Songs that hit hard in 2024
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Support for this podcast and the following message come from Energia, where everyone can invest in the world's top renewable energy markets and make an impact. With Energia, you can invest directly in solar projects that reduce carbon emissions. More at Energia.com slash NPR. Can you believe it has been a year since we did this show last this time last year? It's kind of wild to think about that. It went by so fast for me. Are you at that point, Mitra, where...

Time is just going faster and faster? It is. I very much am like, wait a minute. I thought it was January. Wait a minute. I thought it was September. What's happening? Yeah. How was your year? We're here at the end. We're here at the end. How was your year? I survived. And that's what we're holding on to. Yeah? Yeah. How many stars out of five? Let's give it a three. Three out of five? That's not bad. Okay.

Because that's a nice average. There were definitely months that were one or zero. Zero stars would not recommend. And there were definitely months that were like five. So three is my nice average. Well, that's life in a nutshell. I would take three. I mean, maybe I would say the same. I guess maybe three. I definitely had some zeros. But, you know, just the fact that we're here at the end of the year, five out of five. Five out of five. Five out of five.

So this is our new annual tradition that we started last year, our episode about songs that hit hard. We did a call out to listeners and it turns out there are lots of songs that, you know, really hit lots of people really hard. We had a little form they could fill out online if they wanted to use that. Writing in, voicemails.

telling us about a song that absolutely wrecked them one way or the other. Ugly cried to or just obsessed about. So we're going to share some of those songs and the stories and the song picks and everything on this episode. We'll get to as many as we can. Let's start with one of the written comments that we got. This was a song a lot of people picked.

which would be SZA's Saturn. Yeah. A single she released back in February. So people have been sitting with this for a few months now. But one of the listeners who wrote in was Mona from San Antonio. She says, 2024 was a rough year. I had two great losses and was diagnosed with two chronic illnesses. This song hit me hard because the lyrics summed up my emotional state of mind. How can things get any worse? How much more can a person take?

The melodic sound of the song though was somehow soothing. It made me feel every emotion. It made me feel like I wasn't alone. ♪ If there's another you ♪ ♪ Please make some noise ♪ ♪ This can't be life ♪ ♪ We're in pain ♪ ♪ It's all the same place ♪ ♪ This must be when hell is like this ♪ ♪ Got to be more ♪ ♪ Got to be more ♪ ♪ Intrusive thoughts that paralyze ♪

is dreaming of saturn

I love this song because it is a feeling that I have had often. Yeah. Yeah, it just really makes you reflect on why am I going through these things? And is there a way to get out of this? And I think it's also...

I think about the verse, if there is a point to being good, then where's my reward? Yeah. Which is something I think a lot of people always often think about. Yeah. I'm doing all the things I'm supposed to do. Yeah. And why are all these things happening? Yeah. She also asks, why do we always seem to lose the good ones, right? And the people who are just doing the worst possible things...

seem to thrive. Yes. That is something I definitely think from time to time. Yeah. It is interesting that so many people picked this song and not all of them came to it because they were necessarily struggling or hurting or unhappy. A lot of people, in fact, were feeling great, you know, and Saturn was

just sort of underlined their feelings for them and sort of reinforced how they were already feeling. I think, you know, she asks, SZA does in the song, asks all these big questions about, you know, why we're here and what's the purpose of suffering and things like that. But her voice, just the sound of her voice, the little arpeggiated synths, yeah. The production value in this just really give us that otherworldly connection. Yeah.

Yeah. And it just says everything's going to be okay. Or even if everything isn't going to be okay or we don't know, it's okay to ask these questions. Right. Yeah.

All right, let's go to one of the voice memos we got. And this is from a listener named Josh in Dayton, Ohio. And the song that he picked is Laura Marling's Child of Mine. My wife and I were blessed to have our first child on April 12th this year. Being parents has completely transformed our lives. I've never known time to go by so quickly, and I don't want to miss any moment.

