OT: 25 Saddest Songs

[Enigma869]

From spinner.com


John from Boston


http://www.spinner.com/2007/05/03/the-2 ... rld-no-25/

[Saint John]

"He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George Jones gets played by me regularly. Just something about that song....lyrically, it's great.

[Rick]

That song 'Hurt' by Johnny Cash was one of the saddest songs I've ever heard. It made the list. I figured it would be higher though.

[ohsherrie]

"He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George Jones gets played by me regularly. Just something about that song....lyrically, it's great.

Of everything on the list this is by far the saddest to me. I've heard sadder, but they're not on the list. Eleanor Rigby is a close second.

[tammy]

The saddest song I can think of is one that was on the radio around 1978 by Elvis Presley - can't think of the title exactly, maybe, "I will leave you softly". The story I heard about it was that a husband was dying & he was writing this to his wife who was by his bedside sleeping..."I will leave you softly, for my heart would break, if you should wake and see me go...." I don't think I can ever listen to it again, because it always choked me up back then.

[SteveForever]

John from Boston,
thanks for this link, forgot about some of these songs. Martina McBride=she can sing.
good stuff, thanks again.

[ohsherrie]

The saddest song I can think of is one that was on the radio around 1978 by Elvis Presley - can't think of the title exactly, maybe, "I will leave you softly". The story I heard about it was that a husband was dying & he was writing this to his wife who was by his bedside sleeping..."I will leave you softly, for my heart would break, if you should wake and see me go...." I don't think I can ever listen to it again, because it always choked me up back then.

I know the song you're talking about Silver but Elvis wasn't the one that first recorded it. I just can't think of who it was.

You're right. It a real tear jerker.

[Playitloudforme]

Will I See You In Heaven by Eric Clapton, written about his toddler son who fell out of a window to his death. KILLS me to hear it.

[larryfromnextdoor]

The saddest song I can think of is one that was on the radio around 1978 by Elvis Presley - can't think of the title exactly, maybe, "I will leave you softly". The story I heard about it was that a husband was dying & he was writing this to his wife who was by his bedside sleeping..."I will leave you softly, for my heart would break, if you should wake and see me go...." I don't think I can ever listen to it again, because it always choked me up back then.

I know the song you're talking about Silver but Elvis wasn't the one that first recorded it. I just can't think of who it was.

You're right. It a real tear jerker.

The Wonder of You??

[Greg]

That song 'Hurt' by Johnny Cash was one of the saddest songs I've ever heard. It made the list. I figured it would be higher though.

The one that is originally by Nine Inch Nails?

[Red13JoePa]

Who gives a damn? Most of them are ballads, ergo neglible.


If I MUST weigh in the thing, I'll keep it Journey and roll with The Party's Over and Little Girl. With MAYBE a little Ask The Lonely and possibly a sprinke of I'm Not That Way tossed in.

[Lady Luck]

Will I See You In Heaven by Eric Clapton, written about his toddler son who fell out of a window to his death. KILLS me to hear it.

Actually it's called "Tears in Heaven" but that's one that gets to me every time too.

There's only 4 on that list that I've heard of.

[Red13JoePa]

Will I See You In Heaven by Eric Clapton, written about his toddler son who fell out of a window to his death. KILLS me to hear it.

Actually it's called "Tears in Heaven" but that's one that gets to me every time too.

There's only 4 on that list that I've heard of.

Horrendous song, just Gawdawfull.
Appreciate the sentiment but it was Clapton in full shark jump sellout mode.

[*Laura]

For me it's Kansas's "Dust In The Wind".

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

[Moon Beam]

Anyone around here ever heard Seven Spanish Angels
from Willie Nelson and Ray Charles?
That one make my eyes leak everytime.

[treetopovskaya]

this song pulls my heart & makes me cry everytime. beautiful.

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

[ohsherrie]

Tree, that voice could put enough emotion into the phone book to make you cry or lift your soul depending on the inflection. He's incredible.

[Deb]

This one made me cry everytime I heard it. Cool to hear BC talk about where this song came from.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1ZZgG3d ... ed&search=

[Enigma869]

Will I See You In Heaven by Eric Clapton, written about his toddler son who fell out of a window to his death. KILLS me to hear it.

