Neil McCormick Music Critic 22 June 2018 11:04am BST Culture hit lists banner VERA LYNN'S IN THERE, SO IS BEYONCÉ. BUT WHERE DOES DAVID BOWIE RANK? THE TELEGRAPH'S MUSIC CRITIC

PICKS HIS ALL-TIME FAVOURITES As a fan, musician and critic, songs form the very ground of my life, a constant soundtrack to my interior world, a source of inspiration and consolation as

well as old-fashioned entertainment. At the heart of a song is a mystery, the way it interacts with the memories and experience of the listener to become something intensely personal. More

than any other form of artistic expression, people claim songs as their own. For me, a great song is about melody and lyric dovetailing together to become more than the sum of their parts,

reflect that by celebrating songs everybody knows. Some are karaoke standards, the songs we sing to make sense of our lives, while some have a different kind of greatness, pushing further

and deeper in recalling experience. Any such list will always be personal rather than definitive – we all have songs that sing in our hearts. These are the 100 greatest songs of my time.

100. SPACE ODDITY DAVID BOWIE (1969) Starting as I intend to finish, with sci-fi strangeness from pop’s resident spaceman – a weightless masterpiece of alienation. 99. WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

BOB THEILE & GEORGE DAVID WEISS (1968); DEFINITIVE VERSION (DV): LOUIS ARMSTRONG Improbably sweet view of life on earth, its peaceful aura makes it a perfect antidote to harsh reality.

98. YOUR SONG ELTON JOHN/BERNIE TAUPIN (1971); DV: ELTON JOHN Playfully self-referential, deliberately awkward, mock-inarticulate little gem, perfectly aligning words and music into an

everyman love song. 97. COME ON EILEEN KEVIN ROWLAND/JIM PATTERSON/BILLY ADAMS (1982); DV: DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS Joyous, Celtic paean to desire with a melody that keeps going up and up

until you think your head is going to pop. 96. I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR U2 (1987) Gospel rock hymn of doubt and spiritual quest, encapsulating the ambiguity of belief and

uncertainty of faith. 95. SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT KURT COBAIN (1991); DV: NIRVANA Celebrated as an anthemic rock recording, the spine-tingling melodic motifs, fascinating lyrical

abstractions and dark, emotional core attest to Cobain’s desire “to write the ultimate pop song.” 94. SINGLE LADIES (RING ON IT) HARRELL/ KNOWLES/ NASH/ STEWART (2009); DV: BEYONCE Rhythm,

vocal and attitude come together in an exultant, uplifting declaration of female independence. Super-smart dance song you can sing in the shower. 93. RUNAWAY WEST / THORNTON,  HAYNIE, 

BHASKER /DEAN / BRANCH (2010) DV: KANYE WEST (FEATURING PUSHA T)   The new song forms of hip-hop don’t usually lend themselves to anthemic singalongs but Kanye West’s self-loathing apology

for every sad sack in the human race is a powerful exception. Strip away the extraordinary production and you are left with a lyric and melody that still strikes like an icy dagger to the

heart. 92. HELP! LENNON & MCCARTNEY (1965); DV: THE BEATLES A raw, emotional cri de coeur magically rendered as a pure, uplifting blast of rock’n’roll. 91. SOMEBODY TO LOVE FREDDIE

MERCURY (1976); DV: QUEEN Bohemian Rhapsody may be a bigger, stranger and more idiosyncratic recording but this swooning ballad of longing boasts Queens most vertigo- inducing sentiment and

melodiousness. 90. TAKE ME TO CHURCH ANDREW HOZIER-BYRNE (2013); DV: HOZIER Rising out of the depths of the internet to embed itself in popular consciousness, Hozier’s soulful, bluesy,

gospel anthem offers a covert attack on organised religion while worshipping at the altar of sex. Impossible to resist singing along with every Amen. 89. RUN SNOW PATROL (2003) An anthem for

our age: apocalyptic verses surrender to a sweeping chorus with the promise that a departed lover will always be present. 88. YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE RICHARD RODGERS & OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN

II (1945); DV: GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS 1963 Forties show tune famously transformed by the Merseybeat band into a soaring anthem of fraternal belonging. 87. ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE LENNON

& MCCARTNEY (1967); DV: THE BEATLES Hopelessly optimistic yet wonderfully inspirational singalong peace anthem. 86. JEALOUS GUY JOHN LENNON (1971) Tender, sorrowful ballad that displays

the more authentically raw and honest side of one of pop’s most complex songwriters. 85. MACARTHUR PARK JIMMY WEBB (1968); DV: RICHARD HARRIS Big, bonkers multi-part epic equating lost love

with a forgotten cookery recipe. 84. LIGHT MY FIRE THE DOORS (1966) Provocative, sensual, slinky slow-burner weaving erotic desire into hypnotic groove. 83. IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS OF THE

MORNING BOB HILLIARD/DAVID MANN (1955); DV: FRANK SINATRA Heart-breaking, insomniac longing, beautifully evoking a lonely mood of contemplation in long, lost hours before the break of dawn.

