25 saddest songs world wide

[zemlin]

John Prine's Sam Stone would have been on my list.

[jdjustice]

Originally Posted by zemlin

John Prine's Sam Stone would have been on my list.

or Iris Dement's My Life.... that one is awfully (and exquisitely) sad.
Iron & Wine made the list, but i would have chosen Passing Afternoon from that particular disc.

[max cooper]

Good morning coffee reading except for the fact that it took forever for each page to load.

Other than that I like spinner.com

[bgrotto]

As me and my girlfriend were sitting here reading that, we were both CERTAIN that the No. 1 song would be "Cats in the Cradle" (forgive me if that's not the correct name of the tune, but y'all know which one I'm talking about). And as much as "Eleanor Rigby" is a great song, "Nowhere Man" is about a million percent sadder. Give or take.

[Blue Bongo]

Not just wait one minute...........
What about "Honey" by Bobby Goldsborough?
Now that has to be the number 1 saddest song of all time!
But then again there was "Timothy".
Blue Bongo

[henryrobinett]

"Long, Long Time" by Linda Ronstandt would be up there for me. I believe that was her first "hit."

"Diary" by Bread.

One of the saddest MELODIES would be, for me, although not a song in the pop sense, would be Wagners death scene from Tristan and Isolde.

Sorry I didn't read the list.

[gerryg]

The saddest song ever in my opinion is Elton John's "Empty Garden" 27 years after John Lennon's death it's still difficult for me to listen to this beautiful song.

[zemlin]

Clapton's Tears in Heaven would be right up there too. I'm surprised it's not on the list. My wife can't listen to that one. Maybe because you need to know the story behind it before it really hits home.

[zemlin]

It was Eric's young son.

On 20 March 1991 at 11 a.m., four-and-a-half-year-old Conor Clapton died when he fell from a 53rd-story window in a New York City apartment. He landed on the roof of an adjacent four-story building.

[Sirocco]

i may be only 20, but i know sad music.

where is nick drake's "pink moon".

this list is officially a joke now.

[Scott Shane]

Clapton's "River of Tears" from the album Pilgrim should have been in there somewhere.

[CoteRotie]

What about "Seasons in the Sun?"

Oh, wait, no that's one of the top 25 WORST songs world wide.

I concur with "Tears in Heaven." Also, there are several tunes from Warren Zevon's "The Wind" that could qualify.

Regards,

John

[brendondp]

Off the top of my head, I'd add:

"I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt

"Stone River" by Robbie Fulks

"Goodbye" by Emmylou Harris

"I Never Came" by Queens of the Stone Age

"Several Miles" by Ron Sexsmith

"Angelene" by PJ Harvey

Ironic we come to the Good News Channel to listen and remember a whole lot of songs that bring out the Kleenex...

Cheers all,

bdp

[Cujo]

Hmm, Nick Drake has some wrist slashers to for sure, but I think Pink Moon is more meloncholy? Hows about Emmylou's version of Too Far Gone?

Originally Posted by Sirocco

i may be only 20, but i know sad music.

where is nick drake's "pink moon".

this list is officially a joke now.

[Ganglion]

1."Gone for Good" by Morphine. Off of "Yes"

2."One of Us Cannot Be Wrong" Harvey Milk (cohen cover) -- unreal --- off of "Courtesy and Goodwill Towards Men" -- probably the best vocal performance I've ever heard.

3. "The End" Harvey Milk -- off of "Special Wishes" Heaviness

That "My Mom" song on the list brought on the tears.

Danny

[jebjerome]

"Hope" by Dirty Three

[CoteRotie]

Originally Posted by Fman

LOL re: "Seasons"

Cote du Rhone... a fellow Oenophile?

Yep, love the Northern Rhones. J.L. Chave Hermitage in particular.

Glad I'm not the only one on the board,

John

[Sirocco]

Originally Posted by Cujo

Hmm, Nick Drake has some wrist slashers to for sure, but I think Pink Moon is more meloncholy? Hows about Emmylou's version of Too Far Gone?

perhaps, but not to me

[Carlos Boll]

Shouldn't this be -

"The 25 Most Exquisitely Sad Songs on the Radio" ??

[David Herbert]

How about Leiber and Stoller's "Is That All There Is?"? Has been sung by PJ Harvey, Peggy Lee, Bette Midler. Won a Grammy in 1969.

"I remember when I was a very little girl, our house caught on fire.
I'll never forget the look on my father's face as he gathered me up in his arms
and raced through the burning building out to the pavement.
I stood there shivering in my pajamas and watched the whole world go up in flames.
And when it was all over I said to myself,
'Is that all there is to a fire?'"

Is that all there is?
Is that all there is?
If that's all there is, my friends,
Then let's keep dancing.
Let's break out the booze
And have a ball
If that's all there is.

"And when I was 12 years old, my father took me to the circus, the greatest show on earth.
There were clowns and elephants and dancing bears and a beautiful lady in pink tights flew high above our heads.
And as I sat there watching the marvelous spectacle, I had the feeling that something was missing.
I don't know what, but when it was over I said to myself,
'Is that all there is to a circus?'"

Is that all there is?
Is that all there is?
If that's all there is, my friends,
Then let's keep dancing.
Let's break out the booze
And have a ball
If that's all there is.

