# Songs that make you cry **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 31, 1999, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870 "1999-08-31T02:44:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![SqrlCub](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SqrlCub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SqrlCub)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 1999, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/61 "1999-09-13T16:09:00Z")
I forgot to say the song that always makes me cry whether performing or listening. That song is Kilkelly (traditional Irish folksong). It was a song taken directly from letters written back and forth between a father and son. Kilkelly (Peter Jones) Kilkelly, Ireland, 1860, my dear and loving son John Your good friend schoolmaster Pat McNamara’s so good as to write these words down. Your brothers have all got a fine work in England, the house is so empty and sad The crop of potatoes is sorely infected, a third to a half of them bad. And your sister Brigid and Patrick O’Donnell are going to be married in June. Mother says not to work on the railroad and be sure to come on home soon. Kilkelly, Ireland, 1870, my dear and loving son John Hello to your Mrs and to your 4 children, may they grow healthy and strong. Michael has got in a wee bit of trouble, I suppose that he never will learn. Because of the darkness there’s no turf to speak of and now we have nothing to burn. And Brigid is happy, you named a child for her and now she’s got six of her own. You say you found work, but you don’t say what kind or when you will be coming home. Kilkelly, Ireland, 1880, dear Michael and John, my sons I’m sorry to give you the very sad news that your dear old mother has gone. We buried her down at the church in Kilkelly, your brothers and Brigid were there. You don’t have to worry, she died very quickly, remember her in your prayers. And it’s so good to hear that Michael’s returning, with money he’s sure to buy land For the crop has been bad and the people are selling at every price that they can. Kilkelly, Ireland, 1890, my dear and loving son John I suppose that I must be close on eighty, it’s thirty years since you’ve gone. Because of all of the money you send me, I’m still living out on my own. Michael has built himself a fine house and Brigid’s daughters have grown. Thank you for sending your family picture, they’re lovely young women and men. You say that you might even come for a visit, what joy to see you again. Kilkelly, Ireland, 1892, my dear brother John I’m sorry I didn’t write sooner to tell you, but father passed on. He was living with Brigid, she says he was happy and healthy right down to the end. Ah, you should have seen him play with the grandchildren of Pat McNamara, your friend. And we buried him alongside of mother, down at the Kilkelly churchyard. He was a strong and a feisty old man, considering his life was so hard. And it’s funny the way he kept talking about you, he called for you in the end. Oh, why don’t you think about coming to visit, we’d all love to see you again. ---
**Author:** ![OfficeGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@OfficeGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OfficeGirl)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 1999, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/62 "1999-09-13T20:11:00Z")
almost without fail, these songs make me cry for some reason: almost any song by simon and garfunkel Time After Time - cyndi lauper Free Falling And So It Goes - billy joel Across the Universe - Beatles Total Eclipse of the Heart yeah yeah, I’m a cheesy soul. Cheesy people taste better. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 1999, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/63 "1999-09-13T20:37:00Z")
“I Am a Rock” by Simon and Garfunkel. And a rock feels no pain. And an island never cries. ☹ (tearing up) ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 1999, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/64 "1999-09-13T20:54:00Z")
But don’t forget the songs That made you cry And the songs that saved your life Yes, you’re older now And you’re a clever swine But they were the only ones who ever stood by you The Smiths * * * Don’t let the loveless ones sell you a world wrapped in grey. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 1999, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/65 "1999-09-13T20:59:00Z")
The one that makes me tear up is “Cat’s Cradle” by Harry Chapin Carpenter. Ev-ery sin-gle time. Boli, you said: > [@](#): > > Has anyone heard the song “Where Have You Been” sung by Kathy Mattea? I challenge anyone not to cry when they hear that. I accept that challenge! I read this story in an interview of Kathy Mattea that was in People Magazine a few years back. She was performing “Where Have You Been” at a state fair and at the end, where the line is “and in a fragile voice she said . . . (pause) . . . where have you been? . . .”, an announcement came over the loudspeaker at an inopportune time, so that what the audience heard was “and in a fragile voice she said . . . _Edna Hibbard please come to the swine barn!_” Now everytime I hear that song I laugh. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 1999, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/66 "1999-09-13T23:27:00Z")
“Puff, the Magic Dragon” makes me cry. (I just got off the Urban Legend website [www.snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com) wherein the song is alleged, the commentators say, to be a drug song. I never construed it that way and it usually makes me break down.) Barry Manilow’s “Weekend in New England.” (There’s a girl I went to high school with, 30 years ago; I’ve been close to the family. Her father died in 1986. I attended the visitation, where Manilow’s song was one of those piped in. Everyone, of course, broke down at the funeral; I was no exception. Ever since, “Weekend in New England” has made me cry. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 1999, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/67 "1999-09-14T04:38:00Z")
> [@](#): > > The one that makes me tear up is “Cat’s Cradle” by Harry Chapin Carpenter. Uh, jodih, there was a Harry Chapin; there is a Mary Chapin-Carpenter; there was a Karen Carpenter and still is a Richard Carpenter…and there was a song called "If I **Were** a Carpenter, but there is no Harry Chapin Carpenter. * * * Remember, I’m pulling for you; we’re all in this together. —Red Green ---
**Author:** ![Heath\_Doolin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Heath\_Doolin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heath_Doolin)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 1999, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/68 "1999-09-14T07:05:00Z")
Hey got to agree with dougie Danny Boy chokes me up Also if anyone has ever listend to the Braveheart soundtrack and heard the mourning song on the bagpipes. It really gets you Every Breath You Take by the Police In the ghetto by Elvis. I know it was a cheeseball song but it still was a sad one. Plus I like the way E gets his voice really soothing in it “Dont Take Your Guns to Town Son” by Johnny Cash. This one is a must for any good sad song. The lyrics are very haunting and he is my all time favorite artist and of course…Wang Dang Sweet Poontang by Ted Nugent. This one has me crying in my pillow all the time. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Heath\_Doolin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Heath\_Doolin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heath_Doolin)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 1999, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/69 "1999-09-14T07:07:00Z")