I've never known a love this strong. Laura Marling's song "Child of Mine" is a beautiful, tender, and poetic reflection on raising a child. I always end up crying hard during the bridge. Long nights, fast years, so they say. Time won't ever feel the same. And I don't want to miss it. No, I don't want to miss it. And I'm not gonna miss it, child of mine. I'm so thankful to have a song like this.

to be able to remind myself, even when times are hard, the nights are long, that I don't want to rush any moments with this wonderful, amazing daughter of mine. You and your dad are dancing in the kitchen. Life is slowing down, but it's still bitching. I got myself a rod, but I could break it. My back is still as strong as I can make it. Plus, you're my...

So who would rush right through it, child of mine? Everything you want is in your reach right now. Anything that's not, I have to teach somehow. Everything about you isn't you, it's those who miss the point might rush right through. Cause it's fine. Who would want to miss it, child of mine?

So this song, Child of Mine, is from Laura Marling's album Patterns. We just talked about another cut from it.

called Patterns and Repeat on our Best Songs of the Year episode. And this whole album just absolutely floored me for much of the same reasons that our listener Josh and Dayton mentioned. Laura Marling became a first-time mom not that long ago, and she actually recorded much of this album with her daughter in the room, and she kind of played the songs for her daughter that way. In fact, you hear a little sort of recording at the top there that makes me think that is from one of the

sessions with her daughter sitting there listening. It made me feel so warm. I don't have children of my own.

But so many of the lyrics of it felt very familiar in terms of the things that I'd heard my mother say. There was one where she says, I can't protect you there, though I'll keep trying. Sometimes you'll go places I can't get to. But I've spoken to the angels who'll protect you. Yeah. And man, if that don't perfectly capture sentiments that my mother has expressed. Yeah.

It is definitely something that I wanted to play for her. Josh, our listener who wrote in, two things he said that I will co-sign on. The idea that it is so hard, it is so much work, but even at its worst when you're just like, oh my God, this is awful. It's still the greatest thing in the world. And yeah, just that whole idea again about time, Laura Marling talks about and Josh talked about it, just the, you know, the

The days are long, the years are short. All the things that felt like an eternity in the moment, and you realize, wow, that was maybe two days or a week or something like that.

But Josh, the listener who picked this song, his story and his reflections, I think, are a good example of what we heard a lot in our call out this year. Just a lot of joy. A lot of joy. A lot of joy and almost defiant joy and, you know, intense gratitude. It wasn't all just, you know, tear jerkers this year. That sort of actually is a great sort of segue, I think, into the next song. Yeah. This next one was from Michelle, a listener in Philly. Yeah.

And the song she picked is Beyonce's "Two Hands to Heaven." And the reason this song hit me so hard is that I am 45 years old and finally met the love of my life. After going through so much, I finally found the person I know I want to spend the rest of my life with. And that song speaks directly to finding that true love and feeling like everything is going to be all right.

Bottle in my hand, the whiskey up high Two hands to heaven, wild horses run wild God only knows why though Rhinestones and diamonds both shine in the light Two hands to heaven, my whiskey up high God only knows why though In the Arizona heat, summer fling Saw your bare side Slip into my dreams every night Be the good girl

So...

If you know the song, it's really sort of clear that the part that really was resonating with Michelle is that last part of finding that person. Finding that person that you've been waiting your whole life for, as you have been surrendering and you've been figuring out who you are and putting yourself together, and here is that other person.

that you've been waiting for. I love that. Yeah, no, I'm so glad we picked this one too because, you know, what a gift to find true love at any point in your life. But, you know, she made a point of saying, you know, she's in middle life now and she's just so grateful now to have found it. That is just such a gift. I think one of the things that's great about this song, Two Hands to Heaven, is that it suggests a lot of struggle, but it's not...

it's not too explicit about it. No. It's sort of implied. In fact, the whole idea that she's got a drink in her hand and both hands are raised to heaven, like that could be a celebration. Right. Or a plea. Like I always think about the surrendering part of putting your hands into heaven, but it's a very complex song. Yeah, there's a lot going on in it. Just, you know, Beyonce says something like,

10,000 steps to find the time of your life, I think. And, you know, there's a journey there. And also acknowledgement and just that one little line that often the path to happiness is a lot of work. It is, yes. So that, of course, is from the Cowboy Carter album. It came out at the end of March.

