3 Singer-Songwriter Tracks From the 1960s That Personified Quiet Devastation

Many a singer-songwriter in the 1960s took pen to paper and word to song to try and personify the feeling of quiet devastation, that feeling when your heart breaks and everything falls apart internally. Not everyone could do it well, but the following three songs prove their makers certainly knew how to capture that feeling. Let’s take a look, shall we?

“Suzanne” by Leonard Cohen from ‘Songs Of Leonard Cohen’ (1968)

“There are children in the morning / They are leaning out for love / And they will lean that way forever / While Suzanne holds the mirror.”

Everything Leonard Cohen produced was steeped in poetry. Which makes sense, considering he was a poet. But “Suzanne”, in particular, has the emotionally unsettling aura to it that really captures what we’re going for on this list. “Suzanne” is incredibly complex in its emotional exploration of self-love, love for another, beauty in the world, and so many other elements.

“Both Sides, Now” by Joni Mitchell from ‘Clouds’ (1969)

“But now they only block the sun / They rain and they snow on everyone / So many things I would have done / But clouds got in my way.”

Joni Mitchell dropped a lot of songs that were quietly devastating. The first that comes to mind, for me, is “Both Sides, Now”. If you’ve never listened to this gem in its entirety, I won’t spoil it by picking it apart. All I’ll say is that if you’re feeling lost and in your 20s, this song will hit you like a punch in the gut.

“Reason To Believe” by Tim Hardin from ‘Tim Hardin 1’ (1966)

“Someone like you makes it hard to live / Without somebody else / Someone like you makes it easy to give / Never think of myself.”

You might remember this song from The Carpenters’ version and several of Rod Stewart’s versions. But I remember it from the original, straight from Tim Hardin’s enormously underrated debut album. In my opinion, Hardin is the most underrated singer-songwriter and folk artist of the 1960s, and so many of his songs became famous from other people covering them. He deserved better, particularly for the quietly devastating song “Reason To Believe”, written in 1965. If you’ve ever been done wrong by a lover but love them so deeply that you’re willing to forgive, this song will resonate.

Photo by Tony Vaccaro / Getty Images

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