Whether you know of any good songs or poems that fit the bill of cold melancholic days, or you have some of your own that are a perfect match, post them here. I would love to read/hear them as winter draws near.
Some of my favorite melancholic songs/poems are:
"Warm Winter" by Violet Cold - This song is instrumental and features a sort of neo-classical piano throughout the entire song, soloing in a couple of parts. As well, a steady drum beat lasts through most of the song, along with unique guitar sections. The guitars add a really cool white noise effect to the song, as they are speed picked, but not in a thrashy kind of way, more like an atmospheric noise void way. To tie it all together, it has ambient soundscapes throughout as well, creating a really calming journey that somehow works really well with the fast but harmonic guitars. This makes it easy to get lost into if you are in a melancholic head space, or just kind of dreamy in general.
"Medicine" by Daughter - I consider this song a true gem. If you are a person in deep need of healing, be it physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc., this is the song for you. Or, if you are simply in a slow quiet mood and the world seems to be moving in slow motion, you will find this song to beautifully match that moment. It has soothing but saddening lyrics, very focused on healing in one way or another, as the singer, sounding broken herself, struggles through the end of the song just to say the word "medicine".
"All I Want" by Kodaline - This is a pretty well known song. For those that you love (or once loved) who have since left you, this song is about the sadness that comes with the empty space where someone you loved once filled. It is an indie rock song, so sweet and innocent guitars move with the march of a passionate drum, all tied together with empty sounding vocals of a man hurt by his loved one who left him. Sometimes those melancholic days are because someone you love leaving, and this song is perfect for that.
"I Could Just Sink" by Bleeding Skies - Another instrumental, this song needs no lyrics to convey that sinking feeling so many people have felt before. Almost like you are descending to the bottom of the darkening ocean, but you are not drowning, just cold. It is a rather short song with the piano providing the main chords through the song with powerful and emotional ambient guitars and drums filling the empty voids left behind, so it could be put on replay and listened to over and over again for the same and best effect.
"Temporary Escape" by To The Wind - Be aware that compared to the other songs of this list, this song is quite a bit heavier. It is sung by a melodic hardcore punk band, but that in no way should discredit it's melancholic and emotionally driven musical effect. The vocals are aggressive and loud, but packed with sorrow and sadness, and sung in the ways that everybody feels like screaming at times in their lives. Everybody has had the urge to cope with sadness or anger by just screaming, and the lyrics of this song convey those exact feelings. The music is a lot less like the normal kind of music you would hear in hardcore punk (given, it has it's moments) with passionate riffs fueled by the same kind of tempered feelings the singer clearly has. If you are not a fan of more aggressive and heavier melancholic songs, this may not be for you, but I would give it a chance if you feel like it is something you may need.
"Water" by City of Dawn - This song is an ambient post-rock piece, and easily one of the most calmly still songs that is able to convey such massive doses of emotion while being quiet and still. Only ambient music plays, like the soul soaring through the astral realm, while the poem "Water" by a girl named Rena Sage (also narrated by her) can be heard through most of the songs length. The one-man-band City of Dawn made the music, and sampled Rena Sage's poem from her channel on Youtube to create this masterpiece of deeply rooted and transcendent melancholy. Be prepared for a real journey upon hearing this song.
"Nuvole bianche" by Ludovico Einaudi - Here is a purely piano based song that can carry the entire weight of sadness and melancholy to a beautiful place all on it's own. Honestly, there really isn't anything that cannot be made emotional from this song. There is a greater sense of hope instilled into this song, albeit behind notes of obvious hardships, but a light at the end of the tunnel nonetheless. I cannot say much else but this other than the fact that it is absolutely gorgeous, and a listen should be had even if you simply like the sound of the piano with passion.
"Saturn" by Sleeping At Last - The last song of this list, and one of my favorites. There really are not any songs by the one-man-band Sleeping At Last that do not have enough emotion to power a city. All of his songs convey true inner feelings, completely open and naked for everyone to experience. The meaning of the song is the kind that could be different to everyone who listens to it. For some, it could mean remembering the lasting effects that a loved one now gone has on your life. For others, it could mean an experience unlike any other that shaped a given moment in life, and changed everything forever. It must be heard to experience it's true nature. And while it may lean on the melancholic side, like all of these songs on this list, it does not make this song any less effective for everyone and anyone who simply has deep emotional output and input.
There are so many beautiful songs out there that may sound and be melancholic, but their meanings go so far beyond that, that it would be a shame for more people to not know about them. If you enjoyed these songs (and I hope people checked them out), then please post some songs that have similar effects on you. New music should always be made and shared. Alike, if there are any poems that you know of that are similar in texture, I would love to read them as well.
Thank you for taking the time to read and listen,
The Ellipsis Writer
Thanks for the recommendation!!
