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It’s been an absolutely insane week (I MEAN IT) here at MDK HQ and even though it cut down significantly on eavesdropping in the way that allows me to tell everyone how they’re doing everything wrong, I just had to put my ear-things in my head-holes and just power through it all. If I answered any of your customer service issue emails (all 3,238 of them) with a response that sounded suspiciously like a rhyme, well, you can probably blame these next couple of things. Or you can just be happy you got some poetry along with your answer.

When we last Knit to Thissed with Rhiannon Giddens, it was to maunder on about Aria Code, her spectacular podcast that analyzes famous operatic arias and helps contextualize them for both the then and the now. Since then (coincidentally, I’m sure), Giddens has both won a Pulitzer Prize (for Omar, the opera she wrote with Michael Abels) and released a new album—You’re the One—and look: I’m not saying either of those things is because of me but yes I am. It’s all me, I did it. Discussion closed! You’re welcome, art-starved ears of the world!

Giddens has been on a bit of a full-court promo press with her new album—there’s no way you haven’t seen her on something talking about You’re the One … and it’s worth every word. The album is everything you might have heard and I mean that: it’s all the things, all stirred up together. She’s always been tough to pin down: is she Americana? Country? Alternative? Soul? R&B? Pretty much. But whatever kind of music she’s making, it comes with a crystal clear voice, a cracking wit and a banjo. It’s also just about the catchiest danged album of the year so far.

Plus, she crochets.

I’m sure that after I yammered on a bit about my official MDK Knit to This muse and platonic life partner Tami Neilson’s Kingmaker a while back, you all ran out and purchased your Tami Neilson buntings and and garlands and hung them from your various balconies and pediments and porticos (right?) and had settled in on your front porch glider to wait impatiently for a couple of years until something new came from her. 

Well, she was busy! Give her a minute! Not only did she manage to crisscross North America (touring in an RV), but she also managed to put out a gorgeous live recording, Kingmaker: Live with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

And I will tell you: this one pains me just a little because I know of at least two Neilson appearances in Nashville during that time and I somehow managed to miss them both (twice foiled by scheduling) and this live record almost hurts my feelings it’s so beautiful. To think that I missed seeing live anything even close to how good this record is is almost too much to think about. Soaring vocals and swoopy symphony orchestra strings-n-things … all the things that give me goose bumps every time.

Plus, she knits.

A Giveaway!

The prize? A Summery Sock Kit! Ultimate sock-knitting season, meet ultimate sock-wearing season. We’ve got you covered with this deluxe bundle of two all-time favorite sock yarns, MDK Field Guide No. 11: Wanderlust, plus favorite sockmaker essentials—at a very special price.

Shown here in Sunset—available in Mountain, Lake, and Ocean colorways too!

How to enter?

Two steps:

Step 1: Sign up for MDK emails, right here. External Link. Opens in new window.. External Link. Opens in new window.. External Link. Opens in new window.. External Link. Opens in new window.. External Link. Opens in new window.. External Link. Opens in new window.. External Link. Opens in new window.. External Link. Opens in new window.. External Link. Opens in new window.. External Link. Opens in new window.. External Link. Opens in new window.. If you’re already signed up, you’re all set. We now have an option for texting; when you sign up for those, you’ll get a coupon code good for 10% off your next MDK order.

Step 2: What song gives you goosebumps every time? Let us know in the comments.

Deadline for entries: Sunday, September 17, 11:59 PM Central time. We’ll draw a random winner from the entries. Winner will be notified by email.

About The Author

DG Strong took up knitting in 2014. He lives in Nashville with his sister, her rat terrier and a hound dog named Opal. He has a blog of drawings and faintly ridiculous rambling called The Psychopedia—there are worse ways to spend your afternoon.

484 Comments

  • Now that you mention it, Kingmaker does EVERY TIME.

    • Blue. Joni Mitchell. Every time.

    • Addition to my previous entry: The Star-Spangled Banner.

      • “Thunder Road”

        • Hallelujah

    • The National Anthem sung by anyone. Heard drifting on a breeze from the Naval Academy……

      • Hallelujah

    • Hallelujah

      • A Bridge Over Troubled Waters, by Simon and Garfunkel

      • When Ye Go Away by The Waterboys and Stay Alive by Jose Gonzalez

      • “Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton
        He wrote this for his son. I have lost two sons.

      • Nothing compares to you by Sinead O’Connor makes me pause whenever I hear it. So achingly beautiful.

    • Let There Be, by Gungor

      • Bonnie Raitt: I Can’t Make You Love Me

        Hits to the soul

      • Warren Zevon’s Keep Me in Your Heart (For A While).

        I’ve always loved it, but when my dog, Murphy, died a friend made a slide show of pictures of Murphy with this as the background music. Oh, man…

  • Fear a Batha gives me goosebumps. Especially Fruity Knitting’s Madeleine singing it at her father’s funeral service.

    • Oof. There are too many. But one that has been the most spine-tingley since my daughter’s surgery is JJ Heller’s “Control”.

  • I’ll offer up two options:
    The Finale of “Dialogue of the Carmelites” by Poulenc. French opera, nuns, and a guillotine!

    “Wheels of a Dream” from Ragtime. Original Broadway Cast. Brian Stokes Mitchell is sublime, and of course Audra McDonald can do no wrong. I sometimes shiver on my commute if this queues up when I “shuffle” my library.

