Sunday, January 30, 2011

DAY 4: A SONG THAT MAKES YOU SAD...

I remember sitting in the back seat of the Ford aerostar van heading to Las Vegas to visit my grandma, or maybe to Los Angeles to go to Disneyland and we would listen to my mom's Carly Simon Greatest Hits tape. There was of course "you're so vain" and "Anticipation" and "Haven't got time for the pain", but then there was this song.... "that's the way I always heard it should be", I remember hearing it and thinking to myself, this is the saddest song I've ever heard. As a a kid I was naive to it's meaning but extremely receptive to it's emotional depth, the sound of the minor piano chords just felt melancholy, like emptiness, like hurt, like heartache... her voice raw almost unsteady and her falsetto so vulnerable. I remember when hearing the part "I'll never learn to be just me first, by myself" always struck me, with watery eyes. Strangely it was one of the first songs that I ever attempted to play and sing on the piano, I think I was 18, maybe 19. I don't remember it anymore, but if for any reason I need to dig up my sad self, I just listen to this song. Painful and yet so beautiful...

Here is the original recording, incredible production:

Then I saw this live performance... had to share.

PS.- did I ever tell you of the time that I got to talk to Carly? Wow.

Runners Up:

How about you? I am really loving the participation and reading all of your songs!! woo!
Posted by BROOKE WHITE at 1:01 PM

22 comments:

  1. osurickbeeJanuary 30, 2011 at 2:06 PM

    I still wish you could've performed with Carly on the Idol Finale! Woulda been awesome.

    Loved "Change of Plans". Any more acting gigs in the future?

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  2. Tony RossiJanuary 30, 2011 at 2:10 PM

    A song by Kathy Mattea called "Who's Gonna Know But Me" about being an only child:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJNLZvQevtA

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  3. UnknownJanuary 30, 2011 at 2:12 PM

    Piano Man... sad sad song

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  4. AnonymousJanuary 30, 2011 at 2:24 PM

    I have a few: "Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong,"Waiting for Your Love" by Peter Frampton, "My Heart Will Go On" by Céline Dion, "I Know You Won't" by Carrie Underwood&"Forever for You" by Daryl Hall & John Oates and I also like Brooke's choices too.

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  5. AnonymousJanuary 30, 2011 at 2:32 PM

    I'd put these on my list for a guaranteed cry:
    Alone Again, Naturally- Gilbert O'Sullivan
    Sealed With A Kiss- Brian Hyland
    Smile- Brooke White
    Danny Boy- Eva Cassidy
    Will The Circle Be Unbroken?- Mavis Staples

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  6. VVN NetworkJanuary 30, 2011 at 3:05 PM

    I'll tell you one that really gets me from today's music. The House That Built Me by Miranda Lambert. It's a beautiful song but there is such heartbreak in the concept of going back to see the house where you grew up, where you have all your happy childhood memories but where someone else now lives.

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  7. Susana BananaJanuary 30, 2011 at 3:49 PM

    #1 has to be Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce...and I Will Remember You by Sarah McLachlan. And Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel

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  8. AlexandraJanuary 30, 2011 at 4:45 PM

    For this one I'd have to go with "You Can Close Your Eyes" by James Taylor. This song just does something to me, I think it's because the 2nd verse reminds me of my grandma that passed away. It goes " It won't be long before another day. We gonna have a good time. And no one's gonna take that time away. You can stay as long as you like." Makes me cry everytime. Oh except at the concert when him and Carole sang it at the end. I was way to happy to cry there! Which was a good thing because I sat right where they went backstage and got to see them up close and personal after the show. James Taylor shook my mom's hand (well actually her whole arm) and smiled at her. She about died and I almost got tackled by middle aged women. It was a beautiful experience haha. Okay I'm done.

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  9. SadieJanuary 30, 2011 at 5:08 PM

    Three Dog Night -"Old Fashioned Love Song". Since I was a kid, that song has always made me sad. Not the lyrics, I don't even know them, but the music...haunting...

