Prettiest Melodies of All Time

[terorizer]

The "Songs you could never get tired of" thread got me to thinking about this. I know for some of you they are one in the same, but many of the melodies I adore are parts of songs I could DEFINITELY get tired of. You know, a good song with a GREAT part.

"Who Wants To Live Forever" by Queen... I love the first 2 1/2 - 3 minutes, but then it changes and loses me.
"Somewhere in Heaven" by Santana... same thing.

 

[steph]

Debussey's (sp?) "Claire de la Lune"...

 

[Ticklebell]

Clair de Lune

One of my favorite pieces to play on the piano. I have a first-edition copy! B-e-autiful.

 

[Ticklebell]

Oh! And one of my "most beautiful" candidates is

Finishing the Hat - from Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George"

 

[Flatfoot]

To me, a good melody is the most important thing for me to like a song. When I looked at this thread, the first song that immediately popped into my head is actually an oldies song, but I'm not sure what era its from (My father is 76 years old, so I was raised on oldies from the 40s all the way to the 70s.). It's an instrumental called "Lover's Blue". I imagine it must be really old, though, since I've looked for it numerous times on file-sharing networks and have never been able to find it, nor do I know who wrote it. It's a really beautiful melody, though.

 

[sole seeker]

Music Box Dancer (piano piece - unknown author)

 

[dskodj]

Music Box Dancer (piano piece - unknown author)

Artist: Frank Mills
Label & Year: Polydor 1974

😀 LOL


..and about "Who Wants To Live Forever", with me its the exact in reverse..the song actualy gets good after the first few mins. But the LP version has too much orchestral shit at the end.

 

[the_Baron]

tchaikovsky's piano concerto # 1 (tonite we love)

tuesday afternoon (the moody blues)

begin the beguine (artie shaw)

nadia's theme (also from young and the restless)

 

[Knox The Hatter]

A collection of melodies, actually- Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue".

 

[Mimi]

Boadecia by Enya. It has the most hauntingly gorgeous melody I've ever heard.

Mimi

 

[qjakal]

Lots of choices,,,

Enya has quite a few haunting melodies, especially Celtic...

BUT, I have to go with Moonlight Sonata. It evokes a myriad of emotions..
Q

 

[His Divine Shadow]

Handel's Sonata XI in F Major. Always has a great calming effect whenever I play it.

 

[AphxA]

There is this band i heard called enigma. I dont know the name of the song, but it has a church prayer in the background with a type of flute melody playing along side it. Its just a really uplifting melody.

 

[His Divine Shadow]

Enigma is a good one. I haven't heard the song you speak of, but Return to Innocence was, and still is, good.

 

[AphxA]

..i think thats the one bro. 😀

 

[His Divine Shadow]

Really? Must be psychic.....and now I end the forming hijack.😀

 

[Ticklebell]

I'm gonna add a few, since I had only mentioned one. And for this, I'm going to stick to showtunes. I am only crediting the composer when there is a separate lyricist, as this is a thread about melodies, as opposed to lyrics. Don't mind me.

From the Musicals of Stephen Sondheim:

Not a Day Goes By
Every Day a Little Death
Not While I'm Around
No One is Alone
Children Will Listen
Being Alive
Pretty Lady
I Remember
With So Little To Be Sure Of
Beautiful
Children and Art
Lesson #8
Move On
Sunday

From the Musicals of Adam Guettel:

Saturn Returns
Hero and Leander
Awaiting You
Come to Jesus
Life is But a Dream
How Glory Goes
Through the Mountain

From the Musicals of Jason Robert Brown:

The Next Ten Minutes
If I Hadn't Believed in You
The New World
Christmas Lullaby
I'd Give it All For You
Hear My Song
If I Told You Now
Dreaming, Wide Awake
Letting You Go
The Old Red Hills of Home
All the Wasted Time
The Funeral/It don't Make Sense

Various Other Composers:

Unexpected Song (yes, I am ashamed, and I realize that the rest of Andrew Lloyd Weber is absolute predicatable swill, along the same lines as Frank Wildhorn, but "Song and Dance" is good. Weber is the Britney Spears of the educated theatre world. He's just there as a name, and everyone knows he sucks, but sometimes there is one song out of a hundred that has something to it. Ok.)
What More Can I Say - William Finn
Moonfall - Rupert Holmes
Poor Child - Andrew Lippa
Maybe I Like it This Way - Andrew Lippa
How Did We Come to This? - Andrew Lippa
All Good Gifts - Stephen Schwartz
On the Willows - Stephen Schwartz
At the Ballet - Marvin Hamlisch
You Walk With Me - David Yazbek
How Could I Ever Know - Lucy Simon
Race You To the Top of the Morning - Lucy Simon
Come to My Garden/Lift Me Up - Lucy Simon
Mama Look Sharp - Sherman Edwards

You all know by now that I could go on and on forever. This is getting ridiculous. I'll shut up now. Mwah!

-Bell

 

[BOFH666]

Warning, my definition of "Prettiest" may be a little.... different 😀

"Too much love will kill you", Queen - Very simple melody for the first half of the song, but the instant Brian May's guitar kicks in... gets me everytime, especially with Freddie's vocals.

"Last Horizon", Brian May (the live version)- Pure instrumental, and again a simple melody but somehow incredibly powerful.

"Fade To Black", Metallica - Not everyone's taste I know, but the mix of slow, measured pace and all-out attack just seems to work.

"One", Metallica (S&M Version) - The orginal's great, this is epic.

"Hurt", Nine Inch Nails - Haunting, powerful and emotional.

"Stairway to Heaven", Led Zeppelin

 

[Ghost2004]

You forgot

"Metallica Nothing Else Matters" 🙂😉
Ghostie

 

[Ghost2004]

My Pics

ANYTHING by Sarah Brightman,esp a song called "Deliver Me"

Enya.. the Thesong From Sweet November( still cry when I hear it)
and "May It Be " from LOTR

 

[dskodj]

"Everynight Everyday" by Tangerue



PS Ghost..anything by Sarah Brightman?? You certainly cant include "I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper" in that can ya? LOL

 

[terorizer]

I can't believe I forgot-

Samba Pa Ti - Santana
Heart of Mine - Elliot Smith

And for sentimental reasons.. (thought that doesn't make the cut):

As Time Goes By
Someday My Prince Will Come
Moonriver
The Impossible Dream
Cristo Redentor - Duke Pearson/Donald Byrd
Music of the Night - Webber
People Get Ready & The Makings of You - Curtis Mayfield
and virtually ANY ballad the Isley Bros have ever released.

 

[desdemona]

The show tunes were great, bell 🙂

But I've always loved Beethoven's Fur Elise myself in the classical genre. Since no one else mentioned this one (or did I miss it???), I thought I'd throw it in.

 

[crydun]

Enigma is a good one. I haven't heard the song you speak of, but Return to Innocence was, and still is, good.

I love that song, though it's kind of long

 

[the_Baron]

i listen to enigma all the time, although offhand i'm not sure which particular tune is being referenced - many have similar themes and instrumentations.