Saddest song EVER - your thoughts?

[entanglement]

Name and band, please.

entanglement

[wildhorses]

1. THE ONE I LOVE~David Gray

Gonna close my eyes
Girl and watch you go
Running through this life darling
Like a field of snow
As the tracer glides
In its graceful arc
Send a little prayer out to ya
‘cross the falling dark

Tell the repo man
And the stars above
That you’re the one I love
yeah

Perfect summers night
Not a wind that breathes
Just the bullets whispering gentle
‘mongst the new green leaves
There’s things I might have said
Only wish I could
Now I'm leaking life faster
Than I'm leaking blood

Tell the repo man
And the stars above
That you’re the one I love
You’re the one I love
The one I love

Don’t see Elysium
Don’t see no fiery hell
Just the lights up bright baby
In the bay hotel
Next wave coming in
Like an ocean roar
Won’t you take my hand darling
On that old dancefloor

We can twist and shout
Do the turtle dove
And you’re the one I love
You’re the one I love
The one I love

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. Harry Chapin's "Taxi"

[Momgonepostal]

72. Or Cat's in the Cradle...lyrics below:

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home dad?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

[Ptah]

87. I'm with you on this one:

It took a while, but she looked in the mirror,
And she glanced at the license for my name.
A smile seemed to come to her slowly,
It was a sad smile, just the same.
And she said, "How are you Harry?"
I said, "How are you Sue?
Through the too many miles
and the too little smiles
I still remember you."

[bmbmd]

103. Yeah, but it has a happy ending.

You just have to wait a few years....

So here she's actin' happy inside her handsome home
And me, I'm flyin' in my taxi, takin' tips and gettin' stoned.
I got into town a little early.
Had eight hours to kill before the show.
First I thought about heading up north of the bay
Then I knew where I had to go.
I thought about taking a limousine
Or at least a fancy car.
But I ended up taking a taxi
'Cause that's how I got this far.
You see, ten years ago it was the front seat
Drivin' stoned and feelin' no pain.
Now here I am straight and sittin' in the back
Hitting Sixteen Parkside Lane.
The driveway was the same as I remembered
And a butler came and answered the door.
He just shook his head when I asked for her
And said "She doesn't live here anymore."
But he offered to give me the address
That they were forwarding her letters to.
I just took it and returned to the cabbie
And said "I got one more fare for you."
And so we rolled back into the city
Up to a five store old brownstone
I rang the bell that had her name on the mailbox.
The buzzer said somebody's home.
And the look on her face as she opened the door
Was like an old joke told by a friend.
It'd taken ten more years but she'd found her smile
And I watched the corners start to bend.
And she said, "How are you Harry?
Haven't we played this scene before?"
I said "It's so good to see you, Sue
Had to play it out just once more."
Play it out just once more.
She said I've heard you flying high on my radio
I answered "It's not all it seems"
That's when she laughed and she said, "It's better sometimes
When we don't get to touch our dreams."
That's when I asked her where was that actress
She said "That was somebody else"
And then I asked her why she looked so happy now
She said "I finally like myself, at last I like myself."
So we talked all through that afternoon
Talking about where we'd been
We talked of the tiny difference
Between ending and starting to begin.
We talked because talking tells you things
Like what you really are thinking about.
But sometimes you can't find what you're feeling
Till all the word run out.
So I asked her to come to the concert.
She said "No, I work at night."
I said, "We've gotten too damn good at leaving, Sue"
She said, "Harry, you're right."
Don't ask me if I made love to her
Or which one of us started to cry
Don't ask me why she wouldn't take the money that I left
If I answered at all I'd lie.
So I thought about her as I sang that night
And how the circle keeps rolling around.
How I act as I'm facing the footlights
And how she's flying with both feet on the ground.
I guess it's a sequel to our story
From the journey 'tween heaven and hell
With half the time thinking of what might have been
and half thinkin' just as well.
I guess only time will tell.

[Ptah]

104. My CD doesn't have that last verse.

I'm thankful you shared it with me.

[bmbmd]

125. It was a whole 'nother song.

"Sequel", came out a few years later.

[Karenca]

3. #1. Tears in Heaven ......... Clapton .......... #2:

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother .... The Hollies

[blondeatlast]

5. It came out about the same time my beautiful son was born.

I still can't even listen to it without becoming a blubbering fool.

[entanglement]

6. Great song, that

[jobycom]

27. Good choice. Amazing song. nt

[entanglement]

4. My choice : 'Comfortably Numb'

n/t

[ncrainbowgrrl]

114. Good pick on so many levels, and is also political yet personal (for me)

[blondeatlast]

7. "Gloomy Sunday, Strange Fruit"--Billie Holiday

I don't know if any of the legends surrounding GS are true, but damn if listening to Billie's version doesn't have me tearing the house apart for a Xanax.

Sorry, can't find a link to a performance of either, but both are widely available.

http://www.phespirit.info/gloomysunday/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Fruit

[idgiehkt]

39. I can't even listen to Gloomy Sunday

At the end they pretend like it's only a dream, but I don't think that it really was...I think they just niced it up for the time it was written in.

[Guava Jelly]

8. Wonderful Everclear

Wonderful - Everclear

I close my eyes when I get too sad
I think thoughts that I know are bad
Close my eyes and I count to ten
Hope it's over when I open them

I want the things that I had before
Like a Star Wars poster on my bedroom door
I wish I could count to ten
Make everything be wonderful again

Hope my mom and I hope my dad
Will figure out why they get so mad
Hear them scream, I hear them fight
They say bad words that make me wanna cry

Close my eyes when I go to bed
And I dream adventures that will make me smile
I feel better when I hear them say
Everything will be wonderful someday

Promises mean everything when you're little
And the world's so big
I just don't understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
Tell me everything is wonderful now

Na na na na na na na
Na na na na na na na
Na na na na na na na>

Please don't tell me everything is wonderful

I go to school and I run and play
I tell the kids that it's all okay
I like to laugh so my friends won't know
When the bell rings I just don't wanna go home

Go to my room and I close my eyes
I make believe that I have a new life
I don't believe you when you say
Everything will be wonderful someday

Promises mean everything when you're little
And the world is so big
I just don't understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
When you tell me everything is wonderful now


No

No, I don't wanna hear you tell me
everything is wonderful now

No

No, I don't wanna hear you tell me
everything is wonderful now

I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now

I don't wanna hear you say
That I will understand someday
No, no, no, no
I don't wanna hear you say
???
No, no, no, no
I don't wanna meet your friends
And I don't wanna start over again
I just wanna my life to be the same
Just like it used to be
Somedays I hate everything
I hate everything
Ever wanna live with me?
Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now

I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now

[wildhorses]

9. STRAIGHT TO HELL ~Driving and Crying

I grew up just west of the tracks
holding me to hold you back,
around your door she's calling out my name
She said son won't you go outside,
I've got a man coming over tonight
the seventh one in seven days
So I walk on down to the parking lot,
hang around with all my friends,
and roam the streets til dawn breaks again
I come in at five a.m. and she is waiting for me
She said where have you been, I said I was out,
She said you're no good cause you're running without love

Cause I'm going straight to hell
Just like my momma said
I'm going straight to hell
I'm going straight to hell
Just like my momma said
I'm going straight to hell

The black widow and the ladies man
Met down at the laundrmat and tried to make me understand
The neighbors were all in a stir
about what they might have heard
and running down and shouted out it seemed

Next door a girl she lives about the same age as me
and asked me to come upstairs for a see
Just then her mother burst in said your
that son of a bitch in the wind
Get out of my house and hit the road
and I kept fallin like a Rolling Stones song


The stars came out and warned me so
As I walked on down the road
Fifty bucks and a suitcase steered me clear
She took my hand as we walked into the sun
A new days promise had begun
We'll make it alone whether you like it or not
I turned around and shouted help me mother

[deucemagnet]

75. Driving and Crying -- NICE!

Every now and then I purge my CD collection by selling them to a new/used CD store and buying new ones. One CD that I can never part with is Kev'n Kinney's "McDougal Blues". I think he did a nice job on his little folk music experiment, plus Peter Buck produced and played on some tracks. You don't hear much about that band anymore.

On edit: I think two songs from McDougal Blues qualify for this thread: The Last Song of Maddy Hope and Iron Mountain.

