Here's a song I'd like to share that hits a incredibly personal note for me. In my mid-twenties I started dating a girl that I'd known since first grade. For the sake of her privacy, I'll call her 'Dawn'. I had known her on a fairly surface level through various circles of friends throughout most of my life, and I was aware she was a little 'rough around the edges', but I supposed "who doesn't have a few rough edges, right"? And she seemed nice enough whenever I talked to her.

 

It was only after I started dating Dawn that I learned all the details of how hard her life had been, starting when her parents divorced when she was 5 - Dawn went with her mom, while her dad kept custody of her two older sisters. Her dad was a philanderer and a very well functioning alcoholic. She hardly knew him growing up, and she maintained very strained relationships with her sisters. She had been 14 when her mom was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. Her mom had been an only child and her parents were dead, so Dawn got a job to support her ailing mother who was no longer able to work because of her treatment. She would even skip school as a 15 year old to drive her mom (without a drivers license) to and from her doctors appointments. She was eventually expelled from her school early in her junior year for truancy. Her mom died one week after she was expelled. Over the following years, Dawn found herself abusing prescriptions, dealing with bout after bout of clinical depression, and winding up in unhealthy relationship after unhealthy relationship.

 

In her early twenties, one of her two older sisters reached out to her, telling her that their father (again, whom Dawn had barely seen since she was five years old) had given her $7500 dollars and instructions to "see if there was anything she could do with that wreck of a sister she had". The money was used to build a bedroom in the basement of her sister's home for her to live in. She came to be very close with her sister, as well as her older sister's teenage daughter. Two year's after moving in with her sister and finally developing a real relationship with a sibling and her 'newly-discovered' niece, the niece died of an overdose on pills.

 

I came along about a year and a half after that. I didn't know what I was getting into when I started dating her...but man did I ever learn. When we started dating, she had been doing all she could to cover up her depression, her addiction to pills, and her emotional issues stemming from 20+ years of strained and broken familial relationships. I remained unaware for the first couple of months, but over the next year and a half I learned all she had been dealing with for all of that time; I learned through her suicide attempts, through taking her to narcotics anonymous meetings, through counseling sessions, through taking her to church, and through helping her finally take time to properly mourn lost loved ones...it was a really really tough year and a half of my life. It was one of the darkest times I've known, and it wasn't even really my issues that were being dealt with.

 

Long story short...or perhaps long story longer in this case, I had been a fan of this singer named Damien Jurado since the late 90's when his second album came out. He had put out several albums by the time I started dating Dawn, and a matter of weeks after we decided to go our separate ways, I bought Damien Jurado's newest album "And Now That I'm In Your Shadow". I had ripped the CD to my computer and loaded it onto my iPod before listening to it, and I was giving it a listen for the first time while fishing by myself one day. The second song on the album stopped me dead, bringing me to tears. It was as if it had been written about her.

 

 

It's beautifully simple, with a gorgeous harmony, and the lyrics are frighteningly personal for me. I won't add to the length of this post by typing out all the lyrics, but you can read them HERE.

 

Epilogue: Four or five weeks before my wedding, seven or so years after my relationship with Dawn had ended, I received an email from her. It said, and I quote, "You were always so good to me. You helped me through things more than you probably can understand. I understand that you are getting married soon, and if you can treat her with at least a fraction of the kindness that you treated me, I know you two will live a very happy life together. Thank you for everything."

Wow CWB, thanks for sharing such an amazing story and such a BEAUTIFUL song!! That song will definitely be added to my music library, and I am going to check out some of his other material also.

This guy is worth a 3-minute listen. I've got one or two of his albums laying around somewhere.

 

Andrea Bocelli with Sarah Brightman singing Canto Della Terra. At 2 minutes, 56 seconds into the song, the harmonization of their voices gives me chills every time.

 

 

Staggeringly beautiful piece of music by two of the best.

 

 

I always had a soft spot for this one as well. It's on my "funeral list".

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpylr2H7h7E

Staggeringly beautiful piece of music by two of the best.

 

 

I always had a soft spot for this one as well. It's on my "funeral list".

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpylr2H7h7E

 

Love that song also! Their voices work SO well together.

While I'm on a Sarah Brightman kick, I encourage you guys to check this one out. The name of the song is Fleurs Du Mal (Flowers of Evil). The song is absolutely over the top with incredible vocals, symphony, a choir for backing vocals, electric guitars, drums, etc. etc. Be patient. The song kicks in about a minute into the video....

 

I wish I could begin to put into words how much I love this piece.

 

*WARNING* It's from an opera.

 

There aren't 15 women on the entire planet that could sing this aria at all and German soprano Diana Damrau ABSOLUTELY CRUSHES it like it was written for her. It's hard to believe a human being can hit some of those notes.

