfume….”

End To End Burners by Company Flow

(and for MrWoppit:)
Jerusalem – (You can have the Mark STewart version though, if it makes youfeel better)

A song composed of a series of questions, and the answer to each one is – no.

big_scot_nanny – Member

Jesus Christ Mr Woppit, it might be because I’m tired and emotional and maybe moving country with the family, but that bloody flaming lips song has me lip wobbling and dusty eyed. Absolutely tip f’ing top.

Yep. Profound, and packing a big emotional punch. Which is why I chose it…

I can’t believe nobody’s mentioned Des’ree yet….

Life

Ooh, Yeah
Oh yeah
Oh Life
Oh Life

I’m afraid of the dark
Especially when I’m in the park
When there’s no one else around
Oh I get the shivers
I don’t wanna see a ghost
It’s the sight that I fear most
I’d rather have a piece of toast
Watch the evening news

Life, oh life
Oh life, oh life
Life, oh life
Oh life, oh life

I’m a superstitious girl
I’m the worst in the world
Never walk under ladders
I keep a rabbits’ tail
I’ll take you up on a dare
Anytime, anywhere
Name the place, I’ll be there
Bungee jumping, I don’t care

Life, oh life
Oh life, oh life
Life, oh life
Oh life, oh life
Life

So after all’s said and done
I know I’m not the only one
Life indeed can be fun
If you really want to
Sometimes living out your dreams
Ain’t as easy as it seems
You wanna fly around the world
In a beautiful balloon

Life, oh life
Oh life, oh life
Life, oh life
Oh life, oh life
Life, oh life
Oh life, oh life
Life, oh life
Oh life, oh life
Oh life, oh life..

Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam

end of thread.

Yes, it’s nice to end on a bit of humour.

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you’re older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I’d something more to say.