Songs that touch your soul

[Jamie London]

One of the most beautiful (and sometimes frightening) aspects of music is the depth to which it can effect us, speak to us, and touch our souls. Be it though a songs lyrics, sonic sound, memory attachments, etc etc, the relationship between song and listener is a totally individual and unique one. With all that being said, what song or songs touch your soul? What songs have helped shape you into who you are today? Feel free to be as detailed as you wish

Starting it off: I think the Beach Boys are among the greatest of the greats, I personally put them up there with The Beatles. I also think a lot of people today have this very dated idea of what The Beach Boys were, and yes, while they have some square bear songs like “Be True to Your School”, when you dig into what those dudes were doing musically, it’s unreal. Obviously songs like “God Only Knows” and “Wouldn’t it Be Nice” are some of the greatest ever, but what saddens me so much about the history of The Beach Boys is how often Dennis and his songs are forgotten about and overlooked.

To be honest, my two favorite songs from the group are both songs written and sung by Dennis, those two being “Forever”, which is think is one of the few songs I’d consider near perfect, if not perfect, and “Baby Blue”. I’m not sure if anything else musically has ever touched or moved me as much as those two songs (with an edge to Forever because like I said, pretty much perfect in my humble or not so humble opinion). “Forever” reaches into a very deep and probably slightly ignored part of myself and brings out such powerful emotions every time, I don’t know if I’ve ever listened to it without at very least getting the feeling of tearing up. Musically, lyrically, emotionally, it just hits differently.

This live version of “Forever” is possibly my favorite version of the song. It’s well documented that Dennis was pretty fucked up here and this was around when he was really starting to damage his voice. Unfortunately that adds even more impact to this version of the song. This dude is sitting there, struggling with all of these personal issues and chemical dependencies, all while belting one of the most beautiful, and emotionally touching songs ever. It’s unreal. Truly an underrated genius.

Brian Wilson once said that “Forever” is the most harmonically beautiful song he’s ever heard, and I agree with him 100%

“Forever” live 1971:
Album version:

 

[Chris Johnston]

This is so tricky to answer for so many reasons but the first time I remember ever having an emotional reaction to a song was 'Can't Stop' by Red Hot Chilli Peppers - It was the first time I watched the Kerrang Music Channel when I was young & that song just hit me right in the feels for some reason - The main thing that gave me that feeling was Frusciante's backing vocal motif in the verses Every time I hear the song I can still see the TV in my old living room, sunny weather outside and I remember feeling of being younger & having zero responsibilities. It's insane how 1 melody can do that to a person, but there you go! I'm even getting kinda emosh about it typing this because I can hear it in my head haha. Very powerful stuff

There are too many Avenged songs to count that really have that emotional effect on me (I'm sure I'll pick one and immediately think of one to top it) - but one that comes to mind is M.I.A - most specifically the solo - Something about the note choice from 5:26 onwards just does something to me internally that I can't explain Genuinelly one of the most beautiful solo's Syn's ever crafted I'm also in love with the Chorus melody in M.I.A along with the backings. Just a really well written song that has teared me up on some Rum filled nights.

I'll definitely update this with more but that's 2 straight off the bat. Great topic!

 

[Rad Synner]

Excellent thread my dude! I gotta say, I didn't know who the beach boys were up until Avenged did a cover of ''god only knows''. But this song was really great. And knowing the backstory behind it added a lot to how I listened to the vocal performance because it makes you appreciate that the voice you were hearing was on it's way down but yet the emotions were still coming through and there is this little texture on the voice that really brings it home in my opinion. I think i get what you mean.

On a side not, the progression of this song really reminds me a lot of the intro of ''Ordinary Man'' from Ozzy's latest record. Both great song imo anyways!

For me, a song that touched my soul was ''Nothing Else Matters'' by Metallica. I know a lot of people think the black album and this song by extent is overplayed and overrated, etc... but that's the beauty of music and art: it's subjective. It all impacts us in different ways and all opinions are valid. Just a matter of respecting each other.

But yeah, Nothing Else Matters just hits me deeply. There is something about this lone intro and and how everything comes together and the lyrics as well have a beautiful message attach to them that you feel is deeply emotional to Hetfield and Metallica as a whole but at the same time, everyone can attach their own meaning to it and connect in their own way. Adding the beautiful solo at the end with that big climax and that just knocks it out of the park. Overall I would say that this is a perfect song in my opinion and yeah!

Though I will say that I got attached to a lot of different versions of it and one other that I really love is the 4 cello by apocalyptica cover that is unique and yet stays true to the essence of the song so if you already know the tune, try this version!

 

[Alicia Willis]

Love this thread topic ! And I love your choices Jamie.

For me, It’s gotta be Freebird.
The lyrics, the opening organ, the utterly perfect slide playing and Allen’s absolutely mind blowing solo/jam !!