  • Sounds of silence

    • Tainted Love. I lived it, escaped it, soared above it! And I know all the words!

      • Case of you: Joni Mitchell

  • Mark O’Conner ‘s Appalachia Waltz.

  • Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s cover of “You don’t know me “

  • Hymn of the US Navy, w full choir and orchestra (which stops playing and joins the choir), voices rising from the orchestral pit.

    • Agreed! My son was in the Naval Academy Glee Club while he was there and hearing them sing that their Naval Academy Hymn is moving BUT hearing the entire Academy sing it after the Army-Navy game each year gives me goosebumps as well!

    • Oh, my! How to decide!

      O mio babbino caro. Rumor Has It. Summertime.

    • Wow! That gave me goosebumps reading this….

      • Many give me goosebumps, but the first I can think of is Andrea Bocelli singing Con Te Partira

    • Boy, that would do it for me in spades! Do you have a link to a recording?

      • Too many to name…Nessun Dorma, Dvorak #9, Netherland by Dan Fogelberg….are just a few

  • Amazing Grace, every time

    • The last song that gave me ‘chicken skin’ (as my sister calls it) is Over the Rainbow by Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwoʻole. Matter of fact, it gives me chicken skin every time I hear it. <3

  • Ave Maria ❤️

    • I agree with so many of these posts! One song that really grabs me is, “The Christmas Shoes.”

  • Stevie Wonder – As

  • Dance Away by Roxy Music

    • Whitney Houston singing “ I Will Always Love You”

      Sinead O’Connor singing “Danny Boy”

  • Dance Away by Roxy Music

  • Angel City from Rhiannon’s Tomorrow is My Turn

  • Hallelujah by k d lang

    • Me too!

  • Amazing Grace. Such a beautiful song.

  • Hallelujah gets me every time!

  • Ashokan Farewell, by Jay Unger and Molly Mason

  • The Sounds of Silence

  • Tides of Time by Epica

    • There are so many! One definitely is Ashokan Farewell.

  • Desperado—Linda Ronstadt

  • John Lennon’s Imagine

  • Oh Holy Night & Silent Night

  • Ashokan farewell, Jay Ungar

    • Yes!

  • “Let the River Run” by Carly Simon used in the movie Working Girl.

  • Hallelujah. k.d. lang. from her recollection cd.

  • Hallelujah

  • I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston

  • At Last.

  • At Last by Etta James!

  • The Beatles Let It Be

  • Hallelujah

  • Motley Crue – Home Sweet Home

  • Carole Kings’s “It’s Too Late”.

  • Cat’s in the cradle by Harry Chapin

  • “Yoga Lullaby” by Russil Paul.

  • Time to Say Goodbye

  • You Would Have Loved This by Tarja

  • Any Bonnie Raitt ballad.
    I can’t make you love me if you don’t, …

  • Amazing grace for sure!

  • Too many to list.
    Whiskey Lullaby – Alison Kraus

  • Let it be

  • Taps!

  • It’s an oldie, but Judy Garland singing Over The Rainbow. The version she did late in her life.

  • What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong

  • Hallelujah covered by many.

    • Many that others have mentioned, but I’ll add Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen to the list.

  • Maria. West side story.

  • Judy Collins. Amazing Grace. If the doc says my blood pressure is toooo high I tell her wait a minute, take a deep breath and a a deep listen, and I amaze that young whipper snapper by dropping at least 15 points if not more. Every time

  • It’s OK by Nightbird

  • I can’t live by Nilsson. Goosebumps every time.

  • Songbird, sung by Eva Cassidy.

  • Amazing Grace is such a beautiful song I love when they sign it at church!

  • Oh, of course it’s every any song that Rihanna Giddens sings. Love Freedom Highway.

    Oh, and did you catch her series on PBS- My Music? As I watched it, I wove some beautiful dish towels.

  • Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawi-wo’ole.

  • Bridge Over Troubled Water

  • Hallelujah

  • How Great Thou Art

  • I have 2, at least: Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright and Light of a Clear Blue Morning by The Wailin’ Jennys.

  • Nessun Dorma

    • Yes!!

  • What a Wonderful World sung by Louis Armstrong

  • The song? Scotland the Brave, with bagpipes. Close second: Aloha Oe, a cappella.
    And, DG, thanks for the fun email addressing my customer service angst.

  • “Many Rivers to Cross” sung by Linda Ronstadt

  • I must say, it is Unchained Melody.

    • Sometimes When We Touch. Dan Hill.
      Oldie but it just does touch me.

    • Yes, Unchained Melody!! I would sing it around the house as a teen. I would always get goosebumps!!

  • Unchained Melody

    • Summer Song by Chad and Jeremy

  • Unchained Melody

  • I Got You Babe. Whenever I hear it, I have to stop and sing along.

  • Twilight Zone, Rod Sterlings voiceovers.

  • God Bless America, because of its September 11 association.

  • Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. Goosebumps for sure

  • Pomp and Circumstance, yes the graduation march!

  • Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. Almost every version with do it!

    • Love k.d. lang’s version, sung at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics Opening Ceremony. So wonderful.

  • Springsteen’s Jungleland. I can’t help it, I grew up in Jersey.

