List 43 Songs that are Important to Me

Here’s a prayer for the body buried by the interstate
A mother of a soldier, a tree, and a forest up in flames.
Black Valley, Peace Beneath the City
Where the women hear the washboard rhythm in their bosom and they say,
“Give me good legs,
And a Japanese Car
And show me a road.”

Sing a song for the bodies buried by the riverbank
A well-dressed boy and a pig with a bullet in the brain.
Black Valley, Peace Beneath the City
Where the white girls wander the strip malls singing all day,
“Give me a juggernaut heart
And a Japanese Car
And someone to free.”

Say something for the body buried like a keepsake
Mother of a million mouths with the very same name.
Black Valley, Peace Beneath the City
Where the women hear the weather but never, ever tell you what they pray.

They pray “Give me a yellowbrick road,
And a Japanese Car.
A Benvolent Change.”

“I certainly haven’t been shopping for any new shoes and
I certainly haven’t been spreading myself around.
I still only travel by foot and by foot it’s a slow climb
But I’m good at being uncomfortable so I can’t stop changing all the time.

I’ve noticed that my opponent is always on the go
And won’t go slow so as not to focus and I noticed
He’ll hitch a ride with any guide as long as they go past from whence he came
But he’s no good at being uncomfortable so he can’t stop staying exactly the same.

If there was a better way to go then it would find me
I can’t help it, the road just rose up behind me.
Be kind to me, or treat me mean.
I’ll make the most of it: I’m an extraordinary machine.”

...’cause it’s funny. Really, really, really funny.

In addition to being the Official Coolest Song Ever Written EVER, this is the song that inspired me to write again, and ultimately to gain work writing professionally.

It’s such a dark story…

“I’m an engine driver
On a long line, on a long line.
Would I were beside her,
She’s a long line, such a long line.
And if you don’t love me let me go…

I’m a county lineman
On a high line, on a high line.
So will be my grandson
There are power lines in our bloodlines.
And if you don’t love me let me go…

I am a writer, a writer of fictions.
I am the heart that you call home.
I’ve written pages upon pages
Trying to rid you from my bones.

I’m a money lender
I have fortunes upon fortunes
Take my hand for tender
I am tortured, ever tortured
And if you don’t love me let me go…

And I am a writer, writer of fictions
I am the heart that you call home
And I’ve written pages upon pages
Trying to rid you from my bones.

I am a writer, a writer of fictions
I am all that you have hoped.
And if you don’t love me let me go…”

Fabulous Minneapolis band. Wuv them.

“All around you is love.
Don’t think lights are a safe bet in the dark…
...but you adjust.”

“I Choose to be the best that I can be
I Choose to be authentic in everything I do.
My past don’t dictate who I am—
I Choose”

First CD I ever purchased. Oh, how I loved this song. I thought it was SO deep.

Perhaps a little cliched amongst Folds fans. Don’t care. This song changed the way I look at my children. It so perfectly captures the wistfulness of watching your children age, and watching them turn out more or less like you…

On a more personal note, I listened to this song in the airplane on the way to see my Grandmother when she was dying. Everything about this song feels like that experience…the orchestration, the lyrics, the point.

Go to iTunes and download this song IMMEDIATELY.

Among the most thought compelling lyrics I’ve ever heard. This song is about what would happen if we got to plan the world the way WE wanted it.

“God said Time,
time belongs to me.
Time’s a secret weapon,
My Final Advantage.
God turned away from the edge of town.
I knew I was beaten
and now was all I had…”

No one will argue that the Beatle’s original recording of “Let It Be” isn’t a great song.

But this version absolutely haunts me. It’s with me everywhere. Really, it’s a mantra for me. When I’m stressed, or sad, or angry, it calms and comforts me. When I’m happy, it reminds me to slow down for a minute and take it all in.

Aretha’s vocals on this track are SO raw. The message of this song hits home for me on every level.

I’d call this song a spiritual experience. Bonus points for listening to it in a dark, quiet room with no distraction whatsoever.

This is seriously a life-defining song for me.