Men by Loudon Wainwright III. Self-pitying drivel.
“Watching Scotty Grow,” Mac Davis (or Bobby Goldsboro)
“Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast,” Wayne Newton
“Roses for Mama,” C. W. McCall
I don’t know how to post a link, yet, but I’ll try. This song always made me cry…
If you go away.
I love this song, and here’s why:
Back in the Seventies, before the Milk Advisory Board struck it rich with their “Got Milk?” campaign, they ran another very successful ad campaign, which involved various celebrities speaking simply, eloquently, and from the heart about why drinking milk was such a smart choice for them, and why it would be a smart choice for EVERYBODY. Some of the notable spots that aired featured Michael Landon, Pat Boone, Mark Spitz, and Vikki Carr. The tagline for all of the spots was “Every Body Needs Milk… even [insert name of celebrity]”
In Vikki Carr’s spot, she talked about growing up in a Mexican family and having milk with all the Mexican food her parents fed her. One of her most compelling statements was “I love burritos and milk.”
So, one fine afternoon, I’m driving along Redondo Beach Boulevard, listening to the Garry Owens Show on KMPC AM710, and he played “It Must Be Him.” I didn’t have anything particularly against the record, personally, although if you put a gun to my head I might have been persuaded to mention that it sounded a little overwrought. But then the climactic part of the verse came in:
“I’m not a puppet on a string
I’ll find somebody else someday
That’s when the phone rings,
and once again I start to say…”
This was where Owens, that magnificent bastard, shoved in a cart that had Ms Carr admitting: “I love burritos and milk.”
The song continued as per the original pressing, and I just lost it.
D-I-V-O-R-C-E by Tammy Wynette, not so much for the melody or lyrics, but for the weepy delivery.
As others have mentioned there is a nearly indiscernable distinction between depressing and maudlin. What brings tender tears of sentimentality to someones eyes may seem mawkish and perversely humorous to another,
Im rather fond of that existentialist love song to ennui by Peggy Lee, “Is That all There Is?” Charmingly twisted, sort of like Peggy herself.
But in my book it treads just close enough to a fair world-view to avoid being maudlin. And its bluesy “. . . lets break out the booze and have a ball, if that’s all, there is. . .” is sufficient enough to stave off total depression.
So, Im not sure where it goes.
You guys will hate me for this earworm, but…Teen Angel.
Emmaline by Hot Chocolate. “I can’t be an actress, so I’ll kill myself!”
And now for something completely different: Has anybody here seen the Literal Video of Total Eclipse of the Heart?
Sorry, you’ve been ninja’d in post 52 by cjepson.
Oh Lord, I’d forgotten that one! Definitely a contender for the Damp Kleenex Award.
Also see “The Grand Tour” by George Jones
"As you leave you’ll see the nursery
She left me with no mercy
Taking nothing but our baby and my heart"
Christmas Shoes…
When I was younger I was convinced that the worlds saddest song was Taxi by Harry Chapin. Now that I am a mom who works too much, I know it is Cat’s in the Cradle.
But those are genuinely sad songs. Maudlin dreck is something else. Honey is dreck.
Thread winner!
Does this mean that MacArthur Park doesn’t count?
Remember this part?
"MacArthur’s Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don’t think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I’ll never have that recipe again, oh no"
I myself thing anything by ‘Bread’ qualifies. I hates them, I do.
Hee. It’s really the wailing inconsolable “oh no” that does it.
I’m conflicted about this one. I can’t deny it’s maudlin & schmaltzy, but it still gets to even a cynical bastard like. Give it a listen and let me know what you think:
Old Rivers- Walter Brennan
Watching Scottie Grow- Bobby Goldsboro
Patches - Dickey Lee
Happiest Girl In The Whole USA - Donna Fargo
Teddy Bear - Red Sovine
Roll On - Alabama (which is a very maudlin country song disguised by an uptempo beat and good harmony vocals)
No Charge - Melba Montgomery (Oh dear God…I am a sentimental fool, and I am sickened by this saccharine tripe!)