    • So many of the others, plus O God Beyond All Praising, sung at a wedding.

  • The last time I got goosebumps while listening to music was when Madeleine Doig sang Fear a Batha at her dad’s funeral. I don’t know how she got through it, but it was like the voice of an angel.

  • Mull of Kintyre, Paul McCartney & Wings. It reminds me of my grandfather.

  • Morricone: Theme from Cinema Paradiso (Renaud Capuçon)

  • Hallelujah

  • In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel. Movie aside, it’s a beautiful song.

  • Ruthie Foster’s Phenomenal Woman

  • Paradise – John Prine

  • Amazing Grace.

  • There Is a Higher Throne

  • These comments! I will be a month bumping up my playlists. Thanks all and DG.

  • Softly as I Leave, by Matt Monro

  • Ave Maria. Even as a young Jewish girl. Chills. Amazing Grace too.

    • I sang with my church choir for years. Ave Maria and the Magnificat get me to cry every time..doesn’t matter that I have heard them a million times.

  • My Way, sung by Frank Sinatra. It was my father’s favorite song and he was quite a special guy!!

  • “Just teh two of us” and “ain’t no Sunshine” sung by Bill Withers <3

  • Proud to be an American, in all its iterations. Especially love it when we sing along, holding hands and swaying to the music!

  • Summer’s End – John Prine

  • Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues.

  • “Ashoken Farewell” is the one that gets to me…

  • ok… bear with me here. The one song that give me goosebumps every time is going to sound a bit cheesy, I know. BUT… there’s more to it. Isn’t there always? The song is “Aubrey” by Bread, but not because it’s a sappy-unrequited-love song. You see, Aubrey is a name with a long, albeit indirect, family association and it’s the name I wanted to give to my daughter, should I ever become a mother of a daughter. The opening 2 lines to the song only added to that selection (And Aubrey was her name, a not so very ordinary girl or name…). By the time I met my husband, having kids was going to be difficult odds. By the time my husband was ready to start trying, even rougher odds. Although it was not necessarily what either of us wanted, the “try” meant fertility treatments with an ultimately abusive clinic & doctor and… 2 miscarriages later… we were kicked out of that clinic and unacceptable to any others. So, this song is to and for the daughter we never had but wanted so very very very much. Listen to it in this context and… goosebumps AND tears… Sorry. The other goosebump songs on my list are not much happier (Strange Fruit, by Billie Holliday and Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton).

    • So sorry for what you have endured.

  • Another Amazing Grace vote here!

  • Over the Rainbow sung by IZ.

  • Rihanna sang a song a acapella at hardly strictly bluegrass in golden gate park and I think thousands had goosebumps!

  • Rihanna sang a song acapella at hardly strictly bluegrass in golden gate park and I think thousands had goosebumps!

  • Redemption Song, Bob Marley, his version and also Johnny Cash’s version

  • Lake Shore Drive by Aliotta Haynes Jeremih

  • Linda Ronstadt, Prisoner in Disguise

  • Imagine by John Lennon

  • Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. Pretty much doesn’t matter who’s singing it

  • Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen sung by Pentatonix. Oh my…

  • Roy Orbison ‘Crying’- duet with K.D. Lang-no words describe it.

  • 4th movement (Ode to Joy) of Beethoven’s Symphony #9 – The Choral Symphony

  • Oh I didn’t even have to think about this one. Annie Lenox singing Why. Goosebumps every single time. Now I have to go listen to it.

  • CATS. All of it.

  • Pavarotti singing Nessum Dorma

  • James Brown singing “You’ve Got a Friend.”

  • Hallelujah By Jeff Buckley. Every. Time!

  • The synth drum breakaway in the dance remix of Always on my Mind (Pet Shop Boys) or the fugue in the middle of Danny Elfman’s Back To School theme (the one with Rodney Dangerfield)

  • Somewhere from West Side Story

  • Rosanne Cash, “Motherless Children “

  • Oyo Como Va – it’s the memories.

  • Nina Simone Sinnerman

  • If done right, the Hallelujah Chorus, Carol of the Bells, Holly and the Ivy. Much better then the ones that always make me cry. Amazing Grace, I Walk with Thee.

  • The comments are creating an amazing Playlist!!!

    Loving them all!!

    Amazing Grace by any singer any genre and recently as my concerns have turned toward children and the future of all things…The Prayer sung by Josh Groban and Charlotte Church.

    Embrace all the music. Speaks to all the souls. Stay strong. Crochet, knit, create on!!!!

  • You’ve Got A Friend

  • You Can’t Always Get What You Want
    -The Rolling Stones

  • Hurt, the Johnny Cash version

  • The second act love duet in Verdi’s Ballo.

  • Bring Him Home from the musical, Les Miserables.

  • This is so hard to choose. Sounds of Silence comes first. Let it Be, I Will Always Love You are very close too.

  • Swept Away by the Avett Brothers (the sentimental version) because, well, it’s sentimental.

  • Let it Be

  • I Shall Not be Moved by Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi

  • Pentatonix- Hallelujah

  • I would have to say So Far I Have Not Found The Science by Soul Coughing. It’s an oldie (from the 90’s) that no one else has ever heard of, but it gets me every time.

  • Scott Joplin’s Solace

  • There’s a few, but The Story by Brandi Carlile immediately comes to mind.

