What is the saddest song ever written ?

[UndertheOcean]

I posted my pick a while ago , what is yours?

[Chan790]

1. Elliott Smith - King's Crossing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX6etUAIbRU

[bixente]

2. There was a song which inspired some to suicide

I believe it was called "gloomy Sunday". Not 100%, though. I'm sure it had "Sunday" in the title. There was a documentary some years ago which covered the happenings the song provoked.

As for me, alas I often have difficulty in singling out something - whether a song, film, book - above all the rest.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

22. Sunday Bloody Sunday?

That was about some uprising in Ireland.

[stuntcat]

118. there's a Gloomy Sunday

It's a great song, kind of a standard, that lots of people have done. I have a few versions but I like Marianne Faithfull's the best.

[nytemare]

3. "Vincent"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dipFMJckZOM

[BeachBaby]

4. "Everybody Hurts" - R.E.M. n/t.

[lizziegrace]

12. I'll second that

:(

[stuntcat]

18. yes to this

and partly for how he sings it I think.
It doesn't take much for songs to get to me though, if I wasn't so tired I'd look up a couple more. All the ones listed here would probably get me.

[graywarrior]

19. Agreed.

[ChoralScholar]

29. We used it as a part of the soundtrack for a play about a school shooting...

it's wrenching, that's for sure.

[BeachBaby]

37. Yes, it is....the song came out 7 years after my best friend took it

upon herself to end her own life; the most nightmarish part of her suicide was that she told me, and our 3 other friends, that she was going to do it. We didn't believe her. I remember where we were when she said it (we were tubing down the Delaware River together). Hell - I can still hear her voice, and it was almost 23 years ago now. She was 14 years old.

When the song came out, it shook me up BAD - and it's really hard, even now, to listen to it. :(

[TZ]

128. *sigh*

That has a kind of emotional attachment for me. When I was feeling really sick not too long ago, a friend "sang" that song to me, to comfort me..made me cry, it was so sweet....

[The Magistrate]

5. This One Has To Be In The Running, Sir, For That Title.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qd4RGTQxf4

[mwooldri]

6. Lots of Country songs are just depressing and sad.

One comes to mind: song about a boy whose mother was a drug-addict and father was an alcoholic, one night dad comes home with gun, shoots mother and then himself. The boy was hiding behind the couch witnessing this. Song goes on to say he gets adopted/fostered out and taken to church and he says I know that man whose on the cross, he was with me the day my parents died.

I was in a bad depressive state at that time before I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and this song just put me into uncontrollable tears. I still can't remember the name of the song to this day, can't remember who sung it. It was just one heck of a depressive song.

Mark.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

23. That's why I don't listen to country music. Besides the fact that it stinks.

Too depressing.

[pokerfan]

7. Springsteen - The River

Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don't remember
Mary acts like she don't care

[Va Lefty]

9. A lot of Springsteen's songs are dark and depressing

Factory

Through the mansions of fear, through the mansions of pain
I see my Daddy walkin' through those factory gates in the rain
Factory takes his hearing, Factory gives him life
The working, the working just the working life

End of the day factory whistle cries
Men walk through these gates with death in their eyes
And you just better believe boy, somebody's gonna get hurt tonite
Cause it's the working, the working just the working life

[pokerfan]

17. sad songs sell

While googling for the lyrics, I found this short review that made me laugh:

The title cut from Springsteen's fifth album, The River is the blue-collar hero's 473rd song about how bad blue-collar life is, featuring yet another unemployed dope from New Jersey hitched to an unhappy girl named Mary (every girl in Springsteen's songs is called Mary). As teenagers, the couple went "down to the river" where they swam, frolicked, had sex, got pregnant and ruined their lives. The River makes one wish Springsteen would write a song about getting plastered on Cristal and driving a Bentley into a swimming pool.

[driver8]

45. That is one of my favorite songs, ever!

I found this guy on YouTube doing a great version of it. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4aO9zjv8Go

[pokerfan]

79. Very cool

In 1988, Springsteen ran into a street musician in Copenhagen who was playing it before one of his concerts. Bruce asked if he could borrow one of his guitars and play with him. Pretty dketchy video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWQV7agBFtE

[driver8]

90. That is awesome!

Bruce is THE MAN!

[Dr. Strange]

8. Besides "Lick My Love Pump?"

Apart, by the Cure.

he waits for her to understand
but she won't understand at all
she waits all night for him to call
but he won't call anymore
he waits to hear her say
forgive
but she just drops her pearl-black eyes
and prays to hear him say
i love you
but he tells no more lies

he waits for her to sympathize
but she won't sympathize at all
she waits all night to feel his kiss
but always wakes alone
he waits to hear her say
forget
but she just hangs her head in pain
and prays to hear him say
no more
i'll never leave again

how did we get this far apart?
we used to be so close together
how did we get this far apart?
i thought this love would last forever

he waits for her to understand
but she won't understand at all
she waits all night for him to call
but we won't call
he waits to hear her say
forgive
but she just drops her pearl-black eyes
and prays to hear him say
i love you
but he tells no more lies

how did we get this far apart?
we used to be so close together
how did we get this far apart?
i thought this love would last forever

[BeachBaby]

26. Ooooooooo, is this where I'm supposed to say

Bwahahahahahahaha - ELEVENS!!!!!!!11!!!!!!!! ????