[sakabatou]

10. Several

Sora - Yoko Kanno
Wasteland, What is Real, ELM, Blue - Yoko Kanno/Seatbelts

[yvr girl]

11. Mr. Bojangles - Sammy Davis Jr.

C'mon people, '...his dog up and died...'

[RetroLounge]

34. ...his dog up and died...

:rofl:

RL

[wildhorses]

12. Travelling Soldier~Dixie Chicks

Two days past eighteen
He was waitin' for the bus in his army greens
Sat down in a booth a café there
Gave his order to the girl with a bow in her hair
He's a little shy so she gave him a smile
And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while
And talkin' to me I'm feelin' a little low
She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go

So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't care
I've got no one to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you?

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of the travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone
When the letter says a soldier's comin home

So the letters came
From an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heart
It might be lovin'
All of the things he was so scared of
Said when it's gettin kinda rough over here
I think about that day sittin' down at the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for a while

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of the travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone
When the letter says a soldier's coming home

(Martie's fiddle break - Emily's dobro break)

One Friday night at a football game
The Lord's Prayer said and the anthem sang
A man said folks would you bow your heads
For the list of the local Vietnam dead
Cryin' all alone under the stands
Was the piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read and no body really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of the travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone
When the letter says a soldier's comin

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of the travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone
When the letter says a soldier's comin home

[SaveElmer]

13. Yeah that is a great song...

I'm not a huge country music fan...but that is a great song!

[wildhorses]

16. just like all GREAT songs...it transcends it's genre

:thumbsup:

[ncrainbowgrrl]

29. that one gets me every time. Good call.

[wildhorses]

14. Somewhere~West Side Story

There's a place for us,
Somewhere a place for us.
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us
Somewhere.
There's a time for us,
Some day a time for us,
Time together with time to spare,
Time to look, time to care,
Someday!
Somewhere.
We'll find a new way of living,
We'll find a way of forgiving
Somewhere.

There's a place for us,
A time and place for us.
Hold my hand and we're half way there.
Hold my hand and I'll take you there
Somehow,
Someday,
Somewhere!

[wildhorses]

15. Sylvia's Mother~Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show

(Shel Silverstein)

Sylvia's mother says, Sylvia's busy
Too busy to come to the phone
Sylvia's mother says, Sylvia's tryin'
To start a new life of her own
Sylvia's mother says, Sylvia's happy
So why don't you leave her alone

And the operator says, 40 cents more
For the next 3 minutes
Ple-ease Mrs Avery, I just gotta talk to her
I'll only keep her a while
Please Mrs Avery, I just wanna tell 'er goodbye

Sylvia's mother says, Sylvia's packin'
She's gonna be leavin' today
Sylvia's mother says, Sylvia's marryin'
A fella down Galveston way
Sylvia's mother says, please don't say nothin'
To make her start cryin' and stay

And the operator says, 40 cents more
For the next 3 minutes
Ple-ease Mrs Avery, I just gotta talk to her
I'll only keep her a while
Please Mrs Avery, I just wanna tell 'er goodbye

Sylvia's mother says, Sylvia's hurryin'
She's catchin' the nine o'clock train
Sylvia's mother says, take your umbrella
'Cause Sylvia, it's startin' to rain
And Sylvia's mother says, thank you for callin'
And, sir, won't you call back again

And the operator says, 40 cents more
For the next 3 minutes
Ple-ease Mrs Avery, I just gotta talk to her
I'll only keep her a while
Please Mrs Avery, I just wanna tell 'er goodbye

Tell her goodbye
Please
Tell her goodbye

[grannylib]

62. Man, it's been YONKS since I heard that one!

[wildhorses]

17. Indiana Wants Me~R. Dean Taylor

Indiana wants me, Lord I can't go back there
Indiana wants me, Lord I can't go back there
I wish I had you, to talk to

If a man ever needed dyin' he did
No one had the right to say what he said about you
And it's so cold and lonely here without you
Out there the laws are coming
I'm scared and so tired of running

Indiana wants me, Lord I can't go back there
Indiana wants me, Lord I can't go back there
I wish I had you, to talk to

It hurts to see the man that I've become
And to know I'll never see the morning sunshine on the land
I'll never see your smiling face, or touch your hand
If just once more I could see
You, our home, and our little baby

Indiana wants me, Lord I can't go back there
Indiana wants me, Lord I can't go back there, oh

I wish I had you, to talk to

I hope this letter finds its way to you
Forgive me love for the shame I put you through
And all the tears
Hang on love to the memories of those happy years
Red lights are flashin' around me
Yea love it looks like they found me

Indiana wants me, Lord I can't go back there
Indiana wants me, Lord I can't go back there
I wish I had you, to talk to

Indiana wants me, Lord I can't go back there
("This is the police, you are surrounded, give yourself up")
Indiana wants me, Lord I can't go back there
("This is the police, give yourself up, you are surrounded")

[Glorfindel]

18. "I Am a Rock" - Simon & Garfunkel - it breaks my heart

A winters day
In a deep and dark december;
I am alone,
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
Ive built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain.
Its laughter and its loving I disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

Dont talk of love,
But Ive heard the words before;
Its sleeping in my memory.
I wont disturb the slumber of feelings that have died.
If I never loved I never would have cried.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

I have my books
And my poetry to protect me;
I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

And a rock feels no pain;
And an island never cries.

[bertha katzenengel]

19. Alone Again, Naturally - Gilbert O'Sullivan

[Gidney N Cloyd]

24. I always thought that one was kind of whiney and self-pitying.

Guy gets jilted so he wails at god's unfairness and threatens to kill himself.

[jobycom]

26. Sad songs have to be

I hear sad songs that are clever, subtle, and stoic, and I think "That person's never been sad, he's lying." "Alone Again" is a pretty good exploration of love, grief and suicide, like "Romeo and Juliet" or "The Sorrows of Young Werther."

[Neoma]

20. Weezer

- Only in dreams.

[blondeatlast]

21. "Back on the Chain Gang" The Pretenders.

Hynde's lament about the pain of keeping on when two of her original (and best) band members have passed on; the extraordinary guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and her bassist and ex-lover, Pete Farndon.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

22. Ode to Billy Joe

[SKKY]

23. "I know it´s over" by The Smiths

[SnohoDem]

25. Quits - Danny O'Keefe

What will we call it now it isn't marriage anymore
Call it new call it different it's not the way it was before
Out of all the words to choose from there's only one that fits
Call it what you want to I just call it quits


We've come down to a place where love never fits
Call it what you want to I just call it quits

Turn and walk away cross the desert of our hearts
Love turns to sand and we're running out of time
You know we once had something no words could tear apart
Now you be yours and I'll be mine


We've come down to a place where love never fits
Call it what you want to I just call it quits

Call our friends and tell them
That we just don't care
Tell them dreams are flowers and that our gardens bare
Call it separation independence divorce if that word fits

Call it what you want to I just call it quits

--
Pretty sad if you've ever loved and lost.

[Jade Fox]

32. Danny O'Keefe!

There's a name I haven't heard in awhile.

[jobycom]

28. "I will always love you," (Dolly Parton), "I'm so lonesome I could cry"

by Hank Williams.

Lyrics, for anyone who doesn't remember them:
Hear that lonesome whippoorwill
He sounds too blue to fly
The midnight train is whining low
I'm so lonesome I could cry

I've never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling by
The moon just went behind a cloud
To hide its face and cry

Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die?
Like me he's lost the will to live
I'm so lonesome I could cry

The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky
And as I wonder where you are
I'm so lonesome I could cry

[blondeatlast]

48. How could I forget "I'm So Lonesome?"

Heart wrenching in both the lyrics and the vocal.

My father was a huge, TRUE country music fan and I was raised on the really good stuff.

I'd add "Crying" by Patsy Cline to that list, too.

[jobycom]

50. Oh we could add country songs all day long!

"He stopped loving her today." "D-I-V-O-R-C-E." "Pine Box." "Amarillo by Morning."

Two songs which aren't completely sad but which can shred me every time, both because of the performances and the lyrics: "The Dance," by Garth Brooks, and, probably less well written but it cuts every time "That's My Job," by Conway Twitty.

I miss good country music. Every other genre goes into slumps and evolves into different forms and they still maintain some integrity. With country it's all or nothing. It's either really good or complete pants (World Cup jargon).

