Half of me breathes in you

May 25, 2012 5:31 AM

I'm looking for songs about siblings that don't have words like sister, brother, or family in the title. Help me out.

I've got a few so far:

Murder in the City - Avett Brothers ("Make sure my sister knows I love her/Make sure my mother knows the same/Always remember there was nothing worth sharing like the love that let us share our name.")
Timshel - Mumford and Sons ("And you are not alone in this/As brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand.")
Dog Days are Over - Florence and the Machines ("Run for your children, for your sisters and brothers...")
Swim - Jack's Mannequin's ("Swim for your families, your lovers, your sisters and brothers and friends.")

I'm looking for neutral to positive mentions of siblings - I'd love stuff more like Murder in the City and Timshel, rather than passing mentions of siblings.

I've seen this thread but it goes in a different direction; these songs are going to end up on mix CDs, and I don't care about singability or the particular siblings being sung of/to.

If you know a great song that does have a sibling word in the title, that's fine too; I excluded those because they're easier to find.

posted by punchtothehead to media & arts (46 answers total)

Bruce Springsteen - Highway Patrolman
posted by Captain_Science at 5:33 AM on May 25, 2012

Is Billy Idol's "White Wedding" too obvious to mention?
posted by .kobayashi. at 5:33 AM on May 25, 2012

There's a kid's tune called "If I had a twin".
posted by tilde at 5:43 AM on May 25, 2012

Rodney Crowell, Wandering Boy
posted by Catseye at 5:44 AM on May 25, 2012

Does it have to explicitly mention brothers or sister in the lyrics? I think of The Song That Jane Likes.
posted by mibo at 5:46 AM on May 25, 2012

.kobayashi. - nothing's too obvious.

mibo - nope, implied siblings are great. Songs about specific siblings, like Rufus Wainwright's Martha or Jack Mannequin's Katie, also work.
posted by punchtothehead at 5:48 AM on May 25, 2012

Iron & Wine: Dead Man's Will
posted by jschu at 5:59 AM on May 25, 2012

Cosy Sheridan's beautiful song "Love Is Thicker than Water" is about her relationship with her brother. (No time for link, sorry)
posted by dlugoczaj at 6:00 AM on May 25, 2012

Daniel.
posted by effluvia at 6:06 AM on May 25, 2012

Joanna Newsom's song Emily is about her sister, who also sings backing vocals on the song.
posted by EmilyFlew at 6:13 AM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]

"Keep it Together" by Madonna
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 6:13 AM on May 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

David Lynn Jones, "Peterbilt a Truck for a Man to Drive." It's about the singer's sister becoming a truck driver after leaving her no-good husband.
posted by not that girl at 6:16 AM on May 25, 2012

What's Going On by Marvin Gaye.
posted by HandfulOfDust at 6:17 AM on May 25, 2012

Lily Allen's Alfie is about her brother. It's not the most positive in the sense that she's trying to get him to shape up and get his life together, but it feels like it comes from a place of love and concern vs. just bashing him.

Oh, and I guess the song must've worked, Alfie Allen is now an actor on Game of Thrones, apparently.
posted by miss_kitty_fantastico at 6:35 AM on May 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

I once heard that Our Love is Here To Stay was written by Ira, for George, but the Wikipedia page only says that "Ira Gershwin wrote the words after his brother's death, giving the song a special poignancy."
posted by seriousmoonlight at 6:45 AM on May 25, 2012

Sweetness Follows - REM
posted by h00py at 6:45 AM on May 25, 2012

I've always loved The Kinks' Come Dancing .
posted by ladygypsy at 6:49 AM on May 25, 2012

Caroline -- Old Crow Medicine Show

"Though we may be a thousand miles apart
A brother and a sister have a single heart
And the beat don't stop for nothin'"
posted by wg at 6:51 AM on May 25, 2012

Bambix - Monozygotic (though it's about an unhappy brother-brother relation)
posted by MinusCelsius at 6:56 AM on May 25, 2012

Caetano Veloso is the brother of Maria Bethânia. After the Brazilian dictatorship had him arrested and exiled to England, he wrote a song for her, full of homesickness and anxiety. The same year, Bethânia recorded a song about him (a much more optimistic one) with Jorge Ben.
posted by hydrophonic at 6:58 AM on May 25, 2012

Madness' Our House is about growing up with a sister and brother. It's got a lot in common with Come Dancing, I think.

