The Saddest Songs We've Heard: An Exploration

[Mk]

What are the absolute saddest songs you have ever heard? I was just thinking about some of my favorite songs, and I noticed that they are all either extremely invigorating, or so sentimental and innocent. I guess we like music for the emotional qualities you get out of it.

Loud music can sometimes be better because it drowns out more of the information you could be otherwise thinking about? Just a speculation. Oh yes, we don't allow speculation on physicsforums.

 

[slugcountry]

damien rice - the blower's daughter

 

[turbo]

For a Dancer by Jackson Browne. One of my best friend's wife died of brain cancer recently, and she was a heavy loss!

 

[Kurdt]

"Underneath the bridge, the tarp has sprung a leak"

 

[Evo]

Pressed Rat And Warthog - Cream

by Ginger Baker and Mike Taylor

Pressed rat and warthog have closed down their shop.
They didn't want to; 'twas all they had got.
Selling atonal apples, amplified heat,
And pressed rat's collection of dog legs and feet.

Sadly they left, telling no one goodbye.
Pressed rat wore red jodhpurs, warthog a striped tie.
Between them, they carried a three-legged sack,
Went straight round the corner and never came back.

Pressed rat and warthog have closed down their shop.
The bad captain madman had told them to stop
Selling atonal apples, amplified heat,
And pressed rat's collection of dog legs and feet.

The bad captain madman had ordered their fate.
He laughed and stomped off with a nautical gate.
The gate turned into a deroga tree
And his pegleg got woodworm and broke into three.

Pressed rat and warthog have closed down their shop.
They didn't want to; 'twas all they had got.
Selling atonal apples, amplified heat,
And pressed rat's collection of dog legs and feet.

 

[GeoMike]

VAST - "You"
--------------------
Your dress looks good on you my love
And your house looks like it's heaven
Why are there
So many people outside of it
Everything you have will be
You can't take anything with you
Except the love
The love I have for you
Your eyes look like they're from god
And your face looks like it's from god
Why are you
Going to be
Outside eternity
Everything we know will be
You can't take anything with you
Except the love
The love I have for you
I know you want to
---------------------

It's like a stab in the heart every time I hear it. I can feel the writer's pain at the loss of his lover. The airy and detatched ambience of the music complements the lyrics perfectly.

-GeoMike-

 

[BobG]

Sparrow's Point by Richard Shindell

 

[Echo 6 Sierra]

I don't know why but Michael Martin Murphey's "Wildfire" always makes me misty.

 

[franznietzsche]

What a Good Boy,

Barenaked Ladies

Yeah, that one always gets me.

 

[Evo]

Wasn't it BobG that posted "Honey" by Bobby Goldsborough as sad?

It's SAD.

And it was in the early spring, when flowers bloom and robins sing
She went away
And Honey, I miss you and I'm being good
And I'd love to be with you if only I could

One day while I was not at home
While she was there and all alone, the angels came
Now all I have is memories of Honey
And I wake up nights and call her name

Now my life's an empty stage
Where Honey lived and Honey played
And love grew up
And a small cloud passes overhead
And cries down on the flower bed that Honey loved

 

[0TheSwerve0]

LOTR Two Towers soundtrack, "Gollum's Song"
click "[MEDIA=youtube[/URL] for song, starts about halfway through the video.

Where once was light
Now darkness falls
Where once was love
Love is no more
Don't say goodbye
Don't say I didn't try

These tears we cry
Are falling rain
For all the lies you told us
The hurt, the blame!
And we will weep to be so alone
We are lost
We can never go home

So in the end
I'll be what I will be
No loyal friend
Was ever there for me

Now we say goodbye
We say you didn't try

These tears you cry
Have come too late
Take back the lies
The hurt, the blame!

And you will weep
When you face the end alone
You are lost
You can never go home
You are lost
You can never go home[/CENTER]

Is there anything sadder than Gollum?​

 

[Evo]

LOTR Two Towers soundtrack, "Gollum's Song"
click "[MEDIA=youtube[/URL] for song, starts about halfway through the video.

Where once was light
Now darkness falls
Where once was love
Love is no more
Don't say goodbye
Don't say I didn't try

These tears we cry
Are falling rain
For all the lies you told us
The hurt, the blame!
And we will weep to be so alone
We are lost
We can never go home

So in the end
I'll be what I will be
No loyal friend
Was ever there for me

Now we say goodbye
We say you didn't try

These tears you cry
Have come too late
Take back the lies
The hurt, the blame!

And you will weep
When you face the end alone
You are lost
You can never go home
You are lost
You can never go home[/CENTER]

Is there anything sadder than Gollum?[/QUOTE]Great clip, but I hate how she sings.​

 

[0TheSwerve0]

yeah, kind of whiny or creaky. Does give you the feeling of Gollumness, tho.

 

[hypnagogue]

I nominate http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/twist.html , transitions from melancholy sadness to raw emotional pain. phew.

