# Songs that make you embarrassingly weepy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 12, 2008, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187 "2008-09-12T00:11:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/101 "2008-09-17T14:47:27Z")
> [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](#): > > We’ve done this before and people have pointed and laughed at me, but I cry whenever _Three Wooden Crosses_ plays, and I’m a heathen who’s dead inside and has no soul. Go figger. Which is funny- As a fellow filthy heathen, that song always makes me feel somehow inspired. For weepy, I have two: One, **Two suns in the Sunset** by Pink Floyd. Not the song itself; just one moment in it. When the singer says, “And you’ll never hear their voices, and you’ll never see their faces,” and in the background there’s the sound of a small child crying, “Daddy! Daddy!”… Doesn’t matter what mood I’m in. A chill up my spine, and uncontrollable tears. Two, **The Drinking Song** by Moxy Fruvos (sorry, don’t know how to put the umlaut over the u). The line, “Told him he couldn’t just die…” I first heard the song after the tragic accidental death of one of my best friends… I’m going to stop now before the memories alone get me weepy. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/102 "2008-09-17T15:03:33Z")
Dunno if anyone mentioned it yet, but _The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald_ always does it for me. Also, _Farewell Nova Scotia_, which was played (with bagpipes) at my grandfather’s funeral. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/103 "2008-09-17T17:19:26Z")
> [@luvtinayothers](#): > > I came here to post almost the exact same words. I _literally_ can’t listen to that > song. If it comes on the radio I have to switch the station. I can’t hear it. I’ll be > bawling like a baby within seconds and it’ll ruin the rest of my day; just thinking > about my relationship with my father and all the mistakes he’s made and how I’m > making the same mistakes with my own children, and the fact that even though > we are both aware of the problem we’ll never change. > Good, God…I just realized that I haven’t spoken to my father in months and I’ve been so busy with > work lately that I spend almost no time with my own kids. Thanks, DooWahDiddy. > Thanks for ruining my day. Me, too. I absolutely have to switch the station when I hear that song, or skip if it comes up on my iPod. I loved the song before I had my own son, because I could feel righteously angry at my father and stepfather, but now all my own inadequacies as a father come to mind when I hear it. Especially the verse about “my son turned ten just the other day…” Crap, my son really did turn ten just the other day…and now he’s almost twelve! ☹ > [@GargoyleWB](#): > > …My genuine “Cat’s in the Cradle” story…when I was about 8 years old or so, and the song was everywhere on the radio, I loved the song. You see, my dad was seldom around, long hours, often cranky, and separation and divorce were in work. I misinterpreted the song as a happy and hopeful song, and thought it was celebrating my life as a kid and my relationship to my dad, since I actually thought I was rewarded and special for the odd minute scattered moments of happiness that my dad spared to give attention amidst all of the yelling, slamming, and general neglect. Lost in a vast desert, the smallest drop of water tastes like honey. > > So I went up to him once while it was playing and said “This is my favorite song, it reminds me of us. I hope I’m a great dad, too, when I grow up.” > > Though I didn’t understand why at the time, the bastard instantly turned white as a sheet–served him right. I bet he remembers that damn song! 😃 Back in high school (20+ years ago), I told my stepfather that it was my favorite song. > [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Mine is “Puff the Magic Dragon”. Actually, this song makes me weepy, too. It was my favorite song when I was about 5 years old, and I used to play this old Peter, Paul, & Mary LP repeatedly. I probably wore out the record. Anyway, the song now just fills me with nostalgia for the time before my parents split up, no doubt heightened by the theme of the song. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/104 "2008-09-18T22:54:31Z")
> [@ArrMatey](#): > > One, **Two suns in the Sunset** by Pink Floyd. Not the song itself; just one moment in it. When the singer says, “And you’ll never hear their voices, and you’ll never see their faces,” and in the background there’s the sound of a small child crying, “Daddy! Daddy!”… Doesn’t matter what mood I’m in. A chill up my spine, and uncontrollable tears. This used to be my favorite song between the ages of, oh, about 7 and 15. That line, and one just before it, where he breathes out “Oh, no…” conveys such a sense of hopelessness. Reminds me of a connection I made the other day. (Hopefully you’re enough of a Floyd fan to get the reference.) I was watching 9/11 tribute stuff, and came across a book called Out of the Blue. I’ve always thought it was a beautiful sad song, but it carries a little more weight for me now. ---
**Author:** ![Bravo\_Romeo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bravo\_Romeo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bravo_Romeo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/105 "2008-09-19T11:56:03Z")
“The Call” by Regina Spektor ---
