# What's the saddest song on your playlist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 16, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858 "2016-12-16T15:47:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/41 "2016-12-17T06:15:18Z")
I’m not much of a cryer, but these two songs really make it raw for me: Cheryl Wheeler’s song [“Since You’ve Been Gone”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K45GxZgrhdc) she wrote after the death of her father is just crushing in its realness. I got married two months ago and used this song [(Beth Hart “Mama This One’s For You”)](https://youtu.be/QnbDIgQLQwI?t=23) for the mother/son dance. My husband’s mother passed away last year, so he danced with his sisters for the song. I still can’t get through this song without tearing up. It’s not a sad song, but it’s gutting nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/42 "2016-12-17T06:44:29Z")
[“She Was Too Good To Me”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqEtiCBPLic), Chet Baker ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/43 "2016-12-17T10:20:59Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > Chopin [nocturne op 48 no.1 c minor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gw9wafY9GY). Slight nitpick - it’s not a \*song \*if there’s no singing. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/44 "2016-12-17T10:31:34Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Slight nitpick - it’s not a \*song \*if there’s no singing. People who don’t know any other word for a musical piece use “song” for everything musical. Besides, there are [these](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_Without_Words). And if we’re gonna start listing sad (or wistful) Chopin pieces, we’ll be here all night. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mr.Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Me)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/45 "2016-12-17T13:41:33Z")
Every time Look Left’s [Lighthouse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK_i_FqSBT0) comes up on my ipod, I have a choice to make. Skip it, or have a good cry. Gets me every time. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/46 "2016-12-17T15:48:47Z")
It’s a tie for me: Assemblage 23’s 30KFT ([Assemblage 23 - 30kft - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dRIce9AX2fc)) and C. W. McCall’s Roses for Mama ([Roses For Mama - C.W. McCall (1978) - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B5NFspQmHGA)). (Sorry, linking properly on my iPad is a pain.) The latter is the sappiest song in the known universe (I like McCall and it’s on an album) but I can’t listen to it without blubbering, so I don’t. I always skip it. ---
**Author:** ![Made\_in\_Macau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Made\_in\_Macau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Made_in_Macau)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/47 "2016-12-17T16:58:54Z")
A year ago we sandbagged our house and waited for the tide to turn and the rain to stop. Our house was ok but our neighbours lost theirs. A few days later my son sent me a link to Rachael Dadd’s song Our Arms - [Rachael Dadd - Our Arms (Official Audio) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=829I-c7UZ2M) I am undone by it every time. ‘You take the stairs three at a time and you are first to reach the baby…’ MiM ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/48 "2016-12-17T17:16:40Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > People who don’t know any other word for a musical piece use “song” for everything musical. Besides, there are [these](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_Without_Words). > > And if we’re gonna start listing sad (or wistful) Chopin pieces, we’ll be here all night. Very true, my friend. I could add: I would add [Tomaso Albinoni Adagio in G](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eLU5W1vc8Y) ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/49 "2016-12-17T19:19:20Z")
My daughter and I were at a beautiful outdoor wedding, and after, the first dance was ‘Harvest Moon’ by Neil Young, and the two of us were sitting there with tears streaming down our faces. I can’t say why, really. It’s one of her dad’s (and my husband’s) favorites, and we are both at the age when fathers and husbands pass on from strokes, heart attacks. Like, time is running out… What is that melancholy, slow, sad song by U2? It’s not one of the older songs, it’s not ‘One’ (though very similar). That one. I could hear it in passing walking down the street on my way to the post office, and I would burst into tears. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/50 "2016-12-17T20:26:53Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Slight nitpick - it’s not a \*song \*if there’s no singing. > [@panache45](#): > > People who don’t know any other word for a musical piece use “song” for everything musical. Besides, there are [these](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_Without_Words). > > And if we’re gonna start listing sad (or wistful) Chopin pieces, we’ll be here all night. Fair enough. The most wistful song _with words_ on my playlist is [Ave Maria](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d4xXvF2ukY). I prefer Liszt’s straight [piano arrangement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCucnn-95nY), but having no words, it’s not technically a song. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/51 "2016-12-17T21:04:32Z")