[ncrainbowgrrl]

30. Runaway Train- Soul Asylum

Call you up in the middle of the night
Like a firefly without a light
You were there like a slow torch burning
I was a key that could use a little turning

So tired that I couldn't even sleep
So many secrets I couldn't keep
Promised myself I wouldn't weep
One more promise I couldn't keep

It seems no one can help me now
I'm in too deep
There's no way out
This time I have really led myself astray

CHORUS
Runaway train never going back
Wrong way on a one way track
Seems like I should be getting somewhere
Somehow I'm neither here no there

Can you help me remember how to smile
Make it somehow all seem worthwhile
How on earth did I get so jaded
Life's mystery seems so faded

I can go where no one else can go
I know what no one else knows
Here I am just drownin' in the rain
With a ticket for a runaway train

Everything is cut and dry
Day and night, earth and sky
Somehow I just don't believe it

CHORUS

Bought a ticket for a runaway train
Like a madman laughin' at the rain
Little out of touch, little insane
Just easier than dealing with the pain

Runaway train never comin' back
Runaway train tearin' up the track
Runaway train burnin' in my veins
Runaway but it always seems the same

[Nicole]

55. Promises Broken - Soul Asylum

Promises Broken Lyrics
Artist: Soul Asylum



streets are filled with broken glass
you get burried by the past
n give me just a little taste
lay this mast to waste
take me home

my mind is racing take me home
my body's aching so alone
i'll make you wanna stay with me
befriended by the enemy
one more time

chorus
and every little thing about this tells me
nothing out there is ever gonna help me
all these words that i have spoken
just promises broken now


lookin outside from my window sill
throw another coin in the wishing well
never find what your lookin for

fifteen miles
you took my chance
from so far away
you said smile
s'all i see when i say

chorus
and every little thing about this tells me
nothing out there is ever gonna help me
all these words that i have spoken
just promises broken now


from the hotel satellite
don't look like you're livin right
here's a deal you can't refuse
you ain't got as much to lose

can you tell your troubles to
someone who won't laugh at you
it's all right

as i watch you walk away
hope a part of you will stay
but it's all right

chorus
and every little thing about this tells me
nothing out there is ever gonna help me
all these words that i have spoken
just promises broken now

[arwalden]

31. Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald

[Jade Fox]

33. "If You Go Away"

The song was written by Jacques Brel, and was recorded by Neil Diamond among others. It captures the shamelessness and pathetic optimism of someone who is desperate not to be left like nothing I've ever heard.

[Burma Jones]

35. Sam Stone - John Prine

or "Hello In There" also by Prine....

There's a couple from Iris Dement too, "My Town" and "Walking Home"

[Shell Beau]

36. Not really a fan of George Jones, but "He Stopped Loving Her Today"

is pretty sad.

[bmbmd]

105. Second Best

country song ever, according to CMT.

[Courtesy Flush]

132. Agreed. That's a tear jerker.

[enigmatic]

37. "4 Hours Out"- Richmond Fontaine

Sad songs are kinda my specialty; this one always gets me..


4 hours out, but I can't go back there
To A-Frames and quick build strip malls
And those panelled walls
Will become a distillery again under everyone's focus

13 cities, 7 years
Always uncertain, still unclear
It's a never ending haul of movement
Where nothing appeared right to me
It was barely in focus at all

4 hours out
Maybe my hair and blood will be against the
windshield
But I don't think I could get there either
And the people there will be the same
Knowing I couldn't make it alone
That I couldn't make it away
A-Frames will rise and the bricks will fall
But it'll be the same
Because I'm always the same

13 cities, 7 years
Always uncertain, still unclear
A never-ending haul of movement
Where nothing appeared except
13 cities, 7 years....

[mitchum]

38. "Happy Birthday", but I've got issues

:)

[blondeatlast]

49. LOL!

:rofl:

[idgiehkt]

40. Lightning Crashes - Live

I have to be careful when I listen to this; sometimes I just can't take it, and it automatically puts you in one of those 'question the meaning of life' moods

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVtdIeQw3Hs&search=Lightning%20Crashes

[AlienGirl]

122. That song gives me goosebumps, in a good way

It was popular when I was pregnant with my older son. To me, the lyrics speak of life, death, and rebirth--when the "old mother" dies, "the confusion that was hers belongs now to the baby down the hall"--she isn't dead, she is now the baby. The lyrics, "Oh, that feeling, comin' back again" also suggest reincarnation to me. So it was a very inspiring song, as far as I was concerned, because it made me think about what history the baby dancing inside me might have lived...

Tucker

[newcriminal]

41. Coat of many colors-Dolly Parton

[lizziegrace]

42. Where've You Been?

Kathy Mattea :cry:

Clair had all but given up when
when she and edwin fell in love
she his touched his face and shook her head
in disbelief and sighed and said
in many dreams i've held you near
no at last your really here

Where you've been I've looked for you forever and a day
Where you've been I'm just not myself when you're away

he asked her for her for life
and she became a sales mens wife
he was home each night by eight
but one stormy evening he was late
her frightened tears fell to the floor
until his key turned in the door

Where you've been I've looked for you forever and a day
Where you've been I'm just not myself when you're away

they never spend a night apart for sixty years she heard him snore
now there in the hospital on separate beds on different floors
Clair soon lost her memory, forgot the names of family
she never spoke a word again, then one day they welled him in
he held her hand and stroked her hair, in a fragile voice she said

Where you've been I've looked for you forever and a day
Where you've been I'm just not myself when you're away
no, i'm just not myself when you're away

[hippywife]

79. Ditto for me, lizziegrace!

Chokes me up everytime. :cry:

[KyndCulture]

43. Somebody - Depeche Mode

and Mad World from the Donnie Darko Soundtrack.

[Haole Girl]

44. In the Arms of the Angel, Sara Mclaughlin

the lyrics:

Spend all your time waiting
for that second chance
for a break that would make it okay
there's always some reason
to feel not good enough
and it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
oh beautiful release
memory seeps from my veins
let me be empty
oh and weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight

In the arms of the angel
fly away from here
from this dark cold hotel room
and the endlessness that you fear
you are pulled from the wreckage
of your silent reverie
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort here

So tired of the straight line
and everywhere you turn
there's vultures and thieves at your back
the storm keeps on twisting
keep on building the lies
that you make up for all that you lack
it don't make no difference
escaping one last time
it's easier to believe
in this sweet madness oh
this glorious sadness that brings me to my knees

In the arms of the angel
fly away from here
from this dark cold hotel room
and the endlessness that you fear
you are pulled from the wreckage
of your silent reverie
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort here
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort here

[jobycom]

53. You win. What amazes me about this song is that it is so hopeful

Easily one of the best written songs of pop music era, and one of the best performances. It's so tragic, yet it's loving and hopeful, almost comforting.

[Haole Girl]

64. Yes, I know...that's why I almost didn't post it. But then...

the way she sings the song is so very sad. Here it is on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7UhhtFsCyA&search=Sarah%20McLachlan

[NNadir]

76. I think it is a very beautiful song but not in a necessarily hopeful way.

There are several ways to interpret what "the arms of an angel" means.

[jobycom]

80. The song's meaning is pretty clear

It's about someone dying. The only ambiguity is whether it's through suicide of not. Sara McClaughlin, from what I've read, claimed it was about an artist dying of a drug overdose, though "Memory seeps from your veins" always sounded like slashed wrists to me. The hopeful element is the wish for the peace that this tragedy might bring to the anguished victim. The only other song I know of that gives such a hopeful spin to suicide/death, other than promises of Heaven or the wishes of the actual victim that the suicide will end their own pain, is "Vincent," by Don McClean, also about an artist. Maybe "Candle in the Wind," by Elton John, which wins my choice of the two best tribute songs rolled into one.

That's why it's so haunting. Such tragedy shouldn't be seen in such loving terms. But it's perfect. Not many songs are perfect. Though a few have made this list. "Tears in Heaven" comes close. Clapton's average voice drags it down, but the complex emotions in his voice might make up for that.

All just my opinion. I haven't received my godhood yet, so my opinion is not law. Yet.

