# Most Depressing Love Song of all Time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743 "2003-02-13T03:05:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kefka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@kefka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kefka)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/61 "2003-02-14T03:55:27Z")
i’m gonna have to go with “last night i dreamt that somebody loved me” by the smiths. i don’t even have to type out the lyrics. the title says it all… most. depressing. song. ever. (but also really beautiful) ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Fescue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@Hank\_Fescue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Fescue)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/62 "2003-02-14T03:58:11Z")
How about **“Sylvias Mother”** Dr. Hook. IIRC written by Shel Silverstien "And the operator says40 cents more for the next three minutes Pleeeease Mrs. Avery I just got to talk to her I’ll only keep her a while Please Mrs. avery I just want to tell her good bye…tell her good bye…" Did I miss it or did you guys leave out Meatloafs **“Two out of Three Aint Bad”**? ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Fescue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@Hank\_Fescue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Fescue)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/63 "2003-02-14T04:09:05Z")
Actually, now that I think about it, Dr Hook did a song called “Carrie” that is even sadder. "Second street and Broadway sittin in door way head held in his hands looked upon the world like he was praying Foot wrapped in an old rag bottle in a brown bag then I heard the words that he was sayin and he said… come on Carrie carry me a little farther come on Carrie carry me one more mile I don’t know where it’s leading to but I know I can make it if I lean on you soo…" I can’t go on. My God that is a sad song. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/64 "2003-02-14T04:39:21Z")
> [@](#): > > _Howsabout “Last Kiss”? I don’t like the original too much but Pearl Jam’s cover of it sent chills down my spine the first time I heard it._ > > How about the seventy-ninth time you heard it? 🙂 I’m fairly new to rock, only having started listening to it over the past two years so I haven’t hit the point where I want to bash my head into the wall every time I hear it yet. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/65 "2003-02-14T04:50:19Z")
Another Don Henley song - _The Last Worthless Evening_ ---
**Author:** ![saintnobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@saintnobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saintnobody)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/66 "2003-02-14T06:01:49Z")
For me the most depressing song would be Thank You by Dido It was the song for me and my ex, I cant listen to it without crying Close second would be Tracks of my tears by smokey robinson ---
**Author:** ![scablet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@scablet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scablet)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/67 "2003-02-14T06:32:41Z")
I have to suggest… well, any song by the Tear Garden, but two in particular:[Judgement Hour](http://www.brainwashed.com/lpd/archives/lyrics/others/song.tobeanangel.html#71) is about a bitter, elderly divorced couple: > [@](#): > > I tried to shake you off > but still you cling > I never wear your ring > Green stain’s creeping > down my finger … and [You and Me and Rainbows](http://www.brainwashed.com/lpd/archives/lyrics/others/song.tiredeyes.html#58) is about… well, I’m not entirely sure what it’s about, but it involves drug use somehow. And regret. And false hope. In spades. > [@](#): > > Everything I own is in the corner of your room > it’s covered in a sheet just like it died > But I will take a broom, sweep it new again > Arrange it - oh I’ll grow a dozen hands! > I never will neglect my world again. The lyrics to these songs themselves are downer enough, but the real kicker is Ka-Spel’s incredibly dry, hopeless, resigned vocal delivery. ---
**Author:** ![Darkrabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@Darkrabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkrabbit)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/68 "2003-02-14T06:48:16Z")
Another Sattellite by _XTC_ My heart is taken it’s not lost in space And I don’t want to see your mooney mooney face I say why on earth do you revolve around me Aren’t you aware of the gravity Don’t need another satellite I’m happy standing on my feet of clay I have no wish to swim your milky milky way I say why on earth do you send your letters 'round here Only to gum up the atmosphere Don’t need another satellite So circling we’ll orbit another year Two worlds that won’t collide So circling we’ll orbit another year Moon still tries to steal the tide away Don’t need another satellite Don’t need another satellite Abort your mission let’s just say you tried Before you glimpse I have a darker darker side I say why in Heaven’s name do you come on these trips Only to freeze in a total eclipse Don’t need another satellite So circling we’ll orbit another year Two worlds that won’t collide So circling we’ll orbit another year Moon still tries to steal the tide away Don’t need another satellite Don’t need another satellite ---
