Song of the Week

Like Book of the Week, this is another feature I plan on running.

This week, to mark the end of summer and the return to order, responsibilities and (of course) rain, the song I have chosen is sad. In fact, it's possibly the saddest and most emotional song I've heard. It's LILAC WINE by Jeff Buckley.

Most people praise Buckley for his cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah'. However, whilst this is a beautiful and emotional rendition, his own original track is the one which stands out most for me on his album 'Grace'.

'Lilac Wine' shows Buckley mourning the loss of a lover and turning to the release that wine provides. By numbing the pain in his head and heart, and retiring his mind to a sense of murky illusion, Buckley attempts to make it through the sorrow that comes with the end of a relationship. In the song he sings: 'I think much more than I ought to think/ Do things I never should do/ I drink much more than I ought to drink/ Because it brings me back you.'

It's not just the lyrics which make this song so full of feeling, but the instrumental and the way Buckley uses his voice. He doesn't keep his voice clear and strong, but instead deliberately falls into a cracked and defeated tone which by the end sounds close to tears. The simple instrumental draws focus to this and makes his isolation all the more potent. This is a glorious but devastating song, made all the more tragic by Buckley's shocking death at such a young age.

Best Lyric: 'Lilac wine, I feel unsteady. Where is my love?'