  • Let it Be by the Beatles always reminds me of my Mom.

  • Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton and Candles in the Wind by Elton John and many others already listed here.

  • Fire and rain by James Taylor says it all….

  • Anything by Billie Holiday.

  • Emmylou Harris’s “Boulder to Birmingham”

  • JJ Heller, “Control”. Ever since my daughter’s surgery…

  • Oh Holy Night , every time. Sung by Nat King Cole.
    And ever since my daughter died , She talks to Angels by the Black Crowes.I was missing her on her birthday that first year and it came on the radio. It was like she was telling me she was with the angels .

  • I love to hear a marching band playing patriotic music and feel the drum beats in the center of my chest as they are proceeding by. “Star Spangled Banner” when it is played and sung as originally written.

  • Sam Cooke: A Change Is Gonna Come

  • Desperado by the Eagles. It was the first slow dance I had with the man who was to become my husband. I think I already loved him by the end of that song 🙂 We are coming up to our 36th anniversary 🙂

  • Sam Cooke — A Change Is Gonna Come

  • Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

  • Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) by Chris Tomlin

  • How Great Thou Art

  • Amazing Grace, both the words and the music.

  • Stand by Me

  • Last Resort cover by Falling in Reverse.

  • Fields of Gold. Sting, or Eva Cassidy’s version

  • An oldie — Tony Bennett, Fly Me to the Moon, when he was getting older. and with Lady Gaga.

  • KD Lang’s Vancouver Olympics live recording of Hallelujah. It is amazing.

  • The opening of Bach’s Johannes Passion – amazing music!

  • Best Day of My Life by American Authors! It makes me smile, makes me laugh and give me an attitude adjustment every time!! ESPECIALLY the video with the dog!

  • Let it Be by Paul. McCarthy. Or Imagine by John Lennon

  • Sheila Jordan’s version of “The Water Is Wide.” Her recording is great, and I’ve experienced the thrill of seeing her sing it in person. Heart-wrenchingly beautiful. She’s only gotten better over the years (she is well into her 90s now).

  • Def Leppard’s “Animal”… I guess I fell in love to it at one time. It is so perfect for fantasying…Joe urging on the lust in his lyrics in that minor key, gets me EVERY time.

  • At Last (Etta James). Every single time.

  • Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On.

  • Ave Maria. Fields of Gold by Eva Cassidy.

  • Penny Lover by Lionel Richie & Through the Fire by Chaka Kahn.

  • Leonard Cohen singing Hallelujah, as only the songwriter who has lived through then wrote about it can.

  • Ode to Billy Joe by Bobbie Gentry.

  • Do love Aria Code. Interested in the album.
    Use sock yarn for lace shawls.

  • The songs I tend to like aren’t really goosebump songs. I’ll give it to Hallelujah, which seems to be that sort of song no matter wh sings it!

  • The National Anthem.

  • Loved your comments on both artists and Rhiannon always!!
    “Youre the one” DG!

  • Judy Garland singing Over the Rainbow

  • Sunshine on Leith by the Proclaimers

  • Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin makes me deeply melancholy. I regret every time I could have, but didn’t, visit my grandparents when I was younger.

  • “Your Long Journey,” by Allison Krauss & Robert Plant.
    And “From This Valley,” by the Civil Wars.
    Love hearing and singing these two.

  • Almost anything by Arvo Part grabs my heart.

  • Moonlight Sonata

  • Cat Stevens’ Father and Son

  • Susan Boyle wowed all of the snarky little twits on Britain’s Got Talent when she sang “I Had a Dream.” So moving a performance it was heart stopping. I weep everything I watch the YouTube video.

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=wnmbJzH93NU&si=9Lyn2Xdn8yCCxoM1

  • Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot

    • There’s a splendid documentary about Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind

  • “Non Nobis, Domine” is the most beautiful piece of music I’ve ever heard and never fails to give me goosebumps.

  • I have two, both by Judy Collins: “Both Sides Now” and “Send in the Clowns”. I’m a longtime fan of Rhiannon Giddens, dating back to the Carolina Chocolate Drops days.

  • “Do You Hear the People Sing” from Les Miserables

  • The instrumental score for the planetarium scene in La La Land always make my heart soar! Also “She Used to Be Mine,” from Waitress.

  • “My Girl” by the Righteous Brothers gives me goosebumps everytime because the first man I kissed in my freshman year of college used to sing it to me.

  • There are several contemporary christian songs that give me goosebumps. Most anything Michael W Smith sings does that for me.

  • Gloria Gaynor, I will survive!
    O holy night by Josh Groben

  • Fields of Gold.

  • God Bless Us Every One from Andrea Bocelli’s Christmas album

  • Imagine by John Lennon. Tied with Fields of Hold by Eva Cassidy,

  • Hallelujah – John Cale

  • Currently, Come Monday, by the late Jimmy Buffet.

  • It is well with my soul

    • My mom’s favorite. ❤️

  • _At Last_ sung only by Etta James

  • Wise men say only fools fall in love. Elvis the king.

  • Hurt by Johnny Cash. The video and the song itself get me every time. Shannon Adducci’s Work of Art and In the Waiting also make me cry every time I hear them.

    • I read that Trent Reznor, who wrote the song, thought Cash’s performance far superior to his own.

