5 songs that changed your life

[athompsen]

I got the idea for this topic from watching VH-1 today. They were showing "Top 100 Greatest Songs or Artists"...something like that, it's only other show they air aside from "I Love The 80s." Anyway, name 5 songs that changed your life, or maybe influenced you the most?

Mine are:

1. "Band On The Run" by Paul McCartney and Wings- I picked this one because this was one of the first songs I ever remember hearing and it was the first album I ever bought and started my love for music. I get so nostalgic whenever I hear this song.

2. "Let It Be" by The Beatles, this song always inspires me, always comforts me.

3. "So. Central Rain" by REM. This was the first song I ever heard by REM and it made me really start to pay attention to "alternative music".

4. "Into The Groove" by Madonna. I'm not sure why, I think it's because Madonna was everywhere in the 80's and so many of my friends loved her and some even dressed like her. It's one of my favorite songs from the 80's.

5. "Into The Mystic" by Van Morrison. I didn't really start to like and appreciate Van Morrison until I was in college. He was the first artist that I really stared to read and pay close attention to lyrics in a song. And I love the lyrics in this one.

[lora]

These are not in order of importance. Just in the order that they pop into my head.

1. "Fancy" by Reba McEntire - This was the song that I was probably first like, "Oh my God, that's me." Fancy made something of herself despite and because of where she came from, and I want to do that too. I'd have to say this is my all-time favorite Reba song, and probably my favorite country song too.

2. "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler - It was through this song that I became familiar with Bette and began my love for the genre most choose to call "Easy Listening".

3. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland - I think this is the greatest song ever written. The lyrics are so deep and powerful yet so simple and innocent, just like Judy herself. And this is the song that let everyone know that dreams really do come true. I'm getting chills just thinking about it. I can hear Judy singing it in my head and it just makes me want to cry right now.

4. "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men - This song is very significant for my entire family. Whenever my uncle died in a car accident, this became our song of hope. It's all about regretting mistakes you made and things you never said to the ones you love, and knowing that someday you'll see them again in Heaven.

5. "My One True Friend" by Bette Midler - This song was from the movie One True Thing with Meryl Streep. This movie was so touching to me, and when I heard this song for the first time I fell in love with it. Here's a sample of the lyrics:

Though love may break,
it never dies.
It changes shape
through changing eyes.
What I denied
I now can see.
You always were
the light inside of me.

This song is so beautiful.

*Bonus* I have thought of another important song to me. My anthem! "I'm Beautiful" by Bette Midler! The song that defines who I am! It says that you can't make fun of me anymore because I'm perfect the way I am! So kiss this!

[kathyb]

Well, let's see...

1. You've Got a Friend--Carole King. I actually heard Carole's version of this song before I heard James Taylor's, so I always consider her rendition my favorite of the two. Anyway--I love the song. It sums up the kind of person that I try to be to all my friends and family. "Winter, spring, summer or fall, all you have to do is call, and I'll be there. You've Got a Friend".

2. The Living Years--Mike and the Mechanics. My father died in 1994. He and I had a stormy relationship over the years, and I never got a chance to tell him while he was living, that I was sorry for all the things we went through. He blamed me for most of it, and I blamed him for most of it. In the end, what difference does it really make whose fault any of it was? I regret that we never were able to reconcile our differences. This song hits close to home for me.

3. The Letting Go--by Melissa Etheridge. From her album "Never Enough". Not one of her hits, but again, the story of why it means so much to me revolves around my father's death. A couple of weeks after he died, I was driving around in my car, thinking about him, and feeling stressed that our relationship wasn't ideal, and wishing I would have done more to patch things up. I was trying to console myself, and tell myself that my dad understood. The "Never Enough" tape happened to be on top of my pile of tapes in the car. I opened it up, put it in the tape player, and "The Letting Go" happened to be the first song to play. The lyrics were meant to be about a failed "significant other" type of relationship, but that day, they spoke to me in a different way. The lyrics could just as easily have been about me being ready to let go of all the problems my father and I had gone through. Some lyrics: "I came here to let you know, the letting go has taken place. I have held the winter's sun. Become one. Set my pace. Isn't that what we wanted all along? Freedom like a stone. Maybe we were wrong. But I can say goodbye now that the passion's died. Still it comes so slow. The letting go... I came here to let you know the letting go has taken place." Anyway...

