# Saddest love song ever. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 14, 2007, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518 "2007-08-14T03:33:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![akira5822](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@akira5822](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akira5822)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/121 "2007-08-17T22:37:26Z")
\*\*“Hate Me” \*\* by **Blue October** I have to block out thoughts of you so I don’t lose my head They crawl in like a cockroach leaving babies in my bed Dropping little reels of tape to remind me that I’m alone Playing movies in my head that make a porno feel like home ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/122 "2007-08-17T22:47:08Z")
[QUOTE=garius] [A Good Year for the Roses](http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/g/goodyearfortheroses.shtml) is, without a doubt, the saddest love song you’ll ever here. Again, the lyrics don’t do it the full justice - **its as much about Costello’s delivery as it is about the story** (an average guy realising that his wife no longer loves him). [/QUOTE] I believe you meant [_George Jones_’s delivery](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_lP-EzFan0). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/123 "2007-08-17T22:50:22Z")
_He’ll Have To Go_ by Jim Reeves is a classic, and most singers don’t dare to try it. Ry Cooder did the song proud, with heartbreaking flourishes from Flaco Jimenez. “Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone, And we’ll pretend that we’re together, all alone. I’ll tell the man to turn the jukebox way down low, And you can tell your friend there with you, he’ll have to go.” John Hiatt has three contenders: _Lipstick Sunset, The Back Of My Mind_, and _Icy Blue Heart_. Emmylou Harris covered _Icy Blue Heart_, but even her heavenly voice could not improve on Hiatt’s glissando, singing, “to melt her icy blue heart.” ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/124 "2007-08-17T22:54:57Z")
[QUOTE=Llyzabeth] I second garius’ on “Ghost Story,” the fact that the melody is almost cheerful and upbeat at the end make the lyrics even MORE sad somehow. But I’ve gotta vote for Blue October’s “Hate Me,” that song KILLS me, I imagine an ex of mine saying something similar. (He didn’t, but sometimes you wanna pretend they’re out there somewhere kicking themselves, ya know?) \*"And with a sad heart I say bye to you and wave Kicking shadows on the street for every mistake that I had made And like a baby boy I never was a man Until I saw your blue eyes cry and I held your face in my hand And then I fell down yelling “Make it go away!” Just make a smile come back and shine just like it used to be And then she whispered “How can you do this to me?” \* Beautiful lyrics, and such an anguished sound. Totally teared up the first couple times I heard it. [/QUOTE] You want sad? The song is actually for his mother, who had died. (Gimme a minute) ☹ You can hear her worriedly checking up on him on his anawering machine at the beginning of the video. Look at his face in the video. He is truly tore up. The boy in the vid is him I have to go for a drive after I watch it. Every time. Do _not_ watch [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOziJi-1hHE) if you get depressed. It is beautiful. I like most of their other stuff too. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/125 "2007-08-17T23:03:07Z")
[QUOTE=Ritzytrailer] Ugh! Nothing depresses me more (even 1 years later, now) than MaryChapin-Carpenter’s “Only a Dream” .. the divorce theme for my 1st marriage… [/QUOTE] I think the winner for saddest divorce song may go to (video clip) [Why?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_lP-EzFan0) by **Annie Lennox**. _This is the book I never read These are the words I never said This is the path I’ll never tread These are the dreams I’ll dream instead_ ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/126 "2007-08-17T23:13:23Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] I think the winner for saddest divorce song may go to (video clip) [Why?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_lP-EzFan0) by **Annie Lennox**. _This is the book I never read These are the words I never said This is the path I’ll never tread These are the dreams I’ll dream instead This is the joy that’s seldom spread_ [/QUOTE] I think Annie’s beautiful voice has dropped just a little. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/127 "2007-08-17T23:42:10Z")
Man’s got a nose on him, don’t he? 😉 Sorry. We used to talk about that back in Bakersfield. Made it easier to not cry in front of our buddies, I think. That’s one of those singers who made the girls dance a little closer at “The Blackboard”. You did, though, have to be careful what girl you danced with. Anyone who understands country custom will know what that means. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/128 "2007-08-17T23:50:55Z")
Oops. [Annie Lennox - “Why?”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzy3aSNevW8) ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/129 "2007-08-18T00:26:14Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Oops. [Annie Lennox - “Why?”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzy3aSNevW8) [/QUOTE] 😃 She is so…friggin…beautiful. Unusual. Anyway, do you get a low volume on that video? ---
