# Music so beautiful it makes you cry **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 10, 2018, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946 "2018-05-10T22:25:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/41 "2018-05-13T20:54:40Z")
Forgot to add Susan Boyle’s “I Dream a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent. I hate these types of shows and overwrought songs, but Wifey made me watch her performance. Holy mutha o’ god! The reaction when this dumpy little woman tucked into the song is awesome. Vegetable Tempura Appertizer $6.95 Quantity 1 Special instructions Special requests may result in additional charges. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/42 "2018-05-13T21:01:33Z")
Oops! My GrubHub order was on my copy clipboard. Here’s the vid, in case there’s a person left on Earth who hasn’t seen it (sans veggie tempura): [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRiJNS8Oz6E) Also: someone asked me about Toni Child’s a while ago in CS. Don’t remember who, but this is the song I find so incredible: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/S00HHzXZUrg/maxresdefault.jpg "Toni Childs - Don't Walk Away") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S00HHzXZUrg) ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/43 "2018-05-13T21:03:11Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > Forgot to add Susan Boyle’s “I Dream a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent. I hate these types of shows and overwrought songs, but Wifey made me watch her performance. > > Holy mutha o’ god! The reaction when this dumpy little woman tucked into the song is awesome. > > Vegetable Tempura Appertizer > $6.95 > Quantity > 1 > > Special instructions > Special requests may result in additional charges. I agree about Susan Boyle…I get the same reaction. Not sure how the Tempura appetizer relates, though! Lately, I can’t make it through “This is Me” from “The Greatest Showman” without tearing up. I love the song, but more than that, I love the message and the defiance of the singer saying, “I’m me, and I’m not apologizing for that.” ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/44 "2018-05-13T21:41:58Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4Zu0_Uvw-PE/maxresdefault.jpg "Diamond: Play Me") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zu0_Uvw-PE) No idea if I posted this properly, but who knew the Boston Pops playing Neil Diamond could be downright spine-tingling? (At about the 3:00 mark) ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/45 "2018-05-14T01:38:21Z")
Lately I’ve been on a “Symphonic versions of Classic Rock songs” kick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TJBVUX0pqY [https://www.youtube.com/results?search\_query=new+blood+orchestra](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=new+blood+orchestra) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1Xmb5t4HtIo/maxresdefault.jpg "Stairway To Heaven") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xmb5t4HtIo) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/46 "2018-05-14T02:43:10Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > Here’s the vid, in case there’s a person left on Earth who hasn’t seen it (sans veggie tempura): > [https://youtu.be/aRiJNS8Oz6E](https://youtu.be/aRiJNS8Oz6E) If you liked that then you will love Paul Potts audition: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dnp-8GrHOIk/hqdefault.jpg "Paul Potts stuns the judges singing Nessun Dorma | Audition | Britain's Got Talent 2007") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnp-8GrHOIk) Add to that Jonathan and Charlotte audition: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZsNlcr4frs4/hqdefault.jpg "Opera duo Charlotte & Jonathan - Britain's Got Talent 2012 audition - UK version") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsNlcr4frs4) ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/47 "2018-05-14T03:17:03Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > In terms of a short piece of music, it would be _O Mio Babbino Caro_, from the opera _Gianni Schicchi_, one of the most beautiful arias ever written. [And check out this performance.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9PQ7qPkluM) It has to be enough to restore one’s faith in the human race. > [@Chefguy](#): > > :eek: Holy crap, what a talent! Poor kid doesn’t even know the words to her song… But she has some kind of voice all right. I hope she’s not under excessive pressure from her parents. (Or whoever else) ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/48 "2018-05-14T03:40:54Z")
‘Little Wing’ by Jimi Hendrix. Every time I listen to that it makes me so sad he died so young. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/49 "2018-05-14T11:59:23Z")
[Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjLSf8y94fU) - Blind Willie Johnson ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/50 "2018-05-14T13:19:50Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > [Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjLSf8y94fU) - Blind Willie Johnson Good one. [This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6vR9gXjNyg)is pretty corny, but does the trick for me. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/51 "2018-05-14T13:39:05Z")
Audra McDonald’s [Summertime](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNLbRdoB9Z8) > [@RTFirefly](#): > > Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” Cohen’s Hallelujah and Don McLean’s American Pie are the only two songs I cannot believe could be written by a solo individual. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/52 "2018-05-14T14:32:04Z")