**Author:** ![Necroscopics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ba9def/32.png) [@Necroscopics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necroscopics)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/106 "2008-09-19T13:50:53Z")
“Amazing Grace” on bagpipes at a funeral is definately a tear-jerker, but I may attribute that to the environment more than the song itself. “How’s It Going To Be” by 3rd Eye Blind reminds me of my cousin, and in certain situations can bring tears to my eyes. “Anywhere But Here” by Rise Against tends to make me tear up near the end of the song. “Now I’m on my way to the other side, I’ll forget everything I left behind. These empty rooms, are still filled with you.” “Time In A Bottle” by Jim Croce And if it’s quiet and I’m alone, “Ender” by Finch "And there you are, asleep against the window pane Just like always You said you like to hear the rain sometimes And all I can do is tell you the truth and Oh, my eyes will tell you the same And here we are to sing you a song And there you are asleep again" ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/107 "2008-09-19T14:00:44Z")
Oh yeah forgot about _Puff the Magic Dragon_ ☹ There was also one my dad used to play on the piano when we were kids called ‘Who killed Cock Robin?’ I just remember a few bits but it used to make me very sad. _‘Who killed Cock Robin?’ ‘I’, said the sparrow, ‘with my bow and arrow. I killed Cock Robin!’ All the birds of the air were a-sighing and a-sobbing When they heard of the death of poor Cock Robin When they heeeeaaarrrd of the death oh-of pooooor Cock Robin._ and so on as it describes the trial and the funeral and so on…nice kids’ song! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Klytus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Klytus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klytus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/108 "2008-09-19T14:14:14Z")
One of the two good things to come from the film “Robin Hood Prince of Thieves”, was Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham, and this song by Bryan Adams… Look into my eyes - you will see What you mean to me Search your heart - search your soul And when you find me there you’ll search no more ---
**Author:** ![Klytus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Klytus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klytus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/109 "2008-09-19T14:22:43Z")
> [@YoudNeverGuess](#): > > and so on as it describes the trial and the funeral and so on…nice kids’ song! :eek: It ain’t got nothing on this charming little Irish ballad the children used to sing… There was an old woman and she lived in the woods, _Weile weile waila._ There was an old woman and she lived in the woods, Down by the river Saile. ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/110 "2008-09-19T15:11:05Z")
There’s a ‘Milton the Mouse’ song that my wife sings to the kid she baby-sits. I can’t find it online, but it’s about being in love with a mouse named Daisy & how he’d tell her if he weren’t so painfully shy. It kills me. I have no idea why, but I can’t stay in the same room. I’m teary-eyed now just thinking about it. Poor Milton! ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/111 "2008-09-19T15:12:52Z")
Geez, I’m all weepy just reading this thread. My Dad’s favorite song was “Amazing Grace” - it’s still very difficult to listen to by almost anyone. However, ["Amazing Because It Is](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J2c4OyEJeg) leaves me lurching for the tissues within a measure of the childrens’ chorus. I also reach for the tissues for [“Stand By Me”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxRyPKYlIsc&feature=related) by Ben E King. [“When I Get Where I’m Going”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6Zfx5qra_g) by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton (again a Dad song) As glurgy as it is, “Jesus, Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood. [“You Can Let Go”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=532jxGDRjGY) by Crystal Shawanda - copious tears. TheKid came out of her room one night, about a year after Dad/Gramps died and a few months after her Dad disappeared, just bawling. She gave me one earphone of her iPod and we listened together. Gawd… I seriously can’t type more… ---
**Author:** ![Mythtery](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@Mythtery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mythtery)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/112 "2008-09-19T15:43:09Z")
> [@MadPansy64](#): > > The other “make me bawl like a baby no matter where I am” song is a Country song I don’t know the name of. Something about Grandma writing Grandpa a note and leaving it in a tree. That’s “Love, Me” by the sweet-voiced Collin Raye, and it’s lethal. The (now-defunct) country station I used to listen to played it a lot – somebody at that station did not have top scheduling-software skills, and nearly every morning at about 8:30 they’d play what I thought of as the “bummer set” of tragedy tunes. That was a fave – along with Mark Wills’ deeply weird plane-crash ditty, “Wish You Were Here.” One that always makes me tear up: Dixie Chicks’ “You Were Mine.” ---
**Author:** ![BrynSublime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@BrynSublime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrynSublime)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/113 "2008-09-19T15:43:30Z")
“A Little Fall of Rain” from the musical Les Miserables ALWAYS makes me cry. It is the saddest thing I have ever heard. Several other songs from that musical are tear or close-to-tear jerkers as well (like “I Dreamed a Dream”). Les Mis definitly lives up to its title. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/114 "2008-09-19T16:08:00Z")