[Haole Girl]

110. Thought the below was interesting:

Although this is a very beautiful song, and I love it. I have found that this song is about a friend who has taken his life. It starts out saying "Spend all your time waiting for that second chance ,for a break that would make it okay" This means that a person has made a mistake and is waiting and waiting for a second chance. "There's always one reason to feel not good enough and it's hard at the end of the day..." For someone who is depressed, it is always the worst at the end of the day. Now this part is the singer thinking about the loss, "I need some distraction, oh beautiful release memory seeps from my veins let me be empty and weightless" The last line says "and maybe I'll find some peace tonight " Meaning the singer knows that her friend is in a safe place now... in the arms of an angel, so she can find peace. The chorus goes as follows:

"In the arms of an angel, fly away from here. from this dark cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear. you are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie, you're in the arms of the angel may you find some comfort there" The person who has passed is with an angel. And the singer is remembering the loss in her room, which een if crowded, her hotel room would be empty, dark and cold. The dead person is now free from all burdens, troubles and problem, and will find comfort in the arms of the angel.

http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=5755

[grace0418]

74. That song was playing the night I found out my dad was dying.

I still get choked up hearing it.

[samplegirl]

45. Clapton

(by eric clapton)

Bell bottom blues, you made me cry.
I don’t want to lose this feeling.
And if I could choose a place to die
It would be in your arms.

Do you want to see me crawl across the floor to you?
Do you want to hear me beg you to take me back?
I’d gladly do it because
I don’t want to fade away.
Give me one more day, please.
I don’t want to fade away.
In your heart I want to stay.

It’s all wrong, but it’s all right.
The way that you treat me baby.
Once I was strong but I lost the fight.
You won’t find a better loser.

Chorus

Chorus

Bell bottom blues, don’t say goodbye.
I’m sure we’re gonna meet again,
And if we do, don’t you be surprised
If you find me with another lover.

Chorus

I don’t want to fade away.
Give me one more day please.
I don’t want to fade away.
In your heart I long to stay.

[Corgigal]

46. Patches-Clarence Carter

if you don't know that song, well you should. Im amazed it hasn't been entered already.

short listen here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004T6WT/104-5307233-3818309?v=glance&n=5174

[Magrittes Pipe]

58. Patches! I'm depending on you, son!

:thumbsup:

[khashka]

47. "Me And A Gun" Tori Amos

A song about her rape. I defy anyone to truly listen and not be moved by it...


Khash.

[chaska]

51. The End of the World - Skeeter Davis (lyric below)

Why does the sun go on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don't they know it's the end of the world,
'Cause you don't love me any more?

Why do the birds go on singing?
Why do the stars glow above?
Don't they know it's the end of the world.
It ended when I lost your love.

I wake up in the morning and I wonder,
Why everything's the same as it was.
I can't understand. No, I can't understand,
How life goes on the way it does.

Why does my heart go on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don't they know it's the end of the world.
It ended when you said goodbye.

Why does my heart go on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don't they know it's the end of the world.
It ended when you said goodbye.

[Rhiannon12866]

102. I remember that one... Though it was performed by Herman's Hermits.

Extremely sad and a good point. And I thought I was depressed before...;(

[chaska]

52. I Started a Joke - Bee Gees (lyric below)

I started a joke, which started the whole world crying,
but I didn't see that the joke was on me, oh no.

I started to cry, which started the whole world laughing,
oh, if I'd only seen that the joke was on me.

I looked at the skies, running my hands over my eyes,
and I fell out of bed, hurting my head from things that I'd said.

Til I finally died, which started the whole world living,
oh, if I'd only seen that the joke was on me.

I looked at the skies, running my hands over my eyes,
and I fell out of bed, hurting my head from things that I'd said.

'Til I finally died, which started the whole world living,
oh, if I'd only seen that the joke was one me.

[wildhorses]

54. Wild World~Cat Stevens

Now that I've lost everything to you
You say that you want to start something new
And it's breaking my heart, you're leaving
Baby, I'm grieving
If you want to leave, take good care
Hope you find a lot of nice things to wear
Then a lot of nice things turn bad out there

Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world
It's hard to get by, just upon a smile
Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world
I'll always remember you
Like a child, girl

You know I've seen a lot of what the world can do
And it's breaking my heart in two
Cause I never wanna see you sad, girl
Don't be a bad girl
Now if you wanna leave, take good care
Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there
Just remember there's a lot, I'd beware

If you want to leave, take good care
Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there
But just remember there's a lot, I'd beware

Oh baby, baby, it's a wild world

[wildhorses]

56. In the Living Years~Mike and the Mechanics

Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door

I know that Im a prisoner
To all my father held so dear
I know that Im a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
Im afraid thats all weve got

You say you just dont see it
He says its perfect sense
You just cant get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defence

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
Its too late when we die
To admit we dont see eye to eye

So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
Its the bitterness that lasts

So dont yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you dont give up, and dont give in
You may just be o.k.

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
Its too late when we die
To admit we dont see eye to eye

I wasnt there that morning
When my father passed away
I didnt get to tell him
All the things I had to say

I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
Im sure I heard his echo
In my babys new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
Its too late when we die
To admit we dont see eye to eye

[grannylib]

69. That is a beautiful song...so sad, touching, and what a message...

life is short, say what you need to say and do it now, because you never know when it will be too late.

[Rhiannon12866]

57. All I Know. Art Garfunkel.

All I Know
by Art Garfunkel

(Jimmy Webb)
I bruise you, you bruise me
We both bruise too easily, too easily to let it show
I love you and that's all I know.

All my plans have fallen through,
All my plans depend on you, depend on you to help them grow,
I love you and that's all I know.

When the singer's gone let the song go on...

But the ending always comes at last,
Endings always come too fast,
They come too fast but they pass too slow,
I love you and that's all I know.

When the singer's gone let the song go on,
There's a fine line between the darkness and the dawn.
They say in the darkest night there's a light beyond.

But the ending always comes at last,
Endings always come too fast,
They come too fast
But they pass too slow,
I love you, and that's all I know.
That's all I know, that's all I know.

[GOPisEvil]

59. "I Can't Make You Love Me" - Bonnie Raitt

[leeroysphitz]

60. "Deacon Blues" -Steely Dan.

Or maybe it's "Zombie Woof" by Zappa. Whooo can say?

[CanuckAmok]

65. Zomby Woof is sad?

:popcorn:

[grannylib]

61. Sad but hopeful at the same time..."And She Goes On" by Crowded House

makes me think of my daughter every time.

[acmavm]

63. In The Quiet Morning and Prison Trilogy both by Joan Baez

In The Quiet Morning was a song she wrote about/for Janis Joplin

[Kire]

66. "Hurt" by Johnny Cash?

Is there a sadder song?

[atomic-fly]

86. giddy up

[hfojvt]

67. What are you waiting for by Gibson Miller

Lyrics in the 2nd link, other songs in the 1st link


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=3498357#3502433

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=4644315

[DelawareValleyDem]

68. Wjhere Have the Flowers Gone?

A Pete Seeger classic that's been covered many times.

[leftofthedial]

70. "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word"

Elton John

[CanuckAmok]

71. Beatles - For No One.

Period. None more sad than "For No One".

A close second is a tie between almost any bunch of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds songs:

THE CARNY

And no-one saw the carny go
And the weeks flew by
Until they moved on the show
Leaving his caravan behind
It was parked out on the south east ridge
And as the company crossed the bridge
With the first rain filling the bone-dry river bed
It shone, just so, upon the edge
Away, away, we're sad, they said

Dog-boy, atlas, half-man, the geeks, the hired hands
There was not one among them that did not cast an eye behind
In the hope that the carny would return to his own kind

And the carny had a horse, all skin and bone
A bow-backed nag, that he named "Sorrow"
How it is buried in a shallow grave
In the then parched meadow

And the dwarves were given the task of digging the ditch
And laying the nag's carcass in the ground
And boss Bellini, waving his smoking pistol around
saying "The nag is dead meat"
"We caint afford to carry dead weight"
The whole company standing about
Not making a sound
And turning to dwarves perched on the enclosure gate
The boss says "Bury this lump of crow bait"

And thean the rain came
Everybody running for their wagons
Tying all the canvas flaps down
The mangy cats crowling in ther cages
The bird-girl flapping and squawking around
The whole valley reeking of wet beast
Wet beast and rotten hay
Freak and brute creation
Packed up and on their way

The three dwarves peering from their wagon's hind
Moses says to Noah "We shoulda dugga deepa one"
Their grizzled faces like dying moons
Still dirty from the digging done

And as the company passed from the valley
Into a higher ground
The rain beat on the ridge and on the meadow
And on the mound

Until nothing was left, nothing at all
Except the body of Sorrow
That rose in time
To float upon the surface of the eaten soil

And a murder of crows did circle round
First one, then the others flapping blackly down

And the carny's van still sat upon the edge
Tilting slowly as the firm ground turned to sludge
And the rain it hammered down

And no-one saw the carny go
I say it's funny how things go


DO YOU LOVE ME?

