Saddest Songs

[mitchjav]

Harry Chapin - The Shortest Story

 

[flintnational]

Pearl Jam - Black

"I know someday you'll have a beautiful life
I know you'll be a star in somebody else's sky
But why, why, why can't it be, can't it be mine?"

 

[steelyman]

A couple of American standards that have too many great versions to post just one:

“What’ll I Do” (Irving Berlin)
“But Not For Me” (George and Ira Gershwin)

 

[calmloki]

Whew. gotta be about the most emotionally evocative song for me.

 

[stepford]

Maybe a bit too on the nose, but I always thought:

"Sad Lisa" by Cat Stevens

was pretty... sad.




Another few:


"If you see her say hello" by Bob Dylan was the saddest song on Blood on the Tracks


"Farewell, Farewell" by Fairport Convention and the late great Sandy Denny


I see other Neil Young songs mentioned in this thread and he certainly hasn't shield away from depressing subjects, but the one that always strikes me as the saddest is "Sugar Mountain". In a similar vein I find Joni Mitchell's ode to lost youth, "The Circle Game" equally sad.

 

[jollystomper]

"Jeremy" by Pearl Jam. Sadder because it is based on a true incident. One of the saddest videos as well.

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" buy Gordon Lightfoot, also based on a true incident.

 

[Gumby]

I'm surprised this hasn't yet come up. It's practically an invitation to kill yourself. (and it mentions retirement)

 

[skipro33]

 

[Sanstar]

Fields of Gold by Sting. Reminds me happiness is fleeting. At some point, even the most satisfying joy will be but a memory. I like the song even though it makes me feel somewhat melancholy.

 

[Nemo2]

Fields of Gold by Sting. Reminds me happiness is fleeting. At some point, even the most satisfying joy will be but a memory. I like the song even though it makes me feel somewhat melancholy.

I like the late Eva Cassidy's rendition:

 

[FDC319]

Oh no. A music thread--I apologize in advance. I like music, and some of the Americana (ish) type genre does sad stuff.
So many choices--can't pick just one. That DCFC song earlier is a good choice.

These folks are really good.

An oldie and uncharacteristic for Waylon

More depressing than anything, but what Townes song isn't. The man was a poet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF_3w_gXing


Another depressing Townes song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqX6FE0xIJg


Really depressing from James McMurtry. Love his stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijalDDisuIM

 

[MuirWannabe]

I'm surprised this hasn't yet come up. It's practically an invitation to kill yourself. (and it mentions retirement)

She also mentions having ‘won the game’. Anyway, although it’s sad, I had to laugh at your invitation to kill yourself comment.

 

[W2R]

This one is about the 1927 flood in Louisiana. It has me bawling my eyes out. Older people here remember the flood and it was really bad.

 

[RunningBum]

At Seventeen is a good one for sure.

Apparently I'm not the only one who listens to sad songs once in awhile. A couple more:

Maybe more about insanity, but also heartbreaking when the guy realizes what he's done.

Springsteen's "The River" had a couple of good ones: the title song, and "Point Blank".

 

[RunningBum]

The other is the theme song from M*A*S*H. "Suicide is Painless"
Can never hear it without thinking of the final episode of that show. Very sad.

I did a little reading on that today. Director Robert Altman had someone do the music, and he was going to write the lyrics but got stuck trying to make them "stupid enough" as he wanted them to be. So he had his 14 yr old son take a shot, and he did. Supposedly in 5 minutes, but I'm sure that's stretching the truth.

Altman only made about $70K directing the movie, but his son has made over $1M for co-writing the song. Royalties from the TV show, no doubt.

 

[FlyFisher]

Parachute - "Forever and Always"

 

[lampshade]

“On My Own” from Les Miserables

 

[txtig]

“Love Hurts”. Recorded by a lot of artists, but my favorite is the duet by Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris. Haunting.

 

[txtig]

“Me and Bobby McGee”. One line stands out to me as extremely sad . . . “I'd trade all of my tomorrows, for a single yesterday.”

 

[teetee]

Whew. gotta be about the most emotionally evocative song for me.

I remember I visited the Jonny Cash museum in TN back in 2016 and got introduced this song (Hurt). The song was full of grief.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

The song that brings me to my knees is a harmless little tune called "Honey" by Bobby Goldsboro. My wife also had cancer when I came home and found her crying in the middle of the day. it's a comparison I never could have written.


Big stuff makes noise, its the little things that sneek up on you that can quietly ruin everything....

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Some probably find this too sappy, but I've always liked it.

That's an adaptation of a song by French singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. His title is "Le Moribond."

Here's another one of his songs that might sound familiar.

 

[teetee]

Here is a Japanese song that I don't think it is meant to be sad (not from the lyrics). But the melody just sounds sadness-inducing..

https://youtu.be/riIrZ3pWBDM

It is beautiful though.

It was originally from an anime. In that part of the story, while I can't remember exactly what happened, it had something to do with the girl gave up her memory of the boy she loves in order to save him (it could be the other way around).

 

[Boho]

Two that don't fit their upbeat music are Last Kiss ("painful scream that I heard last...the lord took her away from me") and Bobby Darin's Clementine, about "chunky Clementine" drowning.

 

[FlaGator]

This one is about the 1927 flood in Louisiana. It has me bawling my eyes out. Older people here remember the flood and it was really bad.

Randy Newman wrote that song, and I'm sad every time I hear it. Even sadder the last few years as I as seen more of Louisiana and have been through the places mentioned. For an LA kid who spent some summers in New Orleans, he captured a view of the South in the early 70's on the album "Good Old Boys" not seen since (IMO).