82. EVERYTIME WE SAY GOODBYE COLE PORTER (1944); DV: ELLA FITZGERALD 1956 The backdrop of war lent this farewell song extra weight as Porter maintains the lightest emotional touch to the

heaviest of emotional reckonings. 81. COLD, COLD HEART HANK WILLIAMS (1951); DV: NORAH JONES 2002 Unreciprocated love given wry, understated treatment from country and western’s original

songwriting genius. 80: EMPIRE STATE OF MIND HUNTE / KEYS / SHUCKBURGH / KEYES / SEWELL-ULEPIC / CARTER (2009); DV: JAY Z & ALICIA KEYS The city that has probably inspired more songs

than any other gets a glorious anthem for the hip-hop era. There’s a sublime Alicia Keys solo piano version but for swaggering, inspirational optimism you can’t beat the Jay Z rap. 79:

WATCHING THE DETECTIVES ELVIS COSTELLO (1977) Creepily paranoid, twisting metaphor for psychological and romantic disintegration. 78. I’M A BELIEVER NEIL DIAMOND (1966); DV: THE MONKEES A

cynic has his head turned by beauty, making one of the most uplifting love songs ever written. 77. ROYALS JOEL LITTLE / ELLA YELICH-O’CONNOR (2014); DV: LORDE 2014 Teenager Lorde’s slo-mo

beats, sad chords and flowing melody elegantly frame a wise-beyond-her-years lyric skewering the gap between pop fantasy and real lives. We’ll be singing Lorde’s songs for years to come. 76.

THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST CAT STEVENS (1967); DV: ROD STEWART 1976 Before Cat Stevens found Allah he crafted this intense ballad of wounded love. 75. ROLLING IN THE DEEP ADELE ADKINS /

PAUL EPWORTH (2010) DV: ADELE Her big, expressive voice and electric personality have helped make Adele the biggest pop star of the 21st Century. What is sometimes overlooked is the melodic

quality, lyrical punch and perfect flow of her songwriting, as demonstrated on this absolutely barnstorming song of betrayal and recrimination. 74.: I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER BURT BACHARACH/HAL

DAVID (1967); DV: ARETHA FRANKLIN 1968 An everyday kind of love takes on a cheerfully sacred hue from one of the most perfectly matched songwriting teams in pop history. 73. MY FUNNY

VALENTINE RICHARD RODGERS AND LORENZ HART (1937); DV: CHET BAKER 1953 Show tune turned jazz standard, magically transforming a list of faults into a declaration of adoration. 72. ANARCHY IN

THE UK THE SEX PISTOLS (1976) Perhaps not everyone’s idea of a singalong but the wit and anger make it the great political protest song of our times. 71. AMERICAN PIE DON MCLEAN (1971) Asked

what the song means, McLean once said: “It means I never have to work again.” Cryptic yet uplifting singalong about the mysteries of music and love. 70: HOTEL CALIFORNIA DON FELDER/GLENN

FREY/DON HENLEY (1976); DV: THE EAGLES A sense of weird spatial dislocation hangs over this beguiling and perplexing metaphor for the Hollywood high life powered by a scintillating weave of

melodic motifs. 69. YOU’VE LOST THAT LOVIN’ FEELIN’ PHIL SPECTOR/BARRY MANN/CYNTHIA WEIL (1964); DV: THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS Forensic dissection of the end of an affair turns into an epic

plea for reconciliation in a karaoke classic. 68. CRAZY WILLIE NELSON (1961); DV: PATSY CLINE Whimsical, touching song of self-reproach amid the madness of love. 67. JOLENE DOLLY PARTON

(1974) Housewife fights seductress for the love of her husband. Compelling country narrative of jealousy and despair underpinned by steely courage. 66. WICHITA LINEMAN JIMMY WEBB (1968); DV:

