Top songs

Top songs, by user votes. Click the titles for lyrics and more song details; click the play widget to hear the song. And vote!

  1. miso

    June 1, 1990 - 12:00am — tw

    2:05 minutes (1.91 MB)

    A happy a cappella song featuring heavy breathing, chest pounding, and lyrics from the back of a condiment package.

    And a true story. Occurred and written down in spring of 1990, recorded by Andrew Rappaport in the “counting the moon” sessions in June 1992 in a few takes, while grinning madly. I never found out what “shinshu honzukuri miso shiro” means, and I hope I never will.

    Your rating: None Average: 5 (6 votes)

  2. rainy sunday afternoon

    July 25, 2010 - 12:02pm — tw

    4:15 minutes (3.89 MB)

    I improvised this while playing guitar for my daughter while she took her bath, one rainy Sunday in 2008, having just driven home from my wife’s cousin’s wedding in Vermont. I was just singing what was going on. Then it seemed worth remembering.

    It took two years to get it recorded. The rain storm recording was from last night, after I spent most of the day finishing the solo guitar and bass tracks.

    Your rating: None Average: 5 (4 votes)

  3. keep rolling down river

    January 1, 1996 - 1:01am — tw

    7:19 minutes (6.71 MB)

    A hymn to the inspiration and guidance I feel from flowing water. Five-part a cappella harmony.

    I wrote this in the fall of 1995, the morning after having seen the movie Beyond Rangoon. The climax of the movie comes as a group of Burmese refugees is trying to cross a river marking the Thai border. At the time, I was spending some time every day watching the creek near my house.

    Your rating: None Average: 5 (2 votes)

  4. lakewind

    January 1, 1996 - 1:04am — tw

    4:05 minutes (3.74 MB)

    A love poem about a breeze that falls in love with the lake it touches, but is (apparently) unrequited.

    She was an air sign, I’m water. It all felt symbolic. Also I was riding my bike a lot where I could see Cayuga Lake stretching out, and feeling the autumn winds. This recording took three completely separate tries over many months before it sounded good to me.

    Your rating: None Average: 5 (1 vote)

  5. roundtrip vigil

    January 1, 1998 - 1:01am — tw

    2:21 minutes (2.16 MB)

    I wrote the first verse of this song in an online chat conversation. That may not seem very remarkable, but consider that it was 1987 at the time (~10,000 computers on the Internet, before either the World Wide Web or IRC). The conversation took place on mainframe computers at IBM, where I and my friend Betsy were (supposed to be) working.

    The first line was in response to the question, “but why would you?” I don’t remember what preceded that.

    Your rating: None Average: 5 (1 vote)

  6. some kind of truth

    January 1, 2000 - 1:00am — tw

    3:49 minutes (3.5 MB)

    A credo.

    Your rating: None Average: 4.5 (2 votes)

  7. verisimilitude

    December 19, 2011 - 1:39pm — tw

    1:56 minutes (1.77 MB)

    For Tom and Leela. Written and recorded this morning.

    Your rating: None Average: 4.5 (2 votes)

  8. counting the moon

    November 24, 1991 - 1:00am — tw

    4:57 minutes (4.54 MB)

    A happy ode to sitting still.

    The title and chorus for this song came to me in early 1990 just after I finished up my previous album, “the flower grandchildren’s quiet transformation.” I knew at that point that it was going to be the title track for my next album, but it wasn’t until two years later, when I had most of the remaining songs for that album written, that I actually got down to writing the verses for this one. During those years I was diligently sitting quietly for a half hour each morning, often accompanied by my cat. It was a nice thing to do. read more...

    Your rating: None Average: 4.3 (3 votes)

  9. wind and river

    June 1, 1989 - 12:00am — tw

    2:35 minutes (2.37 MB)

    A blessing: May the nature-of-things hold you in the palm of its hand.

    My brother Matt was married in July of 1989, and I was his best man. I went on a road trip to Maine with my friend Betsy over the July 4th weekend, and wrote this as a wedding toast along the way. (I remember practicing it outside our tent in a campground.) I sang it at the reception the following week, then recorded it in a few takes after I got home.

    Your rating: None Average: 4 (2 votes)

  10. Shenandoah, river of my dreams

    February 1, 2000 - 1:07am — tw

    5:16 minutes (4.83 MB)

    A contemplative version of the old folk song about leaving, separation, and longing for return.

    This song took me seven years to record. I did some tracks in 1993, of which only the harmony vocals have survived. I did some more work on it in about 1996, including recording the piano intro at a place where my friend Sharon was house-sitting. I redid all the lead vocals in October of 1999, then all the instruments in January 2000.

    It’s a mysterious song, Shenandoah. I’m told it’s a sea chanty, yet it talks about inland rivers. Maybe it’s addressing the river, or a region, or a person. read more...

    Your rating: None Average: 4 (1 vote)