Songs which give me GOOSEBUMPS

GOOSEBUMPS – that feeling or sensation when you feel the hair on the back of your hand stand up. People get goosebumps when they get scared. Music does that to me. There are few songs or portions of it, which give me goosebumps. So I rummaged through my ipod, trying to make a list of such songs. Now, there will be people who, after reading this post, will realize, “Hey, this guy is right. Even I get such goosebumps when I listen to this song.”

And there will be even people who will say, “Is he mad? How can such a pathetic song evoke goosebumps?”

But then these are my hormones. This is how they react to the given songs… J

There is no particular order, just few random songs and my thoughts on them:

The first composer who comes to my mind (and probably every music lover’s mind) when talking about goosebumps is A.R Rahman. Few of his songs which gave me that feeling –

LUKA CHHUPI: The antara when a.r rahman takes over lata mangeshkar –

Kaise tujhko dikhaau yahaan hai kya,

Maine jharne se paani maa tod ke peeya hai.

Guccha guccha kai khwaabon ka

Ucchal ke chooa hain,

Chhaya liye bhali dhoop yahaan hain kya?

Naya naya sa hai roop yahaan,

Yahhan sab kuch hain maa phir bhi,

Lage bin tere mujhko akela.

Prasoon Joshi’s lyrics and a.r rahman’s voice and melody – out of this   world.

SHAUK HAI (GURU): This was one gem which was not included in the OST of guru. Sung by sowmya raoh, this was one helluva song. Superb singing, lovely composition and well placed in the movie, this song, which comes when madhavan proposes to vidya balan in the rain and after vidya’s death, was goosebumps stuff for me.

KAISE MUJHE (GHAJINI): Do I need to say anything about this song? Right from the first second, this song blew me up when I heard it the first time. The goosebumpiness only elevated when I saw the song in the movie.

                                    Main toh ye sochta tha ke aaj kal,

                                    Upar waale ko fursat nahi.

                                    Phir bhi tujhe banake woh,

                                    Meri nazar mein chad gaya,

                                    Rutbe mein woooh aur badh gaya.

MAUSAM AND ESCAPE (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE): Try listening this on full volume on headphones, and you know what a genius Rahman is when it comes to instruments. Sigh! What a sitar rendition!

O PALANHARE (LAGAAN):  Not much needs to be said about this song. Lata mangeshkar’s voice, a beautiful prayer tune, and the mozart’s minimal yet effective instrumentation – more than enough.

YE JO DES HAI TERA (SWADES): Well the video of this song plays an equal role in making the song such a classic. All those visuals of sindur, haldi, etc in that box given to mohan by geeta, alongwith one of rahman’s best compositions – heavenly. Beautiful use of shehnai and tabla.

Tu na pooch raaste mein kaahe

Aaye hai iss tarah do raahein.

Tu hi toh hai raah jo suujhaaye,

Tu hi toh hai ab joy eh bataaye,

Jaaye toh kis disha mein jaaye wahi des...

KHOON CHALA: One more rang de basanti entry, this was again a masterpiece from the maestro. Mohit chauhan’s voice and a brilliant humming chorus – one of those tracks which moves me.

Badan se tapak kar,

Zameen se lipat kar,

Galiyon se rasto se,

Ubhar kar, umad kar…

EK TU HI BHAROSA (PUKAR): This one is a prayer, a tune which only rahman can compose. Once again, lata mangeshkar sings this, and creates magic. Add to that, a beautiful child chorus and some serene piano in the background – enough to transport you to another world.

JAANE TU MERI KYA HAI (JAANE TU YA JAANE NA): Sung by sukhwinder singh, this one doesn’t appear in the movie, except one line I think. I liked this song more than the female version. A song about pain, sukhwinder’s voice conveys it beautifully. Brilliant stuff Rahman sir.

Hai dosti humko yakeen tha,

Dosti aur kuch bhi nahi tha.

Par kaise tujhko baatein,

Kyun chubhte hain pairon mein kaante.