GLEN CAMPBELL Lonely desire distilled in the image of a telephone engineer on an empty highway listening in to his lover’s voice. 65. THE SCIENTIST COLDPLAY (2002) Stately, vulnerable piano

ballad of a lover’s apologetic desire to turn back the clock that sweeps reistance away with a gorgeous keening coda. 64: REHAB AMY WINEHOUSE (2006) Well, we all know where this ended up,

but that doesn’t make Amy’s wicked, soulful defiance any less inspiring. 63: WHY ANNIE LENNOX/PETER JOHN VETTESE (1992); DV: ANNIE LENNOX The personal becomes universal in this soulful,

apologetic anthem about cruelty and injustice. 62: THE MERCY SEAT NICK CAVE/MICK HARVEY (1988); DV: JOHNNY CASH (2000) Cave’s incredible, vivid lyric puts you in the electric chair with a

man facing the end, in defiance and fear. But it took an interpreter of Cash’s humanity to draw out the song’s heart. 61: FEEL ROBBIE WILLIAMS/GUY CHAMBERS (2002); DV: ROBBIE WILLIAMS Most

Robbie Williams fans would probably opt for the robust singalong charms of Angel but Feel is a slow-burning wonder, a subtle yet evocative song of emotional constriction with a huge chorus.

60: YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT JAGGER & RICHARDS (1969); DV: THE ROLLING STONES Burned-out, world-weary, cynical but ultimately uplifting tale of daily survival that offers

advice you can live by (“if you try sometimes, you just might find, you can get what you need”). 59: WHEN DOVES CRY PRINCE (1984) Compelling, icy cry from the heart with keening melody and

one of the strangest choruses in pop. 58: MR BOJANGLES JERRY JEGG WALKER (1968); DV: NINA SIMONE (1971) Gentle character study of tap-dancing hobo and his dog, underpinned by issues of race

and poverty on American streets, floating by on a melody infused with sadness. 57: WISH YOU WERE HERE DAVID GILMOUR/ROGER WATERS (1975); DV: PINK FLOYD Unusually for Floyd, this is a simple

acoustic folk-blues drone, with a powerful, ironic lyric about life as a war zone. 56. SOMETHING GEORGE HARRISON (1970); DV: THE BEATLES Mysterious and sacred hymn of romantic praise,

grounded in Harrison’s plain-speaking manner. Frank Sinatra called it the greatest love song ever. 55. MOONDANCE VAN MORRISON (1970) Morrison’s muse has carried him on wild astral journeys

but this jazzy little lunar groove distils the essence of love and dancing. 54. 1,000 DOLLAR WEDDING GRAM PARSONS (1973) Perhaps the most heartbreaking country lament ever, a wearily

detailed observation of a groom’s desertion at the altar. 53. BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND BOB DYLAN (1963) Dylan’s poetic distillation of the mysteries of humanity’s inhumanity. 52.: THE TEARS OF A

CLOWN STEVIE WONDER, HANK COSBY, SMOKEY ROBINSON (1967); DV: SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES Love as a masquerade, hurt wrapped up in melodic delight. 51. IN MY LIFE LENNON &

MCCARTNEY (1965); DV: THE BEATLES McCartney’s melodicism surely helped shape Lennon’s elegant comparison of past and present loves into a song for all ages. 50. LET’S FACE THE MUSIC AND

DANCE IRVING BERLIN (1936); DV: FRED ASTAIRE Swooning, swaying melody and mischievously defiant lyric sets the immediacy of musical escapism against ominous forces of reality. 49. BRIDGE

OVER TROUBLED WATER PAUL SIMON (1970); DV: SIMON AND GARFUNKEL Epic, ethereal, always touching and fantastically stirring ballad of loyalty and sacrifice. 48. I WILL SURVIVE FREDDIE

PERREN/DINO FEKARIS (1978); DV: GLORIA GAYNOR Ultimate anthem of the down-trodden woman at the disco. 47. BIRD ON THE WIRE LEONARD COHEN (1969) Lonely, sorrowful yet defiant distillation of

the human condition from one of the deepest lyricists of out time. 46. CRY ME A RIVER ARTHUR HAMILTON (1953); DV: JULIE LONDON Richly sensual melody sweetens the bitter pill of a lover’s

cold-hearted revenge. 45. WATERLOO SUNSET RAY DAVIES (1967); DV: THE KINKS Lonely man finds solace in the city, an anthem for every Londoner. Ray Davies sketches multitudes in a few simple

lines, climbing to an ecstatic chorus. 44. PROTECTION MASSIVE ATTACK WITH TRACY THORN (1995) Fragility and strength combine in perfect trip-hop evocation of love’s shelter. 43. THE NEEDLE

