Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground
1927
Wordless humming answered by a pocketknife slide, an 1792 hymn tune NASA put on the Voyager Golden Record.
★ 7.8
The Songs canon
Sourced and sung.
Every song chosen by hand, with the recording to play it.
Browse all 2,393 songs or filter by genre, subject, artist, and year.
Browse all 2,393 songs or filter by genre, subject, artist, and year.
Get Up, Stand Up
1973 · From Burnin'
Written with Tosh after Marley toured Haiti, and the last song he ever sang onstage, Pittsburgh, September 1980.
★ 7.7
Sinnerman
1965 · From Pastel Blues
Simone learned it at her mother's revival meetings and stretched it past ten minutes of piano vamp and handclaps.
★ 7.4
Monkey Gone to Heaven
1989 · From Doolittle
Gil Norton brought in two cellos and two violins, and Black Francis rhymed ocean pollution with borrowed numerology.
★ 7.0
Take Me to the River
1974 · From Al Green Explores Your Mind
Baptism imagery over Willie Mitchell's Memphis groove, and Hi Records never bothered to release Green's version as a single.
★ 6.6
It's a Sin
1987
Tennant settling scores with his Newcastle Catholic school teachers, then closing the record with the Confiteor recited in Latin.
★ 6.3
Spirit in the Sky
1969
A Jewish songwriter watching Porter Wagoner sing gospel on television, a Telecaster with the fuzz built in, and heaven.
★ 5.9
Only the Good Die Young
1977 · From The Stranger
Liberty DeVitto hated reggae, so the demo's lilt became a shuffle; the radio bans only sold more copies.
★ 5.7
One Of Us
1995
Bazilian wrote it in one night to impress the woman he later married; Osborne's vocal earned three Grammy nominations.
★ 3.3
Counting Blue Cars
1995
Richards wrote it after a talk with his ten-year-old neighbor, and calling God "her" brought death threats.
★ 3.0