10 Best Tori Amos Songs

Tori Amos was the youngest ever person admitted to the prestigious Peabody Institute before she was asked to leave for musical insubordination at the age of 11. After a false start with her synth-pop band on 1988’s Y Kant Tori Read, she established herself as a significant solo artist on 1992’s Little Earthquakes. She was wildly creative throughout the 1990s, from confessional singer-songwriter on Little Earthquakes to the wild Boys from Pele and the electronica of From the Choirgirl Hotel.

Choosing ten favourite Tori Amos tracks is a thankless task. She’s amassed a prolific catalogue over more than 30 years, while her music enjoys a passionate personal connection with a devoted fanbase. You’d be unlikely to find two lists the same from any two Amos fans.

With an extensive discography, I chose to include tracks from her 21st-century records, although this means that highlights from her early solo albums are neglected. Especially unlucky were ‘Crucify’, which sets the tone beautifully for her debut album Little Earthquakes, as well as her breakthrough hit ‘Silent All These Years’ with its gorgeous bridge. Hardcore fans will be dismayed by the inclusion of only one track from Boys From Pele.

These songs are interesting to write about because Amos clearly thinks deeply and there are interesting stories behind each one. https://www.yessaid.com/ is a valuable resource, with interview snippets for every Amos song.

10 Best Tori Amos Songs

#10 Swim to New York State

from Ocean to Ocean, 2021
Amos has continued to release albums regularly in the 21st century, and 2021’s Ocean to Ocean was one of her best-received recent releases. ‘Swim to New York State’ references the Cornish coast of England – Amos has lived in Cornwall, England, since 1997. Ocean to Ocean was written during the COVID-19 pandemic and was inspired by the landscapes and myths of Amos’s adopted homeland.

#9 Concertina

from To Venus and Back, 1999
To Venus and Back marked the artistic settling of Amos. Through her first four solo albums, she was ambitious and edgy, each breaking new ground for her. To Venus and Back was well-crafted, but similar in feel to 1998’s From the Choirgirl Hotel, exploring electronic textures. ‘Concertina’ is my favourite track from the record, Amos exploring her social anxiety in a pretty tune.

“Do you ever feel like you walk in a room, and you don’t know why, but you’re just so uncomfortable you’re crawling out of your skin, even though nobody’s touched you, physically? That’s in ‘Concertina,’ when you feel like you haven’t excavated enough of your different personalities that when one pops up, you’re not sure where it came from, and you try to hack it out of yourself. It shocks you that you could have this kind of fault, or that other people could bring it out in you.”

Tori Amos

#8 Bouncing Off Clouds

from American Doll Posse, 2007
On American Doll Posse, Amos adopted five different personas, four inspired by Greek goddesses and the fifth based on herself. ‘Bouncing Off Clouds’ is delivered by “Clyde”, a character based on Persephone, the Greek goddess of the underworld. Amos often excels at upbeat pop/rock songs – ‘Bouncing Off Clouds’ is driven by a buoyant guitar riff.

#7 Jackie’s Strength

From the Choirgirl Hotel, 1998
In 1998, Amos married English sound engineer Mark Hawley. ‘Jackie’s Strength’ was written about her feelings about her impending marriage. It’s named for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis – Amos admired her grace and inner strength. In the song, the narrator gets lost on her wedding day. Amos felt like she had to let these feelings out so that her actual wedding day could be a success.

#6 A Sorta Fairytale

from Scarlet’s Walk, 2002
Amos’ first album of original material of the 21st century was Scarlet’s Walk, where she examined a post-9/11 America. She’s more a singer/songwriter than an alt-rock provocateur on Scarlet’s Walk, but she still has her musicality to fall back on. ‘A Sorta Fairytale’ is pretty, with Amos harmonising with herself. Reaching #6 in Canada, it’s arguably her most successful single apart from ‘Cornflake Girl’. It’s accompanied by a bizarre music video, with Adrien Brody and Amos playing disembodied appendages.

#5 God

from Under the Pink, 1994
Amos grew up as the daughter of a Methodist minister. Her sophomore album Under the Pink featured ‘God’ as the single – she explained to the Baltimore Sun that the essence of ‘God’ is, “Hey, buddy, I think you need a babe. Sit down. And I just happen to be around.” The record features squealing lead guitar from Steve Caton. The record company insisted on making different versions of the single to see which radio preferred – they opted for the most guitar-heavy version.

With Little Earthquakes I started to face down the split between the Marys, both personally and in the larger sense. I continued to explore it during the Under the Pink phase. I think taking on the role of Ms. God, or God’s lover in the song I wrote called “God” (from Under the Pink) was a big step for me personally in reuniting the two Marys within my Being. I began to realize that I needed the voices of both Marys to hold an anchor for the Ms. God archetype I was to embody in order to sing this song. I’ll ask myself the question that other people have asked me over the years: “Define which God, Tori. Which God is the God in the song ‘God’? Do you mean God, God?” And my answer is: “It depends on who you think God, God is.”

Tori Amos, Piece by Piece

#4 Winter

from Little Earthquakes, 1992
‘Winter’ is one of Amos’s prettiest songs, written about her relationship with her father. It was inspired by a conversation she had with her father after the 1988 synth-pop album she made with Y Kant Tori Read failed. Her father told her “Tori Ellen, when are you going to accept you are good enough for you?’” The white horses in the songs represent the doors closing to her imagination, dreams, and aspirations as she grew up.

When you gonna make up your mind?
When you gonna love you as much as I do?

Tori Amos, Winter

#3 Caught A Lite Sneeze

from Boys for Pele, 1996
Boys for Pele is Amos at her weirdest and wildest. Written after a breakup with producer Eric Rosse, an important collaborator on her first two solo records, it’s named for a Hawaiian volcano goddess. Amos told What Magazine “First I wanted to sacrifice all these guys to the volcano goddess and roast them like marshmallows, then I decided they gave me a really wonderful gift.” The single ‘Caught a Lite Sneeze’ provides an accessible entry point – it’s piano-heavy, although Amos’ voice is pinched and tense.

#2 Black-Dove (January)

From the Choirgirl Hotel, 1998
Amos embraced electronica on 1998’s From the Choirgirl Hotel, dressing her songs in haunting backdrops. Even though it’s musically smoother than Boys for Pele, it’s still confronting lyrically. Other songs on Choirgirl are about Amos’s first two miscarriages, while ‘Black-Dove (January)’ deals with her nightmares.

Sometimes I feel like Hermann Hesse’s Steppenwolf… The nightmares have agonized me since my childhood. I am the daughter of a Methodist preacher and as a child I was sexually abused by a friend of the family. I think the nightmares are telling me things about me I need to know. And I try to understand what they mean. Maybe so I can get to know something more about my soul.

Tori Amos, Die Zeit (Germany) – November 11, 1999

#1 Tear In Your Hand

from Little Earthquakes, 1992
‘Tear in Your Hand’ was written on a visit back to Maryland, which evoked nostalgia for Amos. It’s less of a narrative and more a stream of consciousness – “I don’t believe you’re leaving cause me and Charles Manson like the same ice cream” is indecipherable. Meanwhile, references to Neil Gaiman and the dream king started a friendship with the author.

The piano hook makes ‘Tear In Your Hand’ special. Amos told Keyboard magazine that she used Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Scarborough Fair’ as a template. The metallic 1980s guitar gives the track some bite, while her phrasing is also unique – the way that the lines pause awkwardly to fit the music makes the song distinctive.

Did I leave out your favourite Tori Amos song?

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