;) :*

[Dr. Strange]

27. Way to stick to the script!

:D

[BeachBaby]

28. Just remember that when you're casting for your next

Spinal Tap scene. ;)

'night, babe.

[fizzgig]

88. that song kills me

but 'to wish impossible things' gets me even more

eta: i'm talking about apart...:P

[Dr. Strange]

97. That is also a sad song.

But not as sad as "Apart." Or "Lick My Love Pump" for that matter.

Are the Avs ready for the playoffs?

[quip]

91. Does the Cure play that one in Dm, though? Hmmm?

:shrug:

[Dr. Strange]

94. Am

Not really as sad a key as Dm. It's like, how much more sad could it be, and the answer is, "Somewhat. Somewhat more sad."

[quip]

95. Two and a half steps more.

hehe

[lightningandsnow]

10. "Streets of Heaven" by Sherrie Austin

About a terminally ill child.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqb9mJS6vYw

[Tikki]

11. I don't know from Country....

http://www.last.fm/music/Jim+Lauderdale/_/Tales+From+The+Sad+Hotel
Tales From The Sad Hotel.....Jim Lauderdale

but, anyone, country or city, who is still in a love affair (whether real or imagined) after one of 'em has gotten married...
well, that's so very sad...


Tikki

[blitzen]

36. Thanks for the reminder...

of how great Jim Lauderdale can be. I have that CD but haven't listened to it for a while. I think I'll be playing it tonight.

I can't nominate a song for saddest of all--since I'm a country fan, there are way too many to chose from

[BeachBaby]

13. "Cat's In the Cradle" - Harry Chapin. n/t

[emilyg]

39. Oh yes.

[momophile]

80. I admit, I've cried to this song. nt

[Dr Fate]

14. "Walk Away Renee"- The Left Bank. n/t

n/t

[The Magistrate]

16. An Excellent Call, Doctor

An old favorite of mine, and here, for the youth who have no idea what we are on about....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uqBTzfcIk4

[Dr Fate]

21. Cool! It's neat how all the mid-60's bands were so young...

LOL- then later they made a rule that you had to be 40 to get played on Rock & Roll radio at all...right around the time I stopped listening to it.

I'm sure kids still play some great stuff- but it aint on the radio...

[Beausoleil]

53. Excellent version by Linda Ronstadt and Ann Savoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LuHGPI3nVg&oi=manybox&ct=51&cd=1&resnum=4&usg=AFQjCNFRRCm5Fd0aI_d4bDcnLLiyZBDH9w

[Jade Fox]

73. Ricki lee Jones does an excellent job on that song too....

I like Jones' version because it is so poignant. The Four Tops, bless their hearts, do the song too upbeat for me.

[Cant trust em]

85. You won't see me calling you back home.

Great song.

[Hotler]

15. If I had any pride left at all. Sung by Etta James

[IzaSparrow]

20. "Hurt" covered by Johnny Cash

:shrug:
seems kinda sad, b/c it was right before his wife passed away, and he looks to have been in failing health as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go

[Tommy_Carcetti]

77. Seconded....

Either the NIN original or the Cash cover is about as depressing (but still good) as you can get.

[JuniperLea]

101. I love Johnny...

And was proud to be June's namesake.

I had the privilege of seeing them both perform live many times. Awesome, awesome performers! I learned to growl through June's parts, wanting so badly to sound like her!

RIP sweet spirits!

[elehhhhna]

151. Agreed.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

24. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

I swear, I used to hear that on the radio in the 70s and I would turn it off before I got depressed.


Arrgghhh.

[Iris]

122. yep! Same here!

[Aristus]

25. "Under The Bridge" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

"I gave my life away..." is just about the saddest lyric ever written.

[Brigid]

30. "My Hometown" by Bruce Springsteen.

Long live the Boss.

[CreekDog]

31. Puff The Magic Dragon

(time passes and things are gone...) :cry:

Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee,
Little jackie paper loved that rascal puff,
And brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff. oh

Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee,
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee.

Together they would travel on a boat with billowed sail
Jackie kept a lookout perched on puffs gigantic tail,
Noble kings and princes would bow wheneer they came,
Pirate ships would lower their flag when puff roared out his name. oh!

Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee,
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee.

A dragon lives forever but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys.
One grey night it happened, jackie paper came no more
And puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.

His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain,
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane.
Without his life-long friend, puff could not be brave,
So puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave. oh!

Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee,
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee.

[Danmel]

124. That song always makes me cry

My kids laugh at me. That makes me cry too. They are 17 & 13 now. No more little ones. (runs off to find some tissues........)

[Boudica the Lyoness]

144. Back in 1975 I sang this to my new baby

This was his baby song. Even then when I was so young, I knew one day he'd be gone from me and it made me sad. He's 33 this year and a dad himself now..and far away.
For my youngest son I sang The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel.

