# songs/singers that make you bawl, or, i feel their pain **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 12, 2001, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255 "2001-07-12T19:24:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/1 "2001-07-12T19:24:40Z")
Do you have songs, or singers, that you can’t listen to any more because their music is just\_too\_sad? I have a few. Nina Simone doing ‘I Loves You Porgy.’ I can’t take it when she sings ‘Don’t let him handle me…’ Just about any Abbey Lincoln. She used to be one of my favorites. But I’ve seen her perform a few times, and, man, her anguish is so palpable. It hurts just to look at her. I have a bunch of her records I don’t listen to any more. Syd Straw’s brilliant album ‘War and Peace.’ If I’m not bawling after ‘Time Has Done This,’ ‘CBGB’s’ always gets me. I played this for a friend recently. Big mistake. I’m still not over it. There’s this one Rosemary Clooney number. I don’t know the name of it, probably because I practically go into anaphylactic shock when I hear it on the radio. Fortunately, my wife has trained herself to automatically switch the station if it comes on. Last one. The soundtrack to ‘Rent.’ Just went to see it, it was so beautiful, the music and the voices, like angels, I’m telling you. I wept continuously throughout the second half of the first act. The ‘just today’ song, the one the homeless do, ‘will i die with dignity…’. Man. The wife came home with the soundtrack and I had to ask her to take it to work because just seeing the cover makes me weepy. OK, that’s it. Boy, am I glad I got that off my chest. How about you, Dopers? Go ahead, you’ll feel better. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/2 "2001-07-13T00:59:00Z")
Cesaria Evora. I have no idea what she’s saying, but man, is it sad. ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/3 "2001-07-13T01:43:22Z")
Our Lady Peace, The Tragically Hip, a variety of other bands. Billy Joel can do it too. ---
**Author:** ![Mercutio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Mercutio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mercutio)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/4 "2001-07-13T01:46:06Z")
Hearing Rossanne sing always brings me to tears. Make it stop! make it stop! ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/5 "2001-07-13T03:02:45Z")
hmmm, if one applies that criterion, britney would be at teh top of that list for me. id rather be forced to watch reruns of the old bobby vinton show. wolfstu, would you be more specific as to which billy joel songs you are referring, unless that would be too painful, of course. ---
**Author:** ![HalberMensch242](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecb155/32.png) [@HalberMensch242](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HalberMensch242)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/6 "2001-07-13T07:04:23Z")
Saves the Day…and…um…Bright Eyes…and…VnV nation…and Cursive…yeah…most of these are emo bands…so what of it?! ---
**Author:** ![blainer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a698b9/32.png) [@blainer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blainer)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/7 "2001-07-13T18:36:22Z")
Puff the Magic Dragon as dung by Peter, Paul and Mary. _sniffle_ ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2001, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/8 "2001-07-14T05:09:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blainer \* > \*\*Puff the Magic Dragon as dung by Peter, Paul and Mary. > > _sniffle_ \*\* Are you a pothead Focker? Sorry, just saw that movie tonight. Carry on ---
**Author:** ![hardygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@hardygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hardygrrl)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2001, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/9 "2001-07-14T14:56:49Z")
**Kurt Cobain** -especially the songs **Where Did You Sleep Last Night** and **Rape Me** **Tori Amos** **Liz Phair** ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2001, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/10 "2001-07-14T15:20:50Z")
Just listen to some country songs from the 60’s like Conway Twitty’s “Hello, Darlin’” and you’ll HAVE to start drinking. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2001, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/11 "2001-07-14T18:16:05Z")
When Jennifer Holliday sings {And I’m Telling You} I’m Not Going, the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. The song is really about a pathetically dependant woman, but when Jennifer begs her man to keep her I can feel her desperation in the pit of my stomach. ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2001, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/12 "2001-07-14T19:30:15Z")