I found her on a night of fire and noise
Wild bells rang in a wild sky
I knew from that moment on
I'll love her till the day that I died
And I kissed away a thousand tears
My lady of the Various Sorrows
Some begged, some borowed, some stolen
Some kept safe for tomorrow
On and endless night, silver star spangled
The bells from the chapel went jingle-jangle


Do you love me? Do you love me?
Do you love me? Do you love me?
Do you love me? Do you love me?
Do you love me? Like I love you?


She was given to me to put things right
And I stacked all my accomplishments beside her
Still I seemed so obselete and small
I found God and all His devils inside her
In my bed she cast the blizzard out
A mock sun blazed upon her head
So completely filled with light she was
Her shadow fanged and hairy and mad
Our love-lines grew hopelessly tangled
And the bells from the chapel went jingle-jangle

Do you love me? Do you love me?
Do you love me? Do you love me?
Do you love me? Do you love me?
Do you love me? Like I love you?


She had a heartful of love and devotion
She had a mindful of tyranny and terror
Well, I try, I do, I really try
But I just err, baby, I do, I error
So come find me, my darling one
I'm down to the grounds, the very dregs
Ah, here she comes, blocking the sun
Blood running down the inside of her legs
The moon in the sky is battered and mangled
bAnd the bells from the chapel go jingle-jangle


Do you love me? Do you love me?
Do you love me? Do you love me?
Do you love me? Do you love me?
Do you love me? Like I love you?


All things move toward their end
I knew before I met her that I would lose her
I swear I made every effort to be good to her
I made every effort not to abuse her
Crazy bracelets on her wrists and her ankles
And the bells from the chapel go jingle-jangle


Do you love me? Do you love me?
Do you love me? Do you love me?
Do you love me? Do you love me?
Do you love me? Like I love you?


THE MERCY SEAT:

It began when they come took me from my home
And put me in Dead Row,
Of which I am nearly wholly innocent, you know.
And I'll say it again
I..am..not..afraid..to..die.

I began to warm and chill
To objects and their fields,
A ragged cup, a twisted mop
The face of Jesus in my soup
Those sinister dinner meals
The meal trolley's wicked wheels
A hooked bone rising from my food
All things either good or ungood.

And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I'm yearning
To be done with all this measuring of truth.
An eye for an eye
A tooth for a tooth
And anyway I told the truth
And I'm not afraid to die.

Interpret signs and catalogue
A blackened tooth, a scarlet fog.
The walls are bad. Black. Bottom kind.
They are sick breath at my hind
They are sick breath at my hind
They are sick breath at my hind
They are sick breath gathering at my hind

I hear stories from the chamber
How Christ was born into a manger
And like some ragged stranger
Died upon the cross
And might I say it seems so fitting in its way
He was a carpenter by trade
Or at least that's what I'm told

Like my good hand I
tatooed E.V.I.L. across it's brother's fist
That filthy five! They did nothing to challenge or resist.

In Heaven His throne is made of gold
The ark of his Testament is stowed
A throne from which I'm told
All history does unfold.
Down here it's made of wood and wire
And my body is on fire
And God is never far away.

Into the mercy seat I climb
My head is shaved, my head is wired
And like a moth that tries
To enter the bright eye
I go shuffling out of life
Just to hide in death awhile
And anyway I never lied.

My kill-hand is called E.V.I.L.
Wears a wedding band that's G.O.O.D.
`Tis a long-suffering shackle
Collaring all that rebel blood.

And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I'm yearning
To be done with all this measuring of truth.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And anyway I told the truth
And I'm not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is burning
And I think my head is glowing
And in a way I'm hoping
To be done with all this weighing up of truth.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And I've got nothing left to lose
And I'm not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is glowing
And I think my head is smoking
And in a way I'm hoping
To be done with all this looks of disbelief.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And anyway there was no proof
Nor a motive why.

And the mercy seat is smoking
And I think my head is melting
And in a way I'm helping
To be done with all this twisted of the truth.
A lie for a lie
And a truth for a truth
And I've got nothing left to lose
And I'm not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is melting
And I think my blood is boiling
And in a way I'm spoiling
All the fun with all this truth and consequence.
An eye for an eye
And a truth for a truth
And anyway I told the truth
And I'm not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I'm yearning
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
A life for a life
And a truth for a truth
And anyway there was no proof
But I'm not afraid to tell a lie.

And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I'm yearning
To be done with all this measuring of truth.
An eye for an eye
And a truth for a truth
And anyway I told the truth
But I'm afraid I told a lie.


SONG OF JOY

Have mercy on me, sir
Allow me to impose on you
I have no place to stay
And my bones are cold right through
I will tell you a story
Of a man and his family
And I swear that it is true

Ten years ago I met a girl named Joy
She was a sweet and happy thing
Her eyes were bright blue jewels
And we were married in the spring
I had no idea what happiness and little love could bring
Or what life had in store
But all things move toward their end
All things move toward their their end
On that you can be sure

La la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la

Then one morning I awoke to find her weeping
And for many days to follow
She grew so sad and lonely
Became Joy in name only
Within her breast there launched an unnamed sorrow
And a dark and grim force set sail
* Farewell happy fields *
* Where joy forever dwells *
* Hail horrors hail *

Was it an act of contrition or some awful premonition
As if she saw into the heart of her final blood-soaked night
Those lunatic eyes, that hungry kitchen knife
Ah, I see sir, that I have your attention!
Well, could it be?
How often I've asked that question
Well, then in quick succession
We had babies, one, two, three

We called them Hilda, Hattie and Holly
They were their mother's children
Their eyes were bright blue jewels
And they were quiet as a mouse
There was no laughter in the house
No, not from Hilda, Hattie or Holly
"No wonder", people said, "poor mother Joy's so melancholy"
Well, one night there came a visitor to our little home
I was visiting a sick friend
I was a doctor then
Joy and the girls were on their own

La la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la

Joy had been bound with electrical tape
In her mouth a gag
She'd been stabbed repeatedly
And stuffed into a sleeping bag
In their very cots my girls were robbed of their lives
Method of murder much the same as my wife's
Method of murder much the same as my wife's
It was midnight when I arrived home
Said to the police on the telephone
Someone's taken four innocent lives

They never caught the man
He's still on the loose
It seems he has done many many more
Quotes John Milton on the walls in the victim's blood
The police are investigating at tremendous cost
In my house he wrote * "his red right hand" *
That, I'm told is from Paradise Lost
The wind round here gets wicked cold
But my story is nearly told
I fear the morning will bring quite a frost

And so I've left my home
I drift from land to land
I am upon your step and you are a family man
Outside the vultures wheel
The wolves howl, the serpents hiss
And to extend this small favour, friend
Would be the sum of earthly bliss
Do you reckon me a friend?
* The sun to me is dark *
* And silent as the moon *
Do you, sir, have a room?
Are you beckoning me in?

La la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la



and this litte gem from "Swans":

I AM THE SUN:

And I am the sun
I rise above the world
And when the light goes out
I kill another child
And I am insane
I crawl into your mouth
I grow like a flower
I grow a suicide
And I am the sun
And I am the light
And I am the sun
Yeah I am the light
And I am the dog
I cut out my eyes
Yeah I will nullify
My true love creation
And I am the sun
I love everyone
I live inside your chest
I grow like a cancer
And I am the sun
And I am the light
Yeah I am the sun
Yeah I am the light
I love everyone
I love everyone

[progmom]

78. i agree with For No One

Your day breaks, your mind aches
You find that all her words of kindness linger on
When she no longer needs you

She wakes up, she makes up
She takes her time and doesn't feel she has to hurry
She no longer needs you

And in her eyes you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years

You want her, you need her
And yet you don't believe her when she says her love is dead
You think she needs you

And in her eyes you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years

You stay home, she goes out
She says that long ago she knew someone but now he's gone
She doesn't need him

Your day breaks, your mind aches
There will be times when all the things she said will fill your head
You won't forget her

And in her eyes you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years

[TallahasseeGrannie]

73. The Rose

because it reminds me both of Janis Joplin and an ex-fiance of my son, who was a very troubled young woman.