[Fox Mulder]

32. Johnny Cash's version of "Hurt".

[PeaceNikki]

33. Susan Tedeschi - It Hurt So Bad

I miss the arms that used to hold me
The tender way we used to kiss
I miss the way that you touch me
I miss the sweet taste of your lips

I was a fool to ever leave you
You were a fool to let me go
Oh it's so lonesome, lonesome here with out you
Oh how I miss you so

It hurt... it hurt... it hurt so bad
You were the best man I ever had
Why was I so blind to see?
Now the biggest fool is me

I miss the arms that used to hold me
The tender way we used to kiss
Ooo... yes... ooo... I miss the way that you touch me
I miss the sweet taste of your lips

It hurt... it hurt... it hurt so bad
'Cause ooo you were the best man I ever, ever, ever had
Why was I so blind to see
And now the biggest fool is me

Oh Oh what a fool I was darlin'... yes...
And oh you were a fool to let... let me go... why did you let me go?
It's so lonesome here with out you
Oh how I miss you so

Oh Oh now yes
Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it oh lord no!
I miss you oh yeah!
Come back Oh! come back to me, yes
Oh how I miss you
Oh I miss you so
Oh Oh Lordy, Lordy, Lordy Oooo........
Don't do it, Oh! Come on baby Come back to me
Oh how I miss you so
How I miss you so
Oh,oh,oh,ooooo....Lord now
Oh I miss you baby

[sakabatou]

34. Yoko Kanno - Farewell

http://profile.imeem.com/ru66L6/music/f-LWBkLD/yoko_kanno_farewell/

You do have to make an account to hear the full song. Shame.

I used it for one of my music videos. I'll put it up on the web soon. If anyone wants the link, just pm me.

And then there's http://www.veoh.com/videos/v65619062QJp9EPz">"Be Human" also by Yoko Kanno.

[Cant trust em]

35. That's me trying - William Shatner

I know that the idea of William Shatner singing songs is pretty corny, but it's just his spoken word with Ben Folds and Aimee Mann doing the arrangements.

[stuntcat]

41. awww

I'm playing it, it is frickin touching! Aimee Mann gets to me just with her voice too :cry:

[Enrique]

52. the idea of William Shatner singing is pretty sad

:cry:

[Hoooweee]

38. That's the way i've always heard it should be- Carly Simon

2. No Surprises- radiohead
3. Shilo- Neil Diamond

[woo me with science]

40. I think it's called "Where Have You Been."

A love song about two people who end up in a nursing home "in different rooms on different floors."

[lizziegrace]

136. by Kathy Mattea

that one always brings tears to my eyes...

[Jamastiene]

42. Northern Star

by Hole

[datasuspect]

43. "sex farm"

[mikeytherat]

48. Hey, maybe some of that earlier stuff was rubbish, but "Sex Farm"

takes a sophisticated, adult view of sex. And working on a farm.

mikey_the_rat

[Lil Missy]

44. "Alone again, Naturally". Gawd, it was almost suicidal. n/t

[MissMillie]

46. Calling All Angels - Jane Siberry

Invisible Ink - Aimee Mann

Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word - Elton John

[mikeytherat]

47. "Suicide is Painless"

"Suicide is Painless" - Johnny Mandel (music) and Mike Altman (lyrics)

Through early morning fog I see

visions of the things to be

the pains that are withheld for me

I realize and I can see...

REFRAIN:

that suicide is painless

It brings on many changes

and I can take or leave it if I please.

I try to find a way to make

all our little joys relate

without that ever-present hate

but now I know that it's too late, and...

(REFRAIN)

The game of life is hard to play

I'm gonna lose it anyway

The losing card I'll someday lay

so this is all I have to say.

(REFRAIN)

The only way to win is cheat

And lay it down before I'm beat

and to another give my seat

for that's the only painless feat.

(REFRAIN)

The sword of time will pierce our skins

It doesn't hurt when it begins

But as it works its way on in

The pain grows stronger...watch it grin, but...

(REFRAIN)

A brave man once requested me

to answer questions that are key

is it to be or not to be

and I replied 'oh why ask me?'

'Cause suicide is painless

it brings on many changes

and I can take or leave it if I please.

...and you can do the same thing if you please.

mikey_the_rat

[BOSSHOG]

49. "I will always love you" - Dolly Parton

It ain't a love song.

[stuntcat]

108. her voice is so sweet

One of those voices.. this is a beautiful song.

[BOSSHOG]

116. Dolly is an awesome talent

and the song is an authentic tearjerker.

[Tyler Durden]

50. "At Seventeen" by Janis Ian

If this doesn't tear you up, I don't understand you at all.


"AT SEVENTEEN"

By Janis Ian

I learned the truth at seventeen
That love was meant for beauty queens
And high school girls with clear skinned smiles
Who married young and then retired
The valentines I never knew
The Friday night charades of youth
Were spent on one more beautiful
At seventeen I learned the truth...

And those of us with ravaged faces
Lacking in the social graces
Desperately remained at home
Inventing lovers on the phone
Who called to say "come dance with me"
And murmured vague obscenities
It isn't all it seems at seventeen...

A brown eyed girl in hand me downs
Whose name I never could pronounce
Said: "Pity please the ones who serve
They only get what they deserve"
The rich relationed hometown queen
Marries into what she needs
With a guarantee of company
And haven for the elderly...

