What is the most beautiful song ever?

Most beautiful Radiohead song is 'Meeting In The Aisle'

mmm, probably 'kind of girl' by low

arg the beuty of the song I picked is so beautiful. His voice.... has more heart than...[fill in the blank]. yes I am spamming. sorry.

'When You Were Young' by The Killers

Follow me through
A city of frost-covered angels
I swear I have nothing to prove
I just want to dance in your tangles
To give me some reason to move
But to take on the world at all angles
Requires a strength I can't use
So I'll meet you up high in your anger
Of all that is hoping and waiting for you

not sure about the music, but right now, that verse seems like the most perfect series of words ever written (lol emo)

'When You Were Young' by The Killers
-- Ismael Klata, Thursday, October 4, 2007 4:50 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g191/formathardrive/noose2.jpg

As long as the Mary Margaret O'Hara thread has been revived, I'd say "Help Me Lift You Up".

Or Satie's Gymnopedies.

Or "Bell Bottom Blues" by Derek & The Dominos.

actually wait, I think I want to change my vote to... whatever the name of the Varttina song I played on my last radio show was, cuz it almost made me cry.

the for carnation - moonbeams

no-one said 'the look of love'

Impossible Germany - Wilco

God Only Knows is a good, and obvious, choice. There are many other, less obvious, but worthy contenders (maybe my "next tier"):

Walk Away Renee or Pretty Ballerina by The Left Banke
Many Rivers To Cross by Jimmy Cliff
Gloomy Sunday by Billie Holiday (beautifully sad, I suppose)
The Ocean by Richard Hawley
Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac
Oh No by The Commodores
The Trapeeze Swinger or 16, Maybe Less by Iron & Wine
Carry Me Ohio by Sun Kil Moon
Always On My Mind by Willie Nelson
I Won't Share You by The Smiths
You And Your Sister by Chris Bell
In The Backseat by Arcade Fire (see Gloomy Sunday)
Will The Circle Be Unbroken, the Greg Allman version
Please Call Home by Greg Allman

And lots of songs by The Clientele. For now, let's say Dreams of Leaving. I've excluded classical works (if included, though, Pachelbel's "Cannon in D" would be hard to beat; Pachelbel's is the original "one-hit wonder"), and I know I'm forgetting a lot of worthy songs, but there it is.

Oh, and you know what? I second Kate. Impossible Germany is a worthy song, too, even with that searing guitar solo by Nels Cline. Please Be Patient With Me, from the same Wilco disc, is also worth consideration.

I just re-read my post; sorry to have sounded like a jackass. "And obvious" wasn't meant to criticize (to the contrary, God Only Knows is my choice for "most beautiful song," too). And the "Oh, and you know what" line at the end was needlessly snarky.

Normally, I'd ignore the (frequent, egregious) flaws in my writing. I'm feeling particularly un-snarky today, so I bristled when I saw my tone, and felt compelled to correct it.

eno "always returning" seconded

Max Richter - "The Trees".

God this song, relentlessly pushing upward toward something, always scraping past and bouncing back, and perpetually balancing in that spine-tingling breath before resolution. I LOVE IT

I think it was used in Waltz with Bashir.

Now, don't roll your eyes (although I'm sure I would if I hadn't heard it), but there's a bit of incidental music on the We Love Katamari soundtrack called "Beautiful Star" that just floors me every time it pops up on shuffle. It's so evocative and lovely and sad-sounding.

saddened and amazed that there's been no mention of eyvind kang on this thread. so many lovelinesses to choose from in his catalogue, but 'asa tru' and 'innocent eye, crystal see' are for me just about the most gorgeous pieces of music imaginable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKdsImfBnX0

ugly casanova - smoke like ribbons
thievery corporation - heaven's gonna burn your eyes
arkestra one - how could I love you more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Keu_1ovu6Zs&feature=related

happy or sad, you always shine. never before, I've met your kind.

