#6 Barrett’s Privateers
Written and Performed by Stan Rogers
I was told we’d cruise the seas for American gold
We’d fire no guns, shed no tears
Now I’m a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett’s Privateers
Stan Rogers’ sea shanty chronicles the fateful voyage of the fictional privateering vessel, the Antelope, owned by one Elcid Barrett, hence the title, Barrett’s Privateers. While fictional, the song rather accurately depicts 18th-century privateering life.
Privateers were independent military contractors/pirates, who were commissioned by various states/kingdoms to wage war-sanctioned piracy of enemy vessels. It was standard practice for centuries, and one could argue that a version of it still occurs today.
Barrett’s Privateers is a song that’s rough and raw and full of regret, about youthful adventure gone so horribly awry. It’s also a song so beloved in Canada that it is considered the unofficial anthem of the Royal Canadian Navy. There’s been much drink imbibed to this song and much singing along to its chorus. Need to drown your sorrows? Bottom’s up!
#7 Lost Unto This World
Written by Emmylou Harris and Daniel Roland Lanois
Performed by Emmylou Harris
They herded me like cattle
Cut me down like corn
Took me from my babies
Before they could be born
With her unmatched vocal clarity, Emmylou Harris sings as a voice crying from the dust, singing of loss – of the world’s dispossessed and the lost souls caught up in wars and famines and devilish machinations and on it, unfortunately, goes.
That clear voice and those haunting lyrics cut right to the marrow.
#8 The Cat’s in the Cradle
Written by Sandy and Harry Chapin
Performed by Harry Chapin
My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talking ‘fore I knew it, and as he grew
He’d say, I’m gonna be like you, dad
You know I’m gonna be like you
Harry Chapin’s chart-topping ballad from 1974 is a direct hit to the solar plexus, a rumination on fatherhood, on a father and son’s shifting relationship through the years. It’s about balancing the demands of work and home. The song deals with guilt and distance. The things not said or done – the would’ves and could’ves and should’ves.
Get the tissues ready and hug a loved one.
#9 Over the Hills and Far Away
Written by Gary Moore
Performed by Nightwish
They came for him one winter’s night.
Arrested, he was bound.
Injustice, innocence lost, imprisonment, forbidden love – Gary Moore’s rock ballad has it all and is rather reminiscent, thematically, of The Highwayman.
Originally written in 1987, Over the Hills and Far Away was picked up the Finnish symphonic metal band, Nightwish, for their debut album in 2001. The juxtaposition of the finely tuned, operatic soprano of Tarja Turunen, the lead singer, with the thrashing electric and synthetic BOOM of a heavy metal band creates a mesmerizing tension. You’ll end up headbanging along to this tale of woe.
#10 Acadian Driftwood
Written by Robbie Robertson
Performed by The Band
They signed a treaty
And our homes were taken
Loved ones forsaken,
They didn’t give a damn.
Try to raise a family
End up an enemy
Over what went down on the Plains of Abraham.
Robbie Robertson’s heart-wrenching ballad follows – with much poetic license – the historical plight of the Acadians, French colonial refugees forcefully displaced and deported from northeastern North America during and after the French and Indian War (1754-1763).
The French and Indian War was just one of many “smaller” wars waged as part of the grand, global Seven Years’ War, an epic battle between France and its many colonies and allies against Great Britain and its many colonies and allies.
It might seem a strange subject for a 1975 folk-rock song, but this theme of everyday folk caught in the crossfire of competing superpowers maintains an apt currency. Nearly 300 years on since its subject matter took place, the world still sees displacements, expulsions, deportations, forced mass migrations, people drifting en masse. Robertson’s lyrics capture the confusion, the desperation, the sadness, the longing for home.
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#11 7 Years
Written by Christopher Brown, David Labrel, Lukas Forchhammer, Morten Pilegaard, Morten Ristorp Jensen and Stefan Forrest
Performed by Lukas Graham
Soon I’ll be sixty years old, my daddy got sixty-one
Remember life and then your life becomes a better one
I made a man so happy when I wrote a letter once
I hope my children come and visit, once or twice a month
It’s been hard to avoid hearing 7 Years of late. Released in 2015 by the Danish soul-pop band Lukas Graham, it has truly taken the world by storm. Its broad, universal appeal is readily apparent. It’s a strong, sentimental, personal, nostalgic narrative of youthful dreams and future hopes, of the never-ending machinations of time and the cycle of life, not unlike Harry Chapin’s Cat’s in the Cradle. It’s chronicling the human condition, which affects all of us mere mortals on this planet.
Even after hearing it for the umpteenth time on the radio, it’s difficult not to find yourself caught up the crescendoing music with lead singer Lukas Forchhammer’s increasingly sharp, cutting voice and not to feel a little verklempt.
#12 Last Kiss
Written by Wayne Cochran, Joe Carpenter, Randall Hoyal and Bobby McGlon
Performed by Pearl Jam
Oh, where, oh, where can my baby be?
The Lord took her away from me
The list started with a song of teenage tragedy, so it seems fitting to end it with one as well. Last Kiss tells a fateful tale of a tragic car accident, in which our male narrator holds his dying love in his arms and shares, yeah, one last kiss.
The song has been recorded by a number of artists through the years since its debut in 1961, but Pearl Jam’s 1999 version is something special, a simple cover song that became a surprise hit for the band. It’s a back-to-the-basics rendition with unadorned drums, guitar and Eddie Vedder’s distinctive warbling voice emoting deep grief and sadness. You can’t help yourself but sing sorrowfully along.
Is there a melodic narrative that gets you every time? What sad songs or ballads are on your playlist?
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“The Leader of the Pack” packs a punch every time. It’s amazing how it can still make me shed tears after hearing it countless times. My favourite part is “They told me he was bad, but I knew he was sad”, which is an excellent way of highlighting the prejudice people have towards people they simply do not understand.
One of my favourite stories told through song is “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree” by Tony Orlando and Dawn. It’s about separated lovers who may or may not be reunited again. Everything depends on that yellow ribbon. The music is upbeat, so I tend to feel silly for getting so emotional while listening to it. There is simply so much pinned on a small gesture and it could change the world for the two lovers forever. I adore that song!
Yes, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” — thanks for reminding me of it. It’s been a while since I last listened to it!
That cover single-handedly got me into Nightwish. They’ve been my favourite band for years now.
Me too! And now I’ve got 4 little ones who love to hear “Over the Hills and Far Away” (-:
Haha. That’s awesome. : )