  • Mercy Now by Mary Gauthier. Music, words, voice. Unbelievable. Gets me every time.

  • Elvis—How Great Thou Art, Like a Bridge Over Troubled Waters, and the Dixieland Trilogy. These get me every time.

  • Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap.

  • I’m not a huge country fan but Meanwhile Back at Mama’s by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill gets me every time. My son heard it for the first time today and started giggling too!

  • The song I’ve been loving is the opening tune from the series Star Trek:Picard the main title song. I wish it was longer than it is.

  • Brandi Carlile The Joke.

  • Memory, from Cats

    • Yes! The bit where Elaine Page’s Grizabella sings “it’s so easy to leave me” gets me every time.

  • Don’t You Worry About A Thing by Stevie Wonder

  • ‘Fly Away’ by John Denver Goose bumps and tears.

    • I’ve Just Seen Jesus sung by Sandi Patty & Larnelle Harris

  • Linda Ronstadt’s Someone to Watch Over Me. So good!!!

  • Gabriel Faure’s Pavanne

  • Into My Arms by Nick Cave

  • I believe it’s called “Teen Angel.” Pearl Jam did it but not originally.

  • There are lots of goosebump inducing songs out there but currently it’s Wrabel’s The Village featuring the group UNITY (and also UNITY’S golden buzzer BGT audition featuring The Village).

  • Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine does it for me. What a great song.

  • “It Might be You” sung by Stephen Bishop takes me back to another lifetime.

  • Imagine by John Lennon

  • Landslide

  • Angels Among Us sung by Alabama.
    God is always with us

  • Into My Arms—Nick Cave

    If This is Goodbye—Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler

    In fact I just dialed them both up for a cathartic lil shiver.

  • Wonderful list! Hallelujah, and Send in the Clowns by Sondheim.

  • Judy Garland singing ‘Get Happy’

  • Joe Cocker: “A Little Help From My Friends”

  • Sideways by Citizen Cope

    • YESSSS!!

  • Absolutely anything this young man sings: malakaibayoh.com

  • God Bless the USA

  • Imagine by John Lennon gives me goosebumps every time.

  • Nothing compares to you by Sinead O’Connor. She also did a wonderful version of The Parting Glass.Listening to her music after her death without crying is impossible.

  • Bettye LaVette’s version of The Who’s “Love Reign O’er Me” when The Who were honored at the Kennedy Center.

  • Any really good performance of Jupiter from Holst’s The Planets will absolutely give me shivers–even when it showed up in the “Sleepytime” episode of Bluey!

  • Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber.

  • The song that gives me goosebumps is one by Meg Barnhouse about people who must overachieve leaving everything else behind.

  • She is all new to me. Love her music.

  • Love her music.

  • Amazing Grace, done on bagpipes of course

  • Peter Gabriel’s Solsbury Hill. The video is WEIRD, I discovered after years of just listening to it, so just skip that part and listen. It’s possibly my favorite song.

  • I’ve always loved Dave Matthews Band’s “Crash” the music and the lyrics combined are simply spectacular!

  • Goosebumps in a bad way? The thought of licking a popsicle stick!

  • Live and Die-Avett Brothers

  • Hoagy Carmichael’s Stardust.

    My father requested that song for our Father/Daughter’s dance and he sang the words as we danced.

  • The God of Loss by Darlingside.

  • Songbird (by Fleetwood Mac/Christine McVie). A perfectly crafted thing.

  • Nessun Dorma!

  • The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun.” Perfect.

  • Samba Pa Ti–both the Carlos Santana version and the Ottmar Liebert version

    Pavane Pour Un Infante Defuncte (Ravel)

    Both of those instrumental pieces give me good shivers!

  • Lady in Red

  • Bring Him Home from the musical Les Miserable.

  • Come Sail Away by Styx

    While not connected to a specific event in my life, whenever I hear it I think today is going to be a good day.

  • Jesus loves me, sung by preschoolers.

  • Sheryl Crow, “Strong Enough”

  • Amazing Grace, any version, but especially with bagpipes.

  • For real goosebumps, the Star Spangled Banner at Fort McHenry (or anywhere).

  • Gladys Knight’s Midnight Train to Georgia.

  • “Prayer” from Come From Away – I just love how the songs of the different faiths come together in harmony. A musical life lesson

  • “Up to the Mountain” by Patty Griffin

  • Sometimes When We Touch. Dan Hill.
    Oldie but it just does touch me.

  • Lover, You Should Have Come Over, Jeff Buckley

  • I get goosebumps and a little teary-eyed whenever I hear “Hey Jude” mainly because it reminds me of when I saw Paul perform it live and the entire stadium was singing along.

  • Pachelbel’s Canon- 100% every time. Goosebumps and tears. It’s so beautiful.

  • Mother by Sugarland. My son sent it to me and said it reminded him of me. Even my husband cried.

  • ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ does it to me every time!

  • The star spangled banner….. still, every ballgame!

  • Scarecrow and I run For Life Melissa Etheridge

  • Time Stand Still by Rush.

  • Joyful girl by Ani Difranco

  • Calling All Angels -K.D. Lang and Jane Siberry

  • Hallelujah

  • two of a name: anne-sofie von otter and ann hampton callaway

  • Ashoken Farewell played by Peter Ostrushko

  • it is a song that comes out at Christmas time. I cry every time I even hear the jingle of the song start on the radio…. goosebumps, emotion, love, sadness, empathy, brings out all the humanity you could feel…..all the emotions. It can be cathartic as well .

