Comments on: Songs that feature night...

Question: Songs that feature night...

inactivist — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 21:49:28 -0800

Songs which feature night?

I'm trying to make a mixcd of songs that feature night, to be played at night. I'm particularly interested in songs which have crickets (or other ambient sounds of night) mixed into the recording, so if a song qualifies for this category please mark it with an asterisk or something.

So far:
*Elliott Smith - Twilight
*The Wrens - The House That Guilt Built
*Muse - Hate This & I'll Love You

Shivaree - Goodnight Moon
Lou Reed - Goodnight Ladies

By: kookoobirdz

kookoobirdz — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:01:50 -0800

"Night fever, night fever...We know how to do it" Oh yeah! Bee Gees, baby.

*REM - You Are The Everything (doesn't actually mention night, but starts of with cricketsong, and is very much a quiet night song)

By: argybarg

argybarg — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:06:58 -0800

REM - Nightswimming
Patsy Cline - Walking After Midnight
Hank Williams - I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, Mansion on the Hill

By: jeff-o-matic

jeff-o-matic — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:08:26 -0800

Sarah Vaughn's 'After Hours' CD is very well suited to the night. Really mellow, old school jazz chillout. Highly, highly recommended. No crickets, though.

By: inactivist

inactivist — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:13:26 -0800

Oh yeah, kookoobirdz' comment reminded me to mention: If the song features sounds of night (crickets), it doesn't actually have to be ABOUT night.

By: jeff-o-matic

jeff-o-matic — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:16:48 -0800

Another one-

The last song on David Byrne's 'Rei Momo' CD, called 'I Know Sometimes A Man Is Wrong'. It uses cricket noises as a rythym track, and is very mellow. Nice fall-asleep song.

The rest of the CD is very upbeat Latin style music, FYI.

By: jeff-o-matic

jeff-o-matic — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:19:09 -0800

And another- (no crickets) Queen, off their first release, 'Queen 1'... a song called 'The Night Comes Down'... The whole album is Ur-heavy Metal, but this track is mellow and very chill....

I'll be checking this thread often... Cool question.

By: Humanzee

Humanzee — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:19:42 -0800

Thelonius Monk (redone by many artists) - Round Midnight

By: Quinbus Flestrin

Quinbus Flestrin — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:20:41 -0800

No crickets, but... For the old fogy set:

You and the night and the music
Moonlight in Vermont
Teach me tonight
Blues in the night
The way you look tonight
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
'Round midnight
Midnight special

And twilight related:
Stardust
When the deep purple falls
Crepuscule with Nellie

I could go on, but you get the idea. Night is something of a recurring theme in popular song.

By: JMOZ

JMOZ — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:21:11 -0800

* Deep Forest - Sweet Lullaby

By: bamassippi

bamassippi — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:22:48 -0800

Easy Tonight - Five For Fighting

A Warning Sign - Coldplay

One Night Is Not Enough - Snow Patrol

A Whisper - Coldplay

By: jjg

jjg — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:26:23 -0800

I think probably you want songs that evoke the feeling of night, not just songs that have the word "night" in them, right? Because if it's the latter, you've got approximately one jillion to choose from.

By: weston

weston — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:26:54 -0800

"Night is a woman who embraces me
Her hair is dark and thick and it will tumble down
She dresses up her shadows in a flowing gown
And she's always welcome when she hits this town
She is always everything she wants to be
Night is a woman who embraces me"

Night is a Woman, John Gorka

By: rio

rio — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:29:05 -0800

Waiting for the Night, by Depeche Mode

By: sanitycheck

sanitycheck — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:35:21 -0800

Sarah Harmer does a great cover of Summertime that has the faint sound of crickets in the background.

By: RobotAdam

RobotAdam — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:38:37 -0800

Yo La Tengo - Night Falls on Hoboken

By: inactivist

inactivist — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:45:41 -0800

jjg, you're right, I'm trying to gather songs which evoke night, and there are TONS. But I am particularly interested in songs that mention night, which narrows it down somewhat, and particularly songs with ambient night sounds (crickets/frogs) which narrows it down even more. I figured it was worth a shot.

Great suggestions, keep 'em coming! One more I thought of:

Elliott Smith - No Name #3 (about night, and is the best mellow late-night driving song EVER)

By: frogan

frogan — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:46:26 -0800

Van Morrison, Moondance

By: robcorr

robcorr — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:47:25 -0800

Thin Lizzy - Dancing in the Moonlight

By: Addlepated

Addlepated — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:48:28 -0800

The Beatles - Sun King.

By: frogan

frogan — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:48:52 -0800

Nick Drake, Pink Moon

This was one of the excellent songs used in a Volkswagen commercial -- the one with the four people driving in an open convertible VW at night.