"Out on the Weekend" by Neil Young is another sad one.

 

[Evo]

oh, "Expecting to fly" by Neil Young

Damn, this is getting really depressing.

 

[Evo]

yeah, kind of whiny or creaky. Does give you the feeling of Gollumness, tho.

Yes, it's a great song

 

[0TheSwerve0]

"Lover, You Should Have Come Over" by Jeff Buckley
"[MEDIA=youtube[/URL]:rolleyes:

Looking out the door
I see the rain fall upon the funeral mourners
Parading in a wake of sad relations
As their shoes fill up with water

And maybe I'm too young
To keep good love from going wrong
But tonight, you're on my mind so
you never know

Broken down and hungry for your love
With no way to feed it
Where are you tonight?
Child, you know how much I need it.
Too young to hold on
And too old to just break free and run

Sometimes a man gets carried away,
When he feels like he should be having his fun
Much too blind to see the damage he's done
Sometimes a man must awake to find that, really,
He has no-one...

So I'll wait for you... And I'll burn
Will I ever see your sweet return,
Oh, will I ever learn?
Oh, Lover, you should've come over
Cause it's not too late.

Lonely is the room the bed is made
The open window let's the rain in
Burning in the corner is the only one
Who dreams he had you with him
My body turns and yearns for a sleep
That won't ever come
It's never over,
My kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder
It's never over, all my riches for her smiles
when I slept so soft against her...
It's never over,
All my blood for the sweetness of her laughter
It's never over, she's the tear
That hangs inside my soul forever

Oh, but maybe I'm just too young to keep good love
From going wrong
Oh... lover you should've come over...

Yes, (I) feel too young to hold on
I'm much too old to break free and run
Too deaf, dumb, and blind
To see the damage I've done
Sweet lover, you should've come over
Oh, love I'm waiting for you
Lover, you should've come over
'Cause it's not too late.[/CENTER]​

 

[daveb]

Tears in Heaven by Clapton, only because of the fact that he wrote it for his son who'd died when he fell from a high rise.

 

[0TheSwerve0]

yeah, that is a great song.

 

[BobG]

Wasn't it BobG that posted "Honey" by Bobby Goldsborough as sad?

It's SAD.

And it was in the early spring, when flowers bloom and robins sing
She went away
And Honey, I miss you and I'm being good
And I'd love to be with you if only I could

One day while I was not at home
While she was there and all alone, the angels came
Now all I have is memories of Honey
And I wake up nights and call her name

Now my life's an empty stage
Where Honey lived and Honey played
And love grew up
And a small cloud passes overhead
And cries down on the flower bed that Honey loved

Aagh! I've branded myself forever. I never should have admitted how much I liked that song!

(I also should have included the lyrics for Sparrow's Point if I was saying that was the saddest song) Sparrow's Point

 

[BobG]

This is the song I find the saddest. Sometimes a person just wonders about the limits of their "just don't get it"-ness ... or did they just not get it because they wouldn't change their life anyway.

"Memphis" - by Cliff Eberhardt 1997

All night long, and half the next day
Oh, I'm in trouble now
All of the pay phones along the interstate
And I am the last to know

All of our memories appear on the road to me
No matter what I do
There's a lot of nice sights from Denver to Memphis
And all I can see is you

I used to be grateful for all of the travel
But now I can't really tell
Away on business, headed for Memphis
Oh but I'm on the road to hell

You put the blame on me for taking the things I need
Some of those things came true
I waited my whole life just to see Memphis
Now all I can see is you

Voices are calling me on
Sometimes the voices you hear can be wrong

I thought of stopping and maybe calling
But I know what you would say
That a whole world of love shared by two people
Some things can never change

It still confuses me, this is why you would leave
Do what you have to do
I saw my choices and I chose Memphis
Now all I can see is you
All I can see is you

 

[FrogPad]

Counting Crows - Colorblind
Kansas - Dust in the Wind

Both of them dealt with people leaving me in some way. I can't even listen to those songs now...

grr... stupid sad stuff

 

[Pyrrhus]

Hurt - Johnny Cash version of Nince Inch Nails'

 

[arildno]

I had a profound shock the other day when someone told me that the background story behind Terry Jacks' hit "Seasons in the sun" was just a promotional myth.
Until then, I always thought of it as one of the saddest songs I knew.

