# The Most Maudlin Song Award goes to... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935 "2013-03-03T19:19:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/121 "2015-04-14T22:13:03Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > [_Siliva’s Mother_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPrixYOTNHw) by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show. First one that came to mind! I only heard that song once in my life, on the radio, IIRC 1972 at age 14, and I still sing it in my head occasionally (though I don’t remember many of the words.) Love that song! It’s a riot. > [@Don\_Draper](#): > > [All By Myself](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3j_fdSpkmE) Good one. > [@](#): > > Making Love Out of Nothing At All by Air Supply Doesn’t ANYTHING by Air Supply qualify? > [@](#): > > [Total Eclipse of the Heart](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcOxhH8N3Bo) (also winner in the category of Most Over the Top 80s-est of 1980s Music Videos) ah yeah, of course. > [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > [Sometimes When We Touch](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IATz8ZVTALo) No kidding! > [@Spoke](#): > > Surely it is [He Stopped Loving Her Today](http://youtu.be/CYQViYm92hg) by **George Jones**. Without listening to the ones I don’t know, I award this the winner so far! > [@RealityChuck](#): > > “Sylvia’s Mother” is satire. It’s a hilarious song – deliberately so. Delighted to hear it. > [@cjepson](#): > > But really, any truly comprehensive list of maudlin songs is going to be dominated by country and Western, the genre that made an art form out of crying in your beer. What do you get if you play a country song backwards? You get your dog back, you get your truck back, you get your girl back … > [@Zoe](#): > > Does this mean that _MacArthur Park_ doesn’t count? Bonus points for truly stupid lyrics. And yeah, the “Oh no”. Looking forward to having time to don my headphones and listen to the ones I haven’t heard! ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/122 "2015-04-15T04:00:37Z")
My Little Home In Tennessee, by The Carter Family A lot of you probably never heard of this one. My father used play it on his guitar and sing it. As a child I always found it upsetting and didn’t understand why he would sing something so maudlin. I think what does it is the line “How I wish I’d never caused her pain”. He grew up in the Pennsylvania Appalachians in what was literally a little shack (like in the song) so I suppose it resonated with him. I don’t think he ever played it again after his mother passed away. (It’s the first song in this clip). [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TIFtWzdAbPY/hqdefault.jpg "The Carter Family, My Little Home In Tennessee, and I Loved You Better Than You Knew") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIFtWzdAbPY) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/123 "2015-04-15T09:21:31Z")
Pretty much all the Bee Gees’ 1960s stuff, but special mention to [How Can You Mend a Broken Heart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTQiT58AbE0) and [I’ve Just Gotta Get a Message to You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RUjnqH3kMw). ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/124 "2015-04-15T10:21:27Z")
Man, I now feel sorry for Dan Fogelberg who made a career out of maudlin’ songs, but, going by this thread, is apparently forgotten today. ☹ [Leader of the Band](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsocZrEcp0Y) [Same Auld Lang Syne](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmVXYOJzAJM) [Make Love Stay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DsnCjI4RmA) I love(d) SALS - a very pretty song. On the other hand, you can hear the hippie/drippy pretentiousness behind the writing of “Make Love Stay” in the liner notes: > [@](#): > > “Make Love Stay was based on a book written by Tom Robbins, called ‘Still Life with Woodpecker’ (1980). It was wonderful, it presumed the most difficult concept a man in the late twentieth century has to really wrestle with how to make love stay, I loved the idea and thought it was a great philosophic moment, so I just direct the music base to his idea…” ( Dan Fogelberg) :rolleyes: Oh well, it’s a different time now. ---
**Author:** ![alted315](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/cc9497/32.png) [@alted315](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alted315)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/125 "2015-04-15T11:16:43Z")
don’t give up on us by DavId Soul and as long as we’re talking Rod McEwen how about MacArthur Park ---
**Author:** ![alted315](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/cc9497/32.png) [@alted315](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alted315)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/126 "2015-04-15T11:22:33Z")
Ninja’d on MacArthur Park but I cant believe that no one has said patches by Clarence Carter ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/127 "2015-04-15T11:44:34Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > But I’ll throw _Kathleen_ by Townes Van Zandt into the mix. That’s pretty flippin bleak, but what makes it really stinging is the sardonic observation “sunshine walked beside her”. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/128 "2015-04-15T11:50:13Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > That’s pretty flippin bleak, but what makes it really stinging is the sardonic observation “sunshine walked beside her”. Oh great my computer decided to update when I realized I was thinking of “Tecumseh Valley”. Which would also count. ---