Actually it's called "Tears in Heaven" but that's one that gets to me every time too.

There's only 4 on that list that I've heard of.

Horrendous song, just Gawdawfull.
Appreciate the sentiment but it was Clapton in full shark jump sellout mode.

Jesus JoePa...Lighten up a bit! I don't particularly care for the song either. That said, it's a tough song to criticize, given why it was written! I can tell you as a father of a little boy, it's defintiely a VERY sad song...sellout mode, or not!


John from Boston

[Wally_Hatchet]

Talk about a sad song, especially the last two verses/choruses...
- from the 70's:

Rocky
by Austin Roberts
(Stevens)


Alone until my eighteenth year
We met four springs ago
She was shy and had a fear
Of things she did not know
But we got it on together
In such a super way
We held each other close at night
And traded dreams each day

And she said,
"Rocky, I've never been in love before
Don't know if I can do it
But if you let me lean on you
Take my hand, I might get through it" (through it)
I said, "Baby, oh sweet baby
It's love that sets us free
And God knows if the world should end
Your love is safe with me"

We found an old gray house
And you would not believe the way
We worked at night to fix it up
Took classes in the day
Paintin' walls and sippin' wine
Sleepin' on the floor
With so much love for just two
Soon we found there'd be one more

And she said,
"Rocky, I've never had a baby before
Don't know if I can do it
But if you let me lean on you
Take my hand, I might get through it" (through it)
I said, "Baby, oh sweet baby
It's love that sets us free
And God knows if the world should end
Your love is safe with me"

We had lots of problems then but
We had lots of fun
Like the crazy party
When our baby girl turned one
I was proud and satisfied
Life had so much to give
'Till the day they told me
That she didn't have long to live

She said,
"Rocky, I've never had to die before
Don't know if I can do it.
But if you let me lean on you
Take my hand, I might get through it" (through it)
I said, "Baby, oh sweet baby
It's love that sets us free
And God knows if the world should end
Your love is safe with me"

Now it's back to two again
The little girl and I
Who looks so much like her sweet mother
Sometimes it makes me cry
I sleep alone at nights again
I walk alone each day
And sometimes when I'm about to give in
I hear her sweet voice say, to me

"Rocky, you know you've been alone before
You know that you can do it
But if you'd like to lean on me
Take my hand, I'll help you through it" (through it)
I said, "Baby, oh sweet baby
It's love that sets us free
And I told you when the world would end
Your love was safe with me"

She said,
"Rocky, you know you've been alone before
You know that you can do it
But if you'd like to lean on me...

[ohsherrie]

Talk about a sad song, especially the last two verses/choruses...
- from the 70's:

Rocky
by Austin Roberts
(Stevens)


Alone until my eighteenth year
We met four springs ago
She was shy and had a fear
Of things she did not know
But we got it on together
In such a super way
We held each other close at night
And traded dreams each day

And she said,
"Rocky, I've never been in love before
Don't know if I can do it
But if you let me lean on you
Take my hand, I might get through it" (through it)
I said, "Baby, oh sweet baby
It's love that sets us free
And God knows if the world should end
Your love is safe with me"

We found an old gray house
And you would not believe the way
We worked at night to fix it up
Took classes in the day
Paintin' walls and sippin' wine
Sleepin' on the floor
With so much love for just two
Soon we found there'd be one more

And she said,
"Rocky, I've never had a baby before
Don't know if I can do it
But if you let me lean on you
Take my hand, I might get through it" (through it)
I said, "Baby, oh sweet baby
It's love that sets us free
And God knows if the world should end
Your love is safe with me"

We had lots of problems then but
We had lots of fun
Like the crazy party
When our baby girl turned one
I was proud and satisfied
Life had so much to give
'Till the day they told me
That she didn't have long to live

She said,
"Rocky, I've never had to die before
Don't know if I can do it.
But if you let me lean on you
Take my hand, I might get through it" (through it)
I said, "Baby, oh sweet baby
It's love that sets us free
And God knows if the world should end
Your love is safe with me"

Now it's back to two again
The little girl and I
Who looks so much like her sweet mother
Sometimes it makes me cry
I sleep alone at nights again
I walk alone each day
And sometimes when I'm about to give in
I hear her sweet voice say, to me

"Rocky, you know you've been alone before
You know that you can do it
But if you'd like to lean on me
Take my hand, I'll help you through it" (through it)
I said, "Baby, oh sweet baby
It's love that sets us free
And I told you when the world would end
Your love was safe with me"

She said,
"Rocky, you know you've been alone before
You know that you can do it
But if you'd like to lean on me...