Ah, well, it is still great, IMO:
[MEDIA=youtube]qITVBLzfvxo[/MEDIA][/URL]

 

[arildno]

Here's another sad song I love:

I look up when I walk
So the tears won't fall
Remembering those happy spring days
But tonight I'm all alone
I look up when I walk
Counting the stars with tearful eyes
Remembering those happy summer days
But tonight I'm all alone
Happiness lies beyond the clouds
Happiness lies above the sky
I look up when I walk
So the tears won't fall
Though my heart is filled with sorrow *
For tonight I'm all alone

Remembering those happy autumn days
But tonight I'm all alone
Sadness hides in the shadow of the stars
Sadness lurks in the shadow of the moon
I look up when I walk
So the tears won't fall
Though my heart is filled with sorrow *
For tonight I'm all alone

Or, in Japanese:
[MEDIA=youtube]X8PC62Rwt_o[/MEDIA][/URL]

 

[FrogPad]

I had a profound shock the other day when someone told me that the background story behind Terry Jacks' hit "Seasons in the sun" was just a promotional myth.
Until then, I always thought of it as one of the saddest songs I knew.

Ah, well, it is still great, IMO:
[MEDIA=youtube]qITVBLzfvxo[/MEDIA][/URL][/QUOTE]

F-N marketing.

[QUOTE="Bill Hicks"]
By the way if anyone here is in advertising or marketing... kill yourself.
[/QUOTE]

 

[ShawnD]

Sorry but I must do this
[MEDIA=youtube]qcgxU4OviY4[/MEDIA][/URL]

 

[scorpa]

Tears in Heaven by Clapton, only because of the fact that he wrote it for his son who'd died when he fell from a high rise.

I didn't know that!

I agree with whoever said Hurt by Johnny Cash, especially when you watch it with the video. Oh and that song by Pearl Jam (I think)...I can't remember what it was called though.

 

[scorpa]

Sorry but I must do this
[MEDIA=youtube]qcgxU4OviY4[/MEDIA][/URL][/QUOTE]


Yikes was that necessary ? lol

 

[GregA]

Don't know whether it counts but..."The Livin Years" (Mike & The Mechanics)

 

[BobG]

Hurt - Johnny Cash version of Nince Inch Nails'

Here's a link to that song:[MEDIA=youtube]lEZCkyQLAIE[/MEDIA][/URL]

I always thought Johnny Cash's [PLAIN][MEDIA=youtube[/URL] was sad. The background music is an almost bizarre contrast to the song.

This song has a bizarre story to it. It was written by Kris Kristofferson who was working as a janitor at Columbia Records. If he annoyed any more of the real musicians by trying to get them to listen to his songs he was going to be fired, so he tried an alternative approach. He flew helicopters in the National Guard, so he landed his helicopter in Johnny Cash's front yard to get Cash to take a sample tape of Kristofferson's songs, including this one: "Sunday Morning Coming Down".

 

[Gokul43201]

Can't have a sad songs thread without the blues!

Gary Moore - [MEDIA=youtube[/URL]

Boy, does that guitar wail or what?

 

[turbo]

Actually, "Millworker" by James Taylor is pretty sad.

Now my grandfather was a sailor
He blew in off the water
My father was a farmer
And I, his only daughter
Took up with a no good millworking man
From massachusetts
Who dies from too much whiskey
And leaves me these three faces to feed

Millwork ain't easy
Millwork ain't hard
Millwork it ain't nothing
But an awful boring job
Im waiting for a daydream
To take me through the morning
And put me in my coffee break
Where I can have a sandwich
And remember

Then it's me and my machine
For the rest of the morning
For the rest of the afternoon
And the rest of my life

Now my mind begins to wander
To the days back on the farm
I can see my father smiling at me
Swinging on his arm
I can hear my granddad's stories
Of the storms out on Lake Erie
Where vessels and cargos and fortunes
And sailors lives were lost

Yes, but its my life has been wasted
And I have been the fool
To let this manufacturer
Use my body for a tool
I can ride home in the evening
Staring at my hands
Swearing by my sorrow that a young girl
Ought to stand a better chance

So may I work the mills just as long as I am able
And never meet the man whose name is on the label

It be me and my machine
For the rest of the morning
And the rest of the afternoon
Gone for the rest of my life

You can hear a short sample here:
http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/taylor_james_1_/85880/album.jhtml

 

[Hootenanny]

Tears in Heaven by Clapton, only because of the fact that he wrote it for his son who'd died when he fell from a high rise.

I would agree with you there, if anyone has not listened to the unplugged version I urge you to get your hands on it. There is so much emotion in Clapton's voice it is unbelievebale.

 

[SpaceTiger]

Oh and that song by Pearl Jam (I think)...I can't remember what it was called though.

"[MEDIA=youtube[/URL]

It was originally done in the '60s by Wayne Cochran (in an upbeat tone that was really disconcerting). Certainly one of the saddest songs ever written.

Note: My apologies if the linked version of the song is crappy, the sound just cut out on my computer.

 

[devious_]

Here are a few that come to mind:
12 Stones - Stay
[MEDIA=youtube[/URL]
Cold - Wasted Years [PLAIN][MEDIA=youtube[/URL]
[PLAIN][MEDIA=youtube[/URL]

But the saddest song of all time is surely
[PLAIN][MEDIA=youtube[/URL]
I always tear up when I hear it.

Also, ditto on Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt. Very moving.