AND THE DAMAGE DONE NEIL YOUNG (1972) A beautiful melody and intimate poetic lyric soften the blows in Young’s tragic lament for a friend lost to heroin. 42. LOSING MY RELIGION REM (1991)

Oblique obsessional singalong that means whatever a listener wants it to mean, so heartfelt and catchy its abstract impenetrability imbues it with something strangely universal. That’s me in

the corner. 41. HEY JUDE LENNON & MCCARTNEY (1968); DV: THE BEATLES McCartney’s greatest singalong, a caring lyric combines with a rolling melody and “nah-nah-nah”s that feel like they

could go on forever. 40. ONE FOR MY BABY (AND ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD) HAROLD ARLEN & JOHNNY MERCER (1943); DV FRANK SINATRA (1958) The ultimate saloon song, a lonely drinker’s lament. 39.

TOM TRAUBERT’S BLUES (FOUR SHEETS TO THE WIND IN COPENHAGEN) TOM WAITS (1976) You can smell the whiskey and regret on Waits poetic evocation of drunken melancholy, with a woozy chorus

fashioned from Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda. 38. ONE DAY I’LL FLY AWAY JOE SAMPLE/WILL JENNINGS (1980); DV: RANDY CRAWFORD Tender, fateful foretelling of the end of a relationship.

37. THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE EWAN MACOLL (1957); DV: ROBERTA FLACK (1969) Mesmerising song of sensual worship, improbably composed by sweater-clad communist folkie. 36. ALISON

ELVIS COSTELLO (1977) Punk rock’s most tenderly poisonous love song. 35. VISIONS OF JOHANNA BOB DYLAN (1966) Desire adrift in a surreal night-time world. “Ain’t it just like the night to

play tricks when you’re trying to be so quiet?” 34. RIVER DEEP, MOUNTAIN HIGH PHIL SPECTOR, JEFF BARRY, ELLIE GREENWICH (1966); DV: IKE AND TINA TURNER Gloriously over-the-top metaphor for

lung-busting, unrestrained love. 33. I JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF BURT BACHARACH & HAL DAVID (1962); DV: DUSTY SPRINGFIELD 1964 Vibrant distillation of everyday heartbreak

and bafflement. 32. IMAGINE JOHN LENNON (1971) Absurdly (some would say hypocritically) idealistic, Imagine still perfectly evokes a kind of utopia. 31. WORKING CLASS HERO JOHN LENNON (1970)

The other side of Lennon’s idealism: bitter dissection of class, where anger counterpoints a lovely melody. 30. STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN JIMMY PAGE / ROBERT PLANT (1970) Beneath the explosive

force and incredible arc of Led Zeppelin’s performance lurks an achingly beautiful pastoral ballad picking at the vanity of humanity in the glorious face of the natural world. 29. FOR THE

ROSES JONI MITCHELL (1972) Complex, vibrant suicide note to the music business from a woman operating at the highest stratosphere of words and music. 28. COMMON PEOPLE PULP (1995) Comical

class anthem whose ironic wit and sharp couplets barely dampen the underlying anger. 27. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME GET WHAT I WANT MORRISSEY & MARR (1984); DV: THE SMITHS Morrissey has

rarely been as artless or vulnerable, his direct plea for love set to a beautiful Johnny Marr melody. 26. WONDERWALL NOEL GALLAGHER (1995); DV: RYAN ADAMS (2004) Vulnerability trembles

through the defiance of Oasis’s forcefully direct love song. That it is irresistibly singalong almost goes without saying. 25. CREEP THOM YORKE (1992); DV RADIOHEAD The song Thom Yorke says

he loves least is his most direct and potent outsider anthem. 24. LOVE WILL TEAR US APART JOY DIVISION (1980) Romantic fear and self-loathing wrapped up in a post-punk torch song. 23. STAND

BY ME BEN E KING, JERRY LEIBER, MIKE STOLLER (1961); DV: BEN E KING Simple chord progression and heartfelt plea combine for an inspiring anthem of solidarity. 22. I HEARD IT THROUGH THE

GRAPEVINE NORMAN WHITFIELD & BARRETT STRONG (1966); DV MARVIN GAYE (1968) Rumour, gossip, jealousy transformed into slinky soul. 21. SATELLITE OF LOVE LOU REED (1973) Emotionally fragile

yet perversely jolly take on jealousy that resonates with ambiguity and a chorus that soars into the stars. 20. WE’LL MEET AGAIN ROSS PARKER & HUGHIE CHARLES (1939); DV: VERA LYNN