**Author:** ![Wisp00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/977dab/32.png) [@Wisp00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisp00)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/69 "2003-02-14T07:57:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by agentfroot \* > \*\*“Painters” by Jewel \*\* Definatly. One of the few songs that make me cry _every time I hear it_ . ---
**Author:** ![Shana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Shana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shana)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/70 "2003-02-14T08:03:54Z")
I have to second Love Will Tear Us Apart Again. Dang. Poor Ian. I still get choked up at the pure, desperate agony of that song. ---
**Author:** ![lukaspriest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5a626/32.png) [@lukaspriest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lukaspriest)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/71 "2003-02-14T10:42:47Z")
There’s a famous korean song by one Jo Sungmo, and its called For Your Soul. Its about a couple that are about to be married, and on their wedding day or when he is going to ask her to marry him, the girl is murdered in his arms, and right before she dies, he places a wedding ring in her hand. The lyrics to the song, translated by my insufficient korean, go something like this: * * * The people to bless our wedding were going to come Don’t think that there was no one else besides us At this time, you have to make your wedding vow to love me for the rest of your life But if you don’t answer, its ok, I can say it for both of us. And as I weep, I clutch your picture to my heart, wet with tears, Why on this wonderful day, even you…it was your last heartfelt wish I send you on your way, take this ring dont lose it, grasp it tight and when the day comes that our paths meet again, I’ll take the ring and put it on your finger Go, don’t be afraid. And now you’re gone; The sound of desolate wind suddenly rushes in Will you be able to take this long road without me? Why can’t I take you?! When the first snow comes, or when it rains, come and visit me always on this day, you must come to me In my song, in my dreams, I send you on your way, take this ring dont lose it, grasp it tight and when the day comes that our paths meet, I’ll take the ring and put it on your finger And even if I’m late, please wait for me. * * * I was in korea, and I had heard the song once in a music shop, so I knew what the tune was like. I was intrigued, so I bought the lyrics/music. I set to work to translating them, and when I was done, I could hardly read them without my eyes welling up with tears. I just imagined this poor beautiful girl, separated from her love taking this long, lonely, desolate path by herself, perhaps looking back from time to time. I don’t know. Just puts a knot in my throat. Its such a beautiful, mournful song. ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/72 "2003-02-14T12:41:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by InTransit \* > \*\*You mean Ian Curtis/Joy Division? > > So many things that Ian/Joy Division did was dark. I love them anyway (or maybe because of that). I’m thinking that I want _Atmosphere_ played at my funeral. That, or _Ding, Dong the Witch is Dead._ \*\* D’oh yes your right, Ian Dury is the bloke from the Blockheads? Yes the rest of Joy division wrote the instrumental parts to the song as well. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/73 "2003-02-14T13:30:50Z")
A slightly obscure and sad little Dan Fogelberg song, _Why Is Love Always The Last To Know_: Living in a house of cards praying the wind doesn’t blow too hard Living in two differences Straining to keep up appearances Freedom is near but seems to elude you Trying to change your dreams into what your needs allow It should be easy by now. Why is love always the last to know? Also, I second Meatloaf’s Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/74 "2003-02-14T14:11:44Z")
Sandy Denny - I’m a dreamer. Haunting song about someone who is in the act of deciding wether or not, to quit a relationship of which they had great hopes. [http://www.concentric.net/~jpdaspit/fotheringay/lyrics.htm](http://www.concentric.net/~jpdaspit/fotheringay/lyrics.htm) The last line of the song is misleading at first, she says she thinks she will probably stay, but the way it is sung its clear that she will leave, and betrays just how torn bween the two options she is. ---
