# Recommend me some sad songs, with lyrics. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 6, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629 "2006-05-06T01:26:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/41 "2006-05-06T23:37:24Z")
The saddest songs I know are by two songwriters, Jane Siberry and Mary Margaret O’Hara. Jane’s “Goodbye” includes this gut punch: _“I meant to say I love you, and instead I said goodbye.”_ Mary Margaret’s “You Will Be Loved Again” and “Not Having You, But Keeping You in Mind” are two of the saddest songs in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/42 "2006-05-07T00:48:23Z")
If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot was the first song to come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/43 "2006-05-07T01:06:10Z")
[QUOTE=Noone Special] OK, if we’re doing foreign languages I have plenty – there are _so many_ sad Israeli songs, it isn’t even funny :eek: [/QUOTE] You are not even kidding. ‘OFYN Pripetshok and Nacht Action’ from the _Schindler’s List_ soundtrack reduces me to tears just _thinking_ about it. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/44 "2006-05-07T01:44:04Z")
When the Tigers Broke Free by Pink Floyd [http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/PINK-FLOYD/When-The-Tigers-Broke-Free.html](http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/PINK-FLOYD/When-The-Tigers-Broke-Free.html) * * * It was just before dawn One miserable morning in black 'forty four. When the forward commander Was told to sit tight When he asked that his men be withdrawn. And the Generals gave thanks As the other ranks held back The enemy tanks for a while. And the Anzio bridgehead Was held for the price Of a few hundred ordinary lives. \ They were all left behind, Most of them dead, The rest of them dying. And that’s how the High Command Took my daddy from me. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/45 "2006-05-07T03:06:55Z")
[QUOTE=cazzle] If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot was the first song to come to mind. [/QUOTE] Good call. The following line has a universal sadness that describes the end of what was once a wonderful relationship. _“I don’t know where we went wrong, but the feeling’s gone And I just can’t get it back.”_ ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/46 "2006-05-07T03:49:53Z")
The MTV Unplugged version of “Down in a Hole” by Alice in Chains. _Down in a hole, and I don’t know if I can be saved, See my heart, I decorate it like a grave_ Also, “Black” by Pearl Jam (and the Aaron Lewis cover) _Sheets of empty canvas, Untouched sheets of clay, Are lay spread out before me, As her body once did_ ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/47 "2006-05-07T04:56:43Z")
My first thought was “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda.” Perhaps the saddest song I know. Note that is was written and first performed by Eric Bogle, and has been recorded by many fine artists, not just the Pogues. Second thought - [“You Don’t Know Me.”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Don't_Know_Me) _You’ll never ever know The one who loved you so. Well, you don’t know me."_ Written by Cindy Walker (from a title suggested by Eddy Arnold), recorded by - hell, who didn’t record it? - Eddy Arnold, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Kenny Loggins, Harry Connick Jr., Willie Nelson, etc., etc.. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/48 "2006-05-07T04:58:28Z")
Wow! I love the good taste people on this board have. The two songs that immediately came to my mind were _Sand and Water_ by Beth Neilson Chapman and _Where the Wild Roses Grow_ by Nick Cave – and both of them have already been posted. 🙂 So in that case, here are my votes: **My Baby Need A Shepherd** by Emmylou Harris, from _Red Dirt Girl_: _My baby needs a shepherd, she’s lost out on the hill Too late I tried to call her, when the night was cold and still_ **The Weakness In Me** by Joan Armatrading, from _Greatest Hits_ (among other albums): _Why do you come here, when you know I’ve got troubles enough? Why do you call me, when you know I can’t answer the phone?_ ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/49 "2006-05-07T05:01:39Z")
