# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/41 "2026-06-05T15:05:35Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > _Fields of Gold_ by Sting A wonderful song - here’s a splendid version: [The Voice UK 2013 | Bronwen Lewis performs ‘Fields Of Gold’ - Blind Auditions 6 - BBC](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkdFo1ohQNU) > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > But off the top of my head I’d go with _Bridge Over Troubled Water_. A man and a piano in perfect harmony: [Bridge Over Troubled Water - John Legend - North Sea Jazz 2013](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnCHCqYRQFs) This singer had experienced pain and suffering growing up - you can hear it in her voice (and the judges’ comments show how they felt): [Sharon Murphy song “Forever Young” - The Voice UK 2015 | Blind Auditions 4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBspC5ZLo4c) ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/42 "2026-06-05T15:19:51Z")
Good timing, this thread. I just encounted this footage of the incomparable (and cute) Judi Dench performing “Send in the Clowns” from _A Little Night Music_. See if it hits you in the feels: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-Lo_5fmLsyE/maxresdefault.jpg "Send in the Clowns - Judi Dench") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lo_5fmLsyE) ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/43 "2026-06-05T15:26:36Z")
_Little Green_ by Joni Mitchell. A song about placing her daughter for adoption. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/44 "2026-06-05T16:49:23Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > _Little Green_ by Joni Mitchell Oh yes, that’s a heartbreaking song. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/45 "2026-06-05T17:52:51Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Oh yes, that’s a heartbreaking song. And when we first heard the album, none of us knew what it was about. Sometimes there’ll be sorrow… ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/46 "2026-06-05T18:01:07Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > And when we first heard the album, none of us knew what it was about. I first heard the “Blue” album and the song about 35 years ago, so 20 years after it came out, and I don’t know if the secret already had been revealed, but I at least didn’t know about the adoption until much later. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/47 "2026-06-05T18:13:17Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I first heard the “Blue” album and the song about 35 years ago, so 20 years after it came out Wow, how did you miss it? No matter, as far as I’m concerned it is the greatest singer-songwriter album ever. The emotion in the lyrics: as Kris Kristofferson said during the recording sessions: “Joni! Keep something for yourself!” And the musical proficiency… multiple mastery of many instruments and different tunings. We shall not see its like again soon… ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/48 "2026-06-05T18:15:11Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Wow, how did you miss it? Easily explained, I was only three in 1971 and only got to Joni Mitchell in my early twenties. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/49 "2026-06-05T18:37:29Z")
I cry at almost anything anymore. I’m very sentimental. I even cry at \*Santa Claus meets the Purple People Eater \* 'cause he saves Christmas. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2026, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/50 "2026-06-05T19:31:27Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > And the musical proficiency… multiple mastery of many instruments and different tunings. > > We shall not see its like again soon… Infamous rock photographer [Joel Bernstein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Bernstein) was for many years Joni’s tuner. He and others have produced a [definitive book on her guitar works](https://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=2848). ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/51 "2026-06-05T20:21:53Z")
I cry at everything. That said, I remember the first time I heard [Nina Simone’s version of George Harrison’s Isn’t It A Pity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DitOFrGBEQA)… maybe 20 years ago driving home listening to a local jazz program on the radio. I sat in my driveway listening through to the end. I was floored. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/52 "2026-06-05T21:38:58Z")
Paulina “Pau” Villarreal is the drummer for the Mexican hard rock trio **The Warning**. In 2020, during the pandemic, they recorded their third album. The record company insisted they needed one more song to complete the album. Pau had written a song that she called “a panic attack set of music”. She reluctantly agreed to include the song under two conditions; she would only record it alone, at home, on the piano she and her bandmates had learned to play on and she would never be required to sing it in public. Fast forward to 2023 and they were playing a sold out set of shows at the Pepsi Center in Mexico City in celebration of there tenth year as a band. On the first night, she decided to play the song. Here’s how it went. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2idDr72FYA8/maxresdefault.jpg "The Warning - Breathe (Live from Pepsi Center CDMX)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2idDr72FYA8) For non-Spanish speakers, here is what Pau said before playing. > “Well, this next song, I said I was never going to play it live because it’s a very personal song, but seeing all of you gathered here, it’s incredible to think that there are 8,000 people here right now who are here for us. > And honestly, I’m kind of sick, my voice isn’t in great shape, but I still want to sing this for you.” ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/53 "2026-06-05T22:01:02Z")
Wow! (and for discourse: 5 caracters) ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/54 "2026-06-05T22:16:42Z")
The final five minutes of Stravinsky’s **Firebird Suite.** ---
**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 6, 2026, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/55 "2026-06-06T04:46:54Z")
These two take me back to 15–23 June 1975, the happiest week of my life: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gFYv2uopwkY/maxresdefault.jpg "Enya - Flora's Secret [720p HD] [LYRICS]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFYv2uopwkY) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/8PS3uWju7jQ/maxresdefault.jpg "A Summer Song (New Stereo Version) Chad & Jeremy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PS3uWju7jQ) ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/56 "2026-06-07T00:02:38Z")
Leon Russel. “A song for you” Here, at Willie Nelson’s 70th birthday party, Leon stars it off, Willie sings a verse and Ray Charles closes it out. Willie himself looks close to tears: ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2UW4ELmVD9M/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/2UW4ELmVD9M?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=RD2UW4ELmVD9M ---
**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 7, 2026, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/57 "2026-06-07T17:04:40Z")
I also can only say “wow.” ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/58 "2026-06-07T22:33:14Z")
Harry Chapin “Dreams Go By” ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/59 "2026-06-08T13:57:40Z")
Just remembered. ‘Fairytale of New York’ by the Pogues. My husband and I listened to it and he said it set off memories of his deceased father who died of acute alcoholism (suffered PTSD from WWII and led a tragic life). We both sat there crying our eyes out and much much later, my husband passed away in similar tragic circumstances… Though I love the song, I just can’t. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616/60 "2026-06-08T18:06:36Z")
My late wife and I attended a Moody Blues concert some years ago when they had a full orchestra. She just started crying in the middle of “Isn’t Life Strange” for no apparent reason. At the break, I asked her if there was a problem. She said, “No. It’s just so beautiful.” That was more than 25 years ago and it’s been over 20 years since she passed away. Now **I** cry when I hear it…still. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616.md?page=4)