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All right, let's get to another one of the written comments we got. This is for the song 25 by the band Lake Street Dive. This is a song that I played on the show actually earlier in the year when it came out. It was picked by Sue in Cleveland. And Sue says, I turned 69 this year and I'm retiring at the end of the year. My mom passed away in August. All these life changes have me thinking about my life and what's coming next. I'm happy.

happily married and I have been for many years but this song made me remember the first time I fell hard for someone in college. Never quite gotten over that man, my first grown up love. This song sums up those feelings of new love and how sweet it feels from a distance of decades. There was a time when I imagined us forever I can't quite remember how I thought we'd work it out

I guess I would move to California or you to Boston. I'd learn to like to stay at home. You'd learn to like going out. Although the stories that I tell myself about us now. Don't take me to the grave. I'll be an old woman with somebody else by my side.

One of the things that Lake Street Dive is so good at is storytelling. Yeah. It doesn't matter what song it is, the storytelling in their music always gets me in my feelings. Yeah. And then you add on top of that Rachel Price's voice. Mm-hmm.

And you just don't have any choice but to feel all the emotions. And I noticed as I was sort of looking over what we were going to be listening to, there's a lot of songs about memory. Yeah. A lot of songs about the past and nostalgia and...

They are able to tell this story and thread that needle in such a very simple way where it's very specific to whoever in the group was the songwriter, but you can pull your own parts of your own past loves and easily lay it on top of that. Yeah, it is not hard to relate.

to a lot of the ideas and feelings that come up in this song, at least for me at this point in my life. And I'm sure many other people too. I think the thing that I am moved most by in this song is that, you know, this person who's reflecting on their youth in the past and it's long gone, but they only have good things to say about this person that they're thinking about. Right. Right. And that is something, you know, that, that just deeply moves me whenever I see that kind of,

kindness in, the way that love can endure like that even when you know you weren't right for each other in the long run, that you wish only the best for him. You know, you and I both brought our own picks in, songs that we want to talk about. Let's just go ahead and do yours because it's a good one. Sure. My pick is the song Traditions by Don Richard and Spencer Zahn.

And it's a very simple song, but there is a line in it that just kills me every time. You call it lucky. I call it blessings. My mama cover the mirror when it rains. She'll lay that brick in front the door just in case. You call it superstitions. I call it traditions. You call it lucky. I call it blessings.

On game day, my brother wears Saint shoes Must be a Frank thing, 'cause when I wear 'em shit they lose My baby don't go nowhere without his Carolina blues Your mama's boy, she a Tar Heel fan too You call it superstitions, I call it traditions You call it lucky, I call it blessings

Does this make you think of your mom? It does. It makes me think of my mom. It makes me think of my grandmothers. It makes me think of all of those people, not even just the women in my life, but the people in my life who sort of layered on to me. The different sort of cultural family bits that really made me who I am.

And a lot of them having to do with faith. Because when I think about what some of our superstitions or what Don is saying are really our traditions, a lot of them are about faith. You know, wearing the saint's shoes, hoping they'll win. It's all about us, these small little acts of faith. Yeah.

hoping that we do our part. And it's hard to believe in those things, and they may not make sense to anybody else.

And that, for me, is why the line, you call it lucky, I call it blessings, is so important to me. Well, when I listened to this, I immediately clocked two things. One, North Carolina, even though you're from South Carolina, right? I'm from South Carolina, yeah. But the Carolinas, and family, because I know how important family is to you. Yeah. And I kind of thought this was actually a nice companion piece to the Duran Jones. Yeah, it is. I thought about, like...

Oh, here I am again, picking another thing that really sort of speaks to my Southern upbringing, all these sort of like family parts. Faith. Yes, exactly. All these things that sort of help inform who I am. And like I said, it's not a super complicated, complex song, but it really just sort of gets to the root of who I am. Yeah.

No, I get it. And it's such a beautiful song, too. This whole album is such a, there's so much serenity in it, right? It is just gorgeous. It was hard to pick what song because I love so much of the album. Yeah. And that album's called Quiet in a World Full of Noise. You want to get me to listen to something? Call it Quiet in a World Full of Noise. And that title track is absolutely beautiful. I definitely recommend people check it out.

