70 songs seemed like plenty of room for all the great ones. Turns out, it’s not nearly enough.*
I started listing all the songs I loved — songs from deep childhood, through teenagerhood, young-adulthood, adulthood, love, marriage, motherhood.
I easily got to 100.
Then M and I started to talk about his list. Dang! More great songs I’d forgotten about. Then I took a tour through our iTunes library. Rats! Even more songs. Now I had 140. Prune prune prune.
I gave myself a rule: only one song per artist, no matter how much I love that artist (Gordon Lightfoot and Nick Lowe, I’m looking at you… Richard Thompson, you seem to be an exception because you had the foresight to sing so many duets). I thought, at least, that would let me have one song from every artist I love. No such luck (Hello, Bob Marley? Where you at?!).
What I ended up with, though, works. I took it for a test drive today in the form of a playlist on my iPod while I walked the dog. I put the playlist on shuffle and started walking. I only got through 12 songs, but at each one, I thought, “I LOVE that song!” That’ll do. I cannot WAIT to put this on in the car and sing my way through it. In the end, for most of these songs, that’s what matters: does it make me want to SING?
Without any further ado, for what it’s worth, here is my list of 70 songs in honor of Desert Island Disc’s 70th anniversary. Now, won’t you please tell me some of your Desert Island Discs?!
p.s. A book? The Norton Anthology of American Literature (Volumes 1 & 2). A luxury? My bed.
American Tune | Paul Simon
Anchorage | Michelle Shocked
Ashokan Farewell | Jay Ungar
Beg Steal or Borrow | Ray LaMontagne
Betting on Trains | Hem
Big Yellow Taxi | Joni Mitchell
Black Boys on Mopeds | Sinead O’Connor
Blackbird | The Beatles
Blow Away | George Harrison
Bows of London | Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick
BulletProof | La Roux
Careless | Paul Kelly & The Messengers
Chan Chan | Buena Vista Social Club
Cico Buff | Cocteau Twins
Concerto for Violin and orchestra in D (mov 1) (mov 2) (mov 3) | Perlman: Beethoven
Crazy | Gnarls Barkley
Cruel To Be Kind | Nick Lowe
Driving Home | Cheryl Wheeler
Farewell, Farewell | Fairport Convention
Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall | Simon & Garfunkel
For Your Babies | Simply Red
Girl From the North Country | Bob Dylan
Good Morning Starshine | Oliver
Guilty By Association | Vic Chesnutt
Hello Stranger | Barbara Lewis
Hotel California | The Eagles
If I Was a Blackbird | Silly Wizard
Late Winter, Early Spring (When Everybody Goes to Mexico) | John Denver
Let the Mystery Be | Iris Dement
Madame George | Marianne Faithfull
Maracaibera | Quinteto Contrapunto
Nessun Dorma | Placido Domingo
Nights on Broadway | The Bee Gees
Persuasion | Richard Thompson and Teddy Thompson
Pour me rapprocher de Marie | Juan Diego Florez
Quitting Time | The Roches
Raindrops | Dee Clark
Rainy Night in Georgia | Brook Benton
Rock Your Baby | George McCrae
Sandy River Belle | Sharon Shannon
(Sittin’ on the) Dock of the Bay | Otis Reading
Smalltown Boy | Bronski Beat
Someday, Someway | Marshall Crenshaw
Song For a Winter’s Night | Gordon Lightfoot
Stand Tall | Burton Cummings
Stay With Me | Lorraine Ellison
Stornelli Amorisi | Claudio Villa
Sweet City Woman | The Stampeders
Sweet Jane | The Cowboy Junkies
Sweet Talkin’ Woman | E.L.O.
Sweetest Decline | Beth Orton
The Ladies Who Lunch | Elaine Stritch
The World Turned Upside Down | Dick Gaughan
Thunderstorms and Neon Signs | Wayne Hancock
Tiny Sparrow | Peter, Paul, and Mary
Trouble | Cat Stevens
TVC 15 | David Bowie
Urge For Going | Tom Rush
Walk on By | Dionne Warwick
Walking on a Wire | Linda Thompson & Richard Thompson
When First I Came to Caledonia | Norma Waterson & Martin Carthy
When Harpo Played His Harp | Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers
When I’m At Your House | Loudon Wainright III
When Two and Two Are Five | The Story
When Ye Go Away | The Waterboys
Who Knows Where the Time Goes? | Sandy Denny
Wonder | Colin Meloy
You Are the Everything | R.E.M.
You Don’t Know Me | Ray Charles
1952 Vincent Black Lightning | Richard Thompson
*If you don’t know what this post is all about, look here.
Grongar 
What a fun post! I’m enjoying being reminded of some favorites of mine and seeing just as many new-to-me songs. And it looks like you’re leading me down yet another rabbit hole this week. If this keeps up, I might have to stop coming by here! Seriously, though, it’s so enriching. Enjoy the soundtrack of your life!
My work here is done *cue evil laughter*…. 🙂
Well, well, well…at least Otis made the list. I think, yes, I do, that it would be best if we each had our own music with our own earphones while we walked…and we should make sure that we never, ever get them mixed up…lol lol. Fun to read your list…yes, it was. My list would explain a lot…way too much probably, which is why I will just say that I was very happy to see Otis, Bob, and Paul included on your list. We could go for a short walk with those.
Lol! We could just forget about the music and have a good talk while we walk 🙂
I’m up till 2am now listening to old tracks, and it’s all your fault!
But thanks, this will be a fun trip… 🙂
If you have not heard the Avett Brothers, you should. Get started here:
I know you like the Decembrists and these fine fellows have happily made me realize there are still bands making great music.
Oh yes! I love that. Thank you!