Contenders not yet mentioned: "My Creole Belle," Mississippi John Hurt
"Days," The Kinks
"Belle," Al Green
"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," The Shirelles
"It Was a Very Good Year," Frank Sinatra
"Nature Boy," Nat King Cole
"Smile," Nat King Cole

Weirdly enough, it's a Pink Floyd song.
"Green is the Colour"

The first minute of You Never Give Me Your Money.

Actually, strike that.
It's "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)"

Wow, What a question!
Stardust, I Only Have Eyes For You, and Corcovado are definitely at the top for me.

I'll contend this is one of the most beautiful songs ever.
Music by Roger Nichols and lyrics penned by the great and vastly underrated genius Paul Williams.
Beautiful stuff here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU4mSiyPA98

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKHWUYT_c3g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWFYIwj1kXE&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keids7cscUo&feature=related

I couldn't find the Curtis Mayfiled Live! version on YouTube, but it may the best cover of it ever.

for me, it's the original version of

"Turn Turn Turn" by Pete Seeger

some of the best lyrics ever (from Ecclesiastes, mostly) and the combination of his voice & the 12 string guitar, and the audience singing along with him, it's a very spiritual feeling for me
a few other favorites:

That Lucky Old Sun - Louis Armstrong
The Troublemaker - Willie Nelson
Colorado Girl - Townes Van Zandt
The Water Is Wide - Pete Seeger
This Will Be Our Year - The Zombies
It's Raining Today - Scott Walker
Hobo's Lullaby - Woody Guthrie
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain - Hank Williams
All I Wanna Do - The Beach Boys
Moonshiner - Bob Dylan
I Only Have Eyes For You - The Flamingos
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore - The Walker Brothers

oh also this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_UjN3zsKZM

Dunno about most beautiful ever, but I find this lovely as anything:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbBJvy_Hi04

It's Raining Today - Scott Walker

I'd plump for 'big louise' myself, but almost anything off of that album could qualify.

i agree very beautiful stuff

unless anyone wants to get into a philosophical debate about the aesthetic difference between beautiful and sublime, but i'll save that for another day

not the most beautiful songs ever but a couple real good treats off the new califone album (since I had already uploaded them)
9) evidence
12) krill

I think more threads should be like this one, people sharing their favorite music / music they find most beautiful. it's a discussion of actual music / songs as opposed to a discussion of the "idea" of music or what bands represents in the abstract, or the related politics

don't know if that made any sense

There's this particular tempo and chord progression that I always associate with 'beautiful'. It's I -> V (1st inv.) -> vi -> either I (2nd inversion) or IV, played ~90 BPM.

Sometimes it comes off saccharine, i.e. "Let It Be", every other Elton John song. But the best examples, off the top of my head: Gram Parsons "$1000 Funeral", Nina Simone "Do What You Gotta Do" or "Mr. Bojangles", John Cale "Paris 1919".

^^ Nick Drake's "Saturday Sun" iirc

I-V-vi-IV is a pretty obnoxiously common progression but I'm as guilty of using it in my songs as anyone else

I'd say all of these are very beautiful

Bionic Boogie-Hot Butterfly
Spiritualized-Broken Heart
Pet Shop Boys-Being Boring
Kate Bush-This Woman's Work
David Sylvian-Darkest Dreaming
Radiohead-Motion Picture Soundtrack
Billy Mackenzie-Nocturne seven
The Beach Boys-I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, God Only Knows, Till I die, Be With Me etc.
War-Deliver The Word
The Go-Betweens-Twin Layers Of Lightning
Bjork-Hyperballad
Morrissey-Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself
The Go Team-The Ice Storm
Goldfrapp-Hairy Trees
Scott Walker-Angel Of Ashes
The Divine Comedy-Our Mutual Friend
Talk Talk-New Grass (Pretty much all of their last 3 albums)
The B-52's-Topaz
Minnie Riperton-Come To My Garden
Magazine-Parade
The Cardigans-Communication
Marvin Gaye-Please Stay

I was certainly hoping you'd include some Billy Mackenzie given your handle.

