# Saddest song you know **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 11, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461 "2014-03-11T17:50:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/82 "2014-03-12T12:49:15Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > [Keep Me In Your Heart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee5zp8kQZj8) by Warren Zevon (who was diagnosed with terminal cancer before recording this album, and died two weeks after its release). That is the first one that pops into my mind. His last appearance on Letterman is still too heartbreaking to watch. Also very sad especially with the video is Johnny Cash’s version of [Hurt](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aF9AJm0RFc). Then of course there is Danny Boy. Especially the second verse. But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying, If I am dead, as dead I well may be, Ye’ll come and find the place where I am lying, And kneel and say an Ave there for me; And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me, And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be, For you will bend and tell me that you love me, And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me! ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/83 "2014-03-12T13:00:01Z")
> [@Kiara\_Bell](#): > > HIDING INSIDE MYSELF by Kenny Rankin > > I’ve been so alone all my life > I couldn’t give my heart to anyone > Hiding in myself was a man > Who needed to be held like everyone > > The days moved into years > I look for warmth between the tears > It never ever found me > Never ever found me > Yes, I did seem to grasp at straws > They surely broke all the time Kiara Bell: please don’t post entire lyrics here; it is in violation of copyright laws. What you can do is post a few pertinent lyrics and then link to the rest elsewhere. And welcome to the Straight Dope! Hope you’ll stick around. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/84 "2014-03-12T13:07:00Z")
For me, it’s [“Marie”](http://www.metrolyrics.com/marie-lyrics-townes-van-zandt.html) by Townes Van Zandt. ☹ Just heartbreaking! ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/85 "2014-03-12T14:25:49Z")
Why did I open this thread? [Sniff] [I"ll Cover You (Reprise)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBSDjhK_YGU) from _Rent_ ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/86 "2014-03-12T14:31:23Z")
Some of the Christmas ones are sad. The already mentioned “I’ll Be Home For Christmas”, “Please, Daddy, Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas” and saddest of all “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer”. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/87 "2014-03-12T15:54:37Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > [QUOTE=bup] > **[Christmas Shoes.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ)** I guess there’s a fine line between “sad” and “repulsive.” [/QUOTE] Oh, come on, **panache45** , be fair. Give it a listen. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/88 "2014-03-12T16:19:06Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Oh, come on, **panache45** , be fair. Give it a listen. I’m with **panache**. Christmas Shoes is maudlin, mawkish and manipulative. It’s bathos, not pathos. I’m the kind of person who will seek out and listen to Christmas music in July, but if The Christmas Shoes comes on, it’s an instant fast-forward. UGH! The only truly sad thing about it is that it exists. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/89 "2014-03-12T16:21:00Z")
Oh, just give it a listen, and give it another chance. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/90 "2014-03-12T16:35:43Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Oh, just give it a listen, and give it another chance. You had me worried, **bup!**. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/91 "2014-03-12T16:37:34Z")
No one’s mentioned “Old Shep”? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/92 "2014-03-12T16:38:46Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > [_Alone Again_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_P-v1BVQn8&feature=kp) by Gilbert O’Sullivan. The peppy music conceals how bleak the lyrics are. But if you listen the singer is telling about how terrible his life is and he’s too depressed to even commit suicide. My vote as well. I literally cry every time I hear this song. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/93 "2014-03-12T16:40:24Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > In the same vein (and with the same name), [Christina Aguilera - Hurt.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcAiasm3ooM) I was going to post this one, but with a [different video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwCykGDEp7M). The official music video makes it even sadder, and I teared up every time I watched it even _before_ my dad died late last year. Now, I think it’s probably best if I don’t watch it for a while. (Not that the message applies to me, but just the whole “dad’s gone and I’ll never talk to him again” thing is kinda raw right now) Tori Amos’s Winter affects me the same way. ---
**Author:** ![smaje1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@smaje1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaje1)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/94 "2014-03-12T16:49:54Z")
Don’t Take the Girl, by Tim McGraw. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2-TXBniRz1g/hqdefault.jpg "Tim McGraw: Don't take the girl - music video (lyrics in description)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-TXBniRz1g) I’m not even a big country fan, but this song gets me every time. I haven’t listened to it in \*years \*-- that’s how bad it makes me cry… Last Kiss (both the Pearl Jam and the Cavaliers versions) is super sad, too… ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/95 "2014-03-12T17:11:21Z")
“Mama, Look Sharp” from the musical **1776**. It’s sung by a soldier, telling about his best friend who was shot dead in the American Revolution. His friend crawled off the battlefield, and the words are from the dying man’s point of view, telling his mother to “look sharp” so that she could find his body. The last few words are from the mother’s point of view, when she finds him. ---
**Author:** ![Abracadebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Abracadebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abracadebra)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/96 "2014-03-12T17:27:32Z")
“The Heart of the Matter” by Don Henley. That record was the soundtrack to my life at the time. Also, “Kiss and Say Goodbye” by The Manhattans. I think we can all agree that “Patches” by Clarence Carter is a tearjerker of the first order, as well. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/97 "2014-03-12T17:33:59Z")
[Hank III - Take my Pain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyyrY2SA_Cg) (cover of Wayne Hancock song) [Hank III - Alone and Dying](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANpb13_vgi4) [Nine Inch Nails - Something I can Never Have](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAGAoy5WZWY) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/98 "2014-03-12T18:57:00Z")
“Outlaws” - Capercaillie \*They’re watching you, Mary, in hard times afraid As council finds guilty for charges unpaid Even as your last hope is labeled and sold We’re all the one, Mary, outlawed for gold Have you seen it before? The names of good women and men Decreed by the sword and the pen To be outlaws all over again\* “Guenevere” - Camelot soundtrack _In that dawn, in that gloom More than love met its doom In the dying candle’s gleam Came the sundown of a dream Guenevere, Guenevere In that dim, mournful year Saw the men she held most dear Go to war for Guenevere_ ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/99 "2014-03-12T19:18:32Z")
> [@oft\_wears\_hats](#): > > It’s been said before on this very forum, but I must nominate [And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_the_Band_Played_Waltzing_Matilda). > > From memory, so the lyrics may not be quite right: I’ve nominated that song before. But I thought of it again a few years back, because of the closing verse. In that verse, the narrator watches a parade of elderly World War 1 veterans, then sneers: \*\*\*The young people ask, “'What are they marching for?” And I ask myself the same question. But the band plays “Waltzing Mathilda,” And the old men still answer the call. But year after year, their numbers get fewer. One day, no one will march there at all.\*\*\* And as of just a few years ago, that’s literally true. There’s no one left, in Australia or anywhere else, who fought in The Great War. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/100 "2014-03-12T21:08:47Z")
Also, “The Blacksmith of Brandywine”. [Blacksmith of Brandywine - history of the song](http://www.calonsong.org/CalontirSongs/blacksmithsong.htm) “Next day on the line at Brandywine you could hear his hammer ring…” ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/101 "2014-03-12T21:14:57Z")
“The Mule, Old Rivers and Me.” Not exactly sung…It was one of those spoken songs that came out about once a year in the '60s. I think it was Walter Brennan who did the narration. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461.md?page=6)