[Chet Atins: Shubert’s Ave Maria](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gila5lMH1X0) ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/52 "2016-12-17T21:28:21Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > [Chet Atins: Shubert’s Ave Maria](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gila5lMH1X0) Very nice! Wish they didn’t add the backing strings, though. That, to me, kinda gives it a Muzak vibe. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/53 "2016-12-17T22:45:20Z")
[“Chelsea”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG_Z2Lt_30Q) by Counting Crows. I’ve said before that Adam Duritz is the most depressing son of a bitch on the face of the Earth. Johnny Cash would have told him to lighten up. But with such lines as > [@Counting Crows](#): > > Is there anything different these days? > The light in her eyes goes out > I never had light in my eyes anyway and > [@Counting Crows](#): > > It’s good for everybody to hurt somebody once in a while > The things I do to people I love shouldn’t be allowed and > [@Counting Crows](#): > > Angels flow down from all the buildings > Something about an angel just kills me > I keep hoping something will At the end of that last quote, he just keeps singing “I keep hoping…I keep hoping…I keep hoping.” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/54 "2016-12-18T16:03:23Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I’ve said before that Adam Duritz is the most depressing son of a bitch on the face of the Earth. I always felt he nailed it with: It’s 4:30 A.M. on a Tuesday It doesn’t get much worse than this Tuesdays are the worst, and 4:30 means you’re awake at an ungodly hour and you have a whole Tuesday stretched out before you. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/55 "2016-12-18T19:18:25Z")
Barber’s Adagio [Adagio for Strings (Samuel Barber) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KylMqxLzNGo) (kind of funny as this link is hosted by a depression treatment center!) Second Hurt, although my favorite version is on NIN Beside You In Time DVD One other–Trampled Rose, as performed by Tom Waits himself, or Alison Krause on Raising Sand. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/56 "2016-12-18T19:22:59Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I always felt he nailed it with: > > It’s 4:30 A.M. on a Tuesday > It doesn’t get much worse than this > Tuesdays are the worst, and 4:30 means you’re awake at an ungodly hour and you have a whole Tuesday stretched out before you. Normally, I’d agree with you. But I work second shift, so I’m usually just going to bed at 430am. There’s a line in “High Life” where he really gets me. It’s when he sings “waiting for trains that just never come.” ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/57 "2016-12-18T19:59:56Z")
The Band Played Waltzing Matilda makes me feel a bit sad. So do a few Colombian vallenatos like Jaime Molina or El Sentido. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/58 "2016-12-18T21:09:55Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > How about Elvis Costello’s ‘This House is Empty Now’… Which pairs well with Tom Waits’ “The House Where Nobody Lives.” But I can’t listen to Waits’ “Georgia Lee” without full-on leakage. Cuts a little to close to the bone. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/59 "2016-12-18T22:56:02Z")
Joni Mitchell, Song for Sharon _A woman I knew just drowned herself The well was deep and muddy She was just shaking off futility Or punishing somebody My friends were calling up all day yesterday All emotions and abstractions It seems we all live so close to that line And so far from satisfaction_ ☹ ---
**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:** [December 19, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858/60 "2016-12-19T19:06:59Z")
What? No Richard Thompson songs yet? RT is the definition of doom and gloom. I can’t say that I actually have play lists, but I’m a long time RT fan and could throw out a few suggestions: “Withered and Died” (with Linda Thompson) “She Cut Off Her Long Silken Hair” “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” “Has He Got A Friend For Me?” (with Linda Thompson) Heck, it’s hardly any fun if we’re allowed to pick RT songs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-saddest-song-on-your-playlist/774858.md?page=4)