    The song is “The Christmas Shoes” is a Christmas-themed song by the Christian vocal group NewSong. It was written by NewSong group members Eddie Carswell and Leonard Ahlstrom, and St. Louis syndicated radio personality Isaiah “DC” Daniel (of Steve & DC).

    First time I heard it I cried to depths of my heart, but it was one of those good cries, where you feel better after. I think the story can be related to and that is what hits home.

  • Too many to name!

  • Too many to name! Miles Davis Kind of Blue for one

  • Christmas Shoes.

  • Blood Count
    Ellington/Strayhorn

    My oldest son played it as his HS senior jazz project

  • For Good from the musical Wicked! Total sing along, too

  • Chains of Love by Erasure

  • Singing for change, Hawai’i Aloha since the burning of Lahaina. Touching before and heartbreaking now.

  • Song …FREEBIRD!!

  • Sarah, by Fleetwood Mac. Gets me every time.

  • Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. A lot of songs by Leonard Cohen

  • FREEBIRD!!!

  • The choral finale to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Always.

  • The star spangled banner

  • “Masters of the Universe” by Queen, mostly because I still love the TV show Highlander.

  • Listen to RG croon “She’s Got You,” on Tomorrow Is My Turn. Wowza! She’s got pipes.

  • Pachelbel Canon in D and Hallelujah both move me!

  • Sucker for Christmas music. Lots of favorites but the chorus of Angels We Have Heard on High is one for sure.

  • “Seven Bridges Road” by Ricochet. Their harmony…glorious!

  • I get goosebumps when I see my great-nephews and niece and they are little mini images of my nephews – the circle of life!

  • Follow you, follow me. Genesis

  • Bonnie Raitt singing John Prine’s Angel from Montgomery.

  • Hammer and a Nail by the Indigo Girls

  • Jeff Buckley’s rendition of Hallelujah. Goosebumps AND tears…

  • Also, these comments are my new favorite play list!!!

  • Crystal Blue Persuasion….

  • Lots of goosebumpy songs in my list. But I love Amazing Grace by Leann Rimes❣️

  • Carmen Ohio

  • One Voice, The Wailin’ Jennys

  • I love this question. It really got me thinking! Ave Maria not only gives me goosebumps but it brings me to tears every time I hear it.

  • Acoustic version of Take on Me by Aha!

  • Ashoken Farewell., Jay Unger and Molly Mason. I anticipate the place near the end where the violin goes up to a sweet, sad high note-I don’t know enough about music to describe it better-and when it arrives, goosebumps. Goosebumps right now, just thinking about it and whistling softly to myself.

  • amazing grace

  • Taps
    King David’s Oratorio

  • Go Rest High on that Mountain by Vince Gill

  • Isn’t She Lovely–Stevie Wonder

  • Two come to mind simultaneously. On the Sunday of the 4th of July, when my fellow parishioners sing God Bless America at the recession and hearing Judy Garland sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.

  • Hallelujah

  • Unchained Melody performed by Jonathan Antoine. Also, The Sound of Silence by Disturbed.

    • Yes! That version of Sound of Silence is my favorite!

  • Dynamite by BTS. Goosebumps yes, but dancing too!

  • So many, but Hallelujah tops the list!

  • Ave Maria. I’m not religious at all but the song is just perfectly ethereal

  • The One Who Knows
    by Dar Williams ❤️

  • Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copeland, performed by any symphony you like! 😉

  • Stand By Me

  • I think one song that I find haunting with feeling is Broken Hallelujah. Something about it fills my soul and lifts my spirit. Music can be amazing in that way .

  • Leader of the Band by Dan Fogelberg. I miss my dad.

  • Since I’m camping in the New England area – I’m loving the Hamilton soundtrack.

  • Sounds of Silence

  • The Star Spangled Banner, every single time.

  • This is a little cheesy, but “Cat’s in the Cradle” gets me every time!

  • Alone by Jesse Ware

  • There are many songs that give me goosebumps. It just depends on the day as to what will achieve that effect.

  • I love a cover of Hallelujah – makes me stop every time.

  • Mahler’s 2nd symphony.

  • Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen … every single time. Just reading the word Hallelujah brings on the ‘bumps.

  • “Mary did you know?” Makes me cry every time.

  • Amazing Grace

  • Don Henley/Bruce Hornsby End of the Innocence

  • Beatles “Let It Be” 🙂

  • Tainted Love.

  • There’s a video going around of Cat Stevens “Peace Train”. It’s one of those around the globe, artists old and new, famous and unknown videos. That video was my first glimpse of Rhiannon and I’m hooked!!!

  • Hymn d’ Amour (Hymn to Love) by Edith Piaf. So dramatic, swelling emotion, I tear up just thinking about it

  • Hymn d’ Amour (Hymn to Love) by Edith Piaf. So dramatic, swelling emotion, I tear up just thinking about it

  • Joni Mitchell singing “Clouds”

  • Florence and the Machine-“Ship to Wreck”

  • My all-time favorite song is “Pure & Easy” by The Who — my all-time favorite band. Just love the lyrics and creative talent of the musicians.