MANN CHANDRE (CONNECTIONS): Those who haven’t heard this one yet, please listen to in RIGHT NOW sab chhod chaad ke. This 7 minute song by Sukhwinder Singh, vijay prakash and shraddha pandit is MAGIC.

DES KI MITTI (BOSE THE FORGOTTEN HERO): A relatively less known gem, this is one of sonu nigam’s finest songs ever. He is bang on in every single note, the result being superb. Again very good use of the tabla in the antara portions.

Ek lori hai, ek laal bindiya,

laut aayi hai mere bachpan ki nindiya,

Har ghadi nayi baat ik yaad aa rahi hai,

Dil mein pagdandi si jaise ban gayi hai,

Ye pagdandi mere dil se mere des jaati hain...

SAADDA HAQ (ROCKSTAR): Who said only slow soft songs evoke goosebumps. This one did for me. And HOW.

Marzi se jeene ki bhi main,

Kya tumko arzi doon,

Matlab ki tum sabka mujhpe

Mujhse bhi zyaada haq ho..

It is exactly at that point when the above lyrics end and mohit chauhan sings “Saadda haq” – yes, that is the place which gives me goosebumps even today after having heard the song a hundred times. I’ve not seen such energy in a song since a long time.

ALL SONGS OF ROJA AND BOMBAY.

A few other songs by composers other than rahman…

AANKHON KE PARDON PE (UDAAN): The song starts as slowly as it can get. Shown in the beginning of the film, the song plays when rohan (Rajat Barmecha) is expelled from school and being escorted home.

As he leaves his best friends, friends who mean everything to him, this part of the song plays –

Baithe the hum toh khwaabon ki chhaon ke tale,

Chhod ke unko jaane kahaan ko chale…

And then the goosebumps portion comes. As the name “UDAAN” appears with the moving rail tracks in the background, the song goes –

Kahaani khatam hai ya shuruaat hone ko hai,

Subah nayi hai ye, ya phir raat hone ko hai,

AAZAADIYAN (UDAAN, again): Well, actually it is this song which made me write this post. I can write pages describing this song. But focusing on the goosebumps portion, well they are the same lines I mentioned in the previous song.

As rohan and arjun (aayan boradia) walk hand in hand, finally liberating themselves from the torture of their father, and as ronit roy finishes reading the letter, closes his door and disappears, the same lines make a reappearance –

Kahaani khatam hai ya shuruaat hone ko hai,

Subah nayi hai ye, ya phir raat hone ko hai,

Aane wala waqt dega panaah ye,

Ya phir se milenge do raahein,

Khabar kya, kya pata…

DUA (NO ONE KILLED JESSICA): it is that chorus which gives me goosebumps even today –

Andhere tarse Khuda ke ghar se,

Ujaale na kyun barse.

Guzaare kaise, sazaa ke jaise,

Din namo key lage arse,

Sab sajde de, sajde de, sajde de,

Dua karo..

DUAA (SHANGHAI): Yes, the most recent song to give me goosebumps is DUAA sung by nandidni shrikar and arijit singh. After a long beginning by nandini, it is that moment when arijit sings

Jo bheji thi dua,

Wo jaake aasmaan

Se yun takra gayi

Ke aa gayi hain laut ke jahaan.

That is heavenly. Period.

HAAN MAINE CHHOOKAR DEKHA HAI (BLACK): This entire song is goosebumpy. Sung by gayatri iyer ganjawala, this song is haunting and beautiful. One of my personal favorites. Hats off to monty sharma!

NANHI SI JAAN (STANLEY KA DABBA): Hitesh sonik’s best composition till date, Shankar mahadevan is top notch. With superb lyrics by amol gupte himself, this song has awesome ups and downs and gives me chills, especially this portion –

Har maa ke dil mein banaayi jagah,

Aur baccho mein bhi baat badhi.

Keemat iski kya dijiyega

Lamha lamha anmol ghadi.

Dil ko thaame baitho saaiba,

Chhota muh itni baat badi.

