# The saddest songs you ever heard **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 8, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126 "2011-05-08T03:23:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/101 "2011-05-09T22:28:14Z")
Have You Forgotten - Red House Painters ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/102 "2011-05-09T23:58:21Z")
Not to be highjacky and definitely not trying to thread shit, but can someone explain the “Waltzing Matilda” phenomenon? I get the story and it is sad (though not as sad as a lot of other folk ballads). Is it because of the mournful tune? Does it have a deeper meaning that I’m perhaps missing because of not being Australian / growing up with it? I don’t mean to be dense. I’ve seen it commented upon so many times I’d really like to understand and possibly be as touched as so many people seem to be. Live’s “Lightning Crashes” always choked me up at the part where he sings “…an old mother dies”. I always got a very clear picture of my own (still living at the time) mother, lying in a hospital bed, eyes shut in death. Many years after it came out, I lived that very scene and I will practically break my own hand rushing to turn it off when it comes on the radio. “Fairy Tale of New York” by The Pogues is very depressing, yet at the same time a very popular sing along during otherwise happy times at the pub. John Mayer’s “Dreaming with a Brokien Heart” brings tears to my eyes every time. Who of us hasn’t dreamed of a love we’ve lost, be it through break up, death, whatever, only to wake up and realize it was only a dream and the bleak reality hits you in the face. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/103 "2011-05-10T00:08:21Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > “Time in a Bottle”, by Jim Croche. A lovely song, but oh, so sad. 😕 But, it’s **not** sad. That is, the **music** is sad but the lyrics are merely . . . resigned, wistful, yet hopeful. “But there never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do once you find them / I’ve been around enough to know that you’re the one I want to go through time with.” What’s sad about that, really, apart from the failure in rhyme? Compare [_Till Tomorrow,_](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Till-Tomorrow-lyrics-Don-McLean/69AB8F4543E0EA7948256BDD0005BD93) by Don McLean. I like it because it’s beautiful; the sadness of the lyrics – “Why we’re not free to be lovers” – is incidental. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/104 "2011-05-10T00:12:41Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Not to be highjacky and definitely not trying to thread shit, but can someone explain the “Waltzing Matilda” phenomenon? I get the story and it is sad (though not as sad as a lot of other folk ballads). Is it because of the mournful tune? Does it have a deeper meaning that I’m perhaps missing because of not being Australian / growing up with it? I don’t mean to be dense. I’ve seen it commented upon so many times I’d really like to understand and possibly be as touched as so many people seem to be. I think perhaps you’re conflating the 19th century ballad “Waltzing Matilda” with the song “[And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG48Ftsr3OI)” which is an anti-war song of sorts written by Eric Bogle in the '70s I think. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/105 "2011-05-10T00:16:22Z")
I always thought that _Alone Again_, by Gilbert O’Sullivan was a very sad tune, especially the part about the parents. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/106 "2011-05-10T00:22:47Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I think perhaps you’re conflating the 19th century ballad “Waltzing Matilda” with the song “[And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG48Ftsr3OI)” which is an anti-war song of sorts written by Eric Bogle in the '70s I think. Ah jeez, don’t I feel like a dumbass:smack: Thanks for clarifying. That link did indeed bring chills and a tear to my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/107 "2011-05-10T00:27:24Z")
WOW… too many to mention is my OP answer. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YjluFkRd39M/hqdefault.jpg "David Bromberg - New Lee Highway Blues") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjluFkRd39M) This…until 4:30 in…then I smile…at 8.30 something really get me real jiggy. This… Always. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMozCfz0cZM) This too… [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lVdTQ3OPtGY/hqdefault.jpg "Grateful Dead - Ripple") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVdTQ3OPtGY) I need a Jerry hug… dsw ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/108 "2011-05-10T00:34:28Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 😕 But, it’s **not** sad. That is, the **music** is sad but the lyrics are merely . . . resigned, wistful, yet hopeful. “But there never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do once you find them / I’ve been around enough to know that you’re the one I want to go through time with.” What’s sad about that, really, apart from the failure in rhyme? > > . I was going to mention [Where Have You Been,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl5Uog-MDGo) by Kathy Mattea but thought that maybe it’s not really that sad, but just melancholy look at the passing of time, with a positive message about love over all. ---
