# What musical performance or recording of a performance makes you tear up? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 4, 2026, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616 "2026-06-04T13:44:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/21 "2026-06-04T19:44:39Z")
![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pGXBR1wR-mo/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/pGXBR1wR-mo?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=RDpGXBR1wR-mo It would probably have hit hard enough anyway, but I first heard this song on the radio soon after a friend suddenly died completely out of the blue of unknown cause, leaving a wife and two kids age about 2 and 5. It was actually 10 years ago this weekend, as it happens. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/22 "2026-06-04T19:55:31Z")
I don’t think two threads on the same topic in 20 years is too many. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/23 "2026-06-04T20:21:13Z")
Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s rendition of “[Somewhere Over the Rainbow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I&list=RDV1bFr2SWP1I&start_radio=1)” will get me every time. As for purely instrumental choices I would add the climax from Barber’s Adagio for Strings ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/24 "2026-06-04T20:21:33Z")
Warren Zevon - “Keep Me In Your Heart For A While”. After he got his terminal cancer diagnosis, he managed to get one more album out and this is the last song on that last album. Just absolutely heartbreaking. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/25 "2026-06-04T20:27:17Z")
Phil Hartman singing “Goodbye” during his final Saturday Night Live with Chris Farley sitting there sobbing is really hard for me to rewatch knowing both of them would tragically die with in the next four years. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/26 "2026-06-04T21:12:18Z")
Jim Stafford has a talking-song version of “Mr. Bojangles,” that is quite moving. Near the end, he becomes Bojangles and when he says the line, “Why is it a dog only gets to live a short time but he still has to die _old_?” I just lose it. The Fifth Dimension — “If I Could Reach You.” Marilyn McCoo can sing the pants off me and no one needs to see that. One of those songs that makes you wish you were a girl so you could sing it in public — like Janis Ian’s, “At 17.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/27 "2026-06-04T22:22:39Z")
These three always do it for me: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/uZmxZThb084/maxresdefault.jpg ""The Civil War" Soundtrack - Ashokan Farewell") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZmxZThb084) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/AZfD5KrH5d8/maxresdefault.jpg "Be Thou My Vision - Traditional (Violin & Harp)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZfD5KrH5d8) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lz76IunuTHA/maxresdefault.jpg "The Ash Grove") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz76IunuTHA) ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/28 "2026-06-04T23:49:23Z")
Even lighthearted songs by Karen Carpenter choke me up. And as I grow older, One By One from Enya: “One by one the leaves fall…” ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/29 "2026-06-04T23:54:16Z")
I’m by no means a big Keane fan but this song: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qNLIgvFEvVM/maxresdefault.jpg "Love Is The End") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNLIgvFEvVM) gets me with just the first few notes. ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/30 "2026-06-04T23:59:21Z")
Tracey Thorn made a Xmas album a dozen years ago. The song Joy, which she wrote, makes me weep. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3YATi-BzC-U/maxresdefault.jpg "Tracey Thorn - Joy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YATi-BzC-U) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/31 "2026-06-05T00:55:54Z")
I think the choice of music here is always going to be very personal and very reflective of emotionally-charged memories. It’s not just going to be about sad songs – it’s going to be about music that moves us deeply for whatever reason. One candidate that I thought of proposing was “In the Wee Small Hours”, originally by Frank Sinatra but I prefer the Carly Simon version: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DvnyaJkwPVg/maxresdefault.jpg "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvnyaJkwPVg) But what really triggers my emotions even more is a lot of Christmas music, because of such powerful associations. Some go right back to my childhood, but the most recent Christmas memories are evoked by Kenny G … [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ShuAzmAdpDM/maxresdefault.jpg "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShuAzmAdpDM) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/32 "2026-06-05T01:12:49Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > A wedding in an episode of the brilliant _Better Things_ featured the song **Martha** , written by Tom Waits. I’ve always loved that song, and teared up over it, and I’ve always been equally perplexed why the hell anyone would sing it at a wedding! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/33 "2026-06-05T01:19:24Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > As for purely instrumental choices I would add the climax from Barber’s Adagio for Strings Omg, yes. I can’t listen to it without bawling. Yes, bawling. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/34 "2026-06-05T01:27:48Z")
![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6jl8lvDW05E/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/6jl8lvDW05E?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=RD6jl8lvDW05E “Whenever rain appears, it’s really angel tears.” ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/35 "2026-06-05T01:55:26Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Warren Zevon - “Keep Me In Your Heart For A While”. After he got his terminal cancer diagnosis, he managed to get one more album out and this is the last song on that last album. Just absolutely heartbreaking. That is a good one that also gets me! I have an “Enjoy Every Sandwich” sticker on my dual-sport motorcycle because of him. That is freaking outstanding advice from a dying guy. 😭 ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/36 "2026-06-05T02:27:02Z")
_Cat’s in the Cradle_ by Harry Chapin _Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald_ by Gordon Lightfoot _Fields of Gold_ by Sting The last two verses are especially poignant. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/37 "2026-06-05T03:24:19Z")
Fast Car - Tracy Chapman I Can’t Make You Love Me - Bonnie Raitt Songbird - Fleetwood Mac (mostly because it was my mom’s favorite song) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/38 "2026-06-05T03:33:24Z")
I’m a sap. I can’t listen to any version of [Ashokan Farewell](https://youtu.be/2kZASM8OX7s?si=9pUAnR_1wKjmMD7T) without tearing up. [Meadowlark](https://youtu.be/sWVGyzqXZ3w?t=24&si=zpg3QnWu5rZ_PJn8) from “The Baker’s Wife” does me in. Les Miserables: “I Dreamed a Dream” and [“Bring Him Home”](https://youtu.be/qsYnhVITf9E?si=R6u38NGgGV0p2sx8) Two songs about growing up and leaving home: Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “[Only a Dream](https://youtu.be/8kpFcEduzyk?si=-1wrKT1kLomKC5Co)”, and Tom Rush’s [“Child’s Song”](https://youtu.be/8Dx6Zdx2AJ4?si=fdCd_NDSEBrKx4cb) And also > [@Disinfectus](#): > > Fast Car - Tracy Chapman ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/39 "2026-06-05T04:19:52Z")
> [@sunacres](#): > > And as I grow older, One By One from Enya I’ll never forget the first time I heard this one back in 2000. It was coming from a kiosk in a pedestrian tunnel in Moscow. I was looking to buy some comic books for my daughter, and I ended up getting the cassette as well. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_wM7A6Eht7s/maxresdefault.jpg "Enya - Wild Child (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wM7A6Eht7s) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/40 "2026-06-05T05:30:11Z")
Back in 2022, I put this one on and cried my eyes out when I heard that Judith Durham had passed away. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/La4dxvgEmF0/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGGUgXihOMA8=&rs=AOn4CLAgBJxU51XVp6CbBO3MPWajtxRaBQ "Judith Durham The Seekers - Far Shore") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La4dxvgEmF0) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616.md?page=3)