# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Ritzytrailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/90ced4/32.png) [@Ritzytrailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ritzytrailer)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/161 "2008-09-26T16:48:17Z")
I’ve been listening lately to “I’ll set you free” by the Bangles, and even now it makes me cry… especially at the end when she’s repeating “\*all I wanted was you” \* (easily found on YouTube) Perhaps 'cause my 12-year relationship is in the throes of dying that it’s hitting me again ( 'cause I can’t stop listening to it, of course…) or, could it be that that “one who got away” in the 80’s still haunts me? In either case … I’ve woken up for 3 days now, with it in my head… and eventually getting weepy. A beautifully harmonious song that is totally Bangles wonderment - albeit one of the few of theirs that was on the more melancholy side. Worth a listen, if you’re craving something sweet and painful, about a long-distance love coming to it’s eventual conclusion. ( anyone got a hanky ? ) ---
**Author:** ![LucyInDisguise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucyindisguise/32/18064_2.png) [@LucyInDisguise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LucyInDisguise)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/162 "2008-09-27T17:43:36Z")
Lots and lots of good stuff in this thread. Three contributions, and a request: _Dog and Butterfly_ by Heart: > [@](#): > > … See the dog and butterfly > Up in the air he like to fly > Dog and butterfly, below she had to try > She roll back down to the warm soft > Ground with a little tear in her eye > She had to try, she had to try > Dog and butterfly … Full Lyrics [http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Dog-And-Butterfly-lyrics-Heart/5745859D3C527A394825695E00291DB8](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Dog-And-Butterfly-lyrics-Heart/5745859D3C527A394825695E00291DB8) Two from the Alan Parson’s Project: _Turn It Up_ gets me to thinking on all the times I could have made a difference if only I’d gotten off my ass … > [@](#): > > It’s no good believing in somebody else > If you can’t believe in yourself > You give them the reason to take all the power and wealth > It’s no good you trying to sit on the fence > And hope that the trouble will pass > 'Cause sitting on fenses can make you a pain in the ass > > If there’s something you find to believe in > Then the message must get through > So don’t just sit in silence > When you know what to do … Full Lyrics [http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Turn-It-Up-lyrics-Alan-Parsons-Project/18216EBC0ABDD60348256A1D0011B84F](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Turn-It-Up-lyrics-Alan-Parsons-Project/18216EBC0ABDD60348256A1D0011B84F) And this one, _Days Are Numbers (The Traveler)_ just because I’ve left strict instructions that in be played at any memorial held on my behalf when I die. (This assumes that someone may actually dare to defy my wishes.) > [@](#): > > … The traveller is only passing through > He cannot understand your point of view > Abandoning reality, unsure of what he’ll find > The traveller in me is close behind > > Days are numbers > Watch the stars > We can only see so far > Someday, you’ll know where you are > Remember > Days are numbers > Count the stars > We can only go so far > One day, you’ll know where you are Full Lyrics [http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Days-Are-Numbers-The-Traveller-lyrics-Alan-Parsons-Project/4390000EDD07A95048256A1D00101ACE](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Days-Are-Numbers-The-Traveller-lyrics-Alan-Parsons-Project/4390000EDD07A95048256A1D00101ACE) The sax solo is to be played at a minimum of 120 db. Yeah - it’s so good, I want it to hurt. Now the request. A few years back, Madonna did a tear-jerker of a song with some really great Spanish guitar work in it. Can not for the life of me remember the title of the song, or find it on the 'net. Anybody care to offer a suggestion? Lucy ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/163 "2008-09-27T18:44:29Z")
> [@BrynSublime](#): > > “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. On my own, pretending he is beside me. All alone, I walk with him till morning. In the darkness, I feel his arms around me. And when I lose my way I close my eyes and he has found me. ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/164 "2008-09-27T19:17:29Z")
> [@LucyInDisguise](#): > > Now the request. A few years back, Madonna did a tear-jerker of a song with some really great Spanish guitar work in it. Can not for the life of me remember the title of the song, or find it on the 'net. Anybody care to offer a suggestion? > > Lucy Are you thinking of “Take a Bow”? That one always gets me. The video - if memory serves - is her rolling around on a hotel bed (in an angsty way, not a slutty one) while watching her man who is bullfighting on tv. ---
**Author:** ![Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lo-Slung_Denim)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/165 "2008-09-27T19:20:19Z")
‘A+E’ by Goldfrapp. I thought it was quite a positive song the first time I heard it, driving over the Dartford Bridge at sunset, having just been dumped by text message…then I got hold of the song and gave it a proper listen: “It’s a blue, bright blue, Saturday And the pain has started to slip away I’m in a backless dress, on a pastel ward It’s shining Think I want you still, but it may be pills at work” It seems more like it’s about a woman overdosing after a heartbreak. ---
