25 Songs I Can't Live Without

Thank you, Cathy, for giving me a reason to procrastinate. My friend Cathy, a muscian, tagged me in a note to write down 25 songs that I can't live without. I posted this first on FB, but thought I would add it here, too, because I like posting videos. :-)

Here is my list, in no particular order...



1.Me and the Wildwood Rose by Carlene Carter- Not only do I think she is highly underrated, but I love the lyrics to this. Even though she is referring to her own grandmother (Mother Maybelle) and the rest of the Carter family in it, it reminds me of my grandmother and the good times.





2.This is the Way We Make a Broken Heart by Rosanne Cash- I love my Rosie and this song was probably the first song that I ever thought of as being sexy.





3.Shades of Gray by the Monkees- Well, Cathy understands my love of the Monkees. We used to bond over it…This is my favorite song of theirs.



4.It Won't Seem Like Christmas without You by Elvis- Too bad the same Elvis songs get played over and over again every year. I think that this is not only his best Christmas song, but one of his most emotional performances.





5.Mama's Hands by Hazel Dickens- A good old mountain soul voice singing an unadorned and heartfelt song about Mama. But not just about Mama, either. There's a lot more going on in the song. How could you go wrong with that?



6.When I'm With You by Sherriff- My favorite big hair band power ballad of the 80's. Man, this song STILL rocks.

Unfortunately, not the real music video, but at least the song is here!




7.How's the World Treating You by Allison Krauss and James Taylor- Originally done by the Louvin Brothers, this reminds me of why GOOD remakes are always an okay idea. Plus, both of their voices sound so sad that it makes me yearn for something, too.





8.Good Old Boys Like Me by Don Williams- My favorite song ever. Could a more poignant song be written about the South?





9.Goodbye by Steve Earle- One of the saddest songs I have ever heard.





10.Our Town by Iris Dement- This was the third song that she ever wrote. The third. How awful is that? There is no hope for the rest of us.





11.Me and Bobby McGee by Kris Kristofferson- I know Janis rocks it out, but to hear Kris sings it gives it another meaning entirely. It personified an era like few songs do, yet it's still timeless.







12.Ain't that a Shame by Fats Domino- I shudder at the fact that Pat Boone originally recorded this. I shudder at the thought of Pat Boone for many reasons. But I love this song.





13.Red Dirt Girl by Emmylou Harris- Picking an Emmylou song is easy. You could basically close your eyes and throw a dart at her song list and pick a good one. This one is good, southern Gothic songwriting at its best, though.





14.Dying Breed by Allison Moorer- I could throw a dart at Allison's songs, too, and be sure to come up with a good one. I absolutely love the gypsy music in this one, though. One cold, lonely night in the middle of winter in Budapest, this song gave me comfort.



15.They Laid a Highway by Tift Merritt- I consider this song, Iris's "Our Town" and the next song part of my "broken down town trilogy." All three remind me of my adopted hometown, West Liberty. (I actually grew up in Hazel Green but calling it a town is kind of stretching it, even for me.)





16.My Hometown by Bruce Springsteen- Part 3 of the trilogy. These 3 songs inspire me to write about small town life.

You have to get past a few seconds of comemrcials, but the video is nice.





17.Kingsport Town by Eleni Mandell- Weird singer, awesome song. Of course, I grew up singing it as a folk song that was passed down through the generations. Still, I like her take on it. It gives me chills.



18.Flowers in December by Mazzy Star- Another one that gives me chills. I am a sucker for violins and weird lyrics.





19.Reason to Believe by Kelly Willis- I love my Kelly, and I love her rocking songs, but after having Sam I can't listen to this without crying. It's a perfect lullaby.



20.Dancing Queen by ABBA- I keep this one around because it is damn depressing. Everyone else seems to think that it's this upbeat and happy song and it just depresses the hell out of me. Reminds me of the fact that sometimes I just don't get popular crap.



21.You are My Sunshine by Norman and Susan Blake- I saw them perform this live. A song that reminds me of my childhood, but when I saw them sing it together and for each other, I was reminded that it really is a great love song.



22.Storms Never Last by Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter- So maybe Johnny and June get all the "country romance" airtime, but Waylon and Jessi had a story that was just as interesting. She wrote this song and threw it away and he retrieved it.





23.I Can't Help it If I'm Still in Love with You by Hank Williams Sr and Anita Carter- Just go to You Tube and watch the video. Damn talk about chemistry. Great song, but they look like they're about to get it on. I love it! You can't fake chemistry like that, especially when people now record duets in different parts of the country and then splice them together.





24.When They Ring the Golden Bells by Natalie Merchant- An old Appalachian folk song that was played at my grandmother's funeral. She does a very nice arrangement of it here.





25.Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi- So sue me. The man is like a fine wine…