So remember those who win the game
Lose the love they sought to gain
In debitures of quality and dubious integrity
Their small-town eyes will gape at you
In dull surprise when payment due
Exceeds accounts received at seventeen...

To those of us who knew the pain
Of valentines that never came
And those whose names were never called
When choosing sides for basketball
It was long ago and far away
the world was younger than today
when dreams were all they gave for free
to ugly duckling girls like me...

We all play the game, and when we dare
We cheat ourselves at solitaire
Inventing lovers on the phone
Repenting other lives unknown
That call and say: "Come on, dance with me"
And murmur vague obscenities
At ugly girls like me, at seventeen...

[Mad_Dem_X]

62. Just reading those lyrics tears my heart out

:cry:

Anyone who isn't affected by this song has no soul.

[stuntcat]

114. this song

This song will never not get to me :cry:

[Enrique]

51. Send in the clowns

not sure what it's about, but it sounds sad.

[hellbound-liberal]

54. Abraham, Martin and John gets me every time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_OqdHMoTxE

[Beausoleil]

55. "Long Ride Home" - Patty Griffin

gets me every time.

Long black limousine
Shiniest car I've ever seen
The back seat is nice and clean
She rides as quiet as a dream
Someone dug a hole six long feet in the ground
I said goodbye to you and I threw my roses down
Ain't nothing left at all in the end of being proud
With me riding in a race car, and you flying through the clouds

I've had some time to think about you
And watch the sun set like a stone
I've had some time to think about you
On the long ride home

One day I took your tiny hand
Put your finger in the wedding band
Your daddy gave a piece of land
We laid ourselves the best of plans
Forty years go by with someone laying in your bed
Forty years of things you wish you'd never said
How hard would it have been to say some kinder words instead
I wonder as I stare up at the sky turning red

I've had some time to think about you
And watch the sun set like a stone
I've had some time to think about you
On the long ride home

Headlights staring at the driveway
The house is dark as it can be
I go inside and all is silent
It seems as empty as the inside of me

I've had some time to think about you
And watch the sun set like a stone
I've had some time to think about you
On the long, on the long
Oh the long, on the long
On the long ride home


edit: corrected lyrics

[MissMillie]

57. that's a beautiful song.

[Beausoleil]

59. I almost can't listen to it, it's so good and sad

We listened to the CD on the way to my grandmother's funeral a few years ago. Tears well up every time I listen to it now.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

56. "Hail to the Chief" -- But it's going to get better...

[hellbound-liberal]

58. Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell-Here it is from 2000. A poignant song about regrets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKQSlH-LLTQ

Both Sides Now

Rows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way
I've looked at clouds from both sides now

From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As ev'ry fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way

But now it's just another show
You leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away

I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way

But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living every day

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all
I've looked at life from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

[gmoney]

60. "Have you Forgotten" by the Del Fuegos is pretty damn sad

Or maybe "Hospital" by Jonathan Richman/Modern Lovers

[suninvited]

61. Feilds of Gold

when sung by Eva Cassidy is heartbreaking. Eva was my boyfriends favorite singer of all time, and since his death I cannot listen to this song without crying.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3YVil3Ajjs

[SteppingRazor]

63. The saddest song ever written is "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda."

(A distant second is the Bee Gees' "I Started a Joke.")

[cemaphonic]

145. That's not even the saddest song referenceing Watzing Matilda

Tom Traubert's Blues (Tom Waits) is.

[SteppingRazor]

149. That's a good one, definitely, but I still gotta maintain that...

any song with the lyrics:

And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity


has gotta be up there for saddest song all-time.

[cemaphonic]

154. Yeah, it's a sad song all right

Mostly I just think it's interesting that there are two really depressing songs that reference Waltzing Matilda. Although, given Tom Waits' musical and lyrical influences, it seems likely to me that he was referencing that song as much as he was the original.

[SOteric]

64. Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit"

Lyrics by Lewis Allen

Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

[geardaddy]

96. Yes.

I agree with you on that one.

:(

[annabanana]

130. That is a tear your soul out sad and angry song... breathtaking.

[hellbound-liberal]

65. This isn't the saddest but it's one we often forget, Father and Son by Yusuf Islam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a48EkBy-SUc

Father
It's not time to make a change,
Just relax, take it easy.
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to know.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy.

I was once like you are now, and I know that it's not easy,
To be calm when you've found something going on.
But take your time, think a lot,
Why, think of everything you've got.
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not.

Son
How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again.
It's always been the same, same old story.
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.

Father
It's not time to make a change,
Just sit down, take it slowly.
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to go through.
Find a girl, settle down,
if you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy.

Son
All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside,
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it.
If they were right, I'd agree, but it's them you know not me.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.

[siligut]

66. These Eyes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDHHnoylC50

[soleft]

67. For me it's "Tears in Heaven"

When Eric Clapton's son died in that tragic fall I was utterly devastated. My own son was about the same age. The tabloids in NY had actual photos of the boy lying on the roof he fell to.

When the song first came out I couldn't listen to it. And I still can't listen to it without breaking down.

