Ive been thinking about this. Stairway to heaven tops most lists And has topped mine for a long time, but i think it has finally been dethroned. Man in the Mirror. to me, this is the greatest song ever. The melody, harmonies, energy are all elite. But its the message that has tipped the scales for me. In an age where soo many people sit in basements keyboard warrioring on everyone else, the message is more relevant than ever. Are you one of those who sits and complains about the word? The government? Your life? or are you the type that recognizes struggles and face yourself to overcome the struggles? Do you look yourself in the face and try to make the world around you a better place? Or do you just spread negativity and complain without doing a damn thing to instill real change? Is there a song with a meaning more befitting in today’s society? Michael Jackson Man in the Mirror
Jessie Colin Young died yesterday and he sang the peace anthem of my youth with Everybody Get Together by the Youngbloods...that was my peace anthem song as well as Cat Stevens Peace Train. Man in the Mirror is a great choice....another song I think is a masterpiece is Sewing the Seeds of Love by Tears for Fears...also their Everybody Wants to Rule the World.
One song? Can't Bridge Over Troubled Water Simon and Garfunkel were told it was too long. Also told they are shouldn't use their real names. Imagine Only truly secular hopeful song I know There are signs I really love but would not put in category of GOAT.
This song has such a Sgt. Peppers vibe to it but it's the lyrics that worked in the late 1980s and are especially meaningful today. Orzabal wrote the song in June 1987 during the week of the UK General Election in which Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party won a third consecutive term in office. The election prompted him to take an interest in politics, with a special interest in socialism due to Thatcher's attitudes towards the working class. At the time of its release in 1989, Orzabal considered this to be the most overtly political song that Tears for Fears had ever recorded. The lyrics refer to Thatcher specifically with the line "Politician granny with your high ideals, have you no idea how the majority feels?"[6][a] [Verse 1: Roland Orzabal] High time we made a stand And shook up the views of the common man And the love train rides from coast to coast D.J.'s the man we love the most Could you be, could you be squeaky clean And smash any hope of democracy? As the headline says you're free to choose There's egg on your face and mud on your shoes One of these days they're gonna call it the blues, yeah, yeah [Chorus 1: Curt Smith & Roland Orzabal] Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love Anything is possible when you're sowing the seeds of love Sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds of love Anything is possible Seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love Sowing the seeds [Verse 2: Roland Orzabal] I spy tears in their eyes They look to the skies for some kind of divine intervention Food goes to waste So nice to eat, so nice to taste Politician granny with your high ideals Have you no idea how the majority feels? So without love and a promised land We're fools to the rules of a government plan Kick out the style, bring back the jam [Chorus 2: Curt Smith & Roland Orzabal] Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love Anything Sowing the seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love Sowing the seeds [Post-Chorus 1: Roland Orzabal] Sowing the seeds The birds and the bees My girlfriend and me In love [Interlude] [Bridge 1: Roland Orzabal] Feel the pain, talk about it If you're a worried man, then shout about it Open hearts, feel about it Open minds, think about it Everyone, read about it Everyone, scream about it Everyone Everyone, yeah, yeah Everyone read about it, read about it Everyone Read it in the books, in the crannies and the nooks, there are books to read for us [Chorus 3: Roland Orzabal] Sowing the seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love We're sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds of love We're sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love Mr. England sowing the seeds of love [Bridge 2: Curt Smith, Curt Smith & Roland Orzabal] Time to eat all your words Swallow your pride Open your eyes Time to eat all your words Swallow your pride Open your eyes [Verse 3: Roland Orzabal, Curt Smith] High time we made a stand Time to eat all your words And shook up the views of the common man Swallow your pride And the love train rides from coast to coast Open your eyes Every minute of every hour I love a sunflower Open your eyes And I believe in love power Open your eyes Love power Love power Open your eyes [Chorus 4: Curt Smith & Roland Orzabal] Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love Sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds of love, the seeds of love Sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love, sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds [Post-Chorus 2: Roland Orzabal] An end to need And the politics of greed With love [Chorus 5: Curt Smith & Roland Orzabal] Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love Anything, anything Sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love Sowing the seeds [Post-Chorus 2: Roland Orzabal] An end to need (What about the workers?) And the politics of greed With love [Chorus 6: Curt Smith & Roland Orzabal] Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love
This was painful to have to choose but ultimately this is my all time favorite song. The riff, the lyrics, the dynamics… this song has *everything* I love in a song.
Who'd a thunk a Hammond organ and an oboe could work together like that. BTW, have you heard the full symphony with background singers version?
If we're talking best... Best fucking cover ever! Even brought Plant to tears. Jason on drums. Heart! And when the choir rises up in the back... chills. There is just too much here to mention. Epic.
I showed this to my dad back when it came out and he told me “that’s how big the original felt when it came out” and I couldn’t argue. When I first heard the original I was 13 and it felt *biblical* in scope.
These are all great suggestions and it is a question that will never be definitively answered, but I would like to nominate Sisqó's "Thong Song". Lyrical genius.
At least top 10 all time....imo 5:51YouTube • BIZARRE BAZAARPROCOL HARUM - A Whiter Shade of Pale - STEREO