RANGREZ (TANU WEDS MANU): My favorite album of 2011, and this being my favorite track of the year, I am in awe of this song. No, seriously. Under the pseudonym “Krsna”, this guy let his music do the talking. Here he himself croons this qawwali, and totally rocks it.

Rangrez tune afeen kya hai khaali,

Jo tu mujhse puche ke kaunsa rang,

Rangon ka kaarobaar hai tera

Ye tu hi toh jaane kaunsa rang…

MERA JAHAAN (TAARE ZAMEEN PAR): I can still remember the video of this song. Sitting inside the theatre as I watched this movie, adnan sami starts singing this song. On screen, darshil safary watches in awe as a man swiftly climbs up the bamboos to paint a building. And then, a drop of paint falls down, traveling the entire descent and landing on the forehead of an open-mouthed ishaan, who winces.

Sapno ka buna sweater sa warm,

Safed baadalon ke paar,

Mera jahaan…

And the song erupts into a hair-raising chorus. Too good.

KABHI SHAAM DHALE (SUR): M.M Kreem’s best hindi album according to me, this song was awesome. Mahalaxmi iyer just blew it apart, especially the last para when she changes her scale and goes to an exactly higher “taar saptak”. And the superb jugalbandhi in the final one minute between the violin and the drums – bliss!!!

GUHM SUHM (IT’S A WONDERFUL AFTERLIFE): Yes, the same one directed by gurinder chaddha. This one, originally from sukshinder shanda’s album COLLABORATIONS is sung by himself and rahat fateh ali khan. This is a typically gurudwara song. Now I’m not at all a Punjabi or a sikh, but this song always makes me feel divine. A seven odd minutes long song, it is sung flawlessly by both the singers. Add to that, the harmonium and tabla – do hear this one if you have not yet heard it.

PARESHAN (ISHAQZAADE):

Go to the second antara’s ending –

Zara zara fitrat badalne laga dil mera,

Zara zara kismet se ladne laga dil mera.

And then instead of shalmali singing “Main pareshaan pareshaan..”, only the harmonium plays the tune. THAT is goosebumps inducing.

TUJHE MAIN PYAAR KAROON (1920): Composed by Adnan sami, this is Kailash Kher’s show throughout. Very moving, soulful and beautiful. Do listen.

Dilon ki baat nahi jaante ye sab zubaan waale,

Wafaa ko jurm samajhte hai ye sab jahaan waale.

Agar ye jurm hai, toh ye jurm baar baar karoon,

Ke jab talak main jeeyun, tera intezaar karoon.

O MERI JAAN (LIFE IN A METRO): Pritam’s finest album so far, this song was my personal favorite from the entire album, especially the reprise version sung by suhail.

Tu aa gaya yun nazar mein,

Jaise subah dopahar mein

Madhoshi yuhi nahi dil pe chhaayi,

Neeyat ne li angdaayi,

Chuua tune kuch iss tarah,

Badli fiza badla samaa

O meri jaan…

ROOTHKE HUMSE KAHIN (JO JEETA WAHI SIKANDAR):            Aah, this one is sheer bliss. Composed by Jatin – lalit and sung by Jatin pandit himself, this is one of my all time favorite songs. A song which describes the love between two brothers, this one gives me Goosebumps every single time I listen to it.

Roothke humse kahi,

Jab chale jaaoge tum.

Ye na socha kabhi,

Kitne yaad aaoge tum.

Well, that’s about it. Few instrumental themes which are goosebumps inducing:

1)    Dor climax theme

2)    Meghna’s theme (She’s the one) from Jaane tu ya jaane na.

3)    Kaminey climax theme

4)    Entering the village (Swades) – The AAYO RE theme when chikoo leads mohan’s caravan inside the village upto kaveri amma’s house. Awesomeness.

5)    The last gap (Udaan) – When rohan runs and his father chases him. Two minutes of pure goosebumps and chills.

6)    Iqbal climax theme

Do let me know what are your choice of songs which give you goosebumps...