Soundtracks of life

[harvestar]

Tonight at my church meeting we talked about the Beatitude (this year's all about the Beatitudes), "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

It was a very powerful meeting, particularly the part where we all shared what we mourn. There was also comforting going on as well - people giving hugs, people thanking others for having given well-timed hugs, some laughter, and comforting words.

On the way home, I needed music - particularly those songs that let me mourn. It seemed a fitting ending to the evening. I also realized that music is a BIG comfort to me and a release of emotions.

What songs let you mourn or what songs comfort you when you mourn? Is music something that comforts you?

Here's what I listened to on the way home:

Evanescence - Bring Me to Life and My Immortal
Brandi Carlile - Turpentine, Tragedy, and Hallelujah

As for songs that comfort, I love to listen to "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" by Simon and Garfunkle.

Comments

[r-eventide.livejournal.com]

Your church meeting sounds like one we should all have now and then.

I just finished listening to Loreena McKennitt's "Dante's Prayer," which is a rather mournful song (one of my favorites). "Broken Stairway" by Martin Page is another sad one. One of the most sorrowful instrumentals I have is from the third season of Battlestar Galactica: "Deathbed and Maelstrom."

Pretty much any song in line with whatever my mood happens to be at the time comforts me. Though, there are a handful of songs that can perk me up even when I'm really down (such as Jars of Clay's "Lift Me Up").

[janni.livejournal.com]

I've had Eliza Gilkyson's "Requiem" going through my head lately. Written after the Tsunami, but feels like a song of comfort for any great (or small) tragedy.

For something from my own religious tradition, "Eli, Eli" is very much a comfort-in-mourning song for me.

[janni.livejournal.com]

Also, in a different sort of way, Dar Williams' "We Learned the Sea."

[livewire-monkey.livejournal.com]

Mozart's Requiem. Verdi's Requiem.

Simon & Garfunkel's "American Tune", esp the a capella cover by the Indigo Girls. (The queer perspective deepens the song for me.)

Elgar's Cello Concerto, especially the beginning, where it rails against the wastefulness of WW I.

[coffeeem.livejournal.com]

Peter Gabriel's "I Grieve." Like Janni, Eliza Gilkyson's "Requiem." Warren Zevon, "Don't Let Us Get Sick." The Weepies, "World Spins Madly On." Steve Goodman, "My Old Man." Peter Mayer, "God is a River." Emmylou Harris, "The Pearl." The Burns Sisters, "God's Promise." R.E.M., "Try Not to Breathe."

Also, Stan Rogers's "White Squall," Dar Williams's "When I Was a Boy," and Bob Franke's "A Velveteen Love Song" make me bawl, but not exactly grieving.