Well, the song that I picked also speaks to faith a little bit and is also, I think, pretty simple to follow, but yet is just so moving and powerful to me. It's a song that I played earlier in the year on the show. It's called God Person by Maddie Diaz. I grow out of the room. I show up alone. I come here to watch. Other people know what I can only guess at.

Cause I'm never sure And I don't like commitment If there's something more They sing their songs close in their eyes Seeing the light in a different How does that happen? Why is it beautiful? Why is it magic and tragic? I don't know The God person I'm never not searching

Looking at the sky, staring at the ocean. If there's something I know, then I want to know it. I want to hold it. I want to feel it. And maybe I can't say that I'm not a bad person. Talking to my dad, talking about my mom. After 20 years, what the hell went wrong?

♪ How can I avoid making the same choices ♪ ♪ And stay on the Carolina coast living in the morning ♪ - This is my song of the year. This song just, and I have spent so much time trying to understand why does this song just devastate me? It's not explicitly joyful or sad, but I think it's, you know, when her voice starts to soar a little bit. ♪ I'm not a God person ♪

I'm never not searching Looking at the sky, staring at the ocean If there's something to know then I wanna hold it I wanna feel it And maybe I can't say that I'm not a hot person

There's just so much awe at life in that moment. I don't know, that sort of simple wonder at life is all wrapped up in this song to me. When you sent it, and I sort of settled on what my song, they were such perfect companion pieces. Yeah. Because one song is sort of asking the questions, and the other song is not giving an answer, but sort of figuring out your way to the answer.

an answer. And this is me asking the questions about it. Yeah. I think for me too, it's the idea that she is finding God or the possibility of God in all of these tiny little things in life. One of which she says at the very top of the song is like going to a show with people or something, just standing in the presence of others. Right.

And I see the sky, and I see the ocean Where it all came from, and where it's all going I'll never know, but sometimes I can feel it And maybe I can't say that I'm a person I talked with Maddie Diaz briefly about this song. She said she almost didn't include it on the album. Oh. I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm so glad you did. Yes. So that was from the Maddie Diaz album, Weird Faith.

All right, Mitra, let's get to another one of the voice memos we got. Yeah, we got a lot of emails and voice memos from listeners about pets. Pets, yes. So this one comes from Olivia in Washington State. And the song she picked is Love Song from a Dog by Shovels and Rope. I was listening to a random playlist and I had the music interrupted by a phone call from my vet. They were calling to give a not so great health update on my dog.

And my dog has been my best friend through everything. So as I'm sitting there taking in this terrible news and I'm crying and telling my dog how much I love him, as soon as the call wrapped up, the playlist just kicked back on and started playing the next song and love song from a dog came on. It might sound kooky, but it felt like I was meant to hear it in that moment. Like my dog was trying to tell me how much he loved me right back.

And I think this song is just such a beautiful ode to that special bond and partnership between a human and their dog. Dogs are just so loyal and loving, and they give so much to us. And it's nice to get that little moment to hear from their perspective. So I still cannot listen to this song without crying. Heck, I can't even talk about it without crying.

And I know my remaining days with my soul dog are numbered, but I am forever grateful for this beautiful, touching song. ♪ I was born in a meadow by a stream ♪ ♪ Original and clean ♪ ♪ No one there but my mother and my team ♪ ♪ Running in my dream ♪ ♪ Fastest you ever seen ♪ ♪ When I met you, it was just like being born ♪

There was no past to mourn. Lay around in this necklace I adorn. Never worry about a storm. Every night I'm worn. One word and I'm running. One word and I'm running like a colorblind lovesick fool. Running like I'll die if I don't get to you.

Running like I got more legs than two. Running like it's something that I was born to do.

I remember when I lost a dog that I had had for 14 years, this was a few years ago, somewhere I saw, and I don't remember where I saw it or who said it, but somebody said, we're here on this planet to learn how to be good. And dogs already know how to be good, so they don't need as much time as we've got. So I thought that was a lovely explanation for why we don't get as much time with our dogs as we'd like.

I love the chorus of this song. Yeah. It's so fun. The running like I'll die if I don't get to you. Yeah. But also I just, I love that structure of talking about the love, the loyalty, the companionship. Yeah. That character in the song wants to sort of make sure they have. You are the center of their world. Yeah. Yeah.