[hellbound-liberal]

68. That's a very sad song, I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned earlier. I think Time in a Bottle is also

very sad. It was written for Jim Croce's newborn son and he died shortly after it came out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILf-54Smv9M :cry:

[soleft]

70. There never seems to be enough time

Now you've gone and made me think of Harry Chapin too.

:cry:

[hellbound-liberal]

71. Don't forget The Living Years by Mike and the Mechanics. Very sad especially if you have lost

your father and feel that there were things left unsaid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuS0ENBA9jU

[WinkyDink]

76. I've been reading the Post and the DN for decades; I'd need to see proof of this photo claim.

I've not seen dead children.

[shaniqua6392]

69. "THE LITTLE GIRL" by John Michael Montgomery

If you don't know this one, find it on the internet and listen to it sometime. It just breaks my heart.
on edit: here is a link to the free video of the song. http://www.rhapsody.com/johnmichaelmontgomery/videos/thelittlegirl

Her parents never took the young girl to church
Never spoke of His name
Never read her His word
Two non-believers walking lost in this world
Took their baby with them
What a sad little girl

Her daddy drank all day and mommy did drugs
Never wanted to play
Or give kisses and hugs
She'd watch the TV and sit there on the couch
While her mom fell asleep
And her daddy went out

And the drinking and the fighting
Just got worse every night
Behind their couch she'd be hiding
Oh, what a sad little life
And like it always does, the bad just got worse
With every slap and every curse
Until her daddy in a drunk rage one night
Used a gun on her mom and then took his life

And some people from the city took the girl far away
To a new mom and dad
And kisses and hugs everyday
Her first day of Sunday school the teacher walked in
And a small little girl
Stared at a picture of Him

She said I know that man up there on that cross
I don't know His name
But I know He got off
He was there in my old house
And held me close to His side
As I hid there behind our couch
The night that my parents died

[abq e streeter]

72. Among 'em : Its Over-Roy Orbison, Lonesome Town-Rick Nelson

Tom Traubert's Blues and Kentucky Avenue - both by Tom Waits, The End of the World-Skeeter Davis, It Tears Me Up-Percy Sledge, Congratulations- Traveling Wilburys (Dylan basically)... Also, some Springsteen songs already mentioned; I'd add Racing in the Street, and saw that Abraham Martin and John, and Strange Fruit have already been mentioned...

[peekaloo]

74. He Stopped Loving Her Today/ George Jones & Hello in There/John Prine

death and the loneliness of growing old.

[JuniperLea]

100. Oh man...

My Granny never had a driver's license, so when I got mine, I drove her to all those shows.

I'm now appreciating the old school country I saw live... despite my headbanger's mentality:)

I'll see you George Jones, and raise you Faron Young's "Hello Walls"...

[Beausoleil]

102. "Hello Walls"

written by Willie Nelson.

[JuniperLea]

103. Wow! Good catch!

I saw Willie perform sans braids and beard when I was about 14... sweet memories:) He wrote a ton of hits for others, that's for sure!

[Beausoleil]

104. Long-time Willie fan here

First saw him in Austin in '73. And about a dozen times since. "Crazy" is probably his best that hardly anybody knows he wrote.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

126. What I was going to say n/t

[Pale Blue Dot]

75. Not even close. Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah".

I can't believe I'm the first one to mention it.

[Chan790]

78. how could a song with

bible, bondage, and sex references be sad? :shrug:

Edit: I forgot (sexual) domination.

[stuntcat]

110. my song..

Hallelujah is My Song. Sometimes it kinda gets to me, especially KD Lang singing it, when I saw her sing it live I lost it, in public, so dorky.
It usually makes me happy though, the words are beautiful to me :loveya:

[momophile]

81. The Queen and the Soldier by Suzanne Vega is pretty sad

maybe not the saddest, but still pretty sad.

[stuntcat]

112. oh yeah

it's haunting. I love Suzanne Vega.

[momophile]

82. perhaps 'please please please let me get what I want' by the Smiths

haven't had a dream in a long time...

[Guava Jelly]

83. I don't know if it is the saddest ? But it is sad to me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8V36mWUVFc
Wonderful.. Everclear

hey, aint life wonderful? wonderful, wonderful, wonderful... isnt it wonderful
Now?

I close my eyes when I get too sad
I think thoughts that I know are bad
Close my eyes and I count to ten
Hope its over when I open them

I want the things that I had before
Like a star wars poster on my bedroom door
I wish I could count to ten
Make everything be wonderful again

Hope my mom and I hope my dad
Will figure out why they get so mad
Hear them scream, I hear them fight
They say bad words that make me wanna cry

Close my eyes when I go to bed
And I dream of angels who make me smile
I feel better when I hear them say
Everything will be wonderful someday

Promises mean everything when youre little
And the worlds so big
I just dont understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
Tell me everything is wonderful now

Please dont tell me everything is wonderful now

I go to school and I run and play
I tell the kids that its all okay
I laugh aloud so my friends wont know
When the bell rings I just dont wanna go home

Go to my room and I close my eyes
I make believe that I have a new life
I dont believe you when you say
Everything will be wonderful someday

Promises mean everything when youre little
And the world is so big
I just dont understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
When you tell me everything is wonderful now

No
No, I dont wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now
No
No, I dont wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now

I dont wanna hear you say
That I will understand someday
No, no, no, no
I dont wanna hear you say
You both have grown in a different way
No, no, no, no
I dont wanna meet your friends
And I dont wanna start over again
I just want my life to be the same
Just like it used to be
Some days I hate everything
I hate everything
Everyone and everything
Please dont tell me everything is wonderful now...