You're right Wally and I remember the lyrics but can't recall the melody to save my life.

[Wally_Hatchet]

HERE YA' GO OH SHERRIE:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28RtR9VWww0

[ohsherrie]

HERE YA' GO OH SHERRIE:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28RtR9VWww0

Thanks Wally. I remember it well. or maybe would be more appropriate.

[L~L~L]

Wanna hear a sad song here you go read these lyrics.


Eternal Love

You are the sadness in my eyes
The sadness that silently weeps your departure
I look into the mirror and I see my reflection
The suffering I have endured because you are gone
I promise to forget you in my thoughts
But, I am always thinking back to the past
I prefer to be asleep, rather than awake
Because it hurts me so much that you are not here

*Chorus*
Oh how I wish, yes
That you were still alive
That your eyes had never closed
And I could be here looking into them
My Eternal Love
You are unforgettable
Sooner or later I will be with you
So I can continue loving you.

I have suffered so much because of your absence
Since that day forward, I have not been happy
Eventhough my conscience is clear
I still feel as though I could have done more for you
In obscure solitude I live now,
The same solitude of your crypt
You are the love I carry in my heart
The saddest memory of Acapulco.

[chf34jmac]

How about "Christmas Shoes" by Newsong? Probably one of the saddest holiday type songs I've ever listened to. Gotta really follow the lyrics though to appreciate the sadness.

[7 Wishes]

Wow. Sad songs are my specialty. The fact that most of my compositions were depressing and mid-tempo was the cause of lots of friction in the two major bands I've been a part of. Let's see...

ALL ABOUT EVE - "Are You Lonely (live)"
TORI AMOS - "Vincent" and "Sugar"
BEATLES - "Long and Winding Road"
BEE GEES - "I Started a Joke"
BREAD - "Diary"
COUNTING CROWS - "Round Here"
CHRISTOPHER CROSS - "Swept Away (live)"
JOHN DENVER - "I'd Rather Be a Cowboy"
DIRE STRAITS - "6:15 AM", "Sands of Nevada" and "Brothers in Arms"
FLEETWOOD MAC - "Storms", "Landslide" and "Silver Springs"
PETER GABRIEL - "I Grieve" and "Party Man"
GENESIS - "Ripples", "Long Long Way to Go" and "Entangled"
DAVID GRAY - "Please Forgive Me", "As I'm Leaving" and "From Here You Can Almost See the Sea"
HALL AND OATES - "Marigold Sky"
DON HENLEY - "A Month of Sundays", "Talking to the Moon", and "The Heart of the Matter"
BRUCE HORNSBY - "The Road Not Taken", "Halcyon Days", and "Fortunate Son"
IRON & WINE - "Faded From the Winter"
JACKSON BROWNE - "The Barricades of Heaven"
BILLY JOEL - "And So It Goes" and "Downeaster Alexa"
ELTON JOHN - "Curtains", "No Valentine", and "The Ballad of the Boy in the Red Shoes"
HOWARD JONES - "No-one is to Blame"
RICHARD MARX - "Hazard", "Angelia" and
SARAH McLACHLAN - "Mary", "Good Enough" and "Adia"
JOHN MELLENCAMP - "Make Me Feel" and "Farewell, Angelia"
MIKE & THE MECHANICS - "The Living Years"
EDDIE MONEY - "Endless Nights"'
MY NEXT DILEMMA - "I Know It's Over"
DANNY O'KEEFE - "Along For the Ride"
ALAN PARSONS - "Time", "Siren Song" and "Day After Day (The Show Must Go On)"
TOM PETTY - "It'll All Work Out", "Southern Accents" and "Insider"'
PINK FLOYD - "Hey You", "The Final Cut" and "A Great Day for Freedom"
PRINCE - "Sometimes It Snows in April" and "Purple Rain"
RADIOHEAD - "Fog (Again)" "Fake Plastic Trees" and "Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was"
REM - "Leave"
LIONEL RICHIE - "Just For Now", "Tender Heart" and "Stuck On You"
ROLLING STONES - "Always Suffering", "Out of Tears" and "Coming Down Again"
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL - "A Most Peculiar Man", "April Come She Will" and "Old Friends/Bookends"
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - "Gave It a Name", "Racing in the Streets", "Stolen Car", "Loose Change", "Wreck on the Highway", "Used Cars", "Back in Your Arms", "Paradise", "Streets of Philadelphia", "Balboa Park" and "One Step Up"
CAT STEVENS - "Father and Son", "The Wind" and "Oh Very Young"
ROD STEWART - "Superstar", "The Killing of Georgie (Part I & II)" and "I Was Only Joking"
STING - "Ghost Story", "Why Should I Cry For You", "Fields of Gold" and "Shape of My Heart"
THE SUNDAYS - "Cry" and "Here's Where the Story Ends"
JAMES TAYLOR - "Baby Buffalo", "Line 'Em Up" and "The Water is Wide"
TESSER - "While I Played My Violin" and "Only Time Will Tell"
TOTO - "I Won't Hold You Back" and "Out of Love"
U2 - "Red Hill Mining Town", "One", "Running to Stand Still", "Stay (Far Away, So Close)", "Mothers of the Disappeared", "All I Want is You", "With or Without You", "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own"
TOM WAITS - "Martha"
PAUL YOUNG- "Both Sides Now"