By: caddis

caddis — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:54:22 -0800

African Night Flight - Bowie

By: krisjohn

krisjohn — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:01:20 -0800

There's probably something you'd find interesting on Vangelis's The City

By: George_Spiggott

George_Spiggott — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:09:34 -0800

Nights in White Satin - Moody Blues
Hollywood Nights - Bob Segar
Here Comes the Night - Bowie, Van Morrison, several others
Nightwatchman - T. Petty and the H. Breakers
Because the Night - 10000 Maniacs

and lest we forget

Strangers in the Night - Sinatra

By: thirteenkiller

thirteenkiller — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:11:01 -0800

Vic Chesnutt and Victoria Williams - God Is Good

the Cure - a Night Like This

Elysian Fields - Rope of Weeds

* Miho Omasu - Aragusuku no Uta (kinda strange traditional sounding Japanese song with ocean and night insects sounds)

Suba - a Noite Sem Fim (Endless Night) instrumental

* Dubstar - Stars (this version has some storm sounds)

By: thirteenkiller

thirteenkiller — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:14:52 -0800

Pogues - Four O'Clock in the Morning

By: jeff-o-matic

jeff-o-matic — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:15:06 -0800

George_Spiggott : yes, I'm being a pedant, but I'm pretty sure it's 'Knights in White Satin'

In the same vein (prog-rock) how about 'Moon Child' by King Crimson.

This is fun.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:22:26 -0800

Love for Sale --Ella

By: librarina

librarina — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:22:53 -0800

*M. Ward, "Transfiguration #1," from Transfiguration of Vincent, features crickets, though has no words and is therefore not about night. It is quite a nice evening song, though; I often play it at bedtime.

By: chrissyboy

chrissyboy — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:24:07 -0800

this sprang to mind before reading the question properly but anyway - Cyndi Lauper / Roy Orbison - I Drove all night

By: George_Spiggott

George_Spiggott — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:27:50 -0800

Oh, and Rio by Michael Nesmith. (Winner of the first ever video Grammy, I believe.)

By: chrissyboy

chrissyboy — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:35:10 -0800

Some more appropriate tunes than roy orbison (!):

DJ Shadow - Midnight In A Perfect World
Jimi Hendrix - Burning of the Midnight Lamp
Honeyroot - Starshine
Gorillaz - Starshine
Advertising the Invisible - Night Walker
Daft Punk - Nightvision
The Eels - the stars shine in the sky tonight
Thom Yorke - And It Rained All Night

By: Vervain

Vervain — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:36:13 -0800

"In Dark Trees," "Everything Merges With The Night," Brian Eno
"Night Falls Like A Grand Piano," The 6ths
"Subterraneans," David Bowie
"Asleep and Dreaming," "The Way You Say Good-Night," The Magnetic Fields
"Northern Sky," "Day Is Done," "Pink Moon," Nick Drake

By: nakedcodemonkey

nakedcodemonkey — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:41:55 -0800

Because the Night - 10000 Maniacs

Blasphemy. Go for the original Patti Smith recording, or Springsteen's (it's his song).

Good Night - Beatles
Hard Day's Night - Beatles
Another Saturday Night - Sam Cooke
Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight - James Taylor
In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins
I Could Have Danced All Night, from "My Fair Lady"
In The Heat of the Night - Ray Charles
The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia - Reba McIntyre
Tonight The Heartache's On Me - Dixie Chicks

Standards recorded many times:
In The Still of the Night
Midnight Train to Georgia
Night & Day
Saturday Night Is The Loneliest Night
The Way You Look Tonight
You and the Night and the Music

(Would a bedtime lullaby like Baby Mine fit your theme too?)

By: devilsbrigade

devilsbrigade — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:55:04 -0800

Dylan's Visions of Johanna starts with 'Ain't it just like the night' and has quite a bit of evening/night imagery in it. No crickets though.

By: mumble

mumble — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 00:03:36 -0800

Adem - Love And Other Planets
Tindersticks - Another Night In; (Tonight) Are You Trying To Fall In Love Again
Poets Of The Fall - Late Goodbye
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & Matt Sweeney - Bed Is For Sleeping
Hope For Agoldensummer - Malt Liquor

By: misteraitch

misteraitch — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 00:07:23 -0800

I second Visions of Johanna. The Night, by Morphine is a beautifully nocturnal song.

By: 0bvious

0bvious — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 00:09:56 -0800

*Club Tropicana - Wham!
Night and day - The Maytals
Everything Merges with the Night - Brian Eno
Midnight at the Oasis - Minnie Riperton / Brand New heavies
Midnight Cowboy - Henry Mancini
Why Spend a Dark Night With Me - Moondog
Night by Night - Steely Dan
Night of the Dancing Flame - Roisin Murphy
Tropical Hotdog Night - Captain Beefheart
Night Beat - Tito Puente
The Perilous Night - John Cage
2 Minutes to Midnight - Iron Maiden

OK, so I just typed 'night' into my iTunes collection. Some good options though I reckon... I could go on.