[Inspired]

77. Cry by Godley and Creme

The lyrics aren't nearly as haunting without the music but here you go....

You don't know how to ease my pain
You don't know
You don't know how to ease my pain
You don't know what the sound is darlin'
It's the sound of my tears fallin'
Or is it the rain?
You don't know how to play the game
You cheat
You lie
You make me wanna cry
You make me wanna cry
Cry...
You make me wanna cry
You don't know how to ease my pain
You don't know
You don't know how to ease my pain
Don't you hear any voices cryin'?
That's the sound of my love dyin'
Here comes the rain
You don't know how to play the game
You cheat
You lie
You don't even know how to say goodbye
You make me wanna cry
You don't know
You don't even know how to say goodbye
You make me wanna cry
You don't even know how to say goodbye
You make me wanna cry
Cry...

[wildhorses]

81. The Angels Rejoiced~Charlie and Ira Louvin

A house not a home was the picture Satan painted
For sweet little sister and me
Our daddy would frown while mother was prayin'
His heart was so hardened that he would not believe.

In anger he'd swear his voice low and loud
His Sundays were spent out with the gamblin' crowd
I've never seen my daddy inside the house of God
For Satan held his hand, down the path of sin he trod.

Not long ago our circle was broken
When God called on Mother one night
In a voice sweet and low her last words were spoken
Asking our daddy to raise her children right.

The angels rejoiced in Heaven last night
I heard my daddy pray "Dear God, make it right."
He was smiling and singing with tears in his eyes
While Mother with the angels rejoiced last night
While Mother with the angels rejoiced last night.

[njdemocrat106]

112. "The Knoxville Girl" by the Louvins

I met a little girl in Knoxville
A town we all know well
And every Sunday evening
Out in her home I'd dwell
We went to take an evening walk
About a mile from town
I picked a stick up off the ground
And knocked that fair girl down;

She fell down on her bended knees
For mercy she did cry
Oh, Willie dear, don't kill me here
I'm unprepared to die
She never spoke another word
I only beat her more
Until the ground around me
Within her blood did flow.

I took her by her golden curls
And I drug her 'round and 'round
Throwing her into the river
That flows through Knoxville town
Go down, go down, you Knoxville girl
With the dark and roving eyes
Go down, go down, you Knoxville girl
You can never be my bride.

I started back to Knoxville
Got there about midnight
My mother she was worried
And woke up in a fright
Saying, ""Dear son, what have you done
To bloody your clothes so?""
I told my anxious mother
I was bleeding at my nose.

I called for me a candle
To light myself to bed
I called for me a handkerchief
To bind my aching head
Rolled and tumbled the whole night through
As troubles was for me
Like flames of hell around my bed
And in my eyes could see.

They carried me down to Knoxville
And put me in a cell
My friends all tried to get me out
But none could go my bail
I'm here to waste my life away
Down in this dirty old jail
Because I murdered that Knoxville girl
The girl I loved so well.

[wildhorses]

82. Red Dirt Girl~Emmy Lou Harris

Me and my best friend Lillian
And her blue tick hound dog Gideon,
Sittin on the front porch cooling in the shade
Singin every song the radio played
Waitin for the Alabama sun to go down
Two red dirt girls in a red dirt town
Me and Lillian
Just across the line and a little southeast of Meridian.

She loved her brother I remember back when
He was fixin up a '49 Indian
He told her 'Little sister, gonna ride the wind
Up around the moon and back again"
He never got farther than Vietnam,
I was standin there with her when the telegram come
For Lillian.
Now he's lyin somewhere about a million miles from Meridian.

She said there's not much hope for a red dirt girl
Somewhere out there is a great big world
Thats where I'm bound
And the stars might fall on Alabama
But one of these days I'm gonna swing
My hammer down
Away from this red dirt town
I'm gonna make a joyful sound

She grew up tall and she grew up thin
Buried that old dog Gideon
By a crepe myrtle bush in the back of the yard,
Her daddy turned mean and her mama leaned hard
Got in trouble with a boy from town
Figured that she might as well settle down
So she dug right in
Across a red dirt line just a little south east from Meridian

She tried hard to love him but it never did take
It was just another way for the heart to break
So she dug right in.
But one thing they don't tell you about the blues
When you got em
You keep on falling cause there ain't no bottom
There ain't know end.
At least not for Lillian

Nobody knows when she started her skid,
She was only 27 and she had five kids.
Coulda' been the whiskey,
Coulda been the pills,
Coulda been the dream she was trying to kill.
But there won't be a mention in the news of the world
About the life and the death of a red dirt girl
Names Lillian
Who never got any farther across the line than Meridian.

Now the stars still fall on Alabama
Tonight she finally laid
That hammer down
Without a sound
In the red dirt ground

[Blue_In_AK]

89. I love that song, too...

In fact, the whole album is kind of sad in a very beautiful way (except for "One Big Love").

[hatredisnotavalue]

83. I can't remember the name but it was by Billie Joel

a very sad song about a piano player at a bar. Was it Piano Man?

[Kire]

88. The Downeaster Alexa is pretty sad.

[wildhorses]

91. Piano Man~Billy Joel

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
the regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin
He say, Son can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes
Da da da de de da
da da de de da da da
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
He says Bill, I believe this is killing me
As the smile ran away from his face
Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talking with Davy who's still in the navy
And probably will be for life
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinking alone
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday,
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see
To forget about life for awhile.
And the piano sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say "Man, what are you doin' here?"
Da da da de de da
da da de de da da da
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight.
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright.

[caty]

84. I'm not a big country western fan, but

this song about a homeless man who wants to go to sleep and die breaks my heart.

Artist/Band: Craig Morgan
Lyrics for Song: Almost Home
Lyrics for Album: I Love It

He had plastic bags wrapped ‘round his shoes
He was covered with the evenin' news
Had a pair of old wool socks on his hands
The bank sign was flashing 5 below
It was freezing rain and spittin' snow
He was curled up behind some garbage cans
I was afraid that he was dead
I gave him a gentle shake
When he opened up his eyes
I said, “Old man are you ok?"

He said, “I just climbed out of a cottonwood tree
I was runin' from some honey bees
Drip dryin' in the summer breeze
After jumpin' into Calico creek
I was walkin' down an old dirt road
Past a field of hay that had just been mowed
Man I wish you'd just left me alone
'Cause I was almost home”

Then he said, “I was jus' comin' round the barn
Bout the time you grabbed my arm
When I heard Momma holler son hurry up
I was close enough for my own nose
To smell fresh cobbler on the stove
And I saw daddy loadin' up the truck
Cane poles on the tailgate
Bobbers blowin' in the wind
Since July of '55
That's as close as I've been"

"Yea I just climbed out of a cottonwood tree
I was runin' from some honey bees
Drip dryin' in the summer breeze
After jumpin' into Calico creek
I was walkin' down an old dirt road
Past a field of hay that had just been mowed
Man I wish you'd just left me alone
I was almost home"

I said, “Old man you're gonna freeze to death
Let me drive you to the mission"
He said,"Boy if you'da left me alone
Right now I'd be fishin'

"I just climbed out of a cottonwood tree
I was runin' from some honey bees
Drip dryin' in the summer breeze
After jumpin' into Calico creek
I was walkin' down an old dirt road
Past a field of hay that had just been mowed
Man I wish you'da just left me alone
'Cause I was almost home" (Almost Home)

Man I wish you'd just left me alone
I was almost home

[DawgHouse]

85. I Can't Make You Love Me by Bonnie Raitt.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

90. Hail to the chief. Everytime I hear it lately. n/t

[woo me with science]

93. Yes. I was going to say "God Bless America." nt

[wildhorses]

92. Hello, Its Me~Todd Rundgren

Hello, it`s me
I`ve thought about us
For a long, long time
Maybe I think too much
But something`s wrong

There`s something here
That doesn`t last too long
Maybe I shouldn`t
Think of you as mine

Seeing you
Or seeing anything
As much as I do you

I take for granted
That you`re always there
I take for granted that
You just don`t care
Sometimes I can`t help
Thank you for using Top40db.com.
Seeing all the way through

It`s important to me
That you know you are free
Cause I never want to
Make you change for me

Think of me
You know that I`d
Be with you if I could

I`ll come around to
See you once in a while
Or if I ever need
A reason to smile
And spend the night
If you think I should

It`s important to me
That you know you are free
Cause I never want to
Make you change for me

Think of me
You, you know that I`d
Be with you if I could

I`ll come around to
See you once in a while
Or if I ever need
A reason to smile
And spend the night
If you think I should

Think of me, think of me
Think of me, think of me
Think of me, think of me.......