**Author:** ![LucyInDisguise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucyindisguise/32/18064_2.png) [@LucyInDisguise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LucyInDisguise)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/166 "2008-09-27T20:51:00Z")
> [@freekalette](#): > > Are you thinking of “Take a Bow”? That one always gets me. The video - if memory serves - is her rolling around on a hotel bed (in an angsty way, not a slutty one) while watching her man who is bullfighting on tv. Naw. Not even close. I think I first heard it in back in the mid-90’s. Soft, mournful. I think it was, at the time, a very radical departure from the other stuff she had been doing. The guitar work was something very special. Something about remembering, but it’s not _I’ll Remember_. Damn. I just went through the whole list of her songs on iTunes for the umpteenth time. Still don’t see a title that rings a bell … I probably should take this search somewhere else - though I think that song qualifies for this thread. Sorry for the hijack. Lucy ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/167 "2008-09-27T21:42:54Z")
This I find bizarre, but I suppose with my recent history it makes sense. Natasha Bettingfield’s “Unwritten” has been a guaranteed tear-jerker every time I’ve heard it the last few months. I realized that I really first heard the song right after my second back surgery…before that procedure, the pain was so hellacious I was petrified I would never work again, never walk normally again, never again hold my child, ride my horse, life MY life…but the operation gave me my life back again. "Feel the rain on your face; No one else can feel it for you; Only you can let it in. No one else, No one else can speak the words on your list. Today is where you book begins– The rest is still unwritten." Made me tear up just typing it. The song reminds me how very, very grateful I am to be _living my life_. ---
**Author:** ![LucyInDisguise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucyindisguise/32/18064_2.png) [@LucyInDisguise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LucyInDisguise)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/168 "2008-09-28T00:57:50Z")
> [@LucyInDisguise](#): > > (snip) … I probably should take this search somewhere else - though I think that song qualifies for this thread … Found it! (The word ‘ballad’ came in mighty handy in the search terms.) Still think it’s a good fit for this thread. _You’ll See_ Full Lyrics Here: [http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/madonna/youll+see\_20086975.html](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/madonna/youll+see_20086975.html) ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/169 "2008-09-28T01:46:29Z")
> [@LucyInDisguise](#): > > Naw. Not even close. I think I first heard it in back in the mid-90’s. Soft, mournful. I think it was, at the time, a very radical departure from the other stuff she had been doing. The guitar work was something very special. Something about remembering, but it’s not _I’ll Remember_. > > Damn. I just went through the whole list of her songs on iTunes for the umpteenth time. Still don’t see a title that rings a bell … > > I probably should take this search somewhere else - though I think that song qualifies for this thread. Sorry for the hijack. > > Lucy EDITED: Missed where you said you found it. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/170 "2008-09-28T02:28:51Z")
> [@LucyInDisguise](#): > > Found it! (The word ‘ballad’ came in mighty handy in the search terms.) > > Still think it’s a good fit for this thread. > > _You’ll See_ > > Full Lyrics Here: [http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/madonna/youll+see\_20086975.html](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/madonna/youll+see_20086975.html) Darn! I was so sure the title was, “La Isla Bonita”. I used to sing along with it (with the car windows rolled up tightly, naturally).☹ ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/171 "2008-09-28T03:37:51Z")
I’ll add a heartfelt “me too” for _Cat’s In The Cradle_, and _Amazing Grace_, and toss in Terry Jack’s _Seasons In The Sun_. Pink Floyd’s [“When The Tigers Broke Free”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYtGsvoBVw8) Someone from The Dope (I forget who) posted [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gmgwx77osw) a while back, and it still gets me. I think it’s the hurt, befuddled old man I sympathize with a lot. Duran Duran’s _Ordinary World_, Melissa Etheridge’s _This War Is Over_, Sarah MacLachlan’s _Angel_, Air Supply’s _Without You_, Dead Can Dance’s _Host of Seraphim_, just about any version of _Unchained Melody_ even remotely faithful to the original, Gordon Lightfoot’s _Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald_, The High King’s _The Parting Glass_, Josh Groban’s _Remember_ (from the movie _Troy_), R.E.M.'s _Everybody Hurts_,… Ya know, I just realized I’m a big soppy mess. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/172 "2008-09-28T04:21:20Z")
> [@LucyInDisguise](#): > > Found it! (The word ‘ballad’ came in mighty handy in the search terms.) > > Still think it’s a good fit for this thread. > > _You’ll See_ > > Full Lyrics Here: [http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/madonna/youll+see\_20086975.html](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/madonna/youll+see_20086975.html) Oddly, the video to this song, too, features the same bullfighter. Which pretty much 100000% ruins the song for me as I think bullfighting is one of the most disgusting things on earth and anything even remotely associated with it is instantly destroyed for me. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/173 "2008-09-28T08:34:48Z")