And inevitably they become the center of your world. Running like I've got more legs than two Running like it's something that I just had to do Running like I only got a little more life Running like your love is gonna save my life Running like I think I'm gonna run all night Running, running, running, running, running

Well, this was a song that I missed this year. I don't know how I did, but I'm so glad that our listener, Olivia in Washington State, left a voice memo about it and we got to hear it. This message comes from GiveWell. You're a details person. You check at least half a dozen reviews before making any big ticket purchase. So when you're giving to charity, check out GiveWell, an independent resource for rigorous, transparent research about great giving opportunities.

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This is another voice memo we got from a listener named Mary in Massachusetts, and she picked Kendrick Lamar's song Man at the Garden from his album GNX that just came out. This year, Man at the Garden by Kendrick Lamar hit me in a way that I really wasn't expecting. From the very first listen, that repeated refrain, I deserve it all,

It lodged itself in my mind, sort of like a mantra. I feel like every time I revisit the song, I find new layers to unpack, especially that ending crescendo. Tell me why you think you deserve the greatest of all time. It always brings me to tears. It's such a profound and challenging question.

And it really makes me reflect on my own sense of worth. What do I really deserve and why? For years, I've struggled with undervaluing myself and this song feels like a wake-up call. At its heart, it reminds me that while greatness may be subjective, we all deserve peace and maybe the courage to believe in our own potential. ♪

Twice emotional stability, a sound body and tranquility. I deserve it all. Like minds and less enemies. Stock investments, more entities. I deserve it all. VVS's, white diamonds, GNX with the Z-back reclining. I deserve it all. Put my homes on the beachfront. Flying private, what you eat for lunch? I deserve it all. The respect and the accolades. Lamping on the island, watching Castaway. I deserve it all. For every good...

I'm in somebody's house.

I thought this was an interesting one to share because, you know, where I grew up, it was a real sort of pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You know, don't complain. Just do your job. Keep quiet. Expect nothing in return. And it's taken me a very, very long time. I mean, I'm still not comfortable with it, but it's taken me a very long time to get to a point in my life where I was even...

a little comfortable with the idea of getting anything at all. Right. You know, I still can't relate to the, I don't know, the defiance or whatever, the confidence in this song. The confidence that he has saying that, you know, he deserves it all. I mean, well, I think when I look at the lyrics and I listen to him, I'm thinking about the fact that he's saying, I put in the work. Yeah.

of course I deserve this. And that's a hard, like you just said, that's a hard thing to really settle within yourself because we're conditioned to not sort of make that declarative statement of like, yeah, I deserve this. And I think it's even more a push in him doing that as a young black man from a certain community to say,

All these things. I put in the work. I did the hard stuff. I did the hard stuff physically, emotionally, professionally. I deserve happiness and peace, as Mary said. Yeah, I love that that's the point that Mary made sort of at the very end of her voice memo was,

What do you deserve for all of this? And as she points out, and it's in the song too, it's like, I deserve love and peace. And doesn't everybody? Right. And since this has come out, I have seen so many people on social media saying, yeah, control.

Kendrick said, I deserve it all. And he's right. Yeah. Well, I mean, he is Kendrick. He is Kendrick. But, you know, that speaking onto us or speaking into us, pouring into us via this song, like, yes, it is okay to claim your joy and your success. You do deserve it all. And what a great song. It is a great song. It is a great song, too. Yeah. Yeah.

All right, let's get back to some of the written comments we got. Our next one comes from Marsha in Belfast, Maine. The song she picked is One Last Dance by Baby Rose. Marsha says, The first time I heard this song, I cried.

Baby Rose sings hauntingly of running into a former lover and how the feelings still burn. As I age and reflect on past friends and lovers, memories of broken relationships bring an aching swell of emotions. And I hope those people know, even when these connections either slowly drifted apart or burned down in raging flames, my heart still has a place for them and gratitude for their place in my life. ♪ You know I still remember ♪

♪ I tried so hard but I can't forget you ♪ ♪ And I know that things have changed ♪ ♪ Didn't think I'd see you again ♪ ♪ Be alright if you never see ♪ ♪ But for a time ♪ ♪ Give me one last dance ♪ ♪ Ooh, you're doing better ♪

Now you're here looking good as ever All the things have changed, didn't think I'd see you again

It has a lot in common with that 25 song from Lake Street Dive, that whole idea of looking back at someone who was a part of your life and having only good things to say. Yes, and great storytelling in it as well. I immediately was seeing them encounter each other. Yeah, and like, oh man, you look great. Was not expecting you to look that good.

