Haunting Songs That Follow You Through Life

[dizcrazee]

Today I started thinking about songs that just particularly "clicked" with me at an early age that I still sing to myself and play in my head all the time.

They aren't particularly popular or well-known anymore, but there's just something about them that have made them "stick with me" since youth, and I'm approaching 50. There are plenty of other songs that I LOVE, but these have just stayed weirdly and repeatedly in my head all these years...

Day After Day by Badfinger
Brandy by Looking Glass
Just Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke
Daniel by Elton John (I ADORE Elton John, by the way)
Dancing in the Moonlight by King Harvest
A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum


Anybody else?

 

[happygirl]

Tears in Heaven
One More Day

 

[plutotek]

Brandy by Looking Glass
Dancing in the Moonlight by King Harvest

These are a couple that will have me turn up the radio. Others include:

Temptation Eyes
Ride, Captain, Ride
Hot Rod Lincoln

 

[luvsJack]

Tears in Heaven

and 3 Times a Lady--just a sad story that goes with that from my high school/young adult days.

 

[Travelingdad]

Good question.

King of Pain by the Police, version by Mudvayne may be even better.
Fade to Black, Metallica
Red Rain, Peter Gabriel
Eleanor Rigby, Beatles
Your Song, Elton John
Hallowed Be Thy Name, Iron Maiden

 

[MomofKatie]

"These Eyes", the Guess Who
"Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds", the Elton John version
"Melt With You", Modern English
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight", The Tokens
"Philadelphia Freedom", Elton John
"Jenny (867-5309)", Tommy Tutone

 

[Wall-E1]

Last Song - Elton John
Misguided Angel - Cowboy Junkies
Hell on the Throat - Dashboard Confessional
Stable Song - Death Cab for Cutie
Godspeed - Dixie Chicks
Top of the World - Dixie Chicks
Dear God - XTC
Old Man - Neil Young

 

[penn19]

Last Song - Elton John
Misguided Angel - Cowboy Junkies
Hell on the Throat - Dashboard Confessional
Stable Song - Death Cab for Cutie
Godspeed - Dixie Chicks
Top of the World - Dixie Chicks
Dear God - XTC
Old Man - Neil Young

AGree with Dear God. Also Darkness by the Police. I'm sure I will think of more.

 

[rszdtrvl]

"You Can Go Your Own Way" - Fleetwood Mac(?)
This song is attached to my earliest childhood memory, of me being at the county fair.

"Red, Red Wine" - UB40
This song reminds me of high school. I was a teachers assistant for the cutest teacher, and he had a cd player and this song. I would put this song on repeat and listen to it multiple times in a row.

"Heartland" - George Strait
This song reminds me about my senior year of high school. We had a bonfire and this song was playing and a classmate was singing along with it. For some reason, it stuck with me (and no, I didn't have a crush on the classmate).

There is another song attached to my senior year of high school, but I can't think of the name of it.

 

[pittypat]

These are a couple that will have me turn up the radio. Others include:

Temptation Eyes
Ride, Captain, Ride
Hot Rod Lincoln

We may be the only two who remember it, But "Ride, Captain, Ride" is one of my all time favorites, too!

 

[discnewbie]

The Circle Game by Joni Mitchel. I heard it first when I was about 12, and here I am, over 20 years later, and I remember hearing it for the first time like it was yesterday. It was in Music class, and I recall thinking, wow. Someday I will be grownup, maybe married, maybe have kids.. and life will just continue on.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Cat's in the Cradle - Cat Stevens
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot


And a very oldie: Today, While the Blossoms Still Cling to the Vine - John Denver (and others, too)

 

[PattnFmly]

Angie Baby by Helen Reddy
Mandy by Barry Manilow
...both stop me in my tracks whenever they pop into my head.

 

[mom2rb]

We may be the only two who remember it, But "Ride, Captain, Ride" is one of my all time favorites, too!

I love this song. What about "Lucky Man".

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

Boys of Summer - Don Henley
Desperado - Eagles
After the Goldrush - Neil Young
In my Life - The Beatles
Time of your Life - Green Day
Forever Young - Alphaville

 

[Geoff_M]

Not many obscure ones, but these still will stop me in my tracks:
"The Flat Earth" - Thomas Dolby
"Saved By Zero" - The Fixx
"The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald" - Gordon Lightfoot
"Fire and Rain" - James Taylor
"Head Over Heels/Broken" - Tears for Fears
"Wouldn't It Be Good" - Nick Kershaw
"Dust In The Wind" - Kansas
"Take It To The Limit" - The Eagles
"Family Snapshot" - Peter Gabriel
"Main Street" - Bob Seger
"Solsbury Hill" - Peter Gabriel
"It's For You..." - Pat Metheny Group
"Skateaway" - Dire Straits
"Meeting Across The River" - Bruce Springsteen
"Mad World" - Gary Jules (Truly one of the saddest songs ever performed)

More added:
"Reelin' In The Years", "Do It Again", "Deacon Blues" - Steely Dan (probably the smoothest group to record a track)
"The Nightfly" - Donald Fagen
"This Woman's Work" - Kate Bush

 

[Sorsha]

Cherry Pie - Warrant
Sweet Child o'Mine - Guns-n-Roses
Every Rose Has It's Thorn and I Won't Forget You - Poison
Ride Cowboy Ride - Bon Jovi
Love Hurts - Nazareth
When the Children Cry - White Lion

Those are from my teenage years. Yeah, I was a hair-bands child of the late 80's.

Anymore, although those still stick with me; the songs that resonate the most with my soul are any of Kenny Chesney's island-themed songs. I just feel such a kindred spirit with them; the need to get away to my own little pice of sand and sun and paradise, ESPECIALLY this time of year. Some of them include:

Old Blue Chair
Be As You Are
Island Boy
Nowhere To Go, Nowhere To Be
Magic
Soul of a Sailor
And - not island-y but - You and Tequila - I just love it.

I am sure there are many more, including uncountable numbers of Disney songs.

 

[penn19]

Not many obscure ones, but these still will stop me in my tracks:
"The Flat Earth" - Thomas Dolby
"Saved By Zero" - The Fixx
"The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald" - Gordon Lightfoot
"Fire and Rain" - James Taylor
"Head Over Heals/Broken" - Tears for Fears
"Wouldn't It Be Good" - Nick Kershaw
"Dust In The Wind" - Kansa
"Take It To The Limit" - The Eagles
"FamilSnapshot" - Peter Gabriel
"Main Street" - Bob Seger
"Solsbury Hill" - Peter Gabriel
"It's For You..." - Pat Metheny Group
"Skateaway" - Dire Strait
"Meeting Across The River" - Bruce Springsteen
"Mad World" - Gary Jules (Truly one of the saddest songs ever performed)[/QUOTE


Mad World is sad. I like Tears for Fears version.

 

[dizcrazee]

We may be the only two who remember it, But "Ride, Captain, Ride" is one of my all time favorites, too!

Nope - there's at least three of us! That's a great song!

 

[Minnesota!]

Most anything by the Beatles - grew up with my mom loving them. "Eleanor Rigby" and "And I Loved Her' really get to me, though.

"Unforgiven" - Metallica has been my favorite song since I was 14 or 15 - so 20 years. Really ties me back to my teenage years

"Pretty Woman" - Roy Orbison - my dad loved his music and sang this to my mom a lot. It has always brought a smile to my face

"Free Falling" - Tom Petty - I just have always loved it. It's a "CRANK IT UP" song.

Anything by Spin Doctors, too. Brings me right back to my early teen years.