I recently interviewed Moby about his forthcoming CD Wait For Me, and will be posting about that later in the week. But at one point in our conversation the electronica overlord ruminated about what he considers to be among the saddest tunes ever written. Given the huge response generated by our list of the 50 most heartbreaking songs of all time and the seeming oddness of Moby’s choice, I thought you might be interested to read what he had to say on the allegedly heartbreaking qualities of…Johnny Nash’s "I Can See Clearly Now."
Moby: “One of my favorite songs, and I think one of the saddest songs ever written, is “I Can See Clearly Now.” It’s routinely seen as this happy song. They’ll have an ad for, like, Fabreze and they’ll license “I Can See Clearly Now” and someone will be the opening curtains and the sun is coming in. But whenever I hear “I Can See Clearly Now” I envision a 52-year-old secretary having her birthday by herself with her cat. Because nothing is more depressing than someone who is depressed but who is doing everything in their power to not look in the mirror and see the depression. That’s the dark night of the soul.”
Is Moby right? Check out Johnny Nash’s performance of the song (as well as his unarguably amazing outfit) below and tell us what you think.
More from EW’s Music Mix:
EW’s 50 Most Heartbreaking Songs of All Time
We goofed! Ten heartbreaking songs we wish we’d included
Brian Williams interviews Deer Tick. No, we’re not joking
White Stripes’ reunion "won’t be too far off", sayeth Jack
An interesting spin on a song most people think as upbeat and happy.
This would be an intersting Music Mix post, songs that have or cn have different interputations.
what in the world is moby talking about? this guy is one messed up mofo!
Moby needs to eat a hamburger…. this song makes me happy!
It’s apparent that it’s Moby’s impression. As a fan of Moby, he’s an artist who sees things creatively which I can appreciate. Judging by Johhny Nash’s performance, body language, I and the majority could only interpret this as an uplifting song. Hard to believe that the song is over 37 years old, and it still holds up.
Pretty weird thinkin’ there, Moby. I guess your glass is always half empty. Seek help.
Moby is always wrong.
Nothing’s more depressing to me than irrelevant rock stars who try way too hard
umm, they’re obviously saying “..the rain is GONE” “GONE are the dark clouds”.
It’s a song about happiness, the depression is in the past.
Wow, did Moby ever even listen to the song??
This is one of my all time favorite FEEL GOOD songs…. Whenever I am feeling blue if I put this on it is sure to cheer me up…
Radiohead’s ‘How to Disappear Completely’ is the most heartbreaking song
I can see clearly is a song where when things go bad, you realize that there is a positive side.
Sad songs are songs like:
Shannon- Henry Gross
Seasons in the sun-Terry Jacks
Alone Again- Gilbert O’Sullivan
Moby’s silly. Does he think that Howard Jones’s Things Can Only Get Better is a sad song too?!
Great Post as always. I must admit I have popped in a read a good number of your blogs but I have no idea how to post a response over there, so I’ll tell you now how good you are at describing the stuff your at – I must admit I find it insightful to read your blogging. Keep up the good work.