I love the nostalgia in this song. And, you know, shout out to Bad Bad Not Good on the production. They're phenomenal, sort of giving us that feel. And then she, Baby Rose, has this amazing beguiling voice that always, every time I listen to her, I'm trying to like, wait, I'm just trying to figure it out. Yeah. So it just all adds into this sort of great, almost in my mind, black and white sort of

movie feel. Sepia tone. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. So good. Do you know the singer Celeste? Yes. Do you know her song Strange? No, I don't know that one. Oh, we're going to do a bonus song here. Let's play a little bit of Strange. Okay. I am still me. You are still you. In the same place. Isn't it strange? How people can change.

Oh man

Again, I'm sitting here in my mind, seeing the movie. Yeah. I'm seeing these scenes. Yeah. I don't want to take anything from Baby Rose. One Last Dance is a great, great song, too. This, actually, quite a few people picked this song from Celeste, Strange. Mm-hmm.

But we were only doing new stuff. Right. So I couldn't do it. I think this came out maybe, gosh, four or five years ago. And it just devastated me when I first heard it. But it's that same idea. Yes. You know, like all the people in your life who were total strangers. Right. Then you become friends. You become lovers. And then strangers again. And because there's that line in the Baby Rose song of,

I know you'll be all right if you never see me again. Yeah. Like, we're probably never going to see each other again, but I'm good. Yeah. I know you're good. Yeah. And we've made those different stages in our lives. I love those stories of figuring out how people come together and how they fall apart. Yeah. Oh, so beautiful.

Okay, well, look, we'll put together a playlist with full versions of all of these songs and a whole bunch of the other ones that the listeners submitted because there were just way too many than we could put on here. But if people search for NPR on Spotify or Apple Music, they'll find the playlist. Hit hard in 2024. Let's do one more. And so many we could choose to go out on. But I thought we'd pick this one from Adrian Linker, the singer Adrian Linker. It's called Sadness as a Gift.

And I don't know, not really any additional commentary really needed on that idea of sadness as a gift. There's this great line, I don't remember where I heard it, where someone said, what is grief but love enduring? From... Was that from you? No, that was from Marvel. That was from Wanda in...

You're right. Vision. Vision says that, yes. Vision says that. What is grief? Thank you, Marvel. The Marvel Universe. Yes. Super deep, but that is so true. Yes. What is grief but love enduring? And so anytime, yeah, whenever I got sad about losing somebody or whatever, I think, well, what a gift to be able to. Exactly. That they left you with so many great memories. Yeah.

Yeah. All right. Well, anyway, this song from Adrian Linker, Sadness as a Gift, it was picked by Michael in Massachusetts. And he writes,

And then Michael says, it hit me hard before, during, and after my short-lived relationship this year. What can I say? I'm a yearner. You know what, Michael? I'm a yearner too. Same here, Michael. You're in good company. So we'll go out on this. Thanks so much, Mitra, again. Thank you so much for having me, Robin. You and I both know

There isn't nothing more to say. And for NPR Music, I'm Robin Hilton. It's All Songs Considered. Shining eyes and turned her face away. On the windowsill. You could write me someday and I think you will. We could see the sadness as a gift and still. Feel too heavy to hold. Snow falling.

I try to keep from calling Watch the spring turn to winter Fireflies all frozen The seasons go so fast Thinking that this one was gonna last Maybe the question was too much to ask I've been searching for your eyes

I see his blue skies and beats his crooked cane. It's time to let go. Lean in on the windowsill. You could write me someday and I bet you will. We could see the sadness as a gift and still.

The seasons go so fast, thinking that this one was gonna last. Maybe the question was too much to ask. This message comes from BetterHelp, committed to helping clients with issues ranging from relationship challenges and goal setting to grief and depression. Learn more at betterhelp.com slash tinydesk.

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