Optimism and stoicism made this singalong the people’s song of the Second World War. 19. DANCING QUEEN BENNY ANDERSSON, BJÖRN ULVAEUS, STIG ANDERSON (1976); DV: ABBA On a purely melodic and

harmonic level, ABBA operated in a sphere beyond most pop songwriters. The joyous escapism of Dancing Queen is infused with ephemeral loss, a feeling of youth burning out before your very

eyes and ears. 18. GOD ONLY KNOWS BRIAN WILSON & TONY ASHER (1966); DV: THE BEACH BOYS Gorgeous devotional love song floats on a heartbursting baroque melody. 17: ONE U2 (1992) The

confrontation implicit in a bitter divorce is somehow transmuted into inspirational anthem of mutual dependence. 16. STRANGE FRUIT ABEL MEEROPOL (1936); DV: BILLIE HOLIDAY (1939) Sinister

poetic account of racist lynchings. Holiday is said to have broken down every time she performed it. 15. THE BOXER PAUL SIMON (1969); DV: SIMON AND GARFUNKEL Soul stirring song of survival,

our weary narrator drawing inspiration from a scarred fighter’s refusal to surrender. 14. THE RIVER BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (1981) Springsteen is a master of American narratives, and digs deep on

this huge, haunting ballad charting how economic hardship can destroy a relationship, with the dried river as a symbol of elusive hopes and dreams. 13. HALLELUJAH LEONARD COHEN (1984); DV:

JEFF BUCKLEY (1994) The song that has everything: desire and rejection, love and sex, God and man, failure and transcendence. 12. SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL JAGGER & RICHARDS (1968); DV: THE

ROLLING STONES Jagger outrageously puts himself in the cloven hooves of Satan in a wild, evocative roll call of human outrages. 11. GOD’S SONG (THAT’S WHY I LOVE MANKIND) RANDY NEWMAN

(1972) Equally outrageously, Newman casts himself as God contemplating his pitiful creation. 10. EVERYBODY HURTS STIPE, BERRY, BUCK & MILLS (1993); DV: REM A secular hymn of compassion

constructed around a simple picked rock-and-roll guitar motif. 9. I’VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN COLE PORTER (1956); DV: FRANK SINATRA Has there ever been a more streamlined, sensual evocation

of addictive desire? 8. SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW HAROLD ARLEN & E. Y YARBURG (1939); DV: JUDY GARLAND The rising melody and wistful lyric perfectly encapsulate yearning for a

different, better life. 7. SAINT JAMES INFIRMARY TRADITIONAL BLUES; DV: LOUIS ARMSTRONG 1928 A singer ponders lost love and prepares for his own funeral on a sad, defiant contemplation of

mortality that has been passed down through the mists of time and recorded by artists as diverse as Billie Holiday and the White Stripes. 6. REDEMPTION SONG BOB MARLEY (1979) Simple,

stirring, strangely wistful anthem of freedom, both personal and political. 5. LOLA RAY DAVIES (1970); DV: THE KINKS Witty, compassionate, inspirational song of confused, transgender love,

boasting dazzling rhymes, exultant melody and explosive emotion. 4. UNCHAINED MELODY ALEX NORTH & HY ZARET (1955); DV: THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS (1965) A thousand karaoke versions cannot

destroy this epic, vocally demanding ballad. 3. TANGLED UP IN BLUE BOB DYLAN (1975) Dylan’s dazzling narrative of star-crossed love and divorce was shaped by abstract art into a tableaux you

can come at from any angle and discover something new. 2. LET IT BE LENNON & MCCARTNEY (1970); DV: THE BEATLES (1970) Anthem of consolation, inspired by Paul McCartney’s dream of a

visit from his own mother, Mary. 1: LIFE ON MARS? DAVID BOWIE (1971) Gloriously strange sci-fi anthem. A stirring, yearning melody combines with vivid, poetic imagery to accomplish a trick

very particular to the art of the song: to be at once completely impenetrable and yet resonant with personal meaning. You want to raise your voice and sing along, yet Bowie’s abstract cut-up

lyrics force you to invest the song with something of yourself just to make sense of the experience, and then carries you away to a place resonant with intense, individual emotion. The

magic and mystery of music and lyrics. It is something to behold.