I dont wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now




This line always gets me..
'I just dont understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
When you tell me everything is wonderful now'
:(

[bif]

84. "Strange Fruit" sung by Billie Holliday

It's a song about a lynching.

[Orrex]

161. That song

Is so far above any other song, in terms of power and emotional impact, that it should be declared ineligible for any "most" or "best of" lists.

[BarbaRosa]

86. Travelin' Soldier, Dixie Chicks

"Travelin' Soldier"

Two days past eighteen
He was waiting for the bus in his army green
Sat down in a booth in a cafe there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair
He's a little shy so she gives him a smile
And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while
And talking to me,
I'm feeling a little low
She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go

So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't care
I got no one to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you

Chorus: I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
A soldier's coming home

So the letters came from an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heart
It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of
He said when it's getting kinda rough over here
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile



One Friday night at a football game
The Lord's Prayer said and the Anthem sang
A man said folks would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead
Crying all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read and nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair

[EstimatedProphet]

87. Life on Mars? by Bowie

[Cant trust em]

89. River - Joni Mitchell

Its coming on christmas
Theyre cutting down trees
Theyre putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on

[stuntcat]

113. Yes.

This one gets me, such a beautiful song.

[kwassa]

92. Someone left my cake out in the rain, I don't think that I can make it

Because it took so long to bake it.

and I'll never have that recipe again!

OHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

MacArthur Park, greatest song ever written.

[Perry Logan]

93. The Verve Pipe - "The Freshmen"

[speedoo]

98. Dylan - "Ballad in Plain D"

It's the graphic and harrowing tale of his breakup with Suze Rotolo.

His lines near the end of the song, in which he talks about his regret, are just heartbreaking...

"The wind knocks my window, the room it is wet.
The words to say I'm sorry, I haven't found yet.
I think of her often and hope whoever she's met
Will be fully aware of how precious she is."

A pic of Dylan with Suze:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://www.nytstore.com/ProdDetail.aspx%3FprodId%3D17629%26refprod%3D22922&h=350&w=350&sz=27&hl=en&start=6&sig2=ksZoO728DCm1TdyD2BWNUA&tbnid=vqLSCIVWvFJUrM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=120&ei=wL37R7n2OZ2UggKNiJEI&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddylan%2Bgirlfriend%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4ADBR_enUS227US227

[JuniperLea]

99. Grandpa - The Judds

First, let it be known that I'm a metal head.

This is a tear-jerker for me... we played this at my grandfather's funeral, along with several songs I sang in church many years before, that Grandpa loved to hear me do. I had to tape mine... I knew I'd never hold it together.

Check these lyrics...


Grandpa, tell me 'bout the good ole days.
Sometimes it feels like
This world's gone crazy.
Grandpa, take me back to yesterday,
Where the line between right and wrong
Didn't seem so hazy.

Did lovers really fall in love to stay?
Stand beside each other come what may?
Was a promise really something people kept,
Not just something they would say?
Did families really bow their heads to pray?
Did daddies really never go away?
Whoa oh Grandpa,
Tell me 'bout the good ole days.

Grandpa, everything is changing fast.
We call it progress,
But I just don't know.
And Grandpa, let's wonder back into the past,
And paint me a picture of long ago.

Did lovers really fall in love to stay?
Stand beside each other come what may?
Was a promise really something people kept,
Not just something they would say and then forget?
Did families really bow their heads to pray?
Did daddies really never go away?
Whoa oh Grandpa,
Tell me 'bout the good ole days.

Whoa oh Grandpa,
Tell me 'bout the good ole days.

[LNM]

105. For all the kitty lovers on DU

"Memory" from Cats


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJHzoAmA8Ec&feature=related

[Seeking Serenity]

106. "Seasons In The Sun" -- Terry Jacks

How can a song about someone saying to goodbye to his family and friends before dying not be sad?

[Contrary1]

107. Sunday Morning Comin' Down

Probably not the saddest, but it's the first one that came to mind.

Kris Kristofferson

Well I woke up Sunday morning,
With no way to hold my head that didn't hurt.
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad,
So I had one more for dessert.
Then I fumbled through my closet for my clothes,
And found my cleanest dirty shirt.
An' I shaved my face and combed my hair,
An' stumbled down the stairs to meet the day.

I'd smoked my brain the night before,
On cigarettes and songs I'd been pickin'.
But I lit my first and watched a small kid,
Cussin' at a can that he was kicking.
Then I crossed the empty street,
'n caught the Sunday smell of someone fryin' chicken.
And it took me back to somethin',
That I'd lost somehow, somewhere along the way.

On the Sunday morning sidewalk,
Wishing, Lord, that I was stoned.
'Cos there's something in a Sunday,
Makes a body feel alone.
And there's nothin' short of dyin',
Half as lonesome as the sound,
On the sleepin' city sidewalks:
Sunday mornin' comin' down.

