Tag: pain

Day 218: Sad Songs #SaySoMuch, Day VII / “The Letting Go” – Melissa Etheridge (1992)

Like Adele’s “One and Only,” which I posted earlier in this series, Melissa Etheridge’s “The Letting Go” is another “deep cut” that was never a hit (and that most casual fans probably never have heard) but still ranks (along with several other of her more understated, vulnerable cuts) as one of my favorite songs in her catalog.

“Piece by piece I take apart
This complicated heart
And I hope to find
Something I can prove is real
I can feel is truth
I can say is mine
That’s all I ever wanted to be
The closer that I got
The further I could see
But when lovers change
And the night feels strange
We choose our road
The letting go”

Day 217: Sad Songs #SaySoMuch, Day VI / “Whiskey Lullaby” – Brad Paisley feat. Alison Krauss (2003/2004)

For me, the combination of the song’s dark subject matter – alcoholism, guilt, infidelity, and suicide – and simple, albeit ambiguous storyline, coupled with Krauss’ haunting vocals make this one of the most affecting (and quietly heartbreaking) duets in recent memory.

“She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away his memory
Life is short, but this time it was bigger
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees
We found her with her face down in the pillow
Clinging to his picture for dear life
We laid her next to him beneath the willow
While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby”

Day 203: “Perfect” – Pink (2011)

(Disclaimer: There are some sensitive visual images in this video, but they functional as an integral and evocative component of its overall message of survival and redemption.)

“It’s enough
I’ve done all I can think of
Chased down all my demons
I’ve seen you do the same

Oh, pretty, pretty please
Don’t you ever, ever feel
Like you’re less than
Less than perfect”