Q Magazine have compiled a list of the ten most perfect songs ever for September's issue of the magazine. Q brought together 50 of the world’s finest songwriters to vote for the greatest tracks ever written. From the original protest song to the ultimate junkie anthem, these are the results.
Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley
John Legend says – “Hallelujah is as near perfect as you can get. My choice would be Jeff Buckley’s cover, to me that’s the signature version of that song. The lyrics to Hallelujah are just incredible and the melody’s gorgeous and then there’s Jeff’s interpretation of it. Heavy going? It transcends your mood. I can put it on first thing in the morning, or out on my iPod…I can listen to it anywhere. That’s the mark of a perfect song. It’s one of the most beautiful pieces of recorded music I’ve ever heard”
Strawberry Fields Forever – The Beatles
Serge Pizzorno (KASABIAN) says – “You can play Strawberry Fields Forever on an acoustic guitar and it sounds beautiful, but The Beatles took the song to its furthest point, and the results are mind-bending. But the lyrics bring it all home: it’s Lennon writing about his childhood stomping ground. McCartney did the same thing and came up with Penny Lane. That tells you everything you need to know about the differences between them as songwriters.”
Life On Mars – David Bowie
Tom Clarke (The Enemy) says – “Unquestionably the most perfect song ever written. It’s compositional genius. Bowie writes in quite a complex way, and the chord progressions are out there, musically. Yet you listen to it and sounds almost simplistic. To be that complex and yet sound so simple is a massive achievement. Bowie is a total genius.”
Sympathy For The Devil – The Rolling Stones
Richard Archer (Hard-Fi) says – “Every time I listen to Sympathy for the Devil, I hear something new – there’s something primeval about it, Mick’s lyrics give you an instant connection. He’s saying that we all do bad stuff, but because Mick says it’s OK, it makes sense. It symbolises the moment the ‘60s died with Altamont. I’m quite happy about that – I always hated that hippy shit. I’m sick of hearing hippies going on about how great it was and how it’s not the same now. It really gets on my nerves. But this is a brilliant song.”
Strange Fruit – Billie Holiday
Simon Aldred (Cherry Ghost) says – “As well as being beautiful, it’s also incredibly bold. It’s about lynchings in the south of America: ‘Pastoral scene of the gallant south/The bulging eyes and twisted mouth’…To sneak that into what is essentially a pop song is an achievement. Pop music these days doesn’t make bold political statements.”
Bitter Sweet Symphony – The Verve
Chris Martin (Coldplay) says - “Bitter Sweet Symphony ticks every box for me, but I was talking about it the other day with [Coldplay producer] Brian Eno and he disagreed. He said, It’s a great song but it’s not by any stretch of the imagination funky, for example – there’s a box it doesn’t tick. I said when a song’s that good, it can leave funky at home. Bitter Sweet Symphony’s as perfect a song as there is. And I say that as somebody who believes perfection is the enemy of imperfection.”
Born To Run – Bruce Springstein
James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers) says – “It makes me feel like I’m being dragged away by this euphoric moment that could any moment tip into being corny but doesn’t. It makes you feel like a participant. A lot of the song is based on observation, but then it goes, “Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run”. It’s one of the best kiss-off lines ever written. It includes you. I’m not sure I identified with it as a kid. I think I wanted to be it.”
God Only Knows – The Beach Boys
Dan Gillespie-Sells (The Feeling) says – “Lots of songs are brilliant because of one thing, but this is brilliant in so many different ways. As far as the sentiment is concerned it’s perfect and put in a way that’s very genuine. Carl Wilson’s vocal performance is amazing. As with so many great songs, it’s like it’s always existed.”
Blowin’ In The Wind – Bob Dylan
Lee “Scratch” Perry – “Bob Dylan is a black man inside a white man. What he says about the truth blowing in the wind is right. The wind is a genie and it flies around from ears to ears saying: Sing this, and something will happen. It is said by the wind and I respect the wind.”
Perfect Day – Lou Reed
Peter Hook (Ex-New Order) says – I always found Perfect so wonderfully melancholy, but uplifting in the same vein. The lyrics were such at odds with the way that he sang it. Perfect Day is was better that anything Velvet Underground ever did. It still gives me the same shivers even now.”