# Songs that make you cry **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 15, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582 "2014-08-15T03:33:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Not\_Carlson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc79bd/32.png) [@Not\_Carlson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_Carlson)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/21 "2014-08-15T16:16:40Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24 – lost a branch of my family in that whole mess My god, [what an awesome instrumental!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZSWKB1_o4E) Thanks for putting me onto this. But how terrible to have suffered such a loss. To hear music that evokes images of the very conflict that took away family would easily move me to tears. Thank you again. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/22 "2014-08-15T17:55:48Z")
The Living Years, but only recently as I generally don’t actually listen to the lyrics as such, just as sounds - part of the music. Remember When - the only Alan Jackson song I like. Sting, "[They Dance Alone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS_bN5ECJTI) - where I actually listen to the words and their meaning. Otherwise I don’t much care for Sting. Jackie Evancho. No specific song but when I first heard her, I sat at my computer for four days straight just watching and listening on YouTube with tears streaming down my face. They were not sad songs and some are in Latin, Italian, French and Japanese the words were meaningless, nevertheless beautiful the way she forms them. It was just the incredible beauty of her voice and still is. As well as her wonderful interpretations and the emotion she can instil in her songs. A couple of examples: [Mi Mancherai](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA7amjPxTdQ). [A Time For Us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSV9sLHMm4I). [Danny Boy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s_jleJFR_M). Incredible by any standards but from a 9~10 year old? ---
**Author:** ![ccarljc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ccarljc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccarljc)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/23 "2014-08-15T18:13:11Z")
Alone Again, Naturally by Gilbert O’Sullivan…my mom committed suicide so this one hurts Somewhere Over the Rainbow Danny Boy 100 years -5 For Fighting Fly Away-John Denver Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire-Johnny Mathis…mom died at Christmas time Silent Night-same as above What A Wonderful World-sappy but still good ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/24 "2014-08-15T18:45:10Z")
“By My Side” from GODSPELL… The women are pledging their loyalty to Jesus until the very end, while Judas… ---
**Author:** ![common\_good](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@common\_good](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/common_good)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/25 "2014-08-15T20:56:47Z")
The theme music from Rudy. Don’t tell anyone. I’m a little embarassed about it, but it always chokes-me-up, a little. ---
**Author:** ![Roanrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Roanrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roanrider)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/26 "2014-08-15T21:46:03Z")
The Lennox song the OP started with because we played it for my Mother’s and brother’s funeral. What Kind of Love by Rodney Crowell [- YouTube](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=omY8MmP...because) it was Mom and Dad’s song There are actually a lot of songs that I either turn off or tune out anymore because music played a huge role in my family as I grew up and I have lost all of them in the past 11 years. I hate it when one catches me by surprise at work. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/27 "2014-08-15T23:20:13Z")
‘Shannon’, by Henry Gross, back in the mid-70’s. It’s about his Isish Setter that drowned. Supposedly true. Shannon is gone, I hear she drifted out to sea. She always loved to swim away. Maybe she’ll find an island, with a shady tree. Just like the one in our backyard. Yeah, tears me right up. Run for the Roses by Dan Fogleburg does too. And more recently, Billy Joel’s Only the Good Die Young. One of my best friends died a month ago and on my way to his memorial, that song came on. I lost it. Totally lost it, and had to pull over, crying too hard to drve. It went instantly from bringing back wonderful memories for me to reminding me that Gary died far too young. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/28 "2014-08-16T00:18:07Z")
> [@ccarljc](#): > > Alone Again, Naturally by Gilbert O’Sullivan…my mom committed suicide so this one hurts > Somewhere Over the Rainbow > Danny Boy > 100 years -5 For Fighting > Fly Away-John Denver > Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire-Johnny Mathis…mom died at Christmas time > Silent Night-same as above > What A Wonderful World-sappy but still good I am sorry for your loss. That is beyond sad. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/29 "2014-08-16T00:57:56Z")
[Waiting on June](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk79WIgb7ng). It gets me almost every damn time. I don’t even think it’s that good of a song, and yet. ---
**Author:** ![Headrush042](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Headrush042](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headrush042)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/30 "2014-08-16T03:23:18Z")
Mostly comedic songwriter Jonathan Coulton wrote a tribute to Laika, the first dog in space. In 1957, the Russians sent Laika on a 6-day orbital mission to study the effects of space flight on living creatures, after which she was to be euthanized before burning up during re-entry. In 2002, they admitted they had lied; Laika succumbed to overheating within the first 6 hours after launching due to a system malfunction – she had essentially died for nothing. They built a memorial in her honor in 2008. In Coulton’s tribute, [Space Doggity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsV-qozMz9A), she simply bids adieu and vanishes 2001-Space-Odyssey style. Along with the fan-made video (perhaps because of it), this song breaks my heart every time I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/31 "2014-08-16T03:30:47Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > “The Living Years” by Mike and the Mechanics and “Hell Yeah” by Neil Diamond make me think of my dad. “The Living Years” was released the month my brother died. When I hear it I remember the foggy haze I was walking through at that point in my life. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/32 "2014-08-16T03:32:50Z")
Pearl Jam’s Breathe hit the radio as my mom was dying of cancer. Yeah, that still hits home. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/33 "2014-08-16T04:15:39Z")
The first song I can remember making me cry was Teen Angel by Mark Dinning. These days, a lot of songs could make me tear up if I bothered to sit still and be affected by them. And even more if I was drinking at the time. But although in my darkest times I’ve never contemplated suicide, I’ve always reckoned the music of Bobby Vinton as music to kill yourself by. Even his sappy-sweet songs are sad. I mean, I can handle it. But what effect does he have on people who might actually consider suicide? Seriously, I find his work so sad I’m baffled his name never comes up in discussions of suicide. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_Carlson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc79bd/32.png) [@Not\_Carlson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_Carlson)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/34 "2014-08-16T06:26:23Z")
> [@ccarljc](#): > > Alone Again, Naturally by Gilbert O’Sullivan…my mom committed suicide so this one hurts Thank you for sharing something so personal. Listening to that deeply moved me. Some people believe we are never alone. They are right. Some people believe we are ultimately all of us alone. And they are right too. But we are all of us together in loneliness. You probably don’t want e-hugs from some creepy guy on the internet, but I hope you are comforted by many fond memories of your mother, and I hope you have a thousand good things happen to you every year. ---
**Author:** ![diggerwam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/919ad9/32.png) [@diggerwam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggerwam)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/35 "2014-08-16T11:07:57Z")
Bridge over troubled water Waltzing Matilda by the Pogues ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/36 "2014-08-16T12:19:37Z")
“I’ll Stand By You” by The Pretenders gets me. It was the first dance song at my wedding, and considering the events preceding the ceremony (including a serious car accident that put my wife and 2 of her bridesmaids in the ER 24 hours before) we were all a little on edge. When the song started I started bawling like a baby. On video. Also, “Both Hands” by Ani Difranco. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/37 "2014-08-16T13:22:25Z")
[Kilkelly Ireland](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N76kAivCb20) ---
**Author:** ![Abracadebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Abracadebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abracadebra)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/38 "2014-08-16T14:57:47Z")
“Elephant” by Jason Isbell ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/39 "2014-08-16T15:08:59Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > [Kilkelly Ireland](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N76kAivCb20) Similarly, [There Were Roses](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jorfQa3VyZc). ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582/40 "2014-08-16T17:44:41Z")
[No One’s Gonna Love You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuZo7pLnL7c) (more than I do) by Band of Horses I just made it through 1/3 of it on YouTube before I had to turn it off. It reminds me of the one that got away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/695582.md?page=3)