# Songs that unexpectedly gut-punch you emotionally **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 1, 2018, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820 "2018-03-01T15:25:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/81 "2018-03-03T05:12:39Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > George Jones, ‘He stopped loving her today’…not a big George fan but that song is just so sad. > When Vince Gill sang at a concert for Jones after he died and he sang 'Go rest high on that mountain ’ and he cried halfway through the song. The lady singing with him , I think it was Patti Smith, kept having to carry him. It was a tear jerker. First time i heard that, i didn’t get it until the very end so…yeah. Gut punch. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/82 "2018-03-03T10:54:43Z")
[quote=“bobot, post:31, topic:809820”] This one starts out simply, but before you realize it you’re having your heart stabbed. “Goodbye” by Steve Earle, this version accompanied by Emmylou Harris: [/QUOTE] That’s one of the best songs ever written. Emmylou’s version is on her album Wrecking Ball. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/83 "2018-03-03T13:48:06Z")
‘Feelin’ Good Again" - Robert Earl Keen. After caretaking and my husband’s death and grieving and sleepwalking for 3 years, I met a guy. He introduced me to Robert Earl. And this song was \ me ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/84 "2018-03-03T14:33:20Z")
Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, by any artist gets me every time. I am amazed that anyone thinks that is a religious song! ---
**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:** [March 3, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/85 "2018-03-03T17:19:11Z")
[Tommy Körberg singing Anthem from Chess](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBjc7ojnAaU) And you ask me why I love her Through wars, death and despair She is the constant, we who don’t care And you wonder will I leave her - but how? I cross over borders but I’m still there now How can I leave her? Where would I start? Let man’s petty nations tear themselves apart My land’s only borders lie around my heart ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2018, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/86 "2018-03-04T01:53:45Z")
When I heard Paul McCartney’s For No One, my literal thought was that it was like a punch in the gut. It evokes heartbreak. Harry Chapin’s Cat’s in the Cradle always makes me tear up. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2018, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/87 "2018-03-04T02:04:59Z")
John Lennons ‘Mother’, always gets to me. I lost my Mom early in life too. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2018, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/88 "2018-03-04T02:17:13Z")
Ozzy Osbourne’s Changes. When I was first separated from the ex-Mrs. Guest I listened to these lyrics once I feel unhappy I am so sad I’ve lost the best friend That I ever had She is my baby I love her so But it’s too late now I’ve let her go and well, not so much now, but then and for a long time after…well you know. Other than that, Taps and Amazing Grace on the bagpipes does it every single time ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/89 "2018-03-04T20:25:54Z")
> [@Cub\_Mistress](#): > > Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, by any artist gets me every time. I am amazed that anyone thinks that is a religious song! How do you interpret: I’ll stand before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah ? ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/90 "2018-03-04T20:49:54Z")
“Three Wooden Crosses”. “Who gave this to my mama, who read it to me!” ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2018, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/91 "2018-03-04T20:59:45Z")
Randy Crawford’s Fly Away. It was around at a time I was dumped - a couple of years later it came on in a bar, and I just had to get out of there. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/92 "2018-03-05T00:55:13Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > How do you interpret: > > I’ll stand before the Lord of Song > With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah > > ? Oh it has religious imagery, sure. It it is about forbidden love affairs, and betrayal. Here is an article you might find interesting, [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-book-excerpt-leonard-cohen-writes-hallelujah-in-the-holy-or-the-broken-20121203](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-book-excerpt-leonard-cohen-writes-hallelujah-in-the-holy-or-the-broken-20121203) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/93 "2018-03-05T01:06:45Z")
Photograph by Nickelback. I know it is common for hipsters to rag on Nickelback, but the first time I heard this song was when I was driving home from my grandma’s funeral and it really got to me. I knew I’d never go back to the town she lived in again (there was no reason to go back), never get to enter her house again, never see her again. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/T3rXdeOvhNE/maxresdefault.jpg "Nickelback - Photograph [OFFICIAL VIDEO]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3rXdeOvhNE) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/94 "2018-03-05T01:26:05Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > ‘Boston’ by DC local 90s heroes Emmet Swimming. The second verse hammers me, both for my own childhood and my kids, now. > > “Split up when I was nine > Divvied up the furniture > Went back in the house one last time > Just to walk around, around > What could they say? > “It’s not your fault > It’ll be OK” > All my toys were scattered around, around” This is the second time you have mentioned Emmet Swimming, and I asked you about them before with no answer. I am good friends with their drummer Tamer Eid. We went to Dead concerts together in the early 1990’s and hung around George Mason during their formative years. They never “quite made it” although they should have. My favorite song by them is “Broken Oar”. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/95 "2018-03-05T01:27:06Z")
> [@Weedy](#): > > My daughter cannot listen to _Lovesong_ by the The Cure. The thing is, it’s not even a sad song. I always thought this song was about unrequited love. He was telling someone that he wasn’t whole without them. Turns out nope, he wrote it for his wife. > **[Lovesong by The Cure - Songfacts](https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-cure/lovesong)** > > Lovesong by The Cure song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position > [@](#): > > Cure lead singer Robert Smith wrote this as a wedding present for his fiancée, Mary, shortly before they got married. > The lyrics were inspired by the constant touring Smith had to go through with The Cure. He wanted his wife to know that no matter how much he had to travel and perform, he would always love her. That makes the song much better to me for some reason. I always thought it was a sad song about unrequited love. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/96 "2018-03-05T01:39:09Z")
When I first hear it on CD, I thought that [Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqaBof47pmY) by the Dixie Chicks was just a nice lullaby. Since I found out about the [backstory](http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=8672), I can’t listen to it without feeling that gut-punch. A song that has been a gut punch from the start is [Sweet Old World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWJCu3d6EX0) by Lucinda Williams, for obvious reasons contained in the song. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelMixologyOS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@MichaelMixologyOS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelMixologyOS)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/97 "2018-03-05T03:51:33Z")
Cats in The Craddle ,Harry Chappen and Simple Man, Skynard ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/98 "2018-03-05T03:57:27Z")
I forgot one of mine, but watching the Oscars just reminded me. “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman” is amazing and always hits me hard (in a good place). ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/99 "2018-03-05T04:01:35Z")
Dawes, “A Little Bit of Everything.” It ruins me every time. > **[Dawes – A Little Bit of Everything](https://genius.com/Dawes-a-little-bit-of-everything-lyrics)** > > A finger pointed at the complexity of life. There’s no psychic or soothsayer who could spell it all out for us. We put our lives together from little pieces. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vin0U-ej1L8/maxresdefault.jpg "Dawes - A Little Bit of Everything (Live from Rhythm & Roots 2011)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vin0U-ej1L8) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820/100 "2018-03-05T04:22:00Z")
Lorelei, by the Pogues: [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e-qT1Ui968) But if my ship, which sails tomorrow Should crash against these rocks, My sorrows I will drown before I die It’s you I’ll see, not Lorelei [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-unexpectedly-gut-punch-you-emotionally/809820.md?page=6)