In the park I saw a daddy,
With a laughin' little girl who he was swingin'.
And I stopped beside a Sunday school,
And listened to the song they were singin'.
Then I headed back for home,
And somewhere far away a lonely bell was ringin'.
And it echoed through the canyons,
Like the disappearing dreams of yesterday.

On the Sunday morning sidewalk,
Wishing, Lord, that I was stoned.
'Cos there's something in a Sunday,
Makes a body feel alone.
And there's nothin' short of dyin',
Half as lonesome as the sound,
On the sleepin' city sidewalks:
Sunday mornin' comin' down

[Ian David]

109. "Hail to The Chief" every time they play it for Bush. n/t

[BlueFireAnt]

111. Don't take the girl - Tim McGraw.

[Broken_Hero]

115. hmm, a tie between

Drowning by Life of Agony, and Mad World by Michael Andrews(a cover of a tears for fears song)

[stuntcat]

117. oh yeah Mad World

I'm totally making a 'crying songs' folder from this thread :P :rofl: :cry:

[mia]

119. Bob Dylan - Not Dark Yet

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ijiVYgvbP1M&feature=related

Shadows are falling and I've been here all day
It's too hot to sleep time is running away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I've still got the scars that the sun didn't heal
There's not even room enough to be anywhere
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

Well my sense of humanity has gone down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing there's been some kind of pain
She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind
She put down in writing what was in her mind
I just don't see why I should even care
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

Well, I've been to London and I've been to gay Paree
I've followed the river and I got to the sea
I've been down on the bottom of a world full of lies
I ain't looking for nothing in anyone's eyes
Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

I was born here and I'll die here against my will
I know it looks like I'm moving, but I'm standing still
Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb
I can't even remember what it was I came here to get away from
Don't even hear a murmur of a prayer
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

[helderheid]

120. sad or depressing?

Depressing I'd say "Unlovable" by The Smiths

[BurtWorm]

121. Is That All There Is?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe9kKf7SHco&feature=related

Another good candidate: Faith by the Cure ("There's nothing left but faith...")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-ll36koaeY

Yet another: Papirosen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odRpiRBKYK8&feature=related

[Firespirit]

123. "American Tune" by Paul Simon

Many's the time I've been mistaken
And many times confused
Yes, and often felt forsaken
And certainly misused
But I'm all right, I'm all right
I'm just weary to my bones
Still, you don't expect to be
Bright and bon vivant
So far away from home, so far away from home

And I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
or driven to its knees
But it's all right, it's all right
We'be lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the road
we're traveling on
I wonder what went wrong
I can't help it, I wonder what went wrong

And I dreamed I was dying
And I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me
Smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying
And high up above my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty
Sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying

We come on the ship they call the Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon
We come in the age's most uncertain hour
and sing an American tune
But it's all right, it's all right
You can't be forever blessed
Still, tomorrow's going to be another working day
And I'm trying to get some rest
That's all I'm trying to get some rest


I cannot hear this one anymore without bawling 1:00 in or less. :(

[UndertheOcean]

127. That is beautiful

[alphafemale]

147. Here's the You Tube.

:cry:

[Danmel]

125. Mr. Bojangles

I knew a man Bojangles and he'd dance for you
In worn out shoes
With silver hair, a ragged shirt, and baggy pants
The old soft shoe
He jumped so high, jumped so high
Then he lightly touched down

I met him in a cell in New Orleans I was
down and out
He looked to me to be the eyes of age
as he spoke right out
He talked of life, talked of life, he laughed
clicked his heels and stepped

He said his name "Bojangles" and he danced a lick
across the cell
He grabbed his pants and spread his stance,
Oh he jumped so high and then he clicked his heels
He let go a laugh, let go a laugh
and shook back his clothes all around

Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles
Mr. Bojangles, dance

He danced for those at minstrel shows and county fairs
throughout the south
He spoke through tears of 15 years how his dog and him
traveled about
The dog up and died, he up and died
And after 20 years he still grieves

He said I dance now at every chance in honky tonks
for drinks and tips
But most the time I spend behind these county bars
'cause I drinks a bit
He shook his head, and as he shook his head
I heard someone ask him please

Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles
Mr. Bojangles, dance..

[yvr girl]

135. I didn't see this before I listed it

Sammy was great.

[erinlough]

129. Barber's Adagio for Strings, check out this version.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RRMz8fKkG2g&feature=related

I'm not overly emotional, but this song makes me cry. And that doesn't matter what pictures it is played with.

[BurtWorm]

133. Now that you mention it, Leontyne Price singing Knoxville Summer of 1915 always gets me

It's not on YouTube. Yet.

PS: but here is a version available at Naxos online:

http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.559134

[Lethe]

131. La petite fille de la mer - Vangelis

I thought about this a lot. I would have to say it's pretty sad, with a universal sadness to it. There isn't even any lyrics, but everything about the song is sad, for some reason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12Nky9lo8Nc

[mia]

132. John Williams - Theme from Schindler's List

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nCHMCvjvT3U

[yvr girl]

134. "Mr. Bojangles"

C'mon, his dog up and died.