Someone mentioned Cowboy Junkies but my favorite CJ song to get melancholy to is _The Last Spike_. The story of a closed rail line which means the death of the town surrounding it and the loss of hope to the singer whose husband was lost at war. Abbreviated lyrics since I know the Staff doesn’t like full quotes: _Mornings feel so damn sad these days Without the call of the 8:15 That old familiar echo has finally died away Leaving nothing but a chill where there once was a mighty scream And I’ve watched the flat cars take away our timber I’ve watched the coal cars take away our rock And now that we’ve got nothing left to take, we’re told That the wheels will stop turning; whistles will stop blowing And that this foolish dream must stop […] The longest train I’d ever seen was the train that you were on I walked you to the station – we kissed, then you were gone I dream at nights about you coming home The train in the station, your uniform on fire As you step onto the platform, the band plays a little louder And, as we embrace, your cap falls off Oh, I guess this foolish dream must stop._ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Blue-Sighted\_Shadow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@The\_Blue-Sighted\_Shadow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Blue-Sighted_Shadow)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/50 "2006-05-07T05:16:54Z")
[Whiskey Lullaby](http://http://www.lyrics007.com/Brad%20Paisley%20Lyrics/Whisky%20Lullaby%20Lyrics.html) by Brad Paisley and Alison Krause gives me chills every time: \*She put him out Like the burning end of a midnight cigarette (snip) He put the bottle to his head and pulled the trigger He finally drank away her memory Life is short But this time it was bigger Than the strength he had to get up off his knees We found him with his face down in the pillow With a note that says I’ll love her till I die And when we buried him beneath the willow The angels sang a whiskey lullaby\* Alison Krause has the most haunting voice; I think she could make the phone book sound like a dirge. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/51 "2006-05-07T05:46:52Z")
No **Magnetic Fields** up in this thread? from _Busby Berkely Dreams_ - I should have forgotten you long ago but you’re in every song I know from _I don’t believe in the sun_ - They say there’s a sun in the sky but me, I can’t imagine why from _All my little words_ - You said you were in love with me Both of us know that that’s impossible from _Love goes home to Paris in the spring_ - I’m counting the habits you made me break I’m counting the drugs you won’t let me take I’m counting the friends you won’t let me see from _The saddest story ever told_ - We used to go out on the summer nights and dance in the neon rain We used to hold hands at the movie show but we’ll never hold hands again from _The desperate things you made me do_ - Time provides the rope but love will tie the slipknot and I will be the chair you kick away from _All the umbreallas in london_ - If I live through the night I could be all right it’ll make a good song or something from _Give me back my dreams_ - When the clock strikes three I don’t care anymore about you or anything Best band ever. ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/52 "2006-05-07T06:25:43Z")
**Boxing** , by Ben Folds Five. It’s about the end of Muhammed Ali’s career in, you guessed it, boxing: _Howard, the strangest things have happened lately when I take a good swing at all my dreams_ Another one by Ben Folds Five is **Magic**. This one’s a bit weird emotionally. It’s a pretty simple song, but lyrics are both sad and happy at the same time. Sad because it’s about a loved one dying, but happy because the death was obviously a release from pain. The music, too, could go either way – it would work in a happy love song as well as a sad song about death. _From the back of your big brown eyes I knew you’d be gone as soon as you could and I hoped you would_ ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/53 "2006-05-07T17:43:10Z")
Hazard, by Richard Marx (about a murder suspect) Also, in Spanish by Mecano: Aire (about a suicide) and Cruz de Navajas (about a tragic love triangle). ---
**Author:** ![WishIHadACoolName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WishIHadACoolName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WishIHadACoolName)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/54 "2006-05-07T17:46:05Z")
\*\*Keep me in your Heart for a while \*\* by Warren Zevon. It might possibly be the one song guaranteed to make me cry. He wrote it knowing he was dying. Hurts even more right now, as my sister was just widowed recently. Shadows are falling and I’m running out of breath Keep me in your heart for awhile ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/55 "2006-05-07T17:55:14Z")