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  10. Brent TaylorJanuary 30, 2011 at 6:04 PM

    Wow! I have always loved, been inspired by, that Carly Simon song, especially for weddings. Sad? No. Perhaps the greatest love song ever written. The message is one of love against the odds -- where other marriages suck, fall apart, terrible things happen... yet she marries anyway to take the chance... that she cannot find herself alone (I'll never learn to be me first by myself") but through life (eternal) companionship.

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  11. Brent TaylorJanuary 30, 2011 at 6:08 PM

    As for sad songs, there is much regret (hope when I young, remorse now that the kids have moved on) to hearing Cat's In The Cradle...

    Also used to play Solitude by Black Sabbath as a teenager... so depressing it would cheer me up.

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  12. SusieJanuary 30, 2011 at 10:47 PM

    Definitely "Jacob's Dream" by Allison Kraus, so sad. Also, "I Wonder"-Kellie Pickler, If No one Will Listen, Because of you,Already Gone-Kelly Clarkson, "Broken Wing"-Martina McBride, and Brooke's "Smile", "March" and "Rain" -Jackopierce. (From Nantucketbreeze)

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  13. chelle.January 31, 2011 at 1:52 AM

    i'm loving this.
    really, the best idea ever.

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  14. Andrew MoursJanuary 31, 2011 at 4:09 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. B-BlogitJanuary 31, 2011 at 4:29 PM

    Misery by Soul Asylum is the first one that comes to mind althought there are several im sure.

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  16. UnknownJanuary 31, 2011 at 7:29 PM

    Leader Of The Band- Fogelberg

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  17. nycbut4uFebruary 1, 2011 at 5:50 AM

    Lots of things make me sad, and several of the songs mentioned certainly do, but I would have to say the one that makes me the saddest is Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years

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  18. Ann AlexanderFebruary 1, 2011 at 7:00 AM

    Smile: Brooke
    Shattered: Linda Ronstadt
    Long, Long Time: Linda Ronstadt
    A River for Him: Linda Ronstact
    Turn Around: Harry Bellafonte
    Tears in Heaven: Eric Clapton
    Nearer My God to Thee: Tennessee Ernie Ford
    And So It Goes: Billy Joel
    If I Loved You: Carousel
    You Don't Know Me: Ray Charles
    No Time to Cry: Iris DeMent
    All is Fair in Love: Stevie Wonder

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  19. MaryFebruary 2, 2011 at 10:03 PM

    Ah, Carly Simon. Sitting in the Canon Center at BYU and hearing it over the sound sytem. Carly Simon is college and a little heartbreak for me. Probably the saddest song to me, though, was "The Way We Were" by Barbra Streisand.

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  20. Hoang Anh PhanFebruary 3, 2011 at 9:39 AM

    Your song- Sometimes Love. I sing it all the time.
    I made a piano+ cover of it, so check it out if you have time :): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbBdBangh_o&feature=player_embedded#
    I am such a huge fan of you from Vietnam :). Your songs are so amazing! I sing it all the time!
    Thank you a lot, Brooke!

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  21. AnonymousFebruary 6, 2011 at 9:26 PM

    It also happens to be one of my favorites, even thought it makes me sad. "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles (great version - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3SfAv_d6tU)
    Runners Up: "The House that Built Me" by Miranda Lambert, "Send in the Clowns" by Frank Sinatra & "Almost Lover" by A Fine Frenzy

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  22. Rich DeBaunMarch 23, 2012 at 4:58 PM

    If you're looking for something to aspire to in your performances, try this on for size: "So You Think of Her" by Rita Jean Bodine (1974 album "Sitting On Top of My World"). On YouTube at:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDvES_8Qtpk&feature=my_favorites&list=FLdsTk9gHSnC2BBSJ83tLXew

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