(if anyone’s not heard the entire full length song I encourage you to do so)

The opening line, “if i leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me” was actually something that Allen’s wife had asked him and thus sparked he lyrics.

For me, the song has always felt very spiritual. As a child I remember really being drawn to the slide and literally feeling like I was a bird soaring through the sky, and in my child’s mind, the blistering solo was my bird self flying directly into a thunderstorm spinning out of control.
Oddly enough, life is a bit like that, we all want to be free and happy gracefully soaring above the clouds, but shit happens and the storm comes and we have to fight our way out of it, just like the little bird in my mind.

 

[Russ]

Pearl Jam - Rearviewmirror.

Having grown up around toxic people in a toxic environment the line “saw things - clearer - once you were in my rearview mirror” coupled with the raw emotion in the vocals always hits me hard. Even though the song seems to focus on negatives of the past it reminds me of how beautiful life can be when you surround yourself with the right people.

 

[Alicia Willis]

Okay, already shared one but this topic really sparked some nostalgia in me and I have two more to share.
I love a song that tells a story and always feel more attached to them. They immediately grab my attention and I feel those lyrics so much more.
Y’all around my age I think can agree these two fit that perfect “story-telling” feel

 

[Aquamandy]

Ohhh that's an interesting topic for sure

I think for me it varies when the song has deep lyrics, meaning or melody, but overall I really feel songs about war. Danger Line and M.I.A. - Avenged Sevenfold, One and The Day That Never Comes - Metallica and Wrong Side of Heaven - Five Finger Death Punch are some of them.
There's also the ones that hit me deep in an emotional way like Heavy - Linkin Park and Low Man's Lyric - Metallica because of the overall story they tell and the topics they cover.
And also the ones that makes me feel immense hope that things will get better like Brighter Side of Grey - Five Finger Death Punch, Shadow of The Day - Linkin Park and Crimson Day - Avenged Sevenfold, or songs that make me see the great side of things like What A Wonderful World (a classic by Louis Armstrong but I must admit I listen more to the Ramones version ).
And finally, one special version of a song that I feel in my soul and have chills everytime I listen to it: Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) - Metallica from S&M2, when Scott Pingel, the San Francisco Symphony bassist played it in honor of Cliff Burton. His version has a classic touch to it but innovative at the same time. That's why the final version is a masterpiece that did so much justice to Cliff's while captivating the listener. I absolutely love it.
I honestly couldn't properly explain why I feel these songs I mentioned so much, and to be fair that's where I knew these were the right songs to mention, because I just feel it. And we go back to your first point: this is one of the beautiful sides of music.

 

[Alicia Willis]

Ohhh that's an interesting topic for sure

I think for me it varies when the song has deep lyrics, meaning or melody, but overall I really feel songs about war. Danger Line and M.I.A. - Avenged Sevenfold, One and The Day That Never Comes - Metallica and Wrong Side of Heaven - Five Finger Death Punch are some of them.
There's also the ones that hit me deep in an emotional way like Heavy - Linkin Park and Low Man's Lyric - Metallica because of the overall story they tell and the topics they cover.
And also the ones that makes me feel immense hope that things will get better like Brighter Side of Grey - Five Finger Death Punch, Shadow of The Day - Linkin Park and Crimson Day - Avenged Sevenfold, or songs that make me see the great side of things like What A Wonderful World (a classic by Louis Armstrong but I must admit I listen more to the Ramones version ).
And finally, one special version of a song that I feel in my soul and have chills everytime I listen to it: Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) - Metallica from S&M2, when Scott Pingel, the San Francisco Symphony bassist played it in honor of Cliff Burton. His version has a classic touch to it but innovative at the same time. That's why the final version is a masterpiece that did so much justice to Cliff's while captivating the listener. I absolutely love it.
I honestly couldn't properly explain why I feel these songs I mentioned so much, and to be fair that's where I knew these were the right songs to mention, because I just feel it. And we go back to your first point: this is one of the beautiful sides of music.

“Because I just feel feel it”

that’s ALL the explanation that’s needed

 

[Anna.VG]

Oh man, i would mention a lot of songs but the only one that makes me feel so emotional and makes me cry every time i hear it, is this one called "Siempre" by a spanish band called Mago de Oz. Theres symphonic live version of this song its just so beautiful and for me it has a special meaning; thats because it reminds me of a dear friend who sadly passed away. The entire song is just merely beautiful

 

[Adin Shepherd]

Hmm, good question and some great songs mentioned already!

For me 2 that immediately come to mind are Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd, the song and Gilmour's solo's still give me goosebumps. Secondly would be Nutshell by Alice In Chains, a hauntingly beautiful song, if you haven't heard it yet, stop reading and go listen to it now.




Why are you still here? Go, listen, now.

 

[iridecently]

For me this would have to be Estranged by Guns n' Roses.

