Well, that was a long break between the last post and now, but life kind of got in the way of writing this list. So here it is, after the devil got his turn, its now god’s turn. Here is my top 15 “god” songs.
15 – Whenever God Shines His Light – Van Morrison with Cliff Richard
We kick off the list with a bit of a duet – an interesting pairing, but a nice little song.
14- God Protect Your Soul – Ed Harcourt
Ed Harcourt is an English singer-songwriter known for his atmospheric and diverse sounds. This track comes from his great debut album “Here Be Monsters.”
13 – God Bless This Mess – Sheryl Crow
For the 13 spot, we go to Sheryl Crow’s protest song, “God Bless This Mess.” Simplistic in sound, this track has Sheryl expressing her strong criticisms of the US response to the 9/11 attacks. It’s a moving, yet very political track. Consider the following lyrics: “Heard about the day, that two skyscrapers came down. Firemen, policemen and people came from all around. The smoke covered the city, and the body count arise. The president spoke words of comfort, with tears in his eyes. Then he led us as a nation, into a war all based on lies, oh God bless this mess.”
12 – God Makes No Mistakes – Loretta Lynn
Some more from the “Van Lear Rose” album, with the passion of Loretta’s unique vocals coming to the fore in this country rock track.
11 – God Put a Smile Upon Your Face – Coldplay
You would most likely be familiar with this song, it was a huge hit and was all over the radio for a while, but I quite like it. It is probably the sort of song that Coldplay fans would say is why they like them, yet at the same time, its also probably the type of song that those who hate Coldplay would say is a great example of why they don’t like Coldplay.
10 – God Told Me To – Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly has a lot of “god” songs (God’s Hotel, Surely God was a Lover, Glory Be to God, to name a few), but I have included this solid track from his “Stolen Apples” album. In this song, Kelly assumes the character of a religious extremist who has committed murder because he believes that god told him to. In the current times of terrorist attacks etc, it’s a thought provoking track.
9 – With God on Our Side – Bob Dylan
One of those early Dylan tracks, where Dylan has just an acoustic guitar, and a lot of lyrics to sing. A great track.
8 – All God’s Children – The Finn Brothers
From the excellent “Everyone is Here” album, Neil and Tim give us the sort of music that they have made a career out of. This song also addresses the god is a woman movement, with a line that I love: “We're all God's children, And God is a woman. But we still don't know who the father is. I can't help thinking, there's a fortune riding, on the answer to that question.”
7 – If I Should Fall from Grace with God – The Pogues
The title track of an excellent Pogues album, this one is some more of that great celtic folk with attitude that you get from the Pogues.
6 – Secret God – Neil Finn
This time we get Neil Finn solo, from his brilliant “One Nil” album. This is a lush, atmospheric track that is almost a bit dreamy. Great piece of music. And there may still be more Finn to come in this list!
I will post the top five next week. As I have previously said, any comments are most welcome, so please include them. As for some teasers about the top five - there is something Finn related, a quirky Aussie, a singer that is one of my favourites, some beautiful female harmonies, and a number one by a big name group which stands well clear at number one.
take care everone, and keep the comments coming.
Deano
