Death Cab For Cutie's "Transatlanticism" is not only the saddest song I've heard but the most beautiful too.
This one always fits the bill for me - not only for the song itself, but also the reserved instrumentation and the relatively dispassionate vocal delivery. Natalie Merchant: Beloved Wife You were the love For certain of my life You were simply my beloved wife I don't know for certain How I'll live my life Now alone without my beloved wife My beloved wife I can't believe I've lost the very best of me You were the love For certain of my life For 50 years simply my beloved wife With another love I'll never lie again It's you I can't deny It's you I can't defy A depth so deep Into my grief Without my beloved soul I renounce my life As my right Now alone without my beloved wife My beloved wife My love is gone she suffered long In hours of pain My love is gone Now my suffering begins My love is gone Would it be wrong if I should Surrender all the joy in my life Go with her tonight? My love is gone she suffered long In hours of pain My love is gone Would it be wrong if I should Just turn my face away from the light Go with her tonight?
Kate Bush has a couple - Moments Of Pleasure (1993) references all the people she's lost over the years and the importance of savoring the moments you're given in life because they can disappear at any time, but it's such a lush production that it's not a full-on gut-punch. A Coral Room (2005) has a much more melancholic feel and more abstract lyrics that reference her mother's death. Kate Bush: A Coral Room
Surely this has been mentioned, but I didnt see it in the last 6 pages or so. I Don't Want To Talk About It by Danny Whitten I can tell by your eyes That you've prob'bly been cryin' forever And the stars in the sky Don't mean nothin' to you, they're a mirror I don't wanna talk about it How you broke my heart If I stay here just a little bit longer If I stay here, won't you listen to my heart? Whoa, my heart If I stand all alone Will the shadow hide the color of my heart? Blue for the tears, black for the night's fear, And the stars don't mean nothin' to you, they're a mirror I don't wanna talk about it How you broke my heart If I stay here just a little bit longer If I stay here, won't you listen to my heart? Whoa, my heart, my heart, whoa, my heart
And Streisand has always chosen to leave out the additional lyrics - "He isn't true, he beats me too, what can I do..." - so that it's about lovelorn despair and dependence rather than physical abuse, which would put a whole different spin on it.
More poignant than sad, but Alison Krauss and the Cox Family’s version of ‘Far Side Bank of Jordan‘ gets me bawling like a baby every time. There are a few other songs that have that effect, all by Country artists (and with a theme of reuniting with loved ones in heaven), with one exception: ‘The Best of Times’ by Dream Theater. I believe the lyrics were written by the drummer, Mike Portnoy, whose father died of cancer. It’s just too damned close to home...
Ah yes... I had erroneously stated elsewhere that only one non-Country song made me cry, but this is on my list as well. The bit at the end of the movie when Hazel goes to heaven makes me cry even more...
Has this one been mentioned yet? Doesn't show up in a thread search - the mention of Alison Krauss above brought this one to mind. Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss: Whiskey Lullaby (With bonus Ricky Schroder! But skip the first couple of minutes to get to the music.)
I don't know if it's sad in the traditional sense, but I was just talking about this song with my other half last night. Because I cannot listen to it without getting a tear in my eye - it just hits me right in the gut. It's more a primal kind of thing than simply being sad. I can't even really explain it, but it kills me every time.
Spanky and Our Gang - 'Sunday Will Never Be the Same' The lyrics certainly belie the seeming cheerfulness of this song. ** Yes, that's Sharon Tate's wedding in this clip.**
Roy Harper - January Man Jackson Browne - Late for the sky Toad the wet sprocket - I will not take these things for granted Blind Melon - No rain
John Prine's Hello In There is a good one, particularly for anyone getting up there in age. I always liked Bette Midler's version - her delivery has a melancholic edge that she didn't often deploy, particularly not this well. Bette Midler: Hello In There We had an apartment in the city Me and Loretta liked living there It'd been years since the kids had grown A life of their own, left us alone John and Linda live in Omaha And Joe is somewhere on the road We lost Davy in the Korean war And I still don't know what for, don't matter anymore You know that old trees just grow stronger And old rivers grow wilder every day Old people just grow lonesome Waiting for someone to say "Hello in there, hello" Me and Loretta, we don't talk much more She sits and stares through the back door screen And all the news just repeats itself Like some forgotten dream that we've both seen Someday I'll go and call up Rudy We worked together at the factory But what could I say if asks "What's new?" Nothing, what's with you? Nothing much to do You know that old trees just grow stronger And old rivers grow wilder every day Old people just grow lonesome Waiting for someone to say "Hello in there, hello" So if you're walking down the street sometime And spot some hollow ancient eyes Please don't just pass 'em by and stare As if you didn't care, say, "Hello in there, hello"
