#6 Sinéad O'Connor - Troy

Album: The Lion and the Cobra (1987)

Lyrics excerpt:
But I will rise 
And I will return
The Phoenix from the flame
 
I have learned
I will rise and you'll see me return 
Being what I am
There is no other Troy for me to burn 

Reasons to love this song: 
Sinéad O'Connor's voice is heartbreakingly emotional, capable of switching from soft and gentle to furious in a moment, and this song shows it perfectly. She starts softly: I'll remember it and Dublin in a rainstorm..., but I'll slay a dragon for you, I'll die is already sung in a different voice, and the accompanying strings create tension, bringing to mind tiny flickering flames. After the first there is no other Troy for you to burn, both her voice and the strings turn wild with emotion.
This is one of those songs I can't listen to without getting at least a little teary-eyed. The music might be a little bit too emotional -- nothing too dramatic actually happens in the song, after all: the lyrics are about being in love with someone and then discovering he was a liar, something that probably happened to everyone in the world at some point. But that's understandable, because O'Connor was only 20 when she was recording The Lion and the Cobra, and the passion in her singing is the reason this song is so irresistible.
In the lyrics O'Connor paraphrases the poem No Second Troy by William Butler Yeats:
Why, what could she have done being what she is?
Was there another Troy for her to burn?

YouTube link: 
The official video