Actually, scratch my previous suggestions, I forgot the one true answer to this question:
"Crucifixo," by the Kafala Brothers. Really, truly one of the most beautiful things ever done by human beings.

another vote for julia, maria b mentioned it more than 5 years ago. it's the most personal love song i had the chance to hear. part of its beauty comes from the intimacy another part from its simplicity and the last part from the lyrics full of images.

I was certainly hoping you'd include some Billy Mackenzie given your handle.

― Ned Raggett, Monday, December 7, 2009 9:13 PM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark

Beyond The Sun was actually my first Billy purchase. I was going through a big Jeff Buckley phase and I was looking for another tragic troubadour to get into. It is a stunning album and did satisfy that need for a while but I was in for a huge shock when I bought Sulk a few weeks later, which is beautiful in a completely different way.

There's a lot of songs scattered through his back catalogue that I could have included on my list. The Rhythm Divine, Baby, No, Breakfast, His versions of Wild Is The Wind and God Bless The Child. I can't think of a more beautiful voice.

I know I've mentioned this song before. Also, not sure if it's most beautiful or most sad/emotionally-powerful. In any event:

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

There's a sort of desperate quality to his near-destroyed voice by this point.

I will get made fun of for this, but

Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes

Not yet mentioned:

Laurie Anderson - Blue Lagoon, White Lily, The Dream Before, and maybe a dozen spoken word tracks on United States Live and The Ugly One with the Jewels
Heidi Berry - Ariel
Harold Budd - Too numerous to mention
Cocteau Twins - Lazy Calm
Nick Drake - Voice from the Mountain
Brian Eno - Julie With...
Fleetwood Mac - Never Make Me Cry
Led Zeppelin - The Rain Song
Sinead O'Connor - In This Heart
Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Now Nothing
The Roches - Losing True
Paul Simon - The Rhythm of the Saints
Dusty Springfield - Goin' Back
David Sylvian - Orpheus
The Who - Sunrise
Neil Young - Hangin' on a Limb

Ride - Vapour Trail

I more often use "beautiful" just to pronounce it "beeyootiful", a snarky put-down, yes. But there are times when it fits and the standbys like "saccharine" don't. It's when the beauty is too up-front, or something.

atm
gilberto/getz - corcovado

"over you" - velvet underground
"no children" - mountain goats

yeah, canon & gigue in D maj is v hard to beat, but some pieces & performances i love:

te deum - arvo part
the girl from ipanema - astrud gilberto
sea of love - phil phillips
i don't want to set the world on fire - the ink spots
georgia on my mind - willie nelson
ebben? Ne andrò lontana (aria from la wally) - alfredo catalani
brandenburg concerto #5 in D maj, 2 affetuoso - johan sebastian bach
who does she hope to be - sonny sharrock
a love supreme, acknowledgement - john coltrane
hallogallo - neu!
me and my arrow - harry nilsson
endless summer - fennesz

i second Gilberto/Getz

The first song to come into my head when I saw the question was "Cupid de Locke." Turns out I already stated this answer upthread, so I guess my opinion hasn't changed much.

Love Reign O'er Me by The Who
Many have tried to sing this but none come close to Roger.
Here's the lyrics.
------------------------
Only love
Can make it rain
The way the beach is kissed by the sea
Only love
Can make it rain
Like the sweat of lovers
Laying in the fields.

Love, Reign o'er me
Love, Reign o'er me, rain on me

Only love
Can bring the rain
That makes you yearn to the sky
Only love
Can bring the rain
That falls like tears from on high

Love Reign O'er me

On the dry and dusty road
The nights we spend apart alone
I need to get back home to cool cool rain
I can't sleep and I lay and I think
The night is hot and black as ink
Oh God, I need a drink of cool cool rain