You have to try and fit a beatles song into any song question thread. In this case there is **yer blues**. I second buckleys **lover, you should have come over**. It’s beautiful. Tindersticks have made some pretty sad songs. Perhaps **travelling light** is the most sad one. [lyrics](http://www.lyricstime.com/tindersticks-travelling-light-lyrics.html) ---
**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 7, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/56 "2006-05-07T17:59:19Z")
Not surprised that folks already beat me to Assemblage 23’s 30KFT and Disappoint, but here are a couple more from the same band (Tom Shear has sad and depressing down cold, I must say–as a lover of sad songs, discovering this band was great for me): **Bi-Polar** I haven’t felt so alive in years The sun is shining down on me **Cocoon** Even though I know it’s only chemical These peaks and valleys are beginning to take their toll **Fallen Down** And now there’s nothing left Your face a pale reflection With only emptiness You’ve lost your life’s direction **Let Me Be Your Armor** (it’s hard to get the effect of this one without quoting the whole thing, but I’ll try): Let me take the fall Let me take the blame Let me carry you from hell To home again. (more of the same “let me take care of you” lyrics) (then the last verse kinda hits you between the eyes): Let me keep you from And finally, a happy little ditty from Alan Parsons: **Oh Life (There Must Be More):** Where is hope When words fail All the colours running Inside when life turns pale ---
**Author:** ![ctywkr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@ctywkr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctywkr)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2006, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/57 "2006-05-08T01:45:05Z")
Kevin Gilbert This is with Toy Matinee But his other stuff is as good or better Check out [Http://www.kevingilbert.com](Http://www.kevingilbert.com) Grey is not the color I expected On someone who is often touched by grace ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2006, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/58 "2006-05-08T03:10:33Z")
[QUOTE=Anastaseon] But 30kft… I can’t even listen to it. When the album “Storm” first came out, we rushed out to buy it, and listened to it in the car as we drove around, running our errands together. I loved the whole album, but that song ends everything off… it’s the only song that’s ever reduced me to gasping sobs. I couldn’t handle it. Maybe it was too close to the whole 9/11 thing, but it hit me so damn hard. Shit, I’m welling up right now. Damnit. It’s sad. Never, ever has a song made me feel so goddamn sad. [/QUOTE] This is _exactly_ what happened to me the first time I heard it. I was bouncing along to the album, and halfway through _30kft_ I burst into tears. I agree with **winter** : Assemblage has depressing down like nobody’s business. Also Bruderschaft’s _Forever_: \* I was never what you wanted, I could never never please. I swallowed all our sorrow in the midst of my disease.. \* _Holding On_, VNV Nation \*I thought the future held a perfect place for us That together we would learn to be the best that we could be _Brick_, Ben Folds Five, _Hallelujah_, Rufus Wainwright, _Eleanor Rigby_, the Beatles (of course), and _Vimy_, by Tanglefoot. Now I’m all depressed, but nevertheless I think we should have a VNV Nation/Assemblage 23 Appreciation thread. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2006, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/59 "2006-05-08T12:05:52Z")
Oh, so many, what to choose? Some favourites: **Billy Bragg - _Valentine’s Day Is Over_** Thank you for the things you bought me thank you for the card Thank you for the things you taught me when you hit me hard That love between two people must be based on understanding Until that’s true you’ll find your things All stacked out on the landing, surprise, surprise * * * **The Waterboys - _Red Army Blues_** Used to love my country used to be so young Used to believe that life was the best song ever sung * * * **The Smiths - _Asleep_** Don’t feel bad for me I want you to know Deep in the cell of my heart I really want to go * * * ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2006, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629/60 "2006-05-08T13:01:05Z")
Matchbox 20’s _Back 2 Good_–about a guy who’s trying to find a one-night stand after ending a relationship: \*It’s nothing, it’s so normal you Just stand there I could say so much But I don’t go there cuz I don’t want to \* … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-sad-songs-with-lyrics/355629.md?page=4)