[Ms_M]

"He Stopped Loving Her Today" is a classic song. Even though George and Tammy hadn't been together in years, the radio stations here played it the day she died. It was heartbreaking.

"Hurt" - there aren't even words about it. That was an amazing recording, video, everything. I was so shocked that June went before him. Both of their images in the video are now very haunting.

Some of those mentioned in the list by readers should've been on the list (especially since I'd never even HEARD OF #1). "Wildfire", "Cat's in the Cradle", etc.

[Moon Beam]

"He Stopped Loving Her Today" is a classic song. Even though George and Tammy hadn't been together in years, the radio stations here played it the day she died. It was heartbreaking.

When I mentioned Seven Spanish Angels earlier I was
gonna second fill it with He Stopped Loving Her Today.
My Father introduced me to that heart tugger, love it largely!
Good taste Ms M.

Also adding..........
Whiskey Lullaby from Brad Paisley and Allison Krauss is it?
Big pokes in the chest here it gives me.
Love tunes like these, JoePa I can almost feel you cringing!

[nikki]

Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash. It really puts you inside the mind of someone who's lamenting over a ruined life and what might've been, and Galveston by Glen Campbell. If you've never heard it, it's about a soldier in Vietnam dreaming about a girl back home. I like country, although I'm not a huge fan, but for really great, heart-wrenching stuff you have to go with country music. Reba McIntyre had a song out several years ago called She Thinks His Name Was John. I'll let the listener determine the story on this one.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=i1xSt7iganA& ... ed&search= Folsom Prison Blues
http://youtube.com/watch?v=oyGEYHR4JPs Galveston
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z1cmxPvw4TM STHNWJ

[Rick]

Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash. It really puts you inside the mind of someone who's lamenting over a ruined life and what might've been, and Galveston by Glen Campbell. If you've never heard it, it's about a soldier in Vietnam dreaming about a girl back home. I like country, although I'm not a huge fan, but for really great, heart-wrenching stuff you have to go with country music. Reba McIntyre had a song out several years ago called She Thinks His Name Was John. I'll let the listener determine the story on this one.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=i1xSt7iganA& ... ed&search= Folsom Prison Blues
http://youtube.com/watch?v=oyGEYHR4JPs Galveston
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z1cmxPvw4TM STHNWJ

Thanks for those. I'm not a fan of country, but Reba's name has been in my life as long as I can remember. She was born in my home town. So I'll listen to her some. My wife watches her tv show. I've seen it some with her, it's pretty good. I saw her at the airport a few weeks ago, just walking along like she was anybody else.