> [@malkavia](#): > > I thought of a few more… > **Dante’s Prayer** by Loreena McKennitt\*\* Mmm. This, on account of my wife. She loves this song, so I think of her when I hear it. I am not prone to getting sentimental through music. I am more prone to tear up at particularly magnificent or dramatic passages. For example, it is hard for me to keep my eyes dry when Wotan dooms Brunhild to sleep in the ring of fire only to be woken by a great hero, whereupon the horns and trombones open up a salvo of the Siegfried motif. It is magnificent beyond description. But my tastes are not exactly universal. Like with Dante’s Prayer, I am more inclined to feel sentimental by associating songs with my wife. I always find an excuse to leave the room at the end of **February** , by Dar Williams. I have an image to maintain here. > [@](#): > > And February was so long that it lasted into March > And found us walking a path alone together. > You stopped and pointed and you said, “Thats a crocus,” > And I said, “Whats a crocus?” and you said, “Its a flower,” > I tried to remember, but I said, “Whats a flower?” > You said, “I still love you.” At least this is a very good song. An inferior song that still wreaks internal havoc is **100 Years** by 5-4 Fighting. > [@](#): > > Half time goes by > Suddenly you’re wise > Another blink of an eye > 67 is gone > The sun is getting high > We’re moving on > > I’m 99 for a moment > Dying for just another moment > And I’m just dreaming > Counting the ways to where you are. It is deeply manipulative, sure, but it always results in my wife getting a hug. So it’s not too bad, all things considered. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/115 "2008-09-19T16:26:48Z")
Tom Waits - [Grapefruit Moon](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gniQVzWkczk) (Numerous TW songs get to me, and I can’t say why this one stands out, but it does) Richard Thompson - [1952 Vincent Black Lightning](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azB7B8hrVZY) Jackson Browne - How Long I have a live version of John Gros from Papa Grows Funk doing Randy Newman’s “Louisiana 1927” from WWOZ’s “Piano Night”, that I listened to right after hurricane Katrina, and almost had to pull over. P.S. I’m linking to youtube blindly, as it’s blocked at work, so I can’t vouch for the video quality. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@Black\_Sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Sunshine)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/116 "2008-09-19T16:40:27Z")
You know that kinda dumb song “Superman” by Five for Fighting? _It may sound absurd…but dont be naive Even heroes have the right to bleed I may be disturbed…but wont you concede Even heroes have the right to dream Its not easy to be me_ Not long after (oh God, I’m crying even trying to type it) September 11, I was watching one of the big dog shows (can’t remember which) and they did a tribute to the rescue dogs who helped find the survivors and the bodies at Ground Zero. Apparently, quite a few of them did not survive, and the ones that did would get so discouraged at not finding survivors that they started having live people hide in the rubble. Anyway, they trotted out the dogs while they were playing this song and showing some montage of them doing their rescue work. I can’t even talk about it without outright sobbing, and I’ve had to leave stores before when the song came on. ---
**Author:** ![Gambrinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19adc/32.png) [@Gambrinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gambrinus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/117 "2008-09-19T17:28:28Z")
I have two: “ **Alone Again, Naturally** ”, by Gilbert O’Sullivan. I had that song stuck in my head for about a week once, and damn near had to get therapy. “ **Travelling Soldier** ” by the Dixie Chicks gets me, too. ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/118 "2008-09-19T17:35:40Z")
> [@Klytus](#): > > It ain’t got nothing on this charming little Irish ballad the children used to sing… > > There was an old woman and she lived in the woods, > _Weile weile waila._ > There was an old woman and she lived in the woods, > Down by the river Saile. Haha yeah that’s pretty gruesome. There’s another one called ‘rickety tickety tin’ that’s even better than that… 😉 [lyrics here](http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiRICTICTN.html) ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/119 "2008-09-19T17:51:26Z")
I just had to get up and close my office door so I can be choked up in private. I don’t even know half of the songs mentioned in this thread but those that I do know are all chipping away at the stoic, professional mask I wear every day. It started with the first song mentioned in the OP, Just the Two of Us by Will Smith. This passage: _And if the world attack, and you slide off track Remember one fact- I got your back_ gets me every damn time. One I haven’t seen mentioned yet- Father of Mine by Everclear. _Now I’m a grown man, with a child of my own And I swear I’ll never let him know All the pain I have known_ …and I’m a puddle. ---
**Author:** ![Jelly\_Roll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Jelly\_Roll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelly_Roll)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/120 "2008-09-19T19:53:28Z")
I came on to post “Baby Mine” but was beat twice. I almost died during childbirth and the hospital wouldn’t let me have my baby while I was in ICU recovering. So, one of my ICU nurses would sneak me down to the nursery late at night and let me hold my baby and every time that song would pop into my head and I’d hum it to her. Ugh. Makes me choke up just thinking about it. The other one that gets me is “Hero” by Foo Fighters. Kind of random, but it reminds me of my kid brother when he left for basic training. He was getting on the bus and right before he put his foot on the first step, he looked back where we were all standing, watching him go. And then he disappeared onto the bus. I’d never been more proud or more scared in my entire life. (Until he left for Iraq. Twice.) Luckily for me, I don’t hear these songs very often. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187.md?page=7)