[bedpanartist]

94. Homecoming - Tom T. Hall

tugs my strings every time I hear it.

[wildhorses]

95. "Green Green Grass Of Home"~Tom Jones

The old home town looks the same as I step down from the train,
and there to meet me is my Mama and Papa.
Down the road I look and there runs Mary hair of gold and lips like cherries.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.
Yes, they'll all come to meet me, arms reaching, smiling sweetly.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.
The old house is still standing tho' the paint is cracked and dry,
and there's that old oak tree I used to play on.

Down the lane I walk with my sweet Mary, hair of gold and lips like cherries.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.
Yes, they'll all come to meet me, arms reaching, smiling sweetly.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.

Then I awake and look around me, at four grey wall surround me
and I realize that I was only dreaming.
For there's a guard and there's a sad old padre -
arm in arm we'll walk at daybreak.
Again I touch the green, green grass of home.
Yes, they'll all come to see me in the shade of that old oak tree
as they lay me neath the green, green grass of home.

[LeftyMom]

96. Last Kiss by Pearl Jam

That song is sad. :(

[tigereye]

127. that is a nice version of that -

it's a cover, BTW. I always liked that song as a great example of sweetly sad teen-angst.

[Blue Poppy]

97. Meryn Cadell--The Cat Carol

The cat wanted in to the warm warm house,
but no one would let the cat in
It was cold outside on Christmas Eve,
She meowed and meowed by the door.

The cat was not let in the warm warm house,
And her tiny cries were ignored.
'twas a blizzard now, the worst of the year,
There was no place for her to hide.

Just then a poor little mouse crept by,
He had lost his way in the snow.
He was on his last legs and was almost froze,
The cat lifted him with her paw.

She said "Poor mouse do not be afraid,
because this is Christmas Eve.
"On this freezing night we both need a friend,
"I won’t hurt you - stay by my side."

She dug a small hole in an icy drift,
This is where they would spent the night.
She curled herself 'round her helpless friend,
Protecting him from the cold.

Oooooo

When Santa came by near the end of the night,
the reindeer started to cry.
They found the cat lying there in the snow,
and they could see that she had died.

They lifted her up from the frozen ground,
and placed her into the sleigh.
It was then they saw the little mouse wrapped up,
she had kept him warm in her fur.

"Oh thank you Santa for finding us!
"Dear cat wake up we are saved!"
..."I’m sorry mouse but your friend has died,
there’s nothing more we can do.

"On Christmas Eve she gave you her life,
the greatest gift of them all."
Santa lifted her up into the night sky,
and laid her to rest among the stars.

"Dear mouse don’t cry you are not alone,
you will see your friend every year.
"Each Christmas a Cat Constellation will shine,
to remind us that her love’s still here."

Oooooooo

And I heard this on a Christmas CD!!!!! :cry:

[siouxsiecreamcheese]

98. Old Shep-Walter Brennan

nothin sadder than a dead dog song:


When I was a lad
And old shep was a pup
Over hills and meadows we’d stray
Just a boy and his dog
We were both full of fun
We grew up together that way

I remember the time at the old swimmin’ hold
When I would have drowned beyond doubt
But old shep was right there
To the rescue he came
He jumped in and then pulled me out

As the years fast did roll
Old shep he grew old
His eyes were fast growing dim
And one day the doctor looked at me and said
I can do no more for him jim

With hands that were trembling
I picked up my gun
And aimed it at shep’s faithful head
I just couldn’t do it
I wanted to run
I wish they would shoot me instead

He came to my side
And looked up at me
And laid his old head on my knee
I had struck the best friend that a man ever had
I cried so I scarcely could see

Old shep he has gone
Where the good doggies go
And no more with old shep will I roam
But if dogs have a heaven
There’s one thing I know
Old shep has a wonderful home

:cry:

[jane_pippin]

99. John Cale's version of Leonard Cohen's "Halleujah"

So fucking depressing, yet so great.

[Blue Llama]

115. I second that emotion

Best version of that song - better than Jeff Buckley's.

[Xipe Totec]

100. The Wind That Shakes The Barley - Dead Can Dance

I sat within the valley green
I sat me with my true love.
My sad heart strove the two between
The old love and the new love.
The old for her the new
That made me think on ireland dearly.
While the soft wind blew down the glade
And shook the golden barley.

Twas hard the woeful words to frame
To break the ties that bound us.
But harder still to bear the shame
Of foreign chains around us.
And so I said the mountain glen
Ill meet at morning early.
And Ill join the bold united men
While soft winds shook the barley.

Twas sad I kissed away her tears
My fond arm round her flinging.
When a foe, mans shot burst on our ears
From out the wild woods ringing.
A bullet pierced my true loves side
In life's young spring so early.
And on my breast in blood she died
While soft winds shook the barley.

But blood for blood without remorse
Ive taen at oulart hollow.
Ive lain my true loves clay like corpse
Where I full soon must follow.
Around her grave Ive wandered drear
Noon, night, and morning early.
With breaking heart when eer I hear
The wind that shakes the barley.

[coffeenap]

101. I Come and Stand at Every Door

Learned this as a camp song at age 10--it will never leave my mind's eye. (The lyrics I learned were slightly different,)

I Come and Stand at Every Door

I come and stand at every door
But no one hears my silent tread
I knock and yet remain unseen
For I am dead, for I am dead.

I'm only seven although I died
In Hiroshima long ago
I'm seven now as I was then
When children die they do not grow.

My hair was scorched by swirling flame
My eyes grew dim, my eyes grew blind
Death came and turned my bones to dust
And that was scattered by the wind.

I need no fruit, I need no rice
I need no sweet, nor even bread
I ask for nothing for myself
For I am dead, for I am dead.

All that I ask is that for peace
You fight today, you fight today
So that the children of this world
May live and grow and laugh and play.

-- Nazim Hikmet

[arwalden]

106. Why - Annie Lennox

Why

How many times do I have to try to tell you
That I'm sorry for the things I've done
But when I start to try to tell you
That's when you have to tell me
Hey... this kind of trouble's only just begun
I tell myself too many times
Why don't you ever learn to keep your big mouth shut
That's why it hurts so bad to hear the words
That keep on falling from your mouth
Falling from your mouth
Falling from your mouth
Tell me...
Why
Why

I may be mad
I may be blind
I may be viciously unkind
But I can still read what you're thinking
And I've heard is said too many times
That you'd be better off
Besides...
Why can't you see this boat is sinking
(this boat is sinking this boat is sinking)
Let's go down to the water's edge
And we can cast away those doubts
Some things are better left unsaid
But they still turn me inside out
Turning inside out turning inside out
Tell me...
Why
Tell me...
Why

This is the book I never read
These are the words I never said
This is the path I'll never tread
These are the dreams I'll dream instead
This is the joy that's seldom spread
These are the tears...
The tears we shed
This is the fear
This is the dread
These are the contents of my head
And these are the years that we have spent
And this is what they represent
And this is how I feel
Do you know how I feel?
'cause i don't think you know how I feel
I don't think you know what I feel
I don't think you know what I feel
You don't know what I feel

[Strawman]

107. Sad Song by Lou Reed

That entire Berlin album is pretty much guaranteed to depress.

But it's great.

[lizziegrace]

108. Eleanor Rigby

No one wants to leave this world and no one notices...

[stlsaxman]

109. Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division

When the routine bites hard
And ambitions are low
And the resentment rides high
But emotions wont grow
And we're changing our ways,
Taking different roads
Then love, love will tear us apart again

Why is the bedroom so cold
Turned away on your side?
Is my timing that flawed,
Our respect run so dry?
Yet theres still this appeal
That we've kept through our lives
Love, love will tear us apart again

You cry out in your sleep
All my failings exposed
There's a taste in my mouth
As desperation takes hold
Is it something so good
Just cant function no more?
When love, love will tear us apart again

Trivia: on the inside groove of the single on side A were etched the words "Don't disillusion me" and side B had "I only have record shops left".