**Author:** ![InTransit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47774/32.png) [@InTransit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InTransit)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/75 "2003-02-14T17:51:44Z")
Back for more… **Missing You** – John Waite - ain’t missing you at all Since you’ve been gone Away I ain’t missing you No matter What I might say \* **How Would I Know** – Melissa Etheridge _You might believe there’s a paradise In the next hello How would I know If you don’t tell me so_ ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/76 "2003-02-14T18:29:12Z")
Love Has No Pride - Bonnie Raitt. Just kill me now. This is one of my “Cryin’ and Vaccuumin’” songs. ---
**Author:** ![bighead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@bighead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bighead)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/77 "2003-02-14T18:46:06Z")
Oh… You mean “depressing good”??? I thought you meant depressing like it stunk to high heaven. The first song that came to mind when I read the thread title was this song I remember from when I was a kid listening to the radio in the back seat of my parents car… RUN, JOEY, RUN by DAVID GEDDES [ANGELIC CHOIR AHH-ING] [Voice of Julie, who sounds approximately 12 years old] Daddy, please don’t - it wasn’t his fault He means so much to me Daddy, please don’t, we’re gonna get married Just you wait and see [Joey (David Geddes):] Every night, the same old dream I hate to close my eyes I can’t erase the memories The sound of Julie’s cries… She called me up, late that night And she said, “Joe, don’t come over My dad and I just had a fight And he stormed out the door I’ve never seen him act this way My God, he’s goin’ crazy He say’s he’s gonna make you pay For what we’ve done He’s got a gun so RUN, JOEY, RUN, JOEY, RUN!” Even when I was 8 years old and had not developed any kind of taste, this song turned my stomach. ---
**Author:** ![NE\_Texan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e99b99/32.png) [@NE\_Texan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NE_Texan)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/78 "2003-02-14T19:35:57Z")
Man, I found this thread late, but there are some really good songs mentioned here. My top choices have all been mentioned already. **Cormac36** introduced “If You Could Read My Mind” by Gordon Lightfoot, but left out my favorite lyric in that song: _When you reach the part Where the heartache starts The hero would be me_ I also second **Operator** by Jim Croce: _Operator, will you help me place this call? I can’t read the number that you just gave me. There’s something in my eye You know it happens every time I think about the love that I thought would save me_ **Gyan9** said “I don’t know if you can call U2’s **One** depressing.” Well, I do: _Did I disappoint you? Or leave a bad taste in your mouth? You act like you’ve never had love – And you’d like me to go without._ Well, sad in a bitter sort of way. One I haven’t seen brought up yet is Harry Chapin. (Most of his songs are depressing.) **W.O.L.D.** is depressing and bitter, but a more forlorn love story that’s depressing is **Taxi** : \*There was not much more for us to talk about, Whatever we had once was gone. So I turned my cab into the driveway, Past the gate and the fine trimmed lawns. And she said we must get together, But I knew it’d never be arranged. She handed me twenty dollars for a two fifty fare, and said “Harry, keep the change.” \* I can’t decide whether I want to wallow in the melancholy this thread brings, or go find a saccharine happy thread as an antidote. ---
**Author:** ![Cormac36](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@Cormac36](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cormac36)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/79 "2003-02-14T19:40:45Z")
Oh Gods, Harry Chapin deserves a "depressing song thread of his own. WIth only a couple of exceptions (Circle, and 30,000 Pounds Of Bannas -which itself is funny/depressing) all of his songs are so depressing they practically put the instrument of suicide in your hand. ---
**Author:** ![NE\_Texan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e99b99/32.png) [@NE\_Texan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NE_Texan)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743/80 "2003-02-14T19:52:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cormac36 \* > \*\*Oh Gods, Harry Chapin deserves a "depressing song thread of his own. WIth only a couple of exceptions (Circle, and 30,000 Pounds Of Bannas -which itself is funny/depressing) all of his songs are so depressing they practically put the instrument of suicide in your hand. \*\* That’s true. But the only person who could write a suitable tribute to Harry Chapin would be… Harry Chapin. (Or perhaps Jim Croce, but he’s not around to do so either.) Then again, his songs seem pretty self-referential, in hindsight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-love-song-of-all-time/154743.md?page=5)