# The saddest song ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 20, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907 "2011-09-20T04:16:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/61 "2011-09-21T21:52:01Z")
Cole Porter’s “Begin the Beguine” is the one that gets me, especially the last line in this stanza: _What moments divine, what raptures serene, 'Till clouds came along to disperse the joys we had tasted . . . Now, when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted, I know but too well what they mean._ I like the Ella Fitzgerald version the best, although it’s maybe not the saddest. That’s because with all the awful sadness of this world, you have to admit that it produced Ella Fitzgerald, so it’s not all bad. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/62 "2011-09-21T23:58:08Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I have trouble remembering lyrics but for some reason I always remember and can sing this and The Green Fields Of France, even though they’ve tonnes of verses. In English and German, to double the heartbreak of Poor Bastards sent to their deaths for nothing. Now we need a French version. And Italian, Russian, etc. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/63 "2011-09-22T00:18:40Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > The song in this video is pretty sad IMO, called I think Its a Mad World or something like that. This video was an art students thesis/project and is pretty damn depressing once you figure out whats going on, which is made even worse because the video starts out all cute and interesting and you wonder whats going on. The art student used some other okay music. Then somebody else replaced the original music with whats in the link. I think its a pretty damn potent combination. Safe for work link. > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0G9vDKcdLg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0G9vDKcdLg) sniffle sniffle ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/64 "2011-09-22T01:44:18Z")
> [@lawoot](#): > > Lyrics? Who needs lyrics? > > I give you Samuel Barber’s [Adagio for Strings](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQsgE0L450) Yeah, this. Here’s the performance in London only a couple of days after 9/11, at the last night of the annual Prom Festival, with the American conductor Leonard Slatkin in charge. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wjvVqtffz7I/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHWBIAC4AOKAgwIABABGGUgRig_MA8=&rs=AOn4CLB64PNgCfHq1zelzdn4bPniTnRzCA "Proms 2001 - Adagio for String 9-11 Tribute") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjvVqtffz7I) The atmosphere was very different that year from what it usually is. Also Gorecki’s Third Symphony. Here’s a part, Dawn Upshaw singing https://www.youtube.com/embed/ymuF7uG6wis?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque And another contender, a bit more crying into your beer and whisky, The Pogues - A Rainy Night in Soho: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/55Yp8vecWXM/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH2BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGEogWyhlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLB8z5ub5RKrnbDdyYhpZyS_R5wHDw "A Rainy Night in Soho (Videoclip) - The Pogues") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Yp8vecWXM) ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/65 "2011-09-22T01:56:48Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > And another contender, a bit more crying into your beer and whisky, The Pogues - A Rainy Night in Soho: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Yp8vecWXM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Yp8vecWXM) The sadness of this probably depends how far you are in your cups, of course, and the state of your relationship. 🙂 Works on multiple levels. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/66 "2011-09-22T02:31:54Z")
Kesha’s “["The Harold Song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKdKMlW-ykI)” has really grown on me in the last month or so (even though I’ve been hearing it since January.) It’s especially sad when she performs it in concert: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfdHCRUnlfE) ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/67 "2011-09-22T02:53:58Z")
> [@lawoot](#): > > Lyrics? Who needs lyrics? > > I give you Samuel Barber’s [Adagio for Strings](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQsgE0L450) Reminds me a bit of [Aase’s Tod](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB4m885sTeE). I don’t know if is somehow cheating the rules of sadsongology to just hover over someone’s death like this, but it does the job. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/68 "2011-09-22T03:13:51Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > In English and German, to double the heartbreak of Poor Bastards sent to their deaths for nothing. Now we need a French version. And Italian, Russian, etc. Works better with a link: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUzQ6Am-bbc&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUzQ6Am-bbc&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/69 "2011-09-22T06:03:26Z")
Another Don McLean, much sadder than Vincent. [The Grave](http://youtu.be/xe6j0JBwEO4) ---
**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 22, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/70 "2011-09-22T14:39:38Z")
Elton John & Bernie Taupin’s tribute to John Lennon [Empty Garden](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZzXEFDznoA). ---