**Wild Horses** (The Rolling Stones) always gets me. It has a few personal associations that jolt my emotions. I also feel a pull when I hear **Jezebel,** by 10,000 maniacs. It’s a painful song. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2001, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/13 "2001-07-14T19:32:45Z")
I love Irish traditional music, quite a few songs bring a tear to my eye (even when they are in Gaelic and I have no idea what they are on about). In fact, any Irish traditional song in which fewer than 3 people die is actualy quite a cheery one. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2001, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/14 "2001-07-14T19:42:00Z")
😉 Kenny Rogers’ ‘Twenty Years Ago.’ Ohmigawd. I heard it for the first time when my mom and sister pulled me, kicking and screaming, to a concert of his. My sister’s a HUGE fan, and my brother toured with him for a bit. Anywhoo, I don’t know exactly what it was about that song and that moment, but I BAWLED at the concert, and 14 years later still can’t listen to it without tearing up. Puff the magic dragon does it for me, too. _Damn_ that little Johnny boy. Lorenna McKennet’s ‘Highwayman’. (yes, I spelled her name wrong. Brain still not up and functioning, too lazy to get out CD.) Actually, most of her stuff affects me that way… so do Clannad and Anuna. Memory, from Cats, if I’m feeling extreme self-pity at the moment. That whole ‘I can smile at the old days, I was beautiful then’ sometimes hits too close to home. ‘Hearts’ by Yes. Most recently, ‘Chances Are,’ the duet by Vonda Shepard and Robert Downey, Jr. Hey, you’re right. I _do_ feel better. 🙂 Thanks! -BK ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2001, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/15 "2001-07-15T00:16:44Z")
Man, I was thinking I’d have nothing to add to this list, then someone mentioned Puff. God, that song used to make me bawl when I was a little kid. I hated it. Hated, hated, hated. My fourth grade music teacher, on the other hand, loved it. After about a month, I begged him to stop making us sing it, and he took pity on me. “Little Jackie Paper, loved that dragon Puff…” My eyes are stinging right now, and I don’t even remember anymore lyrics. How Pavlovian. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2001, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/16 "2001-07-15T02:29:50Z")
“Vincent” by Don McLean. And a second for “Wild Horses.” ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2001, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/17 "2001-07-15T03:15:15Z")
I’m not a huge **John Prine** fan, but both _Sam Stone_ and _Hello in There_ could make my eyes well up a bit. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2001, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/18 "2001-07-15T03:54:27Z")
Not too much that makes it onto a radio can touch me much, except Kansas’ _Dust in the Wind_ and Mason Proffit’s _Two Hangmen (Hangin’ in a Tree)_ _Dust in the Wind_ gives me kind of a lonely morose feeling, like I’m the last person left alive on Earth, and sitting on top of a desolate mountain peak. Probably due to an incident in basic training. _Two Hangmen_ is _the_ quintessential '60s protest song. Oddly enough, though, Beethoven’s _Fur Elsie_, Handel’s _Messiah_, quite a bit from Enigma, and Orff’s _O Fortuna!_ can kind of get to me. And the usual suspects: the Navy Hymm (O Father, Strong To Save) and Amazing Grace. Especially done to pipes. ---
**Author:** ![Gundhilde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecc23a/32.png) [@Gundhilde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundhilde)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2001, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/19 "2001-07-15T15:10:08Z")
**essvee** , I definately can’t answer for wolfstu, but I was going to say _Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)_. Knowing the background of the song makes it worse; just too sweet and sad at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Wicked\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wicked\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wicked_Blue)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2001, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255/20 "2001-07-15T16:00:57Z")
_Come to Me (Fantine’s Death)_ from Les Miserables does it to me. Luckily, I only listen to Les Mis when I feel like making myself cry. I also have a ‘depression’ tape that I listen to when I’m sad. None of the songs are particularly sad themselves, but they all have a personal meaning to me. Most of the songs I associate with a broken heart, one reminds me of a friend who died. Rose [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-singers-that-make-you-bawl-or-i-feel-their-pain/72255.md?page=2)