**Author:** ![D.E.S.K.Top668](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@D.E.S.K.Top668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.E.S.K.Top668)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/130 "2007-08-18T03:41:52Z")
One song I came in here to mention was **Dire Straits** ’ “Romeo & Juliet,” but one or two (maybe a dozen) seem to have beat me to it. [“Keep Me in Your Heart for awhile”](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Keep-Me-In-Your-Heart-lyrics-Warren-Zevon/9B6CBA6) by [**Warren Zevon**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Zevon). Possibly the saddest song I’ve ever heard, even without knowing the circumstances behind it. Knowing that it was his death that was what was going to keep him and his love apart made it even worse. Showing my age, **Lynyrd Skynyrd** ’s “Free Bird” still brings a, well, hint of moisture to my eyes. Peace - DESK ---
**Author:** ![Intelligently\_Designed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intelligently_designed/32/20957_2.png) [@Intelligently\_Designed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intelligently_Designed)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/131 "2007-08-18T03:47:38Z")
Tom Waits’ [I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You](http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/tom_waits/i_hope_that_i_dont_fall_in_love_with_you.html). Damned missed opportunities. ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/132 "2007-08-18T05:14:36Z")
John Hiatt’s saddest is _The Way We Make a Broken Heart_ , a duet with Roseanne Cash, depending on how broad your definition of love song is. It’s a killer, and I love it. Sample: Oh, this is the way we make a broken heart Lesson number one we’ve just begun To hurt him so And with lesson two I’ll long for you When lights are low And we get to lesson three When he gets down on his knees And begs me to stop at the door Just before He comes apart -Lil ---
**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/133 "2007-08-18T05:54:17Z")
Just _reading_ this thread requires some major happy music- LOUD- to keep an even keel. _Forever Autumn_ has already been mentioned; it’s even worse when the person being spoken of (_“now you’re not here”)_ is dead. Two for not letting them get away, but **throwing** them away: _Don’t Come Around Here No More_ , by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers _You Were Always On My Mind_ , by…Bob Segar? Anyway, the Pet Shop Boys(!) techno(!!) cover causes such mental frission (in me) that I have to be careful around sharp objects. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/134 "2007-08-18T07:22:47Z")
[QUOTE=yellowval] Travis Tritt’s [Tell Me I Was Dreaming](http://www.lyriczz.com/lyriczz.php?songid=16987) always gets me. [/QUOTE] I did an almost unconscious little ‘augh’ when I saw that one. Oh yeah. More Than a Whisper, Nanci Griffith: > [@](#): > > And it’s snowing up in the northlands, I read your warm words from the plains > While the poets say that I should never be thinking of you this way > They say that I misread your lines 'cause I’ve been lonely all my life > And here I’m reaching for some silver and leaving my heart out in the fire The Ship Song, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. (I actually first heard this one sung by Concrete Blonde, live in concert. It was amazingly powerful.) A Case of You, Joni Mitchell. Naturally, I first listened to this song right after a bad breakup. The Tori Amos singin’ it version, actually. Talk about slit your wrists time. For that Blue October song? Holy crap, I didn’t know he was singing about his _mother_. The song was sad before, and now it’s got me sobbing all over myself. ☹ Not necessarily a romantic love song, but (shuddup, okay?) Into the West from the Return of the King soundtrack makes me bawl every. single. time. Man, I’ve got to go wash my face. Augh. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/135 "2007-08-18T07:43:43Z")
I was going to say “For No One” by the Beatles, but then I noticed some Leonard Cohen songs mentioned here and those are far sadder. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/136 "2007-08-18T13:54:57Z")
> [@](#): > > I believe you meant George Jones’s delivery. Nah - Costello version for me. Probably helps that i’ve seen him do it live and there wasn’t a dry eye in the audience. ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/137 "2007-08-18T14:00:36Z")
[QUOTE=The Them] _You Were Always On My Mind_ , by…Bob Segar? Anyway, the Pet Shop Boys(!) techno(!!) cover causes such mental frission (in me) that I have to be careful around sharp objects. [/QUOTE] Willie Nelson. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/138 "2007-08-18T14:05:04Z")
> [@](#): > > But I’ve gotta vote for Blue October’s “Hate Me,” that song KILLS me, What makes that song even sadder is that it’s supposed to be about his Mom, and (if the video is any indication) his regret now that his Mom is dead. ETA: Wiki link: [Hate Me.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_Me) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/139 "2007-08-18T14:25:59Z")
As much as the song comes up on these boards, I’m surprised no one has mentioned [Ode to Billy Joe](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZt5Q-u4crc) by **Bobbie Gentry**. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518/140 "2007-08-18T16:35:07Z")
[QUOTE=D.E.S.K.Top668] [“Keep Me in Your Heart for awhile”](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Keep-Me-In-Your-Heart-lyrics-Warren-Zevon/9B6CBA6) by [**Warren Zevon**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Zevon). Possibly the saddest song I’ve ever heard, even without knowing the circumstances behind it. Knowing that it was his death that was what was going to keep him and his love apart made it even worse. [/QUOTE] This was the first song I thought of when I read the thread title, and I’m surprised it took three pages before someone mentioned it. That song is just absolutely heart-breaking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-love-song-ever/415518.md?page=8)