4. Just Remember I Love You--Firefall. This song was playing on the car radio the first time my (future) husband told me he loved me. So, it became "our song". It holds special memories for both my husband and I, obviously.

5. The Wedding Song (There is Love)--Paul Stookey. The first song my husband and I danced to at our wedding. 'Nuff said.

[Railyn]

Ok, tough call.

In no particular order:

1) Once In A Lifetime - Talking Heads.
It's the first song of theirs that really grabbed my attention. Going through that awkward phase when it came out, it took me in a new musical direction, and made me want to go back and listen to all their music. "You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack. You may find yourself in another part of the world. You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile. You may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife. You may ask youself "Well, how did I get here?"" I don't know why, but this one just spoke to me.

2) Simple Kind Of Life - No Doubt
Battling personal demons at the time, I was not happy with the way my life was going. I was destroying everything I had worked so hard to set up, and I had no idea why. This song came on one night, when I was depressed as usual. I swore she was talking about me. How she strove to have the simple life - get married and settle in - figuring it would make her happy. She began to resent everything, though, because that really wasn't what she wanted, but it was easier than dealing with her problems. Now life is full of regret, and she's taking everyone else down with her. The part that hit me the most: "Now all the simple things are simply too complicated for my life".

3) 19 - Paul Hardcastle
VietNam was always a presence in my house. My dad is a veteran. It was one thing to hear him talk about his experiences, and to hear his friends talk, but it was quite another to hear this song. It's not really a song per se, its kind of a rap, but kind of not. It has a rappish kind of backbeat, but he spits out a lot of war statistics. It's so moving. Named for the average age of a soldier going into VietNam. Then I saw the video and pretty much lost it. This song came out before movies like Platoon and Full Metal Jacket, at a time when this was something generally not talked about. The parts that hurt the most: "Perhaps the most dramatic difference between World War II and Vietnam was coming home; none of them received a hero's welcome...............According to a Veteran's administration study Half of the Vietnam combat veterans suffered from what Psychiatrists call
Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder. Many vets complain of alienation, rage, or guilt. Some succumb to suicidal thoughts. Eight to Ten years after coming home almost eight-hundred-thousand men are still fighting the Vietnam War....................(Soldiers Voice)
When we came back it was different.. Everybody wants to know "How'd it happened to those guys over there?"
There's gotta be something wrong somewhere.
We did what we had to do. There's gotta be something wrong somewhere. People wanted us to be ashamed of what it made us. Dad had no idea what he went to fight and he is now. All we want to do is come home".

A fellow classmate's dad was still fighting the war until the day he killed himself. He was in the Army. My dad was in the Air Force. He said that they had it bad, but the Army and Marines had it worse yet. So with that being said, I'm gonna pull a Forrest Gump, and say that's all I have to say about that.

4) Runnin' On Empty - Jackson Browne
This one reminds me of my recently departed Uncle. He just always seemed to be running. Running from problems, from life, from the law (but that's another story). With lines like "I don't know where I'm runnin' now, I'm just runnin' on" and "I called the road my own. I don't know where that road turned into the road I'm on", they just seemed to fit him so perfectly, and his many bad choices in life that led to more bad choices, etc. He always started out with good intentions, and then ended up so horribly wrong. He never really slowed down until he got sick. I try to smile when I think of him, and the last line is so very him: "I'd like to stick around but I'm runnin' behind. You know I don't even know what i'm hopin' to find". I truly hope he's found peace and happiness.

5) Watching The Wheels - John Lennon
What can I say? Life's too short to be wasted with nonsense! Take pleasure in the simple things. Step back and take a breath every now and then. John was such a prime example of that, and taken away from us way too soon.

[55dodger]

Always on my Mind - Willie Nelson. A favorite for both my wife & me. My military career often caused lengthy separations and this became our song.

Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye. A song dedicated by a DJ friend to my new born daughter. The song always brings back fresh memories of her when she was young.

Mr. Tambourine Man - Byrds - Was the number 1 song on my 10th birthday and I remember listening to this song on my sister's record player. Was the spark the kindled my 38 year love affair with music.

Flying Home - Lionel Hampton - The song my dad was listening to when he passed away. My dad was a legend to me I whenever I need to be near him, I play this song.

From A Distance - Bette Midler - During Desert Storm, I corresponded with some 1st graders from Buffalo, New York. I had a opportunity to visit them after the war, and this was one of the songs they had dedicated to me.

Good topic, hard to think of the top 5.