Most of mine have been mentioned, Gary Jules version of Mad World, Concrete Blonde’s Joey, Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah but a more recent one is Lily Allen’s Littlest Things. The lyrics are just so relateable to me, and her voice is so poignant.
This makes me cry.
Holes in the Floor of Heaven by Steve Wariner
The juxtaposition of this line in the first verse:
“I was a broken-hearted little boy, blowing out that birthday cake” nearly chokes me up every time
The second verse is just as bad…
and the third verse…
…wha? No, just something in my eye there…
Who will sing me lullabies, Kate Rusby.
It’s such a simple song, but she performs it so emotively. And has such a unique, and gorgeous voice. And her beautiful eyes are so expressive.
(And I like that she sings in her own accent, not some generic singing one.)
::snivelling::
Many of these make me weepy, but not embarassingly so because they’re justified.
Not justified is (Flogging Molly’s cover of) “The Rare Auld Times” (“I remember Dublin City in the rare auld times,”) because I’ve never been to Dublin and am only 1/8th Irish, but still can relate to the sense of longing for pre “modern” times before irrevocable change of the things you knew. But what sends chills down my spine as well as tears is the line “Ring a ring a rosie, as the light declines.” Which conjures up images of creepy groups of children playing in the twilight at the same time as evoking a lost small-town feel using the symbolism of the setting sun to show it’s decline.
Also, several songs off of The Second Stage Turbine Blade by Coheed and Cambria. Now, I love emo as much as the next guy but I’m embarassed that this particular album affects me so much, because:
– The emotion seems forced because on this album, often he goes beyond singing like a wimp and full-on singing like a woman.
– It’s not that well-produced, sort of being a mixture between nu-metal and low-fi punk without choosing one or the other.
– The emotion doesn’t really matter in the end, because You find out that the “story” behind all the bands’ albums is really a story within a story, created by a person in the “real world” in order to get over/win back the girl that broke up with him (not sure which.) Which explains its melodramaticness to a degree, but totally doesn’t excuse my emotional reaction to it!
I thought of another one. Woody Guthrie’s *Tom Joad *as done by Patrick Street.
Depending on my mood, and for different reasons, these ones can give me a lump in my throat:
Nightswimming by R.E.M.
Tonight We Fly by The Divine Comedy.
Fairytale of New York by The Pogues.
Mayor Of Simpleton by XTC.
If Dublin in the rare aul’ times made you cry, try Song for Ireland by Luke Kelly.
On Your Porch. A great track on a great album by a great indie-pop band called The Format. It’s been known to cause my tear ducts to get a little soppy. For some reason I just connect with the lyrics and simple yet layered melody and it’s message of hope and perserverance despite our flaws.
Check out the tune, you’ll be glad you did.
sobs
Here’s a good one- Footsteps Fall, by Eddi Reader.
"And the loneliest sound of all
Is the sound of love through a stranger’s wall
I’m in a new place now
They don’t know me next door
I wonder where your footsteps fall"
I actually prefer the version by Maura O’Connell and Jerry Douglas- the only version I’d heard until I did this youtube search.
I love this song, despite its tourist-boardiness.
“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” by Hank Williams. It was my #1 tearjerker until:
Right after my wife was diagnosed with lymphoma, we went to eat at Golden Corral and the Muzak played the Gene Autry version of “You Are My Sunshine”, which had me instantly bawling. I still can’t listen to it.
Janis Joplin’s voice just drips with pain in “Me And Bobby McGee”.
'Twas written in all sincerity, by an expatriate Scotsman, on his departure home.
I’ve never lived in the wesht of Ireland, but have spent a lot of time in Connemara, and I find its sentiments ring true.
I don’t think it’s insincere just a little bit corny. I still love it though.
I love that song too, but for different reasons. FYI, I read an interview with Ms Bedingfield, who said she wrote it for her teenage brother who was going through adolescent angst.
“And when I pick myself up so slowly, I’ll devour, everyone of those books in the tower…”
Me too. “What’s The Matter Here?” does the trick also.
Hello in There John Prine by way of Bette Midler
Southbound Train Crosby Stills Nash
The Weakness in Me Joan Armatrading
I the first time I saw the vid for the Johnny Cash cover of Hurt was the first time I heard his rendition of the song. I was emotionally gutted for the rest of the day.
I love the Joan Baez cover of “Hello in There”… it’s so sad
I’d never heard these songs before. I cried so hard I made the dogs worry. They had to come over and make sure I was ok.
Of course, I lost my dad last February. Seems like about 2 wks ago.
Reba McEntire’s I’ll Be gets to me. I first heard it as background music for a video of the American Cancer society’s Walk for Life.
I happened to be going through a break-up the first time I heard I Can’t Make You Love Me. My circumstances were almost exactly what was described in the song the first time I heard it.
Send in the Clowns was always heart-breaking to me, especially the lines
Just when I stopped opening doors
Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours
Making my entrance again with my usual flair
Sure of my lines,
No one was there.
And Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings always, ALWAYS leaves me in a little sodden puddle on the floor.
Crap, I’m making the dogs worry again. /sniff/