Duende - Songs of Longing

[Bartleby]

Well I'm new to the site so for me this is a bit of an experiment but thought some would be interested in this passage from Nick Cave's "The Secret Life of the Love Song", a transcript of which is contained in "The Complete Lyrics 1978-2007" which I was reading the other day.

"In his brilliant lecture entitled "The Theory and Function of Duende" Federico Garcia Lorca attempts to shed some light on the eerie and inexplicable sadness that lives at the heart of certain works of art. "All that has dark sounds has "duende"," he says "that mysterious power that everyone feels but no philosopher can explain". In contemporary rock mucic, the area in which I operate, music seems less inclined to have at its soul, restless and quivering, the sadness that Lorca talks about. Excitement, often; anger sometimes - but true sadness, rarely. Bob Dylan has always had it. Leonard Cohen deals specifically with it. It pursues Van Morrison like a black dog and though he tries to, he cannot escape it. Tom Waits and Neil Young can summon it. My friends the Dirty 3 have it by the bucket-load but, all in all, it would appear that "duende" is too fragile to survive the compulsive modernity of the music industry."

Over the years I've made the odd half decent mix tape of such songs and am always pleased to encounter a new one of the species when it comes along. Post your suggestions here as will I when I get a chance.

[Diane]

Hi Bartleby,

I noticed you are new and nobody has responded to your interesting post - welcome to the LC forum!

I like what you quote from Nick Cave.

In contemporary rock mucic, the area in which I operate, music seems less inclined to have at its soul, restless and quivering, the sadness that Lorca talks about. Excitement, often; anger sometimes - but true sadness, rarely.

The five basic emotions we experience as human beings are joy, sorrow, fear, anger and excitement. Anger and excitement are easiet to express because they make us feel powerful. They are the two emotions that Cave identifies as being easy to find in contemporary music. Anger and excitement are also often used as a cover for tender emotions. Joy, sorrow and fear are the tender emotions. When we experience and reveal these emotions we are vulnerable. We long to acknowledge these feelings, and share them; to have intimacy with self and other. Our humanity lies in the tender emotions, and in spiritual longing. Leonard Cohen reflects back to us our own sorrow, loneliness and longing.

ps, Sorry, didn't suggest any songs in particular, which is what you asked for. How about Take This Longing, to start with, then.

[Bartleby]

Hi Diane

Thanks for your kind welcome to the LCF and for the reply. But five emotions is too few!

Okay, here’s a starter list of those kind of songs:

Leonard Cohen “A Thousand Kisses Deep”
Tim Buckley “Song to the Siren”
Janis Joplin “Summertime”
Antony “Hope there’s someone”
Nick Cave “Are you the one I’ve been waiting for?”
The Walkabouts “Unwind”
Robert Wyatt “Sea song”
David Ackles “Another Friday Night”
Neil Young “Pocahontas”
Dylan “Trying to get to heaven”
John Cale “Close Watch”
Bonnie Prince Billy “I See a Darkness”
Gene Clark “With tomorrow”
Hank Williams “I’m so lonely I could cry”
Elliott Smith “Bottle up and Explode”
Van der Graaf Generator “Lost”
Christy Moore “Ride on”
Cowboy Junkies “To love is to bury”
Joni Mitchell “Rainy Night House”
Sufjan Stevens - John Gacy Jr.

Best

Bartleby

[Diane]

five emotions is too few!
Bartleby

I know, but all (most) other emotions are made up of these five. Somebody who caused me a lot of good explained complicated things to me in simple terms, including 'the five emotions'.

The topic of sad songs has come up a time or two before on the board, so you might find similar threads if you do a search. I like your list. I don't know all those songs. Something for me to look up some time.

Here are some more songs that spring to mind:

Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen

I am a Rock, Paul Simon

Streets of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen

Leftover Wine, Melanie