  • Strange Fruit. Billie Holiday

  • The piece of music with vocals that makes me well up every time I hear it and that I love beyond measure is, “The Flower Duet”, from, Lakmé, by, Léo Delibes. Just see if it doesn’t give you shivers as well! Just wait for the two voices in harmony…

  • “Away in a Manger” — The Night Heron Consort – A Celtic Celebration

  • Summertime

  • Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong, I want it played at my funeral

  • “Help is on the Way” especially sung by Nancy LaMott – gone long ago and way too soon. So lucky to have her recordings.

  • A hymn called In the Garden. My aunt Grace always sang it and every time I hear it, it reminds me of her, a funny little lady who raced me up the escalator once. She was 80 and I was in my teens, I laughed so hard I couldn’t keep up with her.

  • First movement of Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto – I listened to it a lot during a magical time in my life, and it will be always associated with that.

  • Wise Guys version of Mad World is goosebump worthy. And pretty much most live accappella choral music.

  • Too many to list, but absolutely “The Joke”, by Brandi Carlile; “Amazing Grace”, and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole.

  • You’ll be in my heart. My son was 4 when the Tarzan movie came out. (He’s 28 now!) He lived that song and listened to it every night before bed. I have great memories of cuddling to this song.

    • Oops. Loved that song!

  • I must always pause for ‘Summertime’ from Porgy and Bess.

  • Moondance by Van Morrison

  • The song of the wind whispering through the trees or the rain pattering on the skylight. (I live in the PNW, the sound of the rain pattering has been lacking lately.)
    And, our national anthem never fails to bring me to tears.

  • Ashokan Farewell. Sung by Priscilla Herdman, who put words to it.

  • Glorious by Mamuse

  • Pachebel canon in D

  • Etta James’s version of “At Last” – I even played it at my wedding.

  • Pachebel Canon in D

  • Whitney Houston singing “ I Will Always Love You” always does it to me.

  • Nothing Compares to You by Sinead O’Connor

  • I Am Super Woman
    By

    by Alisha Keys
    She is incredible!

  • The Alaska Flag Song

  • For me, it is Led Zeppelin. Thank you. To me, this song is all about growing into love.

  • David Gray- the other side

  • David Gray – the other side

  • Oh, way too many but the first ones to pop up in my head:
    Mamma ( sung by Jerry Vale)

    I’ll Be Home for Christmas

    Ripple

  • Killin” Kind by Shelby Lynne

  • “Wild Theme” by Mark Knopfler from the movie Local Hero

  • You are the reason, DG, why my music streaming list keeps growing! Thanks for tuning me into Tami Neilson

  • Rainbow Connection

  • Unchained Melody by Righteous Brothers

  • The Sound of Silence by Disturbed gets me everytime

  • Sounds of Silence covered by Disturbed. Funnily I dont listen to Disturbed but this cover is amazing!

  • Hallelujah

  • Buy me a Rose by Kenny Rogers

  • Come rain , come shine by Ray Charles. It’s our wedding song!

  • For me, that song would be “So In Love” as sung by kd lang.

  • It might sound silly, but Sea of Love by Robert Plant has been our song since 1985 and I just smile when I happen to catch it.

  • ‘Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water’, Paul Simon. Evocative.

  • When I hear “Mishima” by the Kronos Quartet, that’s the song. I have not had the pleasure of seeing this group live, but to watch them in action (via video) shows the depth and intricacies of the music. I just want to be a fly on the wall during the recording of their music.

  • Hallelujah

  • At Last by Etta James

  • Mazzy Star Fade into You, every time!

  • Time after time (shawl after shawl) by Cindy Lauper (and StpephenWest).

  • Fast Car, absolutely. Chapman’s version still reigns supreme imo.

  • There are many, one of my favorites is Ashokan farewell by Jay Ungar

  • Eva Cassidy singing Fields of Gold or Tall Trees in Georgia

  • How Great Thou Art sung by my church choir. EVERYTIME!

  • Most recently, Thousands Are Sailing by the Pogues. So beautiful and angry for generations of immigrants. “And we danced!”

  • Night swimming by REM. Just love it. Those opening piano notes start the goosebumps.

  • Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen and How Great Thou Art

  • Bach’s Prelude in G Major for Cello, Suite No. 1

    This one composition rises above all others for me; I am sustained by it. It *always* elicits a visceral response.

  • Peace In This House by Jessie Buckley from the movie Wild Rose. So poignant.

  • Anything Wailin Jennys! That harmony! Those instruments! The individual voices! The arrangements!

  • Dancing in the Moonlight–all the molecules of my existence align with the lyrics and melody and it’s like my soul is listening to its song. Every. Single. Time.

  • Gosh, reading all the comments brings up even more options! But my original offering is Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Simon & Garfield… it got my roommate and I through our senior year in college:)

  • Sarah Beth by Rascal Flats

  • Havana Day Dreaming by Jimmy Buffet – just gives me all the feels all the time 🙂

  • The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) by Paul Simon

    I dare anyone to sing this without breaking into a smile!

    • Just reading your post gave me a smile!

  • The music that gives me goosebumps is the piano piece Reverie by Claude Debussy. I’m still learning to play it. (slow learner)

  • Hymn to Amour (Hymn to Love), Edith Piaf. Stunning arrangement and vocal emotions, makes me tear up just thinking about it!