Whoops two more Don’t Cry Daddy by Elvis…reminds me of a kid I knew Sleepwalk by Santo and Johnny. This one also make me get goosebumps everytime I hear it ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 1999, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/70 "1999-09-14T19:19:00Z")
When I was in Grade 7, a kid in our Junior High was killed in a car crash. At the funeral they played Cat Stevens’ “Moonshadow”. Since then, that song has always made me a bit somber. In case you guys don’t remember the song, it goes like this: “And if I ever lose my legs, I won’t moan, and I won’t beg Yes if I ever lose my legs, I won’t have to walk no more.” Etc… ---
**Author:** ![ishimitangas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5e9695/32.png) [@ishimitangas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ishimitangas)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 1999, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/71 "1999-09-14T20:11:00Z")
The only 2 songs that made me cry–real tears-- are by Woody Guthrie: “Hobo’s Lullaby” and “I Ain’t Got No Home In This World Any More”. ---
**Author:** ![mikehardware](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@mikehardware](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikehardware)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 1999, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/72 "1999-09-14T20:35:00Z")
I’m a bit surprised no one has mentioned “Butterfly Kisses” by Bob Carlisle yet. Just thinking about my little girl growing up so fast always gets me. A little more obscure, “If You Could See Me Now” by Truth also gets me for personal reasons. It’s written from the perspective of a person who has passed away and gone to Heaven. It came out shortly after my mom passed away, and while I was helping a friend deal with her dad’s terminal cancer. Very touching. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 1999, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/73 "1999-09-15T08:14:00Z")
Not to sound like a retard, but can someone tell me what the song “Don’t take the girl” is about? I’ve only heard it maybe twice, and it sounded sad but I couldn’t follow the story. A song that makes me cry is a lullabye that my dad used to sing to me… Baby’s fishing for a dream Fishing near and far For her line, a pale moonbeam and for her bait, a star Sail, baby, sail Out across the sea Only don’t forget to sail back again to me. This one tore me apart as a kid too… the thought of a kid “forgetting to sail back” from their dreams in the morning…dunno just something touched me in a scary way. Jesse (the Joan Baez version of the Janis Ian song) No Other Name (Peter, Paul, and Mary) actually I’ve sung this for a guy before and made HIM cry. * * * **\>^,^\<** “Cluemobile? You’ve got a pickup…” OpalCat’s site: [http://opalcat.com](http://opalcat.com) The Teeming Millions Homepage: [fathom.org/teemingmillions](http://fathom.org/teemingmillions) ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 1999, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/74 "1999-09-15T08:19:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Cradle Song - Shriekback : a lovely little lullabye “may the fire be your friend, and the sea rock you gently, may the moon light your way, till the wind sets you free…” I remember your face… as you cried for the first time… Oh man that is a gorgeous song! Come to think of it, that one brings a tear to my eye too. Not in a sad way, just in a touching way. * * * **\>^,^\<** “Cluemobile? You’ve got a pickup…” OpalCat’s site: [http://opalcat.com](http://opalcat.com) The Teeming Millions Homepage: [fathom.org/teemingmillions](http://fathom.org/teemingmillions) ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 1999, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/75 "1999-09-16T01:50:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Not to sound like a retard, but can someone tell me what the song “Don’t take the girl” is about? I’ve only heard it maybe twice, and it sounded sad but I couldn’t follow the story. First verse: Johnny’s daddy was taking his fishing, etc. Little girl shows up with a fishing pole, daddy wants to take her with but Johnny begs him not to. Second verse: Same ol’ boy, same sweet girl, ten years down the road, etc. They’re on a date, mugger grabs the girl, Johnny offers his waller, credit cards, car keys if he doesn’t hurt her. Third verse: Same ol’ boy, same sweet girl, five years down the road, etc. She’s pregnant, baby comes along fine, but she’s bad. Johnny begs God to take him instead. Let me know if you’d like the lyrics (not gonna post them, copyright thing). ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 1999, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/76 "1999-09-16T02:05:00Z")
Time in a Bottle - Jim Croce Danny Boy - the perennial tear jerker favorite at Irish Wakes. No Man’s Land - Anti war song, I can’t remember who sings it at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 1999, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/77 "1999-09-16T03:12:00Z")
Opalcat! You know shriekback! I love you! No one else has ever heard of them until i play them some!!! * * * Don’t let the loveless ones sell you a world wrapped in grey. ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy\_Greg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Cowboy\_Greg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy_Greg)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 1999, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/78 "1999-09-16T03:26:00Z")
Mary Chapin Carpenter’s _Jubilee_ can reliably be counted on to reduce me to tears, as well as La Streisand’s _Something Wonderful_ from her first Broadway album. * * * Someday we’ll look back on this, laugh nervously, and change the subject… ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/79 "2000-08-14T21:03:15Z")
I just remembered one from the late 50s which has made me break down every time I have heard it: “The Three Bells,” by the Browns I defy any Doper who hears it not to cry [:(]nth power ---
**Author:** ![SoMoMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@SoMoMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoMoMom)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870/80 "2000-08-14T21:21:00Z")
The words are not sad. I think it’s the haunting music, maybe. Fields of Gold by Sting gives me a chill in my spine everytime I hear it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cry/7870.md?page=5)