# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/142 "2014-03-17T01:44:58Z")
[QUOTE=Phrozen;17201439. . . I have to add _I Will Wait For You_ by Connie Francis as featured on the Futurama dog episode. [/QUOTE] This is the English version of the song from the French movie _The Umbrellas of Cherbourg_ (_Je ne pourrai jamais vivre sans toi_). Danielle Licari dubbed it in the movie for Catherine Deneuve. [Here it is](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7Unnx5eLbk) from the movie. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/143 "2014-03-17T03:31:07Z")
Jim Stafford has a version of [Mr. Bojangles](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjEQEUkRAQU) where he becomes Bojangles for the last third of the song. When he gets to the line about dogs at 3:36, I lose it every time. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/144 "2014-03-17T04:54:13Z")
“Ich Hatte Einen Kameraden”-[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5j-9cCHkq8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5j-9cCHkq8) > [@](#): > > “Kann dir die Hand nicht geben, > Bleib du im ew’gen Leben > Mein guter Kamerad!” > > “My friend, I cannot ease your pain, > In life eternal we’ll meet again, > And walk once more as one.” “Green Fields of France”-[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UvQ52A7ksM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UvQ52A7ksM) > [@](#): > > And I can’t help but wonder oh Willy McBride > Do all those who lie here know why they died > Did you really believe them when they told you the cause > Did you really believe that this war would end wars > Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame > The killing and dying it was all done in vain > Oh Willy McBride it all happened again > And again, and again, and again, and again ---
**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 17, 2014, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/145 "2014-03-17T05:31:39Z")
I haven’t listened to it for a while, but I remember that Death Cab for Cutie’s [“What Sarah Said”](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/deathcabforcutie/whatsarahsaid.html) affected me quite a bit. \*But I’m thinking of what Sarah said that “Love is watching someone die” So who’s going to watch you die…? \* ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/146 "2014-03-17T06:34:36Z")
Tom Waits’ [“Day After Tomorrow”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_mLxEw6XGE) turns me into a wreck any time I hear it. Especially the last verse. It’s a song sung from the perspective of a young soldier. Joan Baez [does a brilliant version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM4BwhQXOdM), too; as good as, maybe better than Tom’s. Maybe I shouldn’t have posted it, it’s so sad. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/147 "2014-03-17T07:29:44Z")
**needscoffee’s** mention of Joan Baez reminds me of another: [Green, Green Grass of Home](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQhKqlOccHE). The Tom Jones version is better-known, but I like Baez’s performance. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/148 "2014-03-18T21:09:29Z")
Haven’t read the whole thread, but my vote goes for Seals & Crofts’ “Get Closer”. It’s a man who wants his SO to stop two-timing him. .38 Special’s “Second Chance” really isn’t a love song either, although in this case, he “only made one mistake” and she’s gone, and dude, whatever that mistake was, she ain’t coming back, so get used to it. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/149 "2014-03-18T23:58:42Z")
Alan Jackson’s “Monday Morning Church” is about a guy whose wife died. She left her bible on the table, and he just picks it up and puts it in a drawer because he can’t stand to pray or look at a bible, not necessarily because he lost his faith, but because his wife prayed and read the bible all the time and those things remind him of the pain of losing her. He can’t find a place to turn to to ease the misery. His heart is “as empty as a Monday morning church”. To somebody like me whose Christian faith means a lot to them, that would be misery to not be able to turn to those things for comfort. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/150 "2014-03-19T00:54:01Z")
I tend to love sad songs, but [Passage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiMsI5ZZ-qg), by Vienna Teng (about a woman who died in a car crash, or rather about what happens after her death) is too much for me. I have it included in a compilation, and most of the time I have to give it a pass. ---
**Author:** ![PeacePlease](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/71c47a/32.png) [@PeacePlease](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeacePlease)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/151 "2014-03-19T03:05:34Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > [Johnny Cash - Hurt.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go) One of my favorite songs ever. Just stunning. And so very, very true. > [@dougie\_monty](#): > > “I Dreamed a Dream” from _Les Misérables._ Another favorite. > > “I Am a Rock” by Simon & Garfunkel; at the end: > _And a rock feels no pain > And an island never cries_( And another! > [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](#): > > Nick Drake’s [Black Eyed Dog](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJSC25Ue8Gg). Mister Drake suffered from depression for most of his life and this was one of his last recorded songs. Winston Churchill referred to his own depression as his “black dog”. I had never heard this before. Thanks for sharing…I think. As a depression sufferer…I’m speechless. And now I have to go listen to all the others and wallow. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/152 "2014-03-23T06:12:19Z")
\*The \*_Living Years_ has been mentioned numerous times, so I’ll go with this one… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TTA2buWlNyM/maxresdefault.jpg "Alan Jackson - Remember When (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTA2buWlNyM) ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/153 "2014-06-23T21:42:51Z")
[If you get there before I do.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK-0vfsFzB4) ---
**Author:** ![Jungian\_Camisole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@Jungian\_Camisole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jungian_Camisole)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/154 "2014-06-24T00:04:41Z")
The almost unbearable pain of being lonely? A one night stand is better than nothing. Or is it? Let Sam Smith tell you about it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pB-5XG-DbAA/maxresdefault.jpg "Sam Smith - Stay With Me (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB-5XG-DbAA) ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/155 "2014-06-24T00:11:23Z")
Dierks Bentley - I’m Gonna Get There Someday [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jbCp1B4clKE/hqdefault.jpg "Dierks Bentley - Gonna get there someday with lyrics") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbCp1B4clKE) ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/156 "2014-06-24T00:13:41Z")
> [@Jungian\_Camisole](#): > > The almost unbearable pain of being lonely? A one night stand is better than nothing. Or is it? Let Sam Smith tell you about it. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB-5XG-DbAA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB-5XG-DbAA) I was just about to mention this song. The sentiment is familiar and heartbreaking ( to me ) by itself, but the arrangement coupled with his voice is so freakin’ . . . _evocative_, that I get lost in it every time I hear it (which is a lot lately) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/157 "2014-06-24T00:28:59Z")
“When My True Love Becomes Married” (i.e., to someone else) from Gustav Mahler’s “Songs of a Wayfarer.” Beautiful, brilliant, and…pretty damn sad. There’s even a lively little middle bit where he tries to cheer himself up…but it doesn’t take, and he gets sad all over again. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/158 "2014-06-24T04:16:22Z")
> [@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). I first heard this song shortly after my infant son died. I played a CD of it at my dad’s funeral. Gets me in the …, well, you know, every time. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2014, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/159 "2014-06-24T13:05:31Z")
Maybe not the saddest but when a bluegrass song starts with: “Two old friends shared a room in a home for the elderly”, you know that at least one of them isn’t going to make it to the end of the song. (Bed By The Window). ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/160 "2014-06-24T13:16:56Z")
Just yesterday morning, they let me know you were gone. Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you. I walked out this mornin’, and I wrote down this song; I just can’t remember who to send it to. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461/161 "2014-06-24T13:19:23Z")
He kissed his boy as he lay sleeping Then he turned around and headed home again Slip slidin’ away Slip slidin’ away You know the nearer your destination The more you’re slip slidin’ away [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-song-you-know/683461.md?page=9)