Hagus

I do get hit emotionally by some songs, but the chances of a song actually doing that is a rarity for me. I Will Go Sailing No More is one that gets me.

Not many songs do this to me, but every once in a while one will slap me in the face with emotions.

i often associate certain songs with certain senses, memories, experiences, and time-periods

take waves by dr. probz for example - to me it represents a sense of youth, a source of limitless potential and discovery, all without a care in the world. clear skies, an average temperature of 80 degrees farenheit, and the shoreside promenade of a small port town out in the middle of nowhere.

contrast that to something like say...sledgehammer by peter gabriel - a sense of solitary reflection after what was personally viewed as another failure. grey skies, tall mountains surrounding you, blocking the sun as it sets. your future remains uncertain and you don't know how to handle it, much less where to go afterwards.

then there are more literal ones, not unlike the one you just described. lose yourself by eminem would be a solid example of this - a sense of resolve in the face of seemingly unstackable odds. dark times are ahead, but you're gonna try your hardest to pull through, even if you get to the point where you want to kick your own bucket, you'll stay alive in hopes that just one day, you'll find a way out of this mess.