To complete the trilogy…
Virginia Woolf, the Indigo Girls
Seasons of Love, from Rent (aka 525,600 Minutes)
And I Am Telling You, by Jennifer Holliday (performed live on Great Performances)
and of course
Puff the Magic Dragon, Peter Paul and Mary
I’m an English bloke, so I don’t do crying. However if I did it would be:
A Minute’s Noise for John by Mitch Benn. Written for a Radio 4 comedy show of all things.
Anyone British will supply some context if required.
Those are lovely lyrics. Poor auld John.
My nomination is Down There By The Train by Tom Waits. Waits has dozens of weepy songs but this one, a spiritual hits me harder than any of the others. He wrote it for Johnny Cash.
Killkelly by Peter Jones. The first time I heard it was at an Irish fest in Chicago. When the song ended, half the audience was bawling. I played it for my 15 year old son and he said that if he played it for any of the emo kids at his school that they would slash their wrists on the spot.
* I Would Die for That* by Kellie Coffey. It really hits home for anybody who has desperately wanted a child.
Willie Nelson, “You Were Always on My Mind.” So poignant.