Perfect Songs?

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famous beagle

famous beagle

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I know a lot of songs that I love the music to or love the melody of but am not crazy about the lyrics, or vice versa.

Let's hear some songs that y'all think were written perfectly the way they are, including lyrics, music, melody, etc.

I'll start off with a few:

Karma Police - Radiohead
I'm So Tired - Beatles
Misunderstood - Wilco
Far, Far Away - Wilco
 
What a Wonderful World by songwriters Bob Thiele and George David Weiss
(Covered first by Louis Armstrong)

City of New Orleans by Steve Goodman

Bridge Over Troubled Water by Paul Simon

........ to name a very few. ;)
 
these arent necessarily my favorite songs, but theres nothing that should be added or taken away.

Bright Eyes: Land-Locked Blues

Marilyn Manson: Disposable Teens

Foreigner: Feels like the first time
 
I'm sure I could think of more, and maybe "perfect" is too tough a test, but a few great songs that leap to mind are...

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
Brown-eyed girl
Visions of Johanna
The Sound of Silence
Folsom Prison Blues
Try a Little Tenderness
Somewhere
My Generation
Waterloo Sunset
No Woman, No Cry
The Weight
The Needle and the Damage Done

.. hmm, better stop..
 
up-fiddler said:
What a Wonderful World by songwriters Bob Thiele and George David Weiss
(Covered first by Louis Armstrong)

City of New Orleans by Steve Goodman

Bridge Over Troubled Water by Paul Simon

........ to name a very few. ;)
Click to expand...

Nice choices. what a wonderful world is fantastic!
 
Perfect song:

Bohemian Rapsody "Complex but enjoyed by almost everyone" :)
 
I've always thought Hey Jude to be the perfect song, even though it isn't my favourite.

Which is a bit odd.

Also - Someone to watch over me - George Gershwin. Hey, I might try and do a punky version of that.
 
Hallelujah ~ Leonard Cohen (I like Jeff Buckleys version)
Hotel California ~ Eagles (along with Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, made me want to play guitar :) Interesting lyrics; surely both these songs have a 'perfect' musical arrangement ~ what more could be done to improve them?
Eleanor Rigby ~ Beatles ~ brilliant lyrics, great music
Smells like teen spirit ~ Nirvana. What were the lyrics again? ;) Great song
 
Too many great songs to really choose, but What A Wonderful World is close to perfect (as far as standards) and Hotel California is just about as fine of a pop song as I've ever heard.
 
Frambo said:
Eleanor Rigby ~ Beatles ~ brilliant lyrics, great music
Click to expand...

i couldn't believe i was actually listening to an actual real string quartet when i first heard that song - it makes that amazing song 200% for me, does that.

some songs by Sufjan Stevens, and the fella also known as Iron and Wine have some near perfect songs too. Cinder and Smoke makes me tingle :). i try and listen to an album all the way through, and it's not often i'll jump for the rewind button to listen to a song - "These Coming Nights" (also by Iron and Wine) made my do that.

The last songs on both Amnesiac and Kid A are, in my opinion, perfect.

Andy
 
Depeche Mode - Precious
The Church - Reptile
Blue Oyster Cult - I Love The Night
Pat Benetar - My Clone Sleeps Alone
The Chameleons UK - Soul In Isolation
Elvis Costello - Riot Act
Foetus - Private War
Modern English - Someones Calling
Tears for Fears - Pale Shelter (hard to pick just one from them)
The Cocteau Twins - Frou Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires
Peter Gabriel & Massive Attack - Games Without Frontiers
Skunk Anansie - I'm Not Afraid
Ultravox - Vienna
The Motels - Only the Lonely
Laibach - Across the Universe
Joe Jackson - Breaking Us in Two
 
Last edited:
Three that immediately came to mind:

Here Comes the Sun - M. Ward
Upward Over the Mountain - Iron & Wine
Pink Moon - Nick Drake
 
I know I left a couple before but I just remembered another one that may qualify. "Don't Dream It's Over" by Neil Finn. :D
 
All the big early hits for The Beatles were pretty perfect pop songs. All the 'pop standards' from the 50's are well crafted. Those types of songs.
 
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