If the sun refused to shine/
I would still be loving you.

Tori Amos-Thank You

Both the Tori Amos version and the original Led Zeppelin version of “Thank You” are fantastic–but the Amos version is superior. She is the best artist ever at covering other people’s work. Her version sounds delicate and she sounds gracious and her “Thank You” comes across as more earnest than Zeppelin’s. While her piano arrangement sounds simple, I assure you it is not. Playing that at the same time as singing is very difficult and few could pull it off.

The lyrics of “Thank You” tell that the narrator has found an easier and better life with his new significant other. This is not a song about the honeymoon period—it is a song about genuine love. The narrator speaks of past tears that seem almost insignificant now, as he has found his forever love. With her, he is looking forward to walking the miles—that is living life with her.

Led Zeppelin-Thank You

The theme sounds similar to another song on this list, The Luckiest by Ben Folds. The narrator expresses that he expects the love to last forever–until the sun runs out—and he is grateful for it.  What makes it special here is the beautiful melody accompanied with the original piano arrangement and Amos’ vocals.

Thank You Lyrics

If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you.
When mountains crumble to the sea,
There will still be you and me.

Kind woman, I give you my all;
Kind woman, nothing more.

Little drops of rain whisper of the pain,
Tears of loves lost in the days gone by.
My love is strong, with you there is no wrong,
Together we shall go until we die.
My, my, my inspiration is what you are to me,
Inspiration look, see.

And so today, my world it smiles,
Your hand in mine, we walk the miles.
Thanks to you it will be done,
For you to me are the only one.
Happiness, no more be sad,
Happiness, I’m glad.

If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you.
Mountains crumble to the sea,
There will still be you and me.

You can’t plant me in your penthouse/
I’m going back to my plough.

“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is obviously a reference to the path that Dorothy traveled in The Wizard of Oz. But what is the meaning Elton John is trying to convey to us in “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”? For Dorothy, the yellow brick road was a path from her boring life in Kansas to the magical land of Oz. The Yellow Brick Road led from rags to riches. Just as Dorothy discovered, Elton and Bernie Taupin are suggesting that Oz might not be all it was made out to be.

Taupin suggests that once you reach a certain level of fame there are people who want to possess you and then show you off to their friends. That’s not what he signed up for. Perhaps his old man was right. Maybe fame isn’t all it is made out to be. Maybe life on the farm isn’t that bad.

Elton demonstrates an amazing ability to go from chest voice to falsetto and back again—and have it sound so smooth. Falsetto is hard to get right. A bad falsetto can just sound goofy on someone with an otherwise good voice. Elton has one of the best, and he uses it to great effect in his songs.

The amazing production should be pointed out. While the first verse is just Elton and the piano, the rest of the song contains and array of instruments that creates a wall of sound—with the piano just adding the occasional riff.

Sara Bareilles

I would be remiss if I did not mention the Sara Bareilles’ version of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”. She strips down the piano arrangement, slows down the song and delivers a slightly different vocal interpretation that is breathtaking. Bareilles’ cover of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is one of the best covers out there of any song! It is probably her finest performance (which is saying something) and somehow it isn’t in her Spotify top ten played songs.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Lyrics

When are you gonna come down?
When are you going to land?
I should have stayed on the farm,
I should have listened to my old man.

You know you can’t hold me forever,
I didn’t sign up with you.
I’m not a present for your friends to open,
This boy’s too young to be singing, the blues.

So goodbye yellow brick road,
Where the dogs of society howl.
You can’t plant me in your penthouse,
I’m going back to my plough.

Back to the howling old owl in the woods,
Hunting the horny back toad.
Oh I’ve finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road.

What do you think you’ll do then?
I bet that’ll shoot down your plane.
It’ll take you a couple of vodka and tonics,
To set you on your feet again.

Maybe you’ll get a replacement,
There’s plenty like me to be found.
Mongrels, who ain’t got a penny,
Sniffing for tidbits like you on the ground.

So goodbye yellow brick road,
Where the dogs of society howl.
You can’t plant me in your penthouse,
I’m going back to my plough.

Back to the howling old owl in the woods,
Hunting the horny back toad.
Oh I’ve finally decided my future lies,
Beyond the yellow brick road.

If tomorrow wasn’t such a long time,
Then lonesome would mean nothing to you at all.

This version of “Tomorrow is a Long Time” was released on Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Volume 2 and it was the highlight of the album. It was a previously unreleased version of an obscure song that he performed live, in 1963, a couple years before he went electric. We get to hear what made everyone so crazy about Dylan. With just a guitar and a harmonica he could captivate an audience by gently singing about anything. In this case, we hear one of his few love songs.

Dylan’s guitar work is not as precise as someone like Paul Simon and his voice isn’t as good, but he seems to tell more intimate tales and be more intimate with the audience (when he feels like it, like in this recording). He takes his words and his work seriously, so we do too. You can tell the audience is engaged by the utter silence when he begins playing the guitar. He plays very quietly. Any crowd noise would be heard, yet there is utter silence.

The melody for “Tomorrow is a Long Time” is particularly good and I think it matches Dylan’s voice well. It is interesting to me that he never released this on a regular album. Had he released it in 1963 when he originally wrote it it would have been a hit with the folk community. But it is more than just a good folk song. It is a great song that compares favorably with any song on this list. “Tomorrow is a Long Time” is Bob Dylan’s best song.

Tomorrow is a Long Time Lyrics

If today was not an endless highway,
If tonight was not a crooked trail.
If tomorrow wasn’t such a long time.
Then lonesome would mean nothing to you at all.
Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin’,
Yes, and if I could hear her heart a-softly poundin’.
Only if she was lyin’ by me,
Then I’d lie in my bed once again.

I can’t see my reflection in the waters.
I can’t speak the sounds that show no pain.
I can’t hear the echo of my footsteps,
Or can’t remember the sound of my own name.
Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin’,
Yes, and if I could hear her heart a-softly poundin’.
Only if she was lyin’ by me,
Then I’d lie in my bed once again.

There’s beauty in the silver, singin’ river,
There’s beauty in the sunrise in the sky.
But none of these and nothing else can touch the beauty
That I remember in my true love’s eyes.
Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin’,
Yes, and if I could hear her heart a-softly poundin’.
Only if she was lyin’ by me,
Then I’d lie in my bed once again.

written by bob dylan