By: bisesi

bisesi — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 00:15:38 -0800

"Going Once" by Ani DiFranco (from "To The Teeth") starts out with crickets and the sound of a car driving by.

By: ab3

ab3 — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 00:28:09 -0800

here are a few of my "night" favorites:

Morphine, "The Night " from the album of the same name (also by Morphine, and night-related: "Eleven'o clock" and "Early to Bed" off of Like Swimming.

Tom Waits, "Raindogs" from Raindogs, "Oily Night" from The Black Rider

the Postal Service, "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight"

By: wsg

wsg — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 01:00:46 -0800

Midnight at the Oasis was Maria Muldaur, not Minnie Riperton.

By: speranza

speranza — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 01:02:46 -0800

Gemma Hayes - Night On My Side and 4.35am

By: hortense

hortense — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 01:11:32 -0800

Goodnight, Irene: by Leadbelly's uncle
* I love Irene, god knows I do

(Too late)
Love her until the sea run dry
If Irene turns her back on me
(Whatcha gonna do?)
I'm gonna take a morphine and die

By: a louis wain cat

a louis wain cat — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 01:14:37 -0800

Metal may not be what you're after, but if you do want to explore that field, there's quite a lot of songs that fit the bill there. A few that come to mind:

Opeth- "The Night and the Silent Water"
Saturnus- "Starres"
Summoning- "Nightshade Forests"
Emperor- "The Majesty of the Nightsky"
Nightwish- "Stargazers" (kind of a guilty pleasure for me here. this song was before they started sucking and being wildly popular with gothy fourteen-year-olds.)
Devin Townsend- "Night"
Katatonia- "Tonight's Music"

In addition to the lyrical themes, I'd say all of these have a pretty nocturnal sound, though that's not unusual with metal. The last three are all on the more poppy and catchy side of things as metal goes, and devoid of cookie monster vocals, if that makes a difference. I actually can't think of anything that uses ambient night sounds off hand, though, which surprises me a bit.

And not metal, but maybe the most nocturnal sounding music I've ever heard, the album "Midnight Radio" by Bohren & Der Club of Gore. It's basically a very slow-paced, noirish sounding jazz album. This review at Aquarius Records(scroll down the page about halfway to find it- sound clips included) sums it up pretty well. It has a very "driving alone through an unfamiliar urban landscape after midnight" kind of feel. Dark stuff, in an understated way.

By: ifjuly

ifjuly — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 01:47:05 -0800

yo la tengo's "the hour grows late" fits on both aspects of your criteria (sounds night musicy, and about night).

the yeah yeah yeah's "date with the night" comes to mind, though it doesn't have a nighttime sound to go along with it necessarily...

By: ed\26h

ed\26h — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 02:06:56 -0800

"Another Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill" by Jens Lekman.

Pretty atmospheric and has the crickets too.

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 02:45:31 -0800

Eine kleine Nachtmusik?

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 03:29:13 -0800

jeff-o-matic - nope, it's "Nights"

Another Bob Seger: Night Moves

By: funboytree

funboytree — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 03:45:43 -0800

One of the tracks on the Santana album 'Caravaserai' features crickets in the intro/outro.

By: davidmsc

davidmsc — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 04:22:32 -0800

Martin Denny's "Quiet Village" is a must.

By: Fuzzy Monster

Fuzzy Monster — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 05:28:40 -0800

I'll Be Your Baby Tonight-- Bob Dylan
All Night Long Blues-- Burnett & Rutherford
I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night-- The Electric Prunes
(Night Time Is) The Right Time-- Ray Charles

By: 0bvious

0bvious — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 05:41:49 -0800

Ditto on Martin Denny's 'Quiet Village'. I came along to offer that up myself...

His Moog Moods should not be missed either. Moog 'Midnight Cowboy' rules!

By: 0bvious

0bvious — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 05:45:45 -0800

Sorry, the album is Exotic Moog, not Moog Moods

By: Leon

Leon — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 05:51:36 -0800

Gary Moore / Midnight Blues.
The Capris / There's a Moon Out Tonight
Elvis Presley / Are You Lonesome Tonight
The Doors / End of the Night

And, wait for it....

Buddy Holly and The Crickets / Last Night

By: languagehat

languagehat — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 05:58:47 -0800

Here Comes the Night - Bowie, Van Morrison, several others

Argh! "Here Comes the Night" was originally, and best, done by Them, who had a UK #2 hit with it. They were one of the all-time great bands; let's not add to their unjust neglect by subsuming them under the name of their prominent ex-member Van Morrison.