**Author:** ![Fearless\_Leader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Fearless\_Leader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fearless_Leader)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/71 "2011-09-22T20:38:05Z")
For my money, it’s “South Tacoma Way” by Neko Case. [http://youtu.be/GdKbaGYImj0](http://youtu.be/GdKbaGYImj0) “I can’t comprehend the ways that I miss you; they come to light in my mistakes” ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/72 "2011-09-22T20:46:02Z")
River by Joni Mitchell always gets me. ---
**Author:** ![Headrush042](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Headrush042](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headrush042)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/73 "2011-09-22T22:32:35Z")
The way the artists in Apocalyptica make their cellos weep in [Farewell](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnpXB6O6RDY) gives me shivers; especially at the end, once the lead cello has built up to its cathartic melancholy wail. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/74 "2011-09-22T23:35:01Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > Seconded, especially if you interpret the song in accordance with the video. Seeing a child go through addiction might even be sadder than seeing him die. The two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. My 30-year-old uncle died of a heroin overdose/possible suicide and had a very intense relationship with his mother. She was the only one who would put up with his shit. Whenever I hear it, I think of him, and I think of her crying, ‘‘I tried so hard to help him,’’ over and over before the funeral. I recall we once we had a thread like this, and someone suggested ‘‘Killkelly, Ireland.’’ I’d never heard of it. I think it’s [the saddest song I’ve ever heard](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N76kAivCb20). (If you don’t want YouTube, google the lyrics. But trust me. It’s sad.) [QUOTE=billfish] The song in this video is pretty sad IMO, called I think Its a Mad World or something like that. [/QUOTE] The saddest application of Mad World I’ve ever seen is when they did a So You Think You Can Dance Routine about a businessmen stumbling into a homeless man and realizing they knew each other from high school. The actual performance starts at 1:07 [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BePGx_KjvmM). ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/75 "2011-09-22T23:46:17Z")
Here’s what I said [last time](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=607655) this question was raised: > [@me](#): > > Define sad - I get teary every time I hear Joey Ramone sing “What a Wonderful World”, if only because he knew he was dying when he recorded it, and you can hear it in his voice. Ditto for Cash’s cover of “Hurt”. > > As for saddest song regardless of context, i have to go with “[Holland, 1945](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCjpbjCH5L0)” from In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel. It gets me every time, especially since it’s the most upbeat song on the album: > > “And here’s where your mother sleeps > And here is the room where your brothers were born > Indentions in the sheets > Where their bodies once moved but don’t move any more > And it’s so sad to see > The world agree > That they’d rather see their faces fill with flies > Oh how I’d want to keep white roses > In your eyes” ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/76 "2011-09-22T23:50:46Z")
[Seasons In The Sun](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd_Fdly3rX8) by Terry Jacks. My god. It depresses me to NO END. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/77 "2011-09-22T23:56:55Z")
The _Strange Fruit_ in Billie Holiday’s song are lynching victims in the South. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/78 "2011-09-22T23:57:58Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > [Seasons In The Sun](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd_Fdly3rX8) by Terry Jacks. My god. It depresses me to NO END. It’s got nothing on _Billy Don’t Be a Hero_. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/79 "2011-09-23T00:06:06Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > The _Strange Fruit_ in Billie Holiday’s song are lynching victims in the South. This one brings me to tears every time hear it. It’s haunting. ---
**Author:** ![NGC2024](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f475e1/32.png) [@NGC2024](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NGC2024)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907/80 "2011-09-23T00:36:13Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I had a list of songs ready post, but then I remembered that there is only one true answer for this question. > > [Ne Me Quitte Pas](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za_6A0XnMyw) by **Jacques Brel**. > > _(note: the translation in the youtube link above is pretty good. The English lyrics typically sung to this song are not in any way a translation of the French)_ This just absolutely destroyed me. I first heard “The Parting Glass” sung a cappella by relatives of the departed at an Irish wake and cried my eyes out: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1se8_-fcxZs/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AG-AoAC8AGKAgwIABABGGUgZShlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLAQneduU85yoWmyFbQWegaZwcaJ_A "Liam Clancy - The Parting Glass") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1se8_-fcxZs) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-song-ever/596907.md?page=5)