It is one of the bands that my dad introduced me too and I have this stupidly vivid memory of their cover of Knocking on Heaven's Door blasting through the living room when I was like 6 years old. When I was around 11 or something I started buying my own CDs and 'inherited' my dad's collection, which of course included Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusion 1 & 2. So, it being the 2000s, I imported the whole bunch into iTunes, whacked it onto my iPod and we were off to the races.

Listening to Estranged for the first time blew my socks off. It's close to ten minutes filled with guitar and piano solos and Axl Rose doing his thing. It's kind of like November Rain on steroids. The music video is even more insane, but I'll let everybody discover that for themselves

For me this song is what got me into guitar and it's the first guitar solo(s) that I really 'registered', I guess for lack of a better term. I had always been more focused on lyrics, but this pulled my interested to the instrumental side as well.

 

[Saphyra]

Me, there are many songs of Avenged Sevenfold which touch my heart but after if I have to talk about others songs than A7X, La Mamma by Charles Aznavour is clearly one of the most sadness song I heard and if I have to choice another song with more positive message is Il changea ma vie by Jean Jacques Goldman
But honestly most of the songs hits me via the instrumental,
The list of all songs I could give would be too long XD

 

[John Robinson]

my music taste are all over the map,i was raised on outlaw country,gospel and 60's doowop,then rock and roll.that being said,i dont have songs,i have bands,if i listen to a band and they dont move me in someway then i dont listen to them again,there is one sang that turns me into a basket case,so far away,my mind goes back to family that i have lost in my life and it tears me up.

 

[Saphyra]

Well even if there isn't lyrics, I can talk about the Rachmaninoff piece or The Nuctraker by Tchaïkovski
Or even the OST of the games Super Mario Galaxy and Hollow knight

 

[ari.mac]

Great thread!! I definitely have a lot of songs that touched my soul along the way, but the ones that immediately came to my mind are:
Don't Cry - Guns n' Roses
Leave out all the rest - Linkin Park
Crawling - Linkin Park
So Far Away - Avenged Sevendold
If I die tomorrow - Motley Crue
I hope that I don't fall in love with you - Tom Waits

I always get emotional listening to them, for some I can't even explain why exactly, they just give me that feeling, you know. Music is truly a wonderful thing ❤ (I swear there are happy songs too in my list )

 

[Saphyra]

Great thread!! I definitely have a lot of songs that touched my soul along the way, but the ones that immediately came to my mind are:
Don't Cry - Guns n' Roses
Leave out all the rest - Linkin Park
Crawling - Linkin Park
So Far Away - Avenged Sevendold
If I die tomorrow - Motley Crue
I hope that I don't fall in love with you - Tom Waits

I always get emotional listening to them, for some I can't even explain why exactly, they just give me that feeling, you know. Music is truly a wonderful thing ❤ (I swear there are happy songs too in my list )

So far away is such a beautiful song but also very sad, each time I listen it I am close to cry or I litteraly cry

 

[ari.mac]

So far away is such a beautiful song but also very sad, each time I listen it I am close to cry or I litteraly cry

Yeah, same my friend ❤

 

[William B.]

I really like that Beach Boys song very much, started listening more to them earlier

Some songs, there are many and I like them for many different reasons, but I think some of these are somewhat Bluesy

Adam's Song and Stay Together For The Kids by Blink -182
Don't Cry from Guns n' Roses
Basket Case and Good Riddance from Green Day
Creep and There, There from Radiohead
Hey There Delilah from Plain White T's
Glory of Love from Peter Cetera
I Started A Joke from Sparks
Bohemian Rhapsody from Queen
Wheel In The Sky from Journey
One Of Us - Joan Osbourne
Where Is My Mind from The Pixies
I Will Follow You Into The Dark from Deathcab For Cutie

There's no order and I can probably go on for awhile

Lot's of stuff I think got to me subliminally
I noticed these songs aren't very old

 

[Alicia Willis]

I really like that Beach Boys song very much, started listening more to them earlier

Some songs, there are many and I like them for many different reasons, but I think some of these are somewhat Bluesy

Adam's Song and Stay Together For The Kids by Blink -182
Don't Cry from Guns n' Roses
Basket Case and Good Riddance from Green Day
Creep and There, There from Radiohead
Hey There Delilah from Plain White T's
Glory of Love from Peter Cetera
I Started A Joke from Sparks
Bohemian Rhapsody from Queen
Wheel In The Sky from Journey
One Of Us - Joan Osbourne
Where Is My Mind from The Pixies
I Will Follow You Into The Dark from Deathcab For Cutie

There's no order and I can probably go on for awhile

Lot's of stuff I think got to me subliminally
I noticed these songs aren't very old

wheel in the sky is an absolute gem !!!

 

[Sound_bender]

Indian Sunset by Elton John definitely reaches a part of me I didn't know existed. Great song/story