**Author:** ![cedman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cedman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cedman)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/109 "2011-05-10T01:18:57Z")
From the old country music side… Cal Smith’s “Jason’s Farm” Never, ever let an expectant parent hear this song. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/110 "2011-05-10T01:31:19Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I always thought that _Alone Again_, by Gilbert O’Sullivan was a very sad tune, especially the part about the parents. Check out Nina Simone’s contrafactum thereof: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1FOhboyfn4Q/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGHIgVygsMA8=&rs=AOn4CLDm6f1nmCM0bLkUQWHI1ADh5SiLSw "NINA SIMONE Alone Again Naturally.wmv") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FOhboyfn4Q) ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/111 "2011-05-10T05:49:26Z")
Maaaaaaaaan, why did I open this thread? Why did I have to remember the one song whose animation makes me effing lose it every single damn time? Why did I do a simple search, and have it come up, with really quality English translation of the lyrics, right off the bat? WHY THE HELL did I sit here and listen to the whole damn thing? [Hero, by Mr. Children](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRjJFGeMt6o). ---
**Author:** ![Carnacki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Carnacki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnacki)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/112 "2011-05-10T07:11:25Z")
[I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9OVTfgVJ8Y), not sure who the writer is, but here’s a duet version with Aaron Neville. A song about a man (or puppet) reminiscing about his youth, when he had freedom and could pick up at a moments notice and go have an adventure. But now, alas, he’s got obligations, maybe a family and children, people counting on him, responsibility. So he sings a song pretending he doesn’t really want to have his life of excitement back, but despite the words he’s singing, you can tell that, if given the opportunity to leave his life of responsibility behind and go live a life of adventure on the moon, he would do so at the drop of a hat. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/113 "2011-05-10T07:25:15Z")
Jeff Buckley covering The Smiths’ [I Know It’s Over.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVEpmKokyHQ) This one breaks my heart each time I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/114 "2011-05-10T12:32:16Z")
[Casimir Pulaski Day](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxMYqsvgX8c) by Sufjan Stevens for a simple, quiet sad vibe. [The Last Spike](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSsTBGQmdvw) by Cowboy Junkies. The closing of a rail line means the death of a town and the end of the singer’s dreams that her husband will return from war. Video cuts off the last refrain but it was the only one I found. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/115 "2011-05-10T15:02:48Z")
Out of Tears by The Rolling Stones. ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/116 "2011-05-10T15:38:52Z")
Oh, man, gotta be “What Sarah Said” by Death Cab for Cutie. Waiting in a hospital, watching someone you love die. “As each descending peak on the LCD took you a little further away from me.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/117 "2011-05-10T15:45:51Z")
There was a time when Glenn Yarbrough (once lead singer for The Limelighters) was putting Rod McKuen’s poetry into song. The man really knew how to put emotion into his voice and those were some of the saddest and most poignant songs I ever heard. Of course, I was 20 years old at the time. ---
**Author:** ![from\_a\_to\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5fc32e/32.png) [@from\_a\_to\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/from_a_to_z)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/118 "2011-05-10T15:47:27Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > …listen to Johnny Cash singing Danny Boy… Thanks very much **Peanuthead**. Very nice. There are lots of versions of the song, and here is one with Judith Durham singing the lead… [ul] [li][Danny Boy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mpJYIACehQ) – The Seekers[/li][/ul] It’s plainly sung without getting too heavy. After whatever happens, life goes on and we recover, if slowly. Similarly, [ul] [li][Hymne a l’amour](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5BtmFohQdk) – Edith Piaf[/li][li][Les trois cloches](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm3JigL9_ZY) – Les Compagnons de la Chanson with Edith Piaf[/li][li][None But the Rain](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaJnvLvOV1E) – Townes Van Zandt[/li][/ul] A song with more instrumentation, which for me makes the song more poignant: [ul] [li][Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1-mqP0W8Hc) – Martha and the Vandellas[/li][/ul] And this English version of “Les trois cloches” isn’t really sad for me. Still gets me, though, with the tuneful harmony, [ul] [li][The Three Bells](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTkbj56bnYs) – The Browns[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/119 "2011-05-10T15:48:52Z")
“Something I Can Never Have” by Nine Inch Nails “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac, Smashing Pumpkins, Dixie Chicks, probably more. ---
**Author:** ![ghostman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a3d4f5/32.png) [@ghostman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ghostman)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126/120 "2011-05-10T17:08:34Z")
I originally said Schindler’s List, but I redact… “Sisters! Brothers! Small Boats of Fire Are Falling from the Sky!” by Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band. Violin always does it for me… [Set to a Dali Panting… interesting…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-obKx7i15M) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-songs-you-ever-heard/581126.md?page=7)