My 10 Favorite PJ Harvey Songs, Ranked

I’ve loved English musician PJ Harvey (aka Polly Jean Harvey) since the first time I saw her perform in 1995, in support of her breathtaking album To Bring You My Love.

Today, the multi multi-instrumentalist and sought-after collaborator is still an unstoppable force – which is why this “top ten” list was the most difficult to make. I agonized over every single song from my favorite seven PJ Harvey albums and even considered doing a top 20 (I still might, if someone can make dinner for my kids tonight). 

Yet, I persevered. In honor of the artist, whose birthday is today (October 9^th), here are my top ten favorite PJ Harvey songs: 

#10: “A Perfect Day Elise” (Is This Desire?, 1998)

Harvey has called her 1998 album Is This Desire? — which balances guitar-driven rock with more experimental, electronic soundscapes — the best record she ever made. And apparently the album, produced by Flood (U2, Nine Inch Nails) is also the one took the longest to make. Lead single “A Perfect Day Elise” is one of the album’s standout tracks, with deep baselines and heavy guitars that counterbalance Harvey’s pretty vocals. As she sings, “it’s a perfect day, a perfect day,” in the chorus, I’m hooked.

#9: “Driving” (4-Track Demos, 1993)

Harvey’s super-raw 4-Track Demos album is the best for long road trips to the south, during the stretch of I-55 through Mississippi with nothing but cows on the side of the road. Throughout, she screeches, coughs, shouts, sings, and near-whispers. It’s excellent and blew my little mind when I first heard it. To be clear, I love EVERY single song on this album, top to bottom. But on “Driving,” when she sings, “tell ’em I’m driving, it’s alright … 100 different Bibles by my side,” Harvey has my heart.  

#8: “You Said Something” (Stories from The City, Stories from The Sea, 2000)

Harvey’s fifth studio album Stories from The City, Stories from The Sea is richer and more polished than her earlier releases, showcasing an unexpected evolution. On this album, I’m particularly drawn to “You Said Something,” Harvey’s ballad inspired by those fleeting moments of connection — on a rooftop in Manhattan, in this case. As she describes how she and another person are leaning against the railings, acting like lovers, it takes me back to those nights of conversation and connection under the stars. It’s the subtlety of these moments, throughout our lives, that give them color and context.

#7: “Angeline” (Is this Desire?, 1998)

Many songs on Harvey’s album Is This Desire? are inspired by the “intimate tales and turbulent lives” of women. “Angeline” offers the story of a prostitute and her desire to escape her lot, through a breathtaking, soundscape, that incorporates acoustic guitars and pared-down verses with a sweeping, and inspired chorus. The song is beautifully executed, anchored in longing, and stays with the listener long after the last note. 

#6: “Big Exit” (Stories from The City, Stories from The Sea, 2000)

Hooking the listener is the job of an album’s lead track and “Big Exit” delivers, with a sexy, fierce guitar riff, up-tempo beat, and Harvey’s confident, yet foreboding, vocals, calling out to the listener. It gives off Bonnie-and-Clyde vibes through and through.

#5: “Dress” (Dry, 1992)

The lyrics are everything in “Dress,” one of the standout singles from PJ Harvey’s debut solo album. I loved Harvey the moment I heard her sing, “It’s hard to walk in the dress, it’s not easy/I’m spilling over like a heavy loaded fruit tree.” Seeing her play this song while wearing stilettos and a tiny dress — armed with her guitar and a pedal board — is just badass.

#4: “C’Mon Billy” (To Bring You My Love, 1995)

“C’mon Billy” is one of my favorite Harvey folk ballads, showcasing the musician’s storytelling prowess, with a catchy acoustic-guitar hook, and a tale of man who leaves the mother of his child. While the song isn’t based on Harvey’s life, the passion with which Harvey sings, “come to me, you know I’m waiting, I love you endlessly” could fool any listener who didn’t know better.

#3: “The Dancer” (To Bring You My Love, 1995)

My favorite song off To Bring You My Love wasn’t released as a single, but it captured my heart nonetheless with its operatic drama, mid-tempo pacing, and mandolin undercurrents. Harvey uses all parts of her voice, from the low register to the falsetto and near-shrieks, to convey longing and pain, “I’ve cried days/I’ve cried nights/for the lord just to send me up some sign.” This song never fails to move me every time I hear it.

#2: “Legs” (4-Track Demos and Rid of Me, 1993)

From the moment Harvey cries out, “Aah, you’re divine,” she piqued my interest – not just in this dark song, but as an artist. I’d heard other songs, but this one is something special, a morbid, twisted tale of obsession. The lyrics are cutting (pun intended) her vocals are rich and seductive — teetering on the edge of mania — and the sparing guitar accompaniment is just enough to allow her room to wail, croon, wax poetic about her dirty deeds. It’s so raw and so brilliant.

#1: “Rid of Me” (Rid of Me, 1992)

My absolute favorite PJ Harvey album is also her most critically acclaimed, and the title track — with its slow-build, muted-distorted guitar riff, and foreboding lyrics, “you’re not rid of me, no, you’re not rid of me” — is vengeful and fantastic. Harvey’s ability to escalate from restrained verses to searing choruses is highlighted in this song, which tops MANY “top 10 PJ Harvey” lists besides this one. It is the quintessential defining track of a generation of angst-ridden, grunge-era femmes, beloved by pretty much every serious Harvey fan in existence. You simply cannot go through life without hearing it. And if you’re like me, you still give it a fair amount of airplay, decades later.

6 Honorable Mentions:

“Down by the Water” (To Bring You My Love), “Reeling” (4-Track Demos), “Desperate Kingdom of Love” (Uh Huh Her), “Sheila Na Gig” (Rid of Me), “Taut” (Dance Hall at Louse Point), “Joy” (Is This Desire?)