  • “Helplessly Hoping”—the original version of the Anna Nalick version or the one by Girl Named Tom. I have a playlist with all three versions.

  • Who By Fire, Leonard Cohen

    • Oh yes.

  • I’d walk through the snow barefoot by k d lang. Not the only song of hers that gives me goosebumps.

  • I get goosebumps from a bunch of Beatles songs, especially Yellow Submarine. This song brought my husband out of a deep delirium during an ICU stay. He has since died from Alzheimer’s disease but the Beatles still really touch my heart.

  • Oh, wow, so many from which to choose but the one that gets me every darn time is God Bless the USA (Proud to be an American), with honorable mention to I Who Have Nothing, Nessun Dorma, Star Spangled Banner, Creep, Hallelujah and on and on and on.

  • Song
    Concrete Angel
    Song by Martina McBride

  • Beethoven’s 5th Symphony

  • The song that always gives me goosebumps is The Great Pretender by the Platters.

  • Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen brings me to my knees time and time again.

  • The song— Beau Soir, by Debussey

  • Josh Ritter’s Kathleen

  • Easy – Brandi Carlile Hallelujah

  • “Take Me to Church” by Hozier hits me just right. (BTW, he also does the sexiest version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” ever, in case you’re looking for something to spice up your Yuletide listening.)

  • Roll away by Bob Seeger

  • Over the Rainbow by Eva Cassidy

  • The song that gives me goosebumps is “River”, either the Joni Mitchell or the Sarah MacLachlan versions.

  • Goosebumps but in a deliciously creepy way: “I Did It All For You” by Cowboy Junkies. Margo Timmins’ voice, the lyrics, and the quietly haunting music.

  • From Clare to Here on Nancy Griffith’s “Other Voices, Other Rooms” and “Fields of Gold” from Eva Cassidy

  • The Dance by Garth Brooks

  • “Lady Blue” by Leon Russell

  • Edelweiss by Richard Rodgers, as performed in Sound of Music, gets me every time.

  • I have to say May I Have This Dance by Anne Murray… it was the first dance at my wedding 35 years ago, and it was sung by a friend with a beautiful voice and her band, who learned it just for John and me. Still my favorite, and I love Rita and her band forever, for their wonderful music that day!

  • He Is Worthy – Andrew Peterson

  • Tears in heaven.

  • On my own from Les Mis

  • “This Woman’s Work” by Kate Bush

  • Return to Pooh Corner by Kenny Loggins. Was on an album we played our kids when they were very young. Still causes goosebumps today.

  • Nearly anything by Neko Case can give me goosebumps, but I especially love “That Teenage Feeling” and “Behind the House,” but really anything from the album Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. “Halls of Sarah” and “Winnie” from her album Hell On are also goosebump inducing as are “South Tacoma Way” and “Mood to Burn Bridges” from Furnace Room Lullaby. She just has such an incredible voice and her songs have lines that just burrow inside you and take up residency in your marrow.

  • Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen
    I have heard many versions & they all stir my soul.

  • Roses for Mama

  • “Where Rainbows Never Die” by the Steeldrivers

  • Well still the song Downtown produces goose bumps.

  • We’ve Only Just Begun

  • Another Wasted Life. Must. Binge. Bond.

  • The last three minutes of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Russian Easter Overture” for classical. For a more contemporary pick “The Cradle Song” by Shriekback!

  • I Was Made to Love You by Toby Mac. Put a Ring on It by Beyonce gets me dancing every time. And really, anything with a good beat is something I love to listen to.

  • This is Your Fight Song (Rachel Platten Scottish Cover by The Piano Guys….grand piano, cello, pipes and drums…the YouTube video is beautiful music and scenery!

  • Ashokan Farewell, in any instrumentation.

  • Downtown, sung by Petula Clark! It has been lifting my spirit since the 1960s 🙂

  • Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

  • I have to say, “try everything” by Shakira in Zootopia gives me goosebumps. A powerful message, and something I need reminding of, and a lesson I try to teach my stepdaughters.

    https://youtu.be/c6rP-YP4c5I?feature=shared

  • Unchained Melody

  • Streets of London – Ralph McTell

  • Hallelujah – the Jeff Buckley version, and I’m not a church person!

  • So many, but one recent song I can think of that brought goose bumps and tears is ‘Pie Jesu’ sung by Malakai Bayoh. What a voice on that kid.

  • There are so many songs that give me goose bumps, but the one that jumps to mind right now is Jubilee by Mary Chapin Carpenter.

    And I can tell by the way you’re talking
    That the past isn’t letting you go
    There’s only so long
    You can take it all on
    And then the wrongs gotta be on its own
    And when you’re ready to leave it behind you
    You’ll look back and all that you’ll see
    Is the wreckage and rust
    That you left in the dust
    On your way to the jubilee

  • Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel – I used to work at a local concert venue and they played there in the 90’s. Hearing Art struggle during sound check to hit the high notes and Paul yell at him was heartbreaking. Then during the actual performance Art NAILED it so effortlessly…Paul stomped off stage. It was beautiful and triumphant at the same time. Definite goosebumps.

  • Marjorie, Taylor Swift

  • Hallelujah!

  • Ode to Joy / Beethoven

  • Sound of Silence cover by Disturbed. Unexpected and incredibly moving.

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