Foo - Beauty is in the ears of the beholder

I would have a hard time finding a song more amazingly beautiful that Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. I've heard it sung by many different artists, each one amazing and each one bringing something special to the song. My favourite two renditions are by K.D. Lang and of course Leonard Cohen.

Leonard Cohen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q&ob=av2e

K.D. Lang
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_NpxTWbovE
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I'm curious as to what others consider to be their favourite, soul-searching, beautiful song???

I'm curious as to what others consider to be their favourite, soul-searching, beautiful song???

Tough question, since A) a lot of the music I listen to doesn't really qualify as "songs" per se, and B) there are a few too many to pick a "favorite"

...but off the top of my head, it's pretty hard to beat Samuel Barber's Adagio For Strings http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KylMqxLzNGo&feature=related

Very nice! Thanks.

My son does a version of Cohen's Halleluyah that makes me cry every time I listen to it, but maybe I'm biased.
Other most soul searching and beautiful?

First choice is- Florent Pagny- "Là où je t'emmènerai" :love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTfEGyyl4sU

Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0DJ8hWgNes

Keane's "Hamburg Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoPx9ZCJj8E&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFPQa-pEt9c

I just can't stop there...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvBYXKzNA40&feature=related

This was one heck of a concert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcKXSy_hhG8&feature=related

...I'm curious as to what others consider to be their favourite, soul-searching, beautiful song???
Indeed a tough question. I was once driving late one night and Benny Goodman's Carnegie Hall performance of Sing, Sing, Sing came on the radio. I was totally enthralled by all the seamless complicated and harmonic improvisations to that fast tempo and haunting melody, and I thought the performance was virtually sacred.

I had the great pleasure of seeing Benny Goodman in concert a couple of times, when he played the crowd was a quiet as a church mouse. The memory of the concerts are still fresh in my mind.

I have to agree with the OP, Cohen's "Hallelujah." Just gorgeous.

I really like Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah.

About 2 minutes in. I've seen this guy about half a dozen times, some solo some with Staind.


http://youtu.be/Yk9ByJZ0vrQ

My son does a version of Cohen's Halleluyah that makes me cry every time I listen to it, but maybe I'm biased.
Other most soul searching and beautiful?

First choice is- Florent Pagny- "Là où je t'emmènerai" :love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTfEGyyl4sU

Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0DJ8hWgNes

Keane's "Hamburg Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoPx9ZCJj8E&feature=related

Love Keane and that song!

I would have a hard time finding a song more amazingly beautiful that Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen…:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q&ob=av2e

I'm curious as to what others consider to be their favourite, soul-searching, beautiful song???
Thanks for introducing me to that song. I occasionally get entranced with a tune I’ve never heard before, and I listen to it again and again on U-tube. I’ve listened to that version of Hallelujah for about ten times in the past couple of days and plan to buy it on I-tunes. It’s a pretty mellow video to watch too, in keeping with the mood of the song.

As your title mentions, "beauty is in the the ears of the beholder," and a range of songs have been presented for consideration, but I have not heard of many of them. I’d like to mention one candidate as as a more “universal” or “standard” Beautiful Song, perhaps by which all others should be compared: Pachelbel’s Canon in D-major. I was once told by an acquaintance that when she was driving into work she heard a song that was so beautiful that she had to pull off the road to listen to it. She didn’t know the name, and my immediate (correct) guess was that it was the Canon.

Well now I've gone and done it; now I'll be listening to that one all day now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdRNTXaweoo

As one comment on that site stated, "This piece of music is one of those you wish never had an ending to it." Well said; a fitting definition of a Beautiful Song. :D

On the Turning Away - Pink Floyd

Soulshine - Allman Brothers/Gov't Mule

Life Without You - Stevie Ray Vaughan

Schubert's Ave Maria

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bosouX_d8Y

Simple Gifts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYi9Vr8bHJY

cohen and kd? a great songwriter and a great performer are hard to beat!

hmmm...off the top of my head:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtCxyYBuQYc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IXLfPcgX1U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO_r1drXn0I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMOAXm94VWo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODpgeACPXsg

I really like Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah.

About 2 minutes in. I've seen this guy about half a dozen times, some solo some with Staind.


http://youtu.be/Yk9ByJZ0vrQ

I am with crackerjab on this one. Jeff Buckley rendition is absolutely beautiful.