Some that have been mentioned before: _ **Rainbow Connection** _ _ **Joey** _ and \*\*\*Tomorrow, Wendy \*\*\*by Concrete Blonde _ **The Green Fields of France** _ - I’m friends with several members of a women’s singing group that does this song, and I’m all weepy every time I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![LucyInDisguise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucyindisguise/32/18064_2.png) [@LucyInDisguise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LucyInDisguise)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/174 "2008-09-28T13:11:09Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > Oddly, the video to this song, too, features the same bullfighter. Which pretty much 100000% ruins the song for me as I think bullfighting is one of the most disgusting things on earth and anything even remotely associated with it is instantly destroyed for me. I’ve never seen the video till just now, and I find myself in full agreement with you on that point. It’s such a beautifully done song, and I see no connection within the lyrics to bull fighting - I reaalllly do not see why she went that direction for that song … 'Course, there is only one other Madonna song I can stand to listen to, so I guess, after all is said and done, there really ain’t much about Madonna that I understand. Lucy ---
**Author:** ![Ramblinscrambler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@Ramblinscrambler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramblinscrambler)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/175 "2008-09-29T02:32:22Z")
> [@1stFusilier](#): > > Kissing You by Desiree. > > Circle Game by Joni Mitchell. > > and many others…😃 Another Joni Mitchell song, I’ve Looked At Love From Both Sides,Now. Yikes. When I was little my older sis used to sing this song constantly. She was a total performer.Sang at weddings ,funerals,Senior Operetta and danced as well. The way she sang this song she made it seem so upbeat. It was only after she died(from lung cancer at 18 yrs old) that I really got the melancholic theme.“It’s life’s illusions I recall.I really don’t know love ,at all”. The other is a rendition of Danny boy played on a trumpet/cornet type of instrument. Wow. really affecting.The words are impossible to ignore so together the horn and the lyrics bring on the waterworks. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/176 "2008-09-29T03:53:49Z")
> [@LucyInDisguise](#): > > I’ve never seen the video till just now, and I find myself in full agreement with you on that point. It’s such a beautifully done song, and I see no connection within the lyrics to bull fighting - I reaalllly do not see why she went that direction for that song … Perhaps Madonna was sleeping with that bullfighter at the time. Otherwise I don’t see a connection either. ---
**Author:** ![ThatJoeGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@ThatJoeGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThatJoeGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/177 "2008-09-29T19:48:11Z")
Creed’s “With Arms Wide Open” is a tune I literally can’t listen to. It was popular while my wife was pregnant with our twins, my introduction to fatherhood. When they were delivered stillborn, I could never bring myself to listen to another note. Still can’t, and I even misted up just now at the mention of it. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/178 "2008-09-29T23:07:56Z")
Ugh. I just want you all to know that this thread inspired me to go and check, and then spend the next 10 minutes sobbing over my keyboard. The ones that do it for me are the ones that make me think about my mum, and make me feel guilty about not being a good enough daughter: “When She Loved Me” by Sarah McLachlan. “I know you by heart”, Eva Cassidy. “Slipping through my fingers”, Abba. I’d never heard this one till a group of us went to see Mamma Mia as part of my hen do. Within moments of Meryl Streep starting to sing, Mum and I were clinging to each other and wailing: “What happened to the wonderful adventures The places I had planned for us to go (Slipping through my fingers all the time) Well, some of that we did but most we didn’t And why I just don’t know. Slipping through my fingers all the time” I should probably explain that I’m the only child ot a single mother, so we’re very close! Added to that list are two songs that remind of my grandparents: “Father and Daughter” by Paul Simon: "I’m gonna stand guard Like a postcard of a Golden Retriever And never leave till I leave you With a sweet dream in your head Im gonna watch you shine Gonna watch you grow Gonna paint a sign So you’ll always know As long as one and one is two There could never be a father Who loved his daughter more than I love you" My grandad was more like a father to me, and this song perfectly describes our relationship. And lastly “Dance with my father” by Luther Vandross, because it reminds of my grandma’s pain now he’s gone and she’s on her own. _Sniffle_ I’m sad now. I hope you’re all satisfied! ---
**Author:** ![WaterProofTape](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d2c977/32.png) [@WaterProofTape](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WaterProofTape)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/179 "2008-09-30T00:47:18Z")
Has anyone mentioned “Rocky” by Austin Roberts? Love the song but still tear up. “Rocky Iv’e never had to die before, don’t know if I can do it. But if you let me lean on you I might get through it…” It has everything. Love. Marriage. A child. And… Well you just gotta hear it. r, WPT ---
**Author:** ![LucyInDisguise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucyindisguise/32/18064_2.png) [@LucyInDisguise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LucyInDisguise)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187/180 "2008-09-30T01:03:36Z")
> [@Lucky\_13](#): > > Perhaps Madonna was sleeping with that bullfighter at the time. Otherwise I don’t see a connection either. 😃 Lucy [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-embarrassingly-weepy/463187.md?page=10)