Hey, I’m Lamont Landers – some call me Lonely Lamont Landers. … Well, not really, but for this playlist we’ll pretend that’s true for alliterative reasons.
These are some of my all-time favorite “lonely” songs. I use “lonely” in quotations because loneliness can mean something different to any given person. For me loneliness can be encapsulated by feelings of yearning, longing, desperation, sadness, heartache, unrequited love etc.
I hope these songs find you at your loneliest and give you a nice pillow to lay your head upon as they have for me many, many times over the years.
“I Forgot To Be Your Lover” – William Bell
I’ve listened to this song probably a million times and it gets better and better. The sparse guitar, minimal drums and lush strings lay out the perfect canvas for Mr. Bell to plead his case to a former flame. He acknowledges his misgivings in this relationship and realizes he wasn’t actually “there” for his partner. He worked all the time and provided monetarily but neglected to provide all of the actual meaningful things he should have in the relationship. He forgot to be her lover – if you’re in the right headspace and are going through some serious introspection, you too might find yourself wondering if you have forgotten to be someone’s lover in past or present.
“Either Way” – Wilco
I won’t claim to be a Wilco expert – in fact this is really the only song that I properly know by them. However, this song came at a pivotal point in my life, fresh off of a divorce. My bandmate was playing this record and it stopped me in my tracks. Lyrically sparse – musically rich. It says everything it needs to say. Starting off with folky guitar, it’s brought home by the 16th note hi-hat drum groove. This foundation is later brought to life with strings and one of the best guitar solos ever played by Nels Cline.
“Maybe you still love me, maybe you don’t. Either you will or you won’t. Maybe you just need some time alone, I will try to understand, everything has its plan.”
Those lyrics were something I really needed to hear at one of the loneliest moments of my life.
“You Don’t Miss Your Water” – Otis Redding
Another lonely track penned by Mr. William Bell, this time performed by the greatest voice soul music has ever known: Otis Redding. The sentiment is simple – you don’t appreciate what you’ve got until it’s gone. We’ve all been there sitting in that feeling, longing for what you once took for granted. The combination of Otis’ voice with the horns is always a signature sound and here shines as bright as ever. The horns punctuate the longing and loneliness ever present in Otis’ voice and will make the hair on your arms stand on end.
“Trying To Live My Life Without You” – Otis Clay
This is a fun one – a sad song with a happy vibe. Once again we have a man coming to grips with the fact that his behavior led him to lose a good thing (this is a recurring theme 🤔). General vibe is he grappled with cigarettes (notoriously hard to quit) and alcohol (pretty hard thing to shake as well) but losing his woman is the hardest thing he’s ever been through. A musically uplifting song that contrasts with the lyrical content.
“I Miss You” – David Ruffin
Sonically one of my favorite songs ever – David Ruffin’s take on Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes’ classic. David’s voice has an earnestness and gristle to it that’s hard to replicate. You can audibly hear a man down bad, yearning for the love that used to be and no longer is. 10/10 production and arrangement.
“One Mo’Gin” – D’Angelo
This is upper echelon yearning – my favorite artist of all time D’Angelo paints a picture of desperation and longing like no other. The moody music paints the backdrop for Mr. Archer’s incomparable vocals. He reminisces over the times he and his former love shared and what he would do if he were to see her One Mo’Gin (one more time). If you haven’t listened to D’Angelo before – I assure you, Voodoo is a required listening for the human experience. There is no other album that executes on all levels quite like this album does and I encourage you to go in with an open heart, open mind, and most importantly open ears.
“Lonely Girl” – Lamont Landers
This song was penned by Jesse Frasure and none other than Chris Stapleton himself. This one is more of an unrequited love song – the singer longs for a girl and knows he could treat her better than the man she’s been seeing. It’s one of my favorites on the record and I did my best to live up to the writing. Give it a listen, a like and a playlist add.
“Blame It on the Sun” – Stevie Wonder
It perfectly encapsulates the lonely feeling, indescribable pain you feel when someone leaves you. The longing to find someone else to blame – anyone other than yourself for being so lonely.
“But I’ll blame it on the sun
The sun that didn’t shine
I’ll blame it on the wind and the trees
I’ll blame it on the time that never was enough
I’ll blame it on the tide and the sea
But my heart blames it on me”
“These Ain’t Raindrops” – James Carr
Southern soul production – Memphis/Muscle Shoals fingerprints and DNA run wild in this tune. The sentiment is simple – I want you, and I don’t have you. It ain’t raining – I’m crying. Give it a listen. You will enjoy.
“Long Distance Love” – Little Feat
Another sonic masterpiece on this list – Lowell George and company. I won’t drone on and on – just listen to it.
“No matter what you do, even pray to heaven above, all you’ll ever get from her is long distance love.”
Photo Credit: Nick Swift
