# Songs that always make you cry **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2006, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419 "2006-01-31T22:32:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [January 31, 2006, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/1 "2006-01-31T22:32:23Z")
I thought of this one when I turned my handy dandy mp3 player on random. It picked up **Into the West** , the Annie Lennox song from Return of the King. It was also one of the songs at the funeral of a good friend in December '04 – he died all too untimely in a motorcycle accident, and one of my fonder memories of him was when we all – him included – went, at his urging, to Fellowship of the Ring in full hobbit garb (sans hairy feet). So I got to thinking about the other songs that do this, but the only other one I can think of is **The Rainbow Connection** , another funeral song – this one for my fourth grade teacher, a marvelous woman who died over the Easter weekend when we were her students. It was a marvelously uplifting funeral, but the song still chokes me up to the point that I sometimes threaten people who play it at me. 😛 What’s yours? And the story if there is one and it isn’t too painful… ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/2 "2006-01-31T22:57:56Z")
Bread’s _If_ _Alone Again, Naturally_ ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/3 "2006-01-31T23:12:06Z")
The song that comes closest to “always” doing it is I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to Be Free. It’s a great civil rights song. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/4 "2006-01-31T23:27:17Z")
Yes, I’m a sap, go on, feel free to laugh at me… John Lennon’s “Imagine”. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/5 "2006-01-31T23:33:45Z")
“Wish You Were Here,” Pink Floyd “Hurt” Nine Inch Nails, but sung by Johnny Cash ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/6 "2006-01-31T23:38:38Z")
> [@Little Plastic Ninja](#): > > I thought of this one when I turned my handy dandy mp3 player on random. It picked up **Into the West** , the Annie Lennox song from Return of the King. It was also one of the songs at the funeral of a good friend in December '04 – he died all too untimely in a motorcycle accident, and one of my fonder memories of him was when we all – him included – went, at his urging, to Fellowship of the Ring in full hobbit garb (sans hairy feet). ‘Into the West’ was inspired by a young New Zealand teenager, Cameron Duncan, who wanted to be a film director, but was seriously ill. Later it was first performed publically at his funeral. > [@Marley23](#): > > The song that comes closest to “always” doing it is I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to Be Free. It’s a great civil rights song. I agree absolutely. My own tear-jerker is James Taylor’s ‘Fire and rain’, especially when I found out what was behind the lyrics: [http://www.james-taylor.com/albums/firerain.shtml](http://www.james-taylor.com/albums/firerain.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/7 "2006-01-31T23:40:42Z")
_Volverás_ , Ricky Martin. please don’t hate me ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/8 "2006-01-31T23:42:06Z")
I guess I should comply with SDMB rules… A decent translation might be “You’ll Come Back”. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/9 "2006-01-31T23:44:24Z")
_30kft_ - **Assemblage 23** ---
**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:** [February 1, 2006, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/10 "2006-02-01T00:15:52Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > _30kft_ - **Assemblage 23** That’s the one I came here to mention. Gets me every time. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/11 "2006-02-01T00:19:02Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > _30kft_ - **Assemblage 23** Definitely one of the most haunting songs I know. There isn’t any song that makes me cry every time, but there are some songs that really hit me hard. The top three are **VNV Nation** ’s “Forsaken (Vocal Version)”, **Mesh** ’s “I Can’t Imagine How It Hurts”, and **Anything Box** ’ “An Ending”. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/12 "2006-02-01T01:24:14Z")
Grateful Dead…_looks like rain_ \*I woke today, and felt your side of bed The covers were still warm where you’d been layin’ You were gone, my heart was filled with dread You might not be sleeping here again… It’s all right, 'cause I love you And that’s not gonna change Run me round, make me hurt again and again But I’ll still sing you love songs Written in the letters of your name And brave the storm to come For it surely looks like rain \* …side note…shannon…sweetness…i will ALWAYS love you… ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/13 "2006-02-01T01:40:03Z")
The Bee Gees’ _Inside and Out_ always gets me. Something about the lyrics touches my cold, cold heart. Or maybe it’s the way they’re sang. _I ain’t no vision, I’m a man_ _Who loves you, inside and out_ _Backwards and forwards with my heart hangin’ out_ _I love no other way_ _What are we gonna do if we lose that fire?_ Sniff. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/14 "2006-02-01T01:40:04Z")
If I were capable of crying, these are the songs that’d do it… **Casimir Pulaski Day** by Sufjan Stevens **Only Love Can Break Your Heart** Neil Young **Maybe Not** Cat Power (and she’s got a lot of sad ones…) **How it Ends** Devotchka **I Hung My Head** Johnny Cash **Manchild** Eels **Can’t Stand Me Now** The Libertines ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/15 "2006-02-01T01:42:10Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > Yes, I’m a sap, go on, feel free to laugh at me… > > John Lennon’s “Imagine”. If you thought that was sappy, get this: Billy Vera and the Beaters’ song “At this Moment”. Not just because of the song itself, but because of the sad episode of Family Ties that it’s from. Donna Summer’s “She Works Hard for the Money” used to make me run to my bedroom as a youngun cryin’ and cleanin’ my room. (My mom who was a work-at-home parent decided to go to work right before that song came out. I had a lot of guilt for no reason about that and that song brought it out in spades). * * * Movin’ on to my adult life, there are two big songs that really stick out and are correlated to a sad break-up: [“Who Am I Foolin’?”](http://www.cherylwheeler.com/songs/waif.html) Cheryl Wheeler > [@](#): > > I can go through the motions, sometimes I swear I’m ok. > Sure I miss you, but I’ve been really movin’, really turnin’ away. > But just when I thought the heartache was gone, > It’s tapping me on the shoulder. > Saying who are you foolin’? > Some things you just don’t get over. And [“On Grafton Street”](http://www.nancigriffith.com/lyrics.php?track=130) by Nanci Griffith > [@](#): > > It’s funny how my world goes round without you > You’re the one thing I never thought > I could live without > I just found this smile to think about you > You’re a Saturday night > Far from the madding crowd Those songs get me every time. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/16 "2006-02-01T02:27:44Z")
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: **Puff the Magic Dragon** ---
**Author:** ![Dervish\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Dervish\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervish_Jones)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/17 "2006-02-01T02:47:11Z")
I just discovered Johnny Cash’s cover of **Hurt** by Nine Inch Nails on an ad for **The Sheild**. I start to choke up when I hear _What have I become, My sweetest friend?_ I cry at a lot of songs that deal with loss or family estrangement; Linkin Park’s **Numb** really encompassed how I felt toward my father at about age nineteen. ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/18 "2006-02-01T03:12:31Z")
> [@Dervish Jones](#): > > I start to choke up when I hear > > _What have I become, > My sweetest friend?_ Me, too. I listen to this CD all the time, and when he sings those words the second time, I can just hear a smile in his voice. It makes me wonder if he was looking at June as he sang them. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/19 "2006-02-01T03:19:38Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: > > **Puff the Magic Dragon** That’s the one I came in for. Laugh it up, bitches! ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419/20 "2006-02-01T03:23:01Z")
“Forever Young” by Alphaville(?) “Danny Boy” “Amazing Grace” “Scotland the Brave” “Time After Time” Cyndi Lauper “Don’t Stop the Dance” Bryan Ferry “Clocks” Coldplay [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-always-make-you-cry/342419.md?page=2)