By: pmbuko

pmbuko — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 06:02:36 -0800

Night Prowler - AC/DC
Good Night - The Beatles
Another Saturday Night - Cat Stevens
Red Sky at Night - David Gilmour
Nightblindness - David Gray
Lazy Moon - Groove Armada
Nightrain - Guns n' Roses
Each Coming Night - Iron & Wine
The Night Inside Me - Jackson Browne
Dark Night of the Soul - Loreena McKennitt
All Souls Night - Loreena McKennitt
The Ghosts of Saturday Night - Tom Waits
The Heart of Saturday Night - Tom Waits
Drunk on the Moon - Tom Waits
Wild Night - Van Morrison
In the Cold Cold Night - White Stripes

and, with crickets,
*In the Days of the Caveman - Crash Test Dummies

By: Floydd

Floydd — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 06:19:40 -0800

Blue Rodeo: Lost Together.

By: skwm

skwm — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 06:21:13 -0800

Possibly the best one of all:
"Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground" by Blind Willie Johnson (link to audio file)

By: ibmcginty

ibmcginty — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 06:34:32 -0800

*Nothingness by Living Colour
*Summer in the City by Lovin' Spoonful

Night by Jackie Wilson
Here Comes the Night be the Beach Boys (a super-disco-y sounding song from about 1970)
LA Woman by the Doors
Night Time by Elvis Costello

Lots of Morphine, mentioned above would fit; same with Aja-era Steely Dan.

A lot of 50s jazz evokes NYC at night to me, Miles and Coltrane and whatnot.

By: booksandlibretti

booksandlibretti — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 06:42:22 -0800

"Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera. Yes, it's clichéd. There've been about a jillion covers, but try the version from the original stage Phantom, Michael Crawford.

By: GhostintheMachine

GhostintheMachine — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 07:16:05 -0800

Bring on the Night - Police
Darkness - Police
Moon Over Bourbon Street - Sting

c'mon, with this moniker you expect anything else?

No crickets or nature sounds, though. Closest I can think of is the Beatles (whose name was a play on Buddy Holly and the Crickets) with Across The Universe (the version with the birds flapping at the beginning).

By: hydrophonic

hydrophonic — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 09:31:42 -0800

Night Train - James Brown, many others
Nightime - Big Star
Os Grillos (Crickets Sing for Anamaria) - Marcos Valle (no cricket sounds)
*Man in the Long Black Coat - Bob Dylan (no night theme though)

According to this review, "Spoiler" by Popular Genius has a cricket sample.

By: Scoo

Scoo — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 10:04:28 -0800

Sinatra and Jobim, Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars

By: mercurysm2

mercurysm2 — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 11:09:25 -0800

Magic - Ben Folds Five
Sambita - Kinky
Kelly Watch the Stars - Air

They are all night related and do very much remind me of the evening. :)

By: caddis

caddis — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 11:53:29 -0800

City Drops Into the Night
By Jim Carroll, Steve Linsley, and Brian Linsley

There ain't no crickets, or quiet, in this baby.

By: Neiltupper

Neiltupper — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 12:09:20 -0800

Tonight's the Night - Neil Young
Spirit in the Night - Bruce Sprinsteen

By: Meep! Eek!

Meep! Eek! — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:53:15 -0800

Um.. no one's come up with "After Midnight" yet?

Seconded on "Because the Night". Patti, or, begrudgingly (and only because he wrote it), Bruce.

Do you want the ~feel~, the lyrics, the words, or any of it? There are so very many to choose from.

By: inactivist

inactivist — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 14:11:34 -0800

Do you want the ~feel~, the lyrics, the words, or any of it?

I do. Instrumentals are great, but sympathizing with a song's sentiment adds a whole new dimension. Really, I'm most interested in mellow atmospheric things that conjure night sonically and also verbally when possible. Things for those late, clear, beautiful summer nights... happy or sad, it's irrelevant. There are lots of rowdy not-too-atmospheric songs suggested here, which isn't what I'm after, but I love music recommendations so I don't discourage those.

Also: Cibo Matto - Moonchild

Thanks for the Morphine rec, I'm enjoying that one especially.

By: Meep! Eek!

Meep! Eek! — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 16:50:42 -0800

For something melodic and atmospheric, I would suggest "Vincent" by Don McLean. ("Starry, starry night")

Of course, I suppose that depends on the atmosphere you're looking to create. It's very beautiful, but also very, very sad.

By: beetsuits

beetsuits — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 17:32:34 -0800

As Above So Below by Manfred Mann (Nightingales and Bombers) is cool and weird. Little Night Dancin' by John Mellencamp (John Cougar) is more mainstream and pop.

By: thinkpiece

thinkpiece — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 19:22:30 -0800

Night in my veins, The Pretenders, yo!

By: hydrophonic

hydrophonic — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 10:23:15 -0800

One more with nature sounds:

*Brazil - Cornelius (not night themed)