Please don’t confront me with my failures/
I had not forgotten them.

Nico is an interesting character and a bit of an enigma. She was a supermodel who took up singing, but she was a real singer…not just someone who was hot. She joined Velvet Underground and was lead singer on some of their best work. She doesn’t have a huge catalog but everything I hear from her sounds good.

“These Days” is a song Nico recorded as a solo artist after leaving Velvet Underground.  Interestingly, this song was written by a 16-year-old Jackson Browne and first recorded by Nico who made it a mild hit. Years later Browne would release his own version, and it was average. Browne would also write another huge Velvet Underground hit higher on this list.

It seems like a lyric about a ramblin’ man might resonate better when sung by Browne, but Nico is the one who captured the heart of the song. Nico sings it like she is down on her luck; she sings it like she wrote it, or at least like she believes the lyrics.

We believe Nico when she says she might not love again, simply due to the tone in her voice. The lyrics tell a tale of a narrator undergoing deep introspection, but Nico’s version comes off more like depressed ambivalence. And it works.

These Days Lyrics

I’ve been out walking
I don’t do too much talking
These days, these days
These days I seem to think a lot
About the things that I forgot to do
And all the times I had the chance to.

I’ve stopped my rambling
I don’t do too much gambling
These days, these days
These days I seem to think about
How all the changes came about my ways
And I wonder if I’d see another highway

I had a lover
I don’t think I’ll risk another
These days, these days
And if I seem to be afraid
To live the life that I have made in song
It’s just that I’ve been losing so long

I’ve stopped my dreaming
I won’t do too much scheming
These days, these days
These days I sit on corner stones
And count the time in quarter tones to ten
Please don’t confront me with my failures
I had not forgotten them

written by Jackson Browne

If you think you’ve had too much/
Of this life. Well, hang on.

R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” has so much going right for it. The message is particularly comforting. For a rock star to speak plainly that even he hurts, that even he feels alone sometimes, that can be a comfort to many. That is one of the reasons “Everybody Hurts” has resonated with so many people.

The band R.E.M.s Everybody Hurts” addresses a common problem that everyone faces at some point in their life and delivers a simple message: “You’re not alone”. There is also another issue it addresses: suicide. Stipe’s answer is to “hang on”. For those in trouble, I think this is the perfect message to hear until they can get the proper medical treatment.

The melody of “Everybody Hurts” is great, though most songs at this level of the list will be. The production is stellar. Listen to the percussion. It is almost absent yet plays a key part in the transition from bridge to the next verse. I like the arpeggiated guitar pattern that is the backbone of the song. It is simple and steady, and fun to play (for those of you aspiring guitar players). The strings fill out the song perfectly. Stipe’s voice sounds good and he sings with meaning. “Everybody Hurts” has a bit of everything.

More from R.E.M.

Everybody Hurts Lyrics

When your day is long.
And the night-
The night is yours alone.
When you’re sure you’ve had enough
Of this life.
Well hang on.

Don’t let yourself go.
‘Cause everybody cries,
And everybody hurts, sometimes.

Sometimes everything is wrong.
Now it’s time to sing along.

When your day is night alone (hold on).
(Hold on) if you feel like letting go (hold on).
If you think you’ve had too much
Of this life.
Well, hang on.

‘Cause everybody hurts.
Take comfort in your friends.
Everybody hurts.

Don’t throw your hand,
Oh, no.
Don’t throw your hand,
If you feel like you’re alone,
No, no, no, you’re not alone.

If you’re on your own
In this life.
The days and nights are long.
When you think you’ve had too much
Of this life.
To hang on.

Well, everybody hurts, sometimes.
Everybody cries.
And everybody hurts sometimes.
And everybody hurts sometimes.
So, hold on, hold on.

Hold on, hold on.
Hold on, hold on.
Hold on, hold on.
Everybody hurts.
You are not alone.

written by R.E.M.

Half my life Is books, written pages/
Live and learn from fools and from sages.

Aerosmith’s “Dream On” is their best song, and it was written by Steven Tyler at the age of seventeen. Much of the theme of the “Dream On” has to do with time and aging. We spend so much time preparing for life (by going to school and paying our dues) and we wake up one day and see an old person staring back at us in the mirror. What happened? What happened to my dreams? What happened to the happy person I once was? Tyler says that we must keep dreaming until the dreams come true as today could be our last day. So, let’s laugh, sing and dream.

The chorus is extremely recognizable and anthem-like, but the verses do a great job in building up the anticipation to the chorus. The guitar work is stellar, especially during the lead but also throughout. Tyler’s all-out singing style works well with this song. He makes the message seem urgent as he is almost gasping for breath at the end of the chorus.

With all these theatrics, we should probably be paying attention to whatever it is he is saying because he is almost killing himself saying it! “Dream On” does a good job of modulating the volume to heighten the excitement of the delivery. Notice the gradual buildups to the chorus when Stephan Tyler really starts belting.

Dream On Lyrics & Meaning

Every time when I look in the mirror,
All these lines on my face getting clearer,
The past is gone.

And it went by, like dusk to dawn.
Isn’t that the way?
Everybody’s got their dues in life to pay.

Yeah, I know nobody knows,
Where it comes and where it goes.
I know it’s everybody’s sin,
You got to lose to know how to win.

Half my life’s in books, written pages,
Live and learn from fools and from sages.
You know it’s true, oh…

All the things come back to you.

Sing with me, sing for a year,
Sing for the laughter, and sing the tear.
Sing with me, if it’s just for today.
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away.

Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year,
Sing for the laughter, and sing for the tear.
Sing it with me, if it’s just for today,
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away.

Dream on.
Dream on.
Dream on.
Dream until the dream come true.
Dream on.
Dream on.
Dream on.
Dream until your dream come true.
Dream on.
Dream on.
Dream on.
Dream on.
Dream on.
Dream on.
Dream on, ah.

Sing with me, sing for the year,
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear.
Sing with me, if it’s just for today.
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away.
Sing with me, sing for the year,
Sing for the laughter, and sing for the tear.
Sing it with me, if it’s just for today,
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away.

Songwriters: Steven Victor Tallarico