**Author:** ![Ferd\_Burfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Ferd\_Burfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferd_Burfel)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/129 "2015-04-15T13:59:18Z")
The winner has already been mentioned above and it’s, of course, “Rocky” by Austin Roberts which includes these awesome lyrics. > [@](#): > > She said, “Rocky I’ve never had to die before, don’t know if I can do it…” > Now it’s back to two again > The little girl and I > Who looks so much like her sweet mother > Sometimes it makes me cry Some other candidates that haven’t been mentioned yet “Don’t Cry Daddy” Elivs Presley “Love, Me” Collin Raye “Paint Me A Birmingham” Tracy Lawrence “Morning Side of the Hill” Donny and Marie Osmond ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/130 "2015-04-15T14:17:19Z")
“In The Ghetto” by Elvis. I cringe when I hear this song. It enrages others! ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/131 "2015-04-16T07:05:56Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > First one that came to mind! I only heard that song once in my life, on the radio, IIRC 1972 at age 14, and I still sing it in my head occasionally (though I don’t remember many of the words.) Love that song! It’s a riot. It’s not exactly satire, though, since it was something that actually happened to Shel Silverstein. He called up the mother of a girl he was in love with and found out (for the first time) that she had left town to go get married. Of course, Silverstein could laugh at himself as good or better than any of us, so he probably wrote in more maudlin details in order to get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/132 "2015-04-17T02:36:44Z")
> [@](#): > > What do you get if you play a country song backwards? > > You get your dog back, you get your truck back, you get your girl back … How many country western singers does it take to change a lightbulb? Five. One to change the bulb and four to sing about how much they miss the old one. ---
**Author:** ![JimInJersey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@JimInJersey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimInJersey)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/133 "2015-05-01T20:52:48Z")
I’m tellin’ ya, you guys are all also-rans. “I Want a Pardon” has to take the cake. It has all the ingredients: 1. Dead parent, in this case executed in prison. 2. Crying Child 3. Praying Mother (“the angels above…”) 4. Jail 5. Actions just barely too late to save the condemned… [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9XkKOjBTwk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9XkKOjBTwk) Also, it was written in the 1920s, and recorded by various and sundry country artists over the years. Ya just can’t beat it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/134 "2015-05-01T21:03:51Z")
[John Prine - “Hello in There”](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/johnprine/hellointhere.html). Jeez, makes me feel guilty for just being born. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/135 "2015-05-01T22:08:24Z")
“You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt. ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/136 "2015-05-02T06:19:10Z")
My favorite glurge: (as in, I actually like these, but, still…) [Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb2oXxvvfMw)–Patsy Cline [Jolene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1plvBR02wDs)–Dolly Parton They’re actually kind of the same song, thematically… ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/137 "2015-05-02T12:09:21Z")
Tell Laura I love Her. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/138 "2015-05-02T13:48:06Z")
Check out the works of Karl & Harty, and others of their ilk: I Love the Hymns They Sang at Mother’s Grave (“they’re the only things I find that can bring cheer To an orphans life that is so sad and drear”) The Lightning Express (“I’ve got to get home and kiss mother goodbye Before God takes her away”) I’m Just Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail (“she kissed her baby boy and then she died…But smiling”) The years from 1890 to WWI were also quite good for maudlin. In addition to Baggage Coach Ahead there are also such gems as Hello Central, Give Me Heaven ('cause my mommy’s there). I’d list others but am feeling entirely too lachrymose… ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/139 "2015-05-02T14:00:22Z")
[Clarence Carter’s Patches.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvfsfS6NVUc) Whenever I mention this song in any maudlin song thread people think it’s a different song by, um, Bobbi Goldboro maybe? Sorry but Clarence walked 10 miles uphill to school both ways while suckling baby pigs and picking cotton along the way. All because his mother just could not deal. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935/140 "2015-05-04T13:31:01Z")
_The Streets of El Paso_. _A Pair of Brown Eyes_, The Pogues. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-maudlin-song-award-goes-to/651935.md?page=8)