Songs of Revenge and Forgiveness
Senior producer Mitch Hanley chooses the music for each week's SOF program. He posted a blog entry on Pertinent Posts from the On Being Blog and we received more than a hundred suggestions. We included many in the program and have selected a few more for your listening enjoyment. Somewhat surprisingly, we received more songs about revenge than forgiveness. Add your own.
Jason Pitzl-Waters recommended:
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Album: Dead Man Walking: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture
"Just about anything from the "Dead Man Walking" soundtrack would fit."
John recommended:
Mitch included:
Artist: Ensemble Watmon Amone
Album: Ouganda: Musique des Acholi Uganda (Music of the Acholi)
Erin recommended:
"'Prodigal Son' by Sam Amidon is a really wonderful and haunting folk song about admitting guilt and the resulting forgiveness."
Mitch included:
"Yesterday morning I was making breakfast, cleaning the kitchen, and listening to the Rolling Stones' Beggar's Banquet, one of my favorite of their albums (includes 'Sympathy for the Devil,' 'Street Fightin Man,' etc.). This record has a great rendition of the story of the prodigal son, a biblical parable with a message that I have never appreciated, until yesterday."
(Read more of Mitch's thoughts on this song on Pertinent Posts from the On Being Blog)
Tamara recommended:
kenwolman recommended:
"The worst song ever written from point of view of both words and performance: Nancy Sinatra singing 'These Boots Are Made for Walking.' I wish I was joking…"
Peg Ryan recommended:
Nathan S. recommended:
Jesse Benedict recommended:
Artist: Andre Watts
Album: Beethoven: Piano Sonatas #13, 14 & 23
"Personally, I find that while forgiveness is so difficult, the act of revenge usually brings me back to... forgiveness. In moments of forgiveness, I find myself surrounded by the comforting tones of Moonlight Sonata: the repetition brings dark tones, but the higher accents leave a sense of neutrality. I am left with a piece that saturates my anger and brings light to the next breathing moment.
In angered passion, I find the eccentric sounds of Nine Inch Nails' album "Only", specifically "Why do you get all the love in the world" to be a track that, through sound, helps amplify and subdue any emotions of anger or revenge. I can live out the moment during the span of this song and by the end, I am completely through the range of emotion: revenge only begins another cycle for anger."
Karen_Z recommended:
Ilona Piotrowska recommended:
Sarah N. recommended:
Mitch included:
Mitch included:
Trent Gilliss recommended:
Mitch included:
Artist: Cheikh Mohammed El Helbawy
Album: La Chadhiliyya: Sufi Chants from Cairo
Jenel Farrell recommended:
"Patti Smith has a song called 'Revenge,' and 'A Quick One (While He's Away)' by The Who ends with a chorus of 'You are forgiven,' but I can't think of any single song that features both revenge and forgiveness ('I'll have my revenge, but I forgive you'?)."
Mitch included:
Mitch included:
Artist: The Choir Of New College Oxford
Album: Agnus Dei: Music Of Inner Harmony
Earlygirl (and several others) recommended:
"MUST include Alanis Morrisette's 'You Oughtta Know.' Very angry, very cathartic. For months after I was betrayed by my (now ex) husband, I played this repeatedly in my car while driving and shouting the lyrics. I'm much better now. :-)"