 

Diana Damrau - Queen of the Night Aria from Mozart's "The Magic Flute"

True story.

 

I used to watch "Northern Exposure" all the time. One of the episodes had this as its closing music. Years ago when my daughter started taking voice lessons and displaying an aptitude for singing classical music (she won the freshman NATS Kentucky classical competition in college), I vaguely remembered this piece. Had to Google it to figure out what it was.

 

This turned out to be the song she sang when it was time to "interview" at college music departments. She parlayed this song into quite a bit of scholarship money, so I always think fondly of it.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLn_WQ95eA8

I wish I could begin to put into words how much I love this piece.

 

*WARNING* It's from an opera.

 

There aren't 15 women on the entire planet that could sing this aria at all and German soprano Diana Damrau ABSOLUTELY CRUSHES it like it was written for her. It's hard to believe a human being can hit some of those notes.

 

Diana Damrau - Queen of the Night Aria from Mozart's "The Magic Flute"

 

No warning needed. Awesome voice!

Our Farewell by Netherlands band, Within Temptation. I first heard this song on You Tube four or five years ago and was so blown away by the beauty of the song, that I immediately went to Amazon.com and ordered every CD they had.

 

The song is about the loss of a loved one and is sung from two perspectives. The first verse is from the perspective of the person left behind who is mourning the death of a loved one. The second verse is from the perspective of the person who has passed and who is trying to give comfort to the person in mourning. The third and fourth verses alternate in this same manner until the end of the song in which an uplifting proclamation is made that "This is not our farewell".

 

The version I'm posting here is a live performance with guest Gea Gijsbertsen singing with Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation. I'm posting the lyrics also because some of them are tough to follow in the live performance.

 

In my hands

A legacy of memories

I can hear you say my name

I can almost see your smile

Feel the warmth of your embrace

But there is nothing but silence now

Around the one I loved

Is this our farewell?

 

Sweet darling you worry too much, my child

See the sadness in your eyes

You are not alone in life

Although you might think that you are

 

Never thought

This day would come so soon

We had no time to say goodbye

How can the world just carry on?

I feel so lost when you are not at my side

But there's nothing but silence now

Around the one I loved

Is this our farewell?

 

So sorry your world is tumbling down

I will watch you through these nights

Rest your head and go to sleep

Because my child, this not our farewell.

This is not our farewell.

 

TooL, TooL, TooL, TooL, and TooL.

 

 

Greatest modern rock band that most people have not heard of. Musicianship is off the charts vocally, on guitar, bass, and percussion wise. Great song writing, great albums, great band. May not be most peoples style but if you are a fan of good music and heavier rock music they are a must listen. I liken them to a modern day Pink Floyd or Led Zep, I feel they will go down in history as one of the best to ever do it. Amazing live show as well. Love the fact they have avoided the mainstream and kept a cult following. Only band I have been able to listen to without ever getting burnt out on. Only have 6 albums (1 an ep and one a short live album with a couple bonus tracks) so I've heard all of their songs thousands of times and I still love them as much as the first times I listened. Just a great band all the way around if you are a fan of good musical quality. One of the tightest bands to ever do it, all comes together perfectly.

Back in the day I was somewhat into the progressive rock movement. Here's an album I still have. Love the vocal harmonies in the last minute plus.

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_IrsmW0hxQ

Ohhhhhhh snap...I think some people forgot about Deimos' request #3...

 

Ooops... Sorry... I just realized that I forgot when I posted the Matthew Sweet tune.

All the discussion of Sarah Brightman made me think of this song.

 

Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again - Michael Crawford

 

This song was originally sung by Sarha Brightman as Christine in Phantom of the Opera and although she did a wonderful job with it, I very much love Michael Crawford's gentle delivery of it in this his version.

 

The last couple of seconds when he's saying his last "goodbye" unfortunately gets cut off and it's the only solo version of him singing it on Youtube.

 

This song touches my soul in a very deep and personal way.

 

TooL, TooL, TooL, TooL, and TooL.

 

 

Greatest modern rock band that most people have not heard of. Musicianship is off the charts vocally, on guitar, bass, and percussion wise. Great song writing, great albums, great band. May not be most peoples style but if you are a fan of good music and heavier rock music they are a must listen. I liken them to a modern day Pink Floyd or Led Zep, I feel they will go down in history as one of the best to ever do it. Amazing live show as well. Love the fact they have avoided the mainstream and kept a cult following. Only band I have been able to listen to without ever getting burnt out on. Only have 6 albums (1 an ep and one a short live album with a couple bonus tracks) so I've heard all of their songs thousands of times and I still love them as much as the first times I listened. Just a great band all the way around if you are a fan of good musical quality. One of the tightest bands to ever do it, all comes together perfectly.

 

 

Notice my avatar?...:greyalien:

My second favorite album of all time...