I was going to say ABC's The Look Of Love, but I think the 'siiisters and brothers!' is about metaphorical rather than actual siblings.
posted by mippy at 7:06 AM on May 25, 2012

Lily Allen's "Alfie" is about her brother (who seems to have come a long way since she wrote it; he plays Theon on Game of Thrones.)
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:43 AM on May 25, 2012

Alexi Murdoch -- Orange Sky
posted by amarynth at 7:46 AM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]

m83's whole last album is about a brother and a sister.
posted by empath at 8:04 AM on May 25, 2012

Jens Lekman: "The Opposite of Hallelujah"
posted by to recite so charmingly at 8:25 AM on May 25, 2012

Oh yeah! Also the song "Driveway" by Hayden... about a time when his brother got him to stick stones up his nose.
posted by to recite so charmingly at 8:32 AM on May 25, 2012

Buenos Tardes Amigo by Ween.
posted by schyler523 at 8:36 AM on May 25, 2012

There's a little known band called The Snake The Cross The Crown (not actually religious music). There's a song called Maps, and it menrions a few relationships, here's where it mentions siblings, twice:

"I recall my brothers; And only brothers never wander far."

And:

"Entombed by the love of my brothers. They'll still be around."
posted by FirstMateKate at 8:59 AM on May 25, 2012

Blue October's "Sweet and Somber Pigeon Wings" is about family relationships, including siblings.
posted by shamash at 10:40 AM on May 25, 2012

Martha Wainwright's Laurel & Hardy
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:53 AM on May 25, 2012

Sister Sledge's We Are Family
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:08 AM on May 25, 2012

Night Ranger's Sister Christian
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:22 AM on May 25, 2012

For my Family, by Devil Makes Three
posted by BrashTech at 12:00 PM on May 25, 2012

Fall of '82 from the new Shins album is the words of a brother reflecting on how his older sister helped him through a tough time when they were young.
posted by matildaben at 12:15 PM on May 25, 2012

Jason Robert Brown's "Nothing in Common"
posted by elkerette at 12:43 PM on May 25, 2012

Middle of the Hill -Josh Pyke
posted by h00py at 3:34 PM on May 25, 2012

Damien Jurado's Medication and I Had No Intentions. Actually, probably a lot of his other stuff as well. Those two just initially come to mind.
posted by Felicity Rilke at 5:26 PM on May 25, 2012

Stay Up Late - Talking Heads
Young Turks - Rod Stewart
posted by SisterHavana at 5:33 PM on May 25, 2012

Bonnie Prince Billy -- I see a darkness
The Shangri-Las - I can never go home again
Billy Idol - White Wedding
Bruce Springsteen - I'm on fire
Pulp - Common People
Smog - Cold-blooded old times
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
posted by Felicity Rilke at 5:37 PM on May 25, 2012

I'm still going through these all and they're awesome so far. Thank you all so much.
posted by punchtothehead at 5:38 PM on May 25, 2012

(I added "mother" and "father" without realizing you didn't type that, so you can disregard, oh, lots of these)
posted by Felicity Rilke at 5:39 PM on May 25, 2012

Sophie B. Hawkins - "California Here I Come"
posted by Iris Gambol at 8:21 PM on May 25, 2012

The Louvin Brothers - I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby

Will Oldham (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Palace, Palace Music, Palace Brothers, etc.) - Gulf Shores (beautiful song, although it's not positive, or even neutral)

Calexico - Across the Wire

Fleet Foxes - Blue Ridge Mountains

The Who - Tattoo

Elton John - Daniel

Joanna Newsom's "Emily" is for her sister, an astrophysicist, who provided some backing vocals for the song.
posted by hydrophonic at 10:08 AM on May 26, 2012

REM's Sweetness Follows:

Listen here, my sister and my brother
What would you care if you lost the other?
I always wonder why did we bother,
Distanced from one, deaf to the other
posted by jabes at 11:41 AM on May 26, 2012

Family Reserve - Lyle Lovett

Oh Sister - Dan Bern
posted by MsMolly at 11:30 AM on May 30, 2012

Stevie Wonder's Living for the City has a verse about the a brother and sister.
posted by jefftang at 1:59 PM on May 31, 2012