The one piece of music that does it for me is Alfred Reed’s **Russian Christmas Music** , a 1944 composition that is, according to Wikipedia, “one of the most frequently performed pieces of concert band literature” ( [Russian Christmas Music - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Christmas_Music) ) Nevertheless, I’ve never heard anyone besides our group perform it. I’ve never found a professional recording of it. But there’s one note at the climax – or one of the climaxes, at any rate, that the piece seems to lead up to and which has concentrated emotion in it. Edited to add – although you can apparently find several versions of it on YouTube, like this one – ["Russian Christmas Music" recording - Bing video](https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=%22Russian+Christmas+Music%22+recording&view=detail&mid=CBC689B81630BE557707CBC689B81630BE557707&FORM=VIRE) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/53 "2018-05-14T15:06:49Z")
Except for listening to Cohen’s Allelluia just after hearing of his death, I think I haven’t cried over a song for decades. But there is a certain type of song I’d like to bring up: songs which are linked to a specific culture or place, and which can make people from there cry like a waterfall if they come up when they’re away from home. They aren’t of a specific genre; they may or may not be of a genre that’s specific or popular with that group; they may not even name the place or group. When I was in high school we called them “the handkerchief songs”. I apologize in advance if any of the videos have bad sound quality, I don’t have internet at home and don’t want to be watching music videos at work. [Asturias patria querida](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCKqvuUX07w) (Asturias, beloved homeland; I think the Aussies recently got unexpectedly acquainted with [a local version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3BYmC_XNQ0) :D) [México lindo y querido](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jd_kdq2jlI) (Beautiful, beloved Mexico) [No te vayas de Navarra](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZRoubsf7BU) (Don’t you leave Navarre; in this version done by an Andalusian woman, which is appropriate since the lyrics involve an Andalusian woman and Navarrese guy) [En tierra extraña](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U50Z-qkT_JY), aka Vino español (In a strange land, aka Spanish wine) [Auld Lang Syne](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to1xT93IlUI) (known to many foreigners from movies, but without the connotations it has to Anglos, much less to Scotts!) etc etc etc ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/54 "2018-05-15T12:25:29Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” > [@glee](#): > > Wonderfully moving song. > > I think this by Jeff Buckley is the best version. I’ll see your Buckley and raise you [Pentatonix](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRP8d7hhpoQ). And to keep the ball rolling, Johnny Cash’s cover of [Hurt](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt1Pwfnh5pc). Knowing the timing – shortly after June’s death, shortly before his own – and their history together I figured he he’d written it but, no, he merely _owns_ it. Even Reznor says, “it isn’t mine anymore.” ---
**Author:** ![pdhenry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pdhenry/32/5561_2.png) [@pdhenry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdhenry)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/55 "2018-05-15T14:38:54Z")
_Beneductus_ from Karl Jenkins’ ‘The Armed Man’ [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Fdnf6dHbxPw/maxresdefault.jpg "Benedictus - Karl Jenkins") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdnf6dHbxPw) This isn’t the best performance of it, (the [CD](https://www.amazon.com/Jenkins-Armed-Man-Mass-Peace/dp/B00005NDVJ) is better), but it literally froze me in place the first time I heard it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/56 "2018-05-15T15:00:31Z")
I always choke up a bit when I listen to Annie Lennox sing [_Into the West_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shdiTRxTJb4) from the _LotR_ movie. [This song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I) was played at a the funeral of a very dear friend of mine, and it always brings tears to my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/57 "2018-05-15T15:26:59Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > And to keep the ball rolling, Johnny Cash’s cover of [Hurt](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt1Pwfnh5pc). Knowing the timing – shortly after June’s death, shortly before his own – and their history together I figured he he’d written it but, no, he merely _owns_ it. Even Reznor says, “it isn’t mine anymore.” For me it’s not just the song - it’s the song in conjunction with that video. Wrenching. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/58 "2018-05-15T15:57:12Z")
_Clair de Lune (Debussy)_ IMO, without a doubt, the most beautiful piano piece ever written. I like it paired with [this video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M00Ozsmh28s) When it hits around the 2 minute mark, chills, phew. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/59 "2018-05-15T16:54:50Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > _Clair de Lune (Debussy)_ > > IMO, without a doubt, the most beautiful piano piece ever written. > > I like it paired with [this video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M00Ozsmh28s) > > When it hits around the 2 minute mark, chills, phew. Along the same lines, his [Reverie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRjllL-MP0U). ---
**Author:** ![cgg419](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cgg419/32/2847_2.png) [@cgg419](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cgg419)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946/60 "2018-05-16T03:52:37Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > ‘Little Wing’ by Jimi Hendrix. > > Every time I listen to that it makes me so sad he died so young. Stevie Ray Vaughn’s cover. Same thing. And just wow [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/An4uDegHB8s/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AG-AoAC8AGKAgwIABABGGUgYihVMA8=&rs=AOn4CLBkjYGZmplzoOtP3Xwvzhe-jgWO_A "Stevie Ray Vaughan - Little Wing") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An4uDegHB8s) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-so-beautiful-it-makes-you-cry/813946.md?page=4)