Help me find a song

[matadorpoeta]

i need help choosing/finding a song and hopefully you guys can help me. these are the requirements:

1) very sad
2) very romantic
3) preferably old, say even 1930s or older. if there will be some hiss in the background from it being an old recording, that would be great.
4) instrumental
5) it must have a violin and a piano and preferably no more than 3 or 4 instruments. nothing orchestral.

if you don't know of any particular songs but know of a certain musician or composer that would help too.

if there are any websites you know that can be of help i'd appreciate the info. thanks in advance.

 

[Kai]

"Mood Indigo" by Duke Ellington

Must be some renditions of it out there that fit your requirments. It's been recorded lots. Check Amazon.

Other Ellington romantic classics include "Satin Doll," "Solitude," "In a Sentimental Mood."

Mood Indigo
You ain't been blue; no, no, no.
You ain't been blue,
Till you've had that mood indigo.
That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes
While I sit and sigh, "Go 'long blues".


Always get that mood indigo,
Since my baby said goodbye.
In the evenin' when lights are low,
I'm so lonesome I could cry.

'Cause there's nobody who cares about me,
I'm just a soul who's bluer than blue can be.
When I get that mood indigo,
I could lay me down and die.

 

[ken]

Have a gander at some of these: zipped slow jams don't say i never did nothin for you.

 

[matadorpoeta]

ken, i've downloaded your songs but am unable to play them. i'm trying with the real one player. should i try something else?

kai, thanks for the tip. i heard one version on amazon.com and it's not quite what i was looking for.

what i'm hoping to find is something extremely romantic along the lines of carlitos gardel or agustin lara but instrumental and very intimate. i know there was a very famous french pianist who may have played something similar but i don't remeber his name at all.

 

[j]

Try AMG http://www.allmusic.com . Good info on any artist and also related artists, same style, related styles, etc. I am reading a bit about the artists you posted and what comes to mind for some reason is "Corcovado" on a record I have performed by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd. Also Astrud & Joao Gilberto, who do a version of that song and "The Girl from Ipanema" (the famous one sung by Astrud) along with a really sad song on the same CD I have... called.. looking it up.. Once upon a Summertime. These aren't instrumental, but I'm sure there are instrumental versions of them. Shadow of your Smile is another good one with plenty of instrumental versions. Is this for a movie or something? Why the specific criteria?

 

[ken]

You need to unzip them first. If you don't have winzip, you can get a free trial at winzip.com. After you unzip them, they're just mp3 files and can be played on anything.

 

[Mike]

One of my favorite slow, sad songs is from Miles Davis off one of the greaterst albums ever, Kind Of Blue. Â The song is called "Blue In Green." Â Great, slow song. Â I've always liked to pour a nice, strong drink, turn down the lights, and put this song on on a lonely night. Â I highly recommend the entire album as well as it is a milestone in jazz and music itself.

 

[matadorpoeta]

thank you everyone for the recommendations. i found something by chance that just might be it. it doesn't meet my original criteria but it sounds very intense and passionate to me so i'm going with it.

Is this for a movie or something? Why the specific criteria?

sorry j, top secret... here's a link to the song if anyone's interested:bachianas brasileiras no. 5 scroll down then click on track #2.

 

[artdeco73]

thank you everyone for the recommendations. i found something by chance that just might be it. it doesn't meet my original criteria but it sounds very intense and passionate to me so i'm going with it.
Quote:

Is this for a movie or something? Why the specific criteria?
sorry j, top secret... here's a link to the song if anyone's interested:bachianas brasileiras no. 5 scroll down then click on track #2.
"Bachianas" is a beautiful piece, but if the reason it doesn't exactly fit the criteria is because it doesn't have enough of the old, scratchy sound, try recordings by Django Reinhardt, frequently billed in conjunction with the Hot Club of France. Â Most of his numbers are uptempo, but he does have a few gorgeous slow ones, including a version of Ellington's "Solitude." Â Compilations of his music go in and out of print all the time, so I hesitate to recommend a specific one (mine is a French print from a decade or so ago, and almost certainly no longer available). Â The instrumentation is typically two or three acoustic guitars, bass and fiddle. Also, the saddest song recorded before WWII to me has always been Louis Armostrong's "St. James Infirmary" but it usually has vocals. Â In fact, the lyrics add the extra measure of sadness (it's about a dead lover). Â There may be instrumental versions out there, but I haven't looked. Let me know what you end up with. Regards, artdeco73

 

[imageWIS]

I have the perfect song that meets all of your criteria: "Gloomy Sunday" (The original (non-vocal) instrumental version with a duet of piano and violin) Jon. P.S. I don't think you can make a song any sadder after A) it is about a lover dying and the other lover taking their own life to join them and B) a song that has been dubbed "the suicide song." More info: http://www.phespirit.info/gloomysunday/

 

[matadorpoeta]

thanks jon,
do you know where i could find the original instrumental version? what artist would i look under? the earliest recording listed on the link is by hal kemp and apparently that one has lyrics. even if i don't use this song it sounds like something interesting to listen to.

 

[imageWIS]

I am unsure as to where you might acquire a copy of the original instrumental version. I personally only have a modern version, I think recorded in the 1990's. I have several original versions from the 1930-1940's but they are the vocal versions.

Jon.

 

[imageWIS]

I think I may have found a solution for you, although it is not exactly what you are looking for, but I guess it is better than nothing. Amazon now sells the Gloom Sunday (Das Lied von Liebe und Tod) movie soundtrack on their US website: http://www.amazon.com/exec....=507846 Granted, it is a new recording and perhaps has too many instruments, but the soundtrack has a few versions of the song (although it oddly does not contain the famous version by Billie Holliday). Jon.