[stuntcat]

159. aw, he did up & die :(

I just read the lyrics up there^
The only version I ever heard of this was Nina Simone's and her voice gets to me anyway, I never knew all the words really :cry:

[Inchworm]

137. All wonderful- and I'm so tempted to link em all

to a song.

:applause:

[Shakespeare]

138. The Lighthouse by Nickel Creek.

Kills me, brings me to tears every time I hear it.

I am a lighthouse worn by the weather and the waves
I keep my lamp lit to warn the sailors on their way
I'll tell a story, paint you a picture from my past
I was so happy but joy in this life seldom lasts

I had a keeper, he helped me warn the ships at sea
We had grown closer 'til his joy meant everything to me
And he was to marry a girl who shown with beauty and light
They loved each other, and with me watched the sunsets into nights

And the waves crashing around me
The sand slips out to sea
And the winds that blow remind me
Of what has been and what can never be

She'd had to leave us; my keeper, he prayed for a safe return
But when the night came, the weather to a raging storm had turned
He watched her ship fight, but in vain against the wild and terrible wind
And me so helpless, as dashed against the rocks she met her end

And the waves crashing around me
The sand slips out to sea
And the winds that blow remind me
Of what has been and what can never be

Then on the next day, my keeper found her washed up on the shore
He kissed her cold face, and that they'd be together soon he swore
I saw him crying, watched as he buried her in the sand
Then he climbed my tower, and off the edge of me he ran

And the waves crashing around me
The sand slips out to sea
And the winds that blow remind me
Of what has been and what can never be

I am a lighthouse worn by the weather and the waves
And though I'm empty I still warn the sailors on their way

[Inchworm]

139. beautiful (youtubed)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRL6lJ73GwM

One of my favorites.

:thumbsup:

[Shakespeare]

140. That song just destroys me.

Musically beautiful, and those lyrics just break your heart. :cry:

[Inchworm]

141. I admit

to a happy sad tear

:hug:

[IntravenousDemilo]

142. First Christmas (Away from Home), by Stan Rogers

This day a year ago, he was rolling in the snow
With the younger brother in his father's yard.
Christmas break, a time for touching home,
The heart of all he'd known,
And leaving was so hard.
Three thousand miles away, now he's working Christmas Day
Making double time for the minding of the store.
Well he always said he'd make it on his own.
He's spending Christmas Eve alone --
First Christmas away from home.

She's standing by the train station, panhandling for change.
Four more dollars buys a decent meal and a room.
Looks like the Sally Ann place after all,
In a crowded sleeping hall
That echoes like a tomb.
But it's warm and clean and free, and there are worse places to be,
And at least it means no beating from her Dad.
And if she cries because it's Christmas Day,
She hopes that it won't show --
First Christmas away from home.

In the apartment stands a tree,
And it looks so small and bare,
Not like it was meant to be.
Golden angel on the top,
It's not that same old silver star
You wanted for your own --
First Christmas away from home.

In the morning, they get prayers, then it's crafts and tea downstairs,
Then another meal back in his little room.
Hoping maybe that the boys will think to phone
Before the day is gone.
Well, it's best they do it soon.
When the old girl passed away, he fell apart more every day.
Each had always kept the other pretty well.
But the kids all said the nursing home was best,
'Cause he couldn't live alone --
First Christmas away from home.

In the common room they've got the biggest tree
And it's huge and cold and lifeless,
Not like it ought to be.
And the lit-up flashing Santa Claus on top,
It's not that same old silver star
You once made for your own --
First Christmas away from home.

[housewolf]

143. Roy Orbison's Cryin'

I was alright
for a while
I could smile
for a while

But I saw you last night
You held his hand so tight
As you stopped to say hello
You wished me well
You couldn't tell
that I'd been cry-i-i-i-n'
over you

cry-i-i-i-n
yes it's true

For you said so long
and from this moment on
I'll be cryin'
cryin'
cry-i-i-i-ng
crying
o-o-o-v-er you

[Lady Freedom]

146. Songs without ...

[DFW]

148. "Learning the Game"

Especially Leo Kottke's cover of it.

[Brewman_Jax]

150. "Standing In The Shadows of Love" by The Four Tops

Maybe not the saddest, but sad enough. :(

[Bryan]

152. x-post

n/t

[Bryan]

153. "End of the Rainbow" by Richard Thompson

A song that rhymes "your sister is no better than a whore" with "there's nothing to grow up for anymore" takes some beating.

[blueknight]

155. the end of the world

by my aunt skeeter davis. it was also used in "girl interrupted"

[leeroysphitz]

156. Lou Reed, Perfect Day. N/T

[noel711]

157. Tomorrow is a Long Long Time...Bob Dylan

[atomic-fly]

158. one more.....Shannon by Henry Gross

Here is a pretty good cover of it!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ABVwxS606h8

[samsingh]

160. seasons in the sun

[Mendocino]

162. Tonights The Night-Neil Young

[Lydia Leftcoast]

163. Here's a little-known Dionne Warwick performance of a Burt Bacharach song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOcbQf1FrBU

It was my favorite break-up song during college.