"Then I fell in love with the most wonderful boy in the world.
We would take long walks by the river or just sit for hours gazing into each other's eyes.
We were so very much in love. Then one day, he went away.
And I thought I'd die, but I didn't.
And when I didn't, I said to myself,
'Is that all there is to love?'"

Is that all there is?
Is that all there is?
If that's all there is, my friends,
Then let's keep dancing.

"I know what you must be saying to yourselves.
'If that's the way she feels about it why doesn't she just end it all?'
Oh, no. Not me. I'm in no hurry for that final disappointment.
For I know just as well as I'm standing here talking to you,
when that final moment comes and I'm breathing my last breath,
I'll be saying to myself..."

Is that all there is?
Is that all there is?
If that's all there is, my friends,
Then let's keep dancing.
Let's break out the booze
And have a ball
If that's all there is.

Check out PJ Harvey's version. Whoa. Lists like this are fun but should be taken with a grain of salt.
David

[severe]

Off the top of my head... (and in addition to some other good ones here)

1. "Circle" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians

...has always put me on a downer. (hide any sharp objects)


2. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John

...this one too, mostly for nostalgic reasons.


3. "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight" by The Beatles

...same.

[Cujo]

Off topic a bit but I caught the Morphine's sax player's new band a few weeks ago in a tiny club in Jamiaca Plane (Boston) very cool indeed, fronted by a woman bassist/lead singer playing a fretless Kubickie (Sp?) very moody and angular. The sax sounded a bit like Tony Iommi's guitar! A friend of mine is helping them with publicity, but I can;t for the life of me remember the groups name, I'll find it though.

Originally Posted by Ganglion

1."Gone for Good" by Morphine. Off of "Yes"

2."One of Us Cannot Be Wrong" Harvey Milk (cohen cover) -- unreal --- off of "Courtesy and Goodwill Towards Men" -- probably the best vocal performance I've ever heard.

3. "The End" Harvey Milk -- off of "Special Wishes" Heaviness

That "My Mom" song on the list brought on the tears.

Danny

[KingDaddyO]

Two of my favorites would have to be:
'Song for a Dead Friend', Kevin Gilbert, debut solo release "Thud"
'Broken Hearts' - Living Color, debut release "Vivid"

[commaKaze]

"I Started A Joke" by The Bee Gees is definitely in the Top 5...no doubt...gets me wailing everytime.

[Berolzheimer]

The whole album "Music from The Native Americans" should be there, or at least "Ghost Dance".
Also "Heartbreak Hotel" as performed by John Cale & Chris Spedding.
And I agree about "Tears in Heaven" - about Eric Clapton's 3 year old son falling to his death.

[zaczac]

Oooh, another Elliott Smith thread... what's that? no Elliott Smith huh...

[GearBit]

Originally Posted by Blue Bongo

Not just wait one minute...........
What about "Honey" by Bobby Goldsborough?
Now that has to be the number 1 saddest song of all time!
But then again there was "Timothy".
Blue Bongo

Yep pretty sad. Man starts a family and plants a tree. Mom dies and the tree grows.

OK Timothy is possibly one of the weirdest, darkest (except for maybe DOA by bloodrock) songs ever on radio. I still rave about its insane lyrics to this day.
I defy anyone to show me a song about EATING YOUR FRIENDS that has made it into the top 40 since.

Sample

Hungry as hell no food to eat
And Joe said that he would sell his soul
For just a piece of meat
Water enough to drink for two
And Joe said to me, "I'll have a swig
And then there's some for you."

Timothy, Timothy, Joe was looking at you
Timothy, Timothy, God what did we do?

I must have blacked out just around then
'Cause the very next thing that I could see
Was the light of the day again
My stomach was full as it could be
And nobody ever got around
To finding Timothy
Timothy...

[AlexLakis]

Here are some for me that I can think of now:

Smashing Pumpkins - "Mayonnaise" (makes me cry every time)/"Rotten Apples"/"Disarm"...too many to name...
Bad Religion - "Cease"
Ben Folds/Ben Folds Five - "The Luckiest" (not a really sad song persay, but a tear-jerker nonetheless)/"Mess"/"Magic"
Foo Fighters - "February Stars"
Roger Waters - "Every Stranger's Eyes"
Sunny Day Real Estate - "Rain Song"
Chris Cornell - "Preaching the End of the World"
Greg Graffin/Emmylou Harris - "Talk About Suffering" (Traditional)
James Iha/Veruca Salt - "...Said Sadly"
NIN - "Something I Can Never Have"/"A Warm Place"/"Hurt"
Toadies - "Dollskin"

And pretty much anything else written in A minor (the saddest key.)

Gotta stop before I cry.

(P.S. Having this in the "good news channel" and not "the moan zone" is kinda weird, but understandable. )

[jdjustice]

Originally Posted by Fman

does anyone have any idea who covered Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changin" ? on the soundtrack to Lady In The Water? I still don't know how I feel about the movie, but the song put me in a trance.

the band is called 'A Whisper in the Noise' and i think it's some guy from rural Minnesota that makes all this dreary music (cites influences of Dylan, Roger Waters, Arvo Part, and Philip Glass).


~j.d.