Sad Songs

A friend of mine (and I use the term loosely because, if we were to run into each other in public, we would probably do that “I think I know you” glance, and then walk away without risking being wrong – we know ‘of’ each other more than anything, and to be honest, it is probably 87% on my end… did I ramble enough for ya?)… right, so a “friend” of mine wrote a blog recently about the saddest songs ever.



He and his sis were listing sad songs they loved off the top of their heads. I don’t love listening to sad songs, because why make myself cry, really, BUT some of these are amazing, and others I have never heard of. Here are their lists:


"Lost Cause," Beck
"Crying," Roy Orbison
"Are You Still in Love With Me?", Tift Merritt
"Hallelujah," Jeff Buckley
"He Stopped Loving Her Today," George Jones
"Houses on the Hill," Whiskeytown
"Martha," Tom Waits
"Winona," "Nothing Lasts," "Your Sweet Voice," "Everything Changes," "I Almost Forgot," Matthew Sweet
"Steven," Denison Witmer
"Far, Far Away," Wilco
"I Should Have Been True," The Mavericks
"Oh My Sweet Carolina," "La Cienega Just Smiled," "September," Ryan Adams
"Please Tell My Brother," Golden Smog
"Salome," Old 97's
"Travelin' Soldier," "Without You," Dixie Chicks
"The Stars Above and My Heart in Your Hands," Christopher Denny (to which I attached the caveat that it's so sad I can only listen to it every couple of months)
"Sweetest Waste of Time," Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," Hank Williams
"Broke, Lovesick, & Driftin'," Hank Williams III
"Always On My Mind," Willie Nelson
"Please Break My Heart," Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell

The Sis

"Fred Jones," Ben Folds
"Casimir Pulaski Day," Sufjan Stevens
"The Lonely 1," Wilco
"Your Long Journey," Robert Plant and Allison Krauss
"Mad World," Gary Jules
"The Blower's Daugter," "Amie," Damien Rice
"She's Got You," "Crazy," "Walkin' After Midnight," Patsy Cline
"A Ghost in This House," Allison Krauss and Union Station

I know, right? I might cry just looking at this list. I know more songs on her list than his, though. And I seriously heart what I know of Sufjan Stevens. W2G, Sis.

Then he opened the blog for comments. He got a lot of suggestions, so allow me copy the ones I know and agree with:
Tears in Heaven--Eric Clapton
Hurt--Johnny Cash -(LOVE this one!)
Last Kiss - Pearl Jam
Disarm - The Smashing Pumpkins
"Brick" by Ben Folds 5
Playboy Mommy - Tori Amos
Almost Lover - A Fine Frenzy (on all of my playlists)
Imagine: John Lennon
Eleanor Rigby: The Beatles
Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone, Bill Withers
I Can't Make You Love Me - Bonnie Rait
"Kissing You" by Des'ree
Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap
Fix You - Coldplay (OK, I almost cried just typing this one out)
Colorblind - Counting Crows
Missing the War - Ben Folds Five

Evaporated - Ben Folds Five
Yesterday - The Beatles
"Dreaming With A Broken Heart," John Mayer
Adia-Sarah McLachlan
Fred Jones Part 2 – Ben Folds

Bawling yet? Well here are my additions, some of which are just "songs that make me cry":

“Are You Alright?” – Lucinda Williams
“Hello” – Evanescence
“I Miss You” – Incubus (high school shout-out)
“Let Me Leave” – Marc Broussard
“The Lighthouse Tale” – Nickel Creek
“You Are Goodbye” – Holly Conlan
“Between the Lines” – Sara Bareilles
“City” – Sara Bareilles
“Epiphany” – Staind
“Gravity” – Sara Bareilles
“Let It Be” – The Beatles (but the version from Across The Universe)
“The Most Beautiful Things” – Jimmy Eat World (I miss Rob…)
“Trampled Rose” – Alison Krauss and Robert Plant
“Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us” - Alison Krauss and Robert Plant

(Broadway Musicals – obviously I am leaving out thousands…)
“Alabanza” – In The Heights
“Still Hurting” – The Last Five Years
“Nobody Needs to Know” – The Last Five Years
“The Next Ten Minutes” – The Last Five Years
“The Guilty Ones” – Spring Awakening
“Touch Me” – Spring Awakening
“Whispering” – Spring Awakening
“I’ll Cover You (reprise)” – Rent (Seriously, I might cry right now)
“Those You’ve Known” – Spring Awakening
“On the Willows” – Godspell
“For Good” – Wicked
“All the Wasted Time” – Parade
“And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” – Dreamgirls
*I’m not going to list EVERY song in ‘The Civil War’, but they pretty much all make me cry*
“I’d Give it All for You” – Songs For A New World
“The I Love You Song” – 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
“I Wish I Could Go Back to College” – Avenue Q
“Johnny Can’t Decide” – tick, tick…BOOM!

“Louder Than Words” – tick, tick…BOOM!