He committed suicide days after the release of the single.

[smokey nj]

111. Angie, The Rolling Stones

[Homer Wells]

113. Not a real Hank Williams fan as a rule, but

"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"
I remember listening to that song when I was 19, and had just left home for the Army.
And I was indeed that damn lonesome.
:cry:

[nytemare]

116. Barber's Adagio and "Vincent" by Don McLean.

Others that have been mentioned, including "Travelin' Soldier" and "The Rose".

[nicktom]

117. I don't like Monday's by I believe the Boomtown Rats, but I may

have gotten the band name wrong. The song was about a monday massacre at a McDonald's in San Diego close to a school. Very sad and stupid.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

118. When Angels Cry- Janis Ian

WHEN ANGELS CRY
(Janis Ian)
Wait
Your tired arms must rest
Let this moment pass
Wait until the morning
Close your eyes and you will see
who you used to be
left without a warning
Who knew one so big could grow so small
Lighter than the writing on the wall
When angels cry, can I stand by
When stones weep, can my heart sleep
Wish I'd never heard, wish I'd never heard
Wish I'd never heard
the power of a four letter word
'Cause only love will matter in the end
for a woman or a man
What's the difference now
Here we live with bottles
and needles and truth
Here is your living proof
that death cannot be proud
Some say it's a judgement on us all
I can't believe that God could be that small
When angels cry, can I stand by
When stones weep, can my heart sleep
Wish I'd never heard, wish I'd never heard
Wish I'd never heard
the power of a four letter word
If ever was a rose that longed to bloom
If ever was a heart that longed to fly
If ever was an angel, it was you
So close your eyes and say goodbye
Goodbye
When angels cry, I can't stand by
When stones weep, I can't sleep
Guess I've finally learned
Guess I've finally learned
Yes, I've finally learned
that love is just a four letter word
Hope is just a four letter word

[njdemocrat106]

119. "Romeo and Juliet" by Dire Straits

I know I always post this one when these types of threads pop up, but it never fails to put a few tears in my eye:

a lovestruck romeo sings a streetsuss serenade
laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made
finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade
says something like you and me babe how about it?

juliet says hey it's romeo you nearly gimme a heart attack
he's underneath the window she's singing hey la my boyfriend's back
you shoudn't come around here singing up at people like that
anyway what you gonna do about it?

juliet the dice were loaded from the start
and i bet and you exploded in my heart
and i forget i forget the movie song
when you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong juliet?

come up on different streets they both were streets of shame
both dirty both mean yes and the dream was just the same
and i dreamed your dream for you and now your dream is real
how can you look at me as i was just another one of your deals?

when you can fall for chains of silver you can fall for chains of gold
you can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold
you promised me everything you promised me thick and thin
now you just say oh romeo yeah you know i used to have a scene with him

juliet when we made love you used to cry
you said i love you like the stars above i'll love you till i die
there's a place for us you know the movie song
when you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong?

i can't do the talk like they talking on the tv
and i can't do a love song like the way its meant to be
i can't do everything but i'd do anything for you
i can't do anything except be in love with you

and all i do is miss you and the way we used to be
all i do is keep the beat and bad company
all i do is kiss you through the bars of a rhyme
julie i'd do the stars with you any time

juliet when we made love you used to cry
you said i love you like the stars above i'll love you till i die
there's a place for us you know the movie song
when you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong?

a lovestruck romeo sings a streetsuss serenade
laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made
finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade
says something like you and me babe how about it?

[Stardust]

120. It Was the Coldest Day of My Life - Chi Lites n/t

[electricmonk]

121. Pogues version of Waltzing Mathilda

Chokes me up evrytime.

[tigereye]

128. good choice

any sad song by anyone Irish usually does the trick.

Thousands are Sailing is sad, too.

[WCGreen]

129. Yep that one gets me too....

[electricmonk]

123. City High-What Would You Do

Not really the saddest but still a really depressing and awesome song.

[argyl]

124. "Jason's Farm" by Cal Smith. Another country tune.

He bought three hundred acres,ten miles south of town
A drifter who decided it was time to settle down
There was no sea he had not sailed or sky he had not flown
And the only place he'd never been was a place he could call his own

He broke the soil and planted seed but the land refused to yield
And the loneliness he felt at night was the kind no man should feel
Till a woman came into his life, a daughter of the soil
A bride that he could stand beside and ease his daily toil

And he called his kingdom Jason's farm
The land grew rich and green for king Jason and his queen
And the wind blew sweet each night time as they lay in each other's arms
And all things good grew on Jason's farm

When the summer sun had finally gone and harvest time was near
Jason's pretty Mary whispered magic in his ear
Then Jason's laughter filled the land and his soul began to sing
And he boasted of a son his wife would bear him in the spring

And all things good grew on Jason's farm
The land beneath the skies grew as green as Mary's eyes
And he felt the child grow strong in Mary's womb,against his palm
And all things good grew on Jason's farm

Now the Lord gives and he takes away and to all men this is true
And most of us accept it and we learn to live it through
Now God gave a child to Jason an extension of his life
But in doin' so He traded the child for Jason's wife

The crops are rotting in the field the land left unattended
And somewhere Jason roams the earth his wounded heart unmended
And the house is slowly falling down and the dust of Jason's yard
A monument to a man who shunned his child and cursed his God

And nothing grows no more on Jason's farm
The land once rich and green is dead and dry like Jason's dream
And the wind that once blew sweet through Mary's hair is strangely calm
And nothing grows no more on Jason's farm....

[RFKHumphreyObama]

126. How Come How Long -Babyface and Stevie Wonder

There was a girl I used to know
She was oh so beautiful
But shes not here anymore
She had a college degree
Smart as anyone could be
She had so much to live for
But she fell in love
With the wrong kinda man
He abused her love and treated her so bad
There was not enough education in her world
That could save the life of this little girl

How come, how long
Its not right, its so wrong
Do we let it just go on
Turn our backs and carry on
Wake up, for its too late
Right now, we cant wait
She wont have a second try
Open up your hearts
As well as your eyes

She tried to give a cry for help
She even blamed things on herself
But no one came to her aid
Nothing was wrong as far as we could tell
Thats what wed like to tell ourselves
But no, it wasnt that way
So she fell in love
With the wrong kinda man
And she paid with her life
For loving that man
So we cannot ignore
We must look for the signs
And maybe next time
We might save somebodys life

Chorus

I on occasion met that guy
He stirred up bad feelings deep inside
Something about him wasnt right
The way he proves himself a man
By beatin his woman with his hands
Oh I wish shed seen the light
How can someone like that
Call himself a man
In reality hes far more less than that
And we cannot ignore
Whenever we see the signs
cause any kinda of abuse
God knows isnt right

Chorus
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/babyface/how+come+how+long_20011170.html

[New Earth]

130. so far....

"Walk Away" by the Crüxshadows.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

131. Just Before The Battle Mother

http://www.civilwarpoetry.org/union/songs/justbefore.html

by George F Root

Just before the battle, Mother, I am thinking most of you.
While upon the field we're watching, with the enemy in view.
Comrades brave are 'round me lying, filled with thoughts of home and God;
For well they know that on the morrow, some will sleep beneath the sod.

CHORUS: Farewell, Mother, you may never press me to your breast again;
But, oh, you'll not forget me, Mother, if I'm numbered with the slain.

Oh, I long to see you, Mother, and the loving ones at home,
But I'll never leave our banner till in honor I can come.
Tell the traitors all around you that their cruel words we know,
In every battle kill our soldiers by the help they give the foe.

CHORUS

Hark! I hear the bugles sounding, 'tis the signal for the fight,
Now, may God protect us, Mother, as He ever does the right.
Hear "The Battle Cry of Freedom," how it swells upon the air,
Oh, yes, we'll rally 'round the standard, or we'll nobly perish there.

CHORUS

__________________________________________
A hauntingly beautiful, poignant, sad but yet noble song

[JaneQPublic]

133. "Danny Boy"

...performed by any decent Irish tenor.

[Giant Robot]

134. A frog and his boy by Tom Smith

This was done by a filk singer who was saddened by the death of Jim Henson. Makes me bawl like a baby.


Life is unfair, so they tell me,
Because they think I wouldn't know.
They only can see a cheap gimmick
On their children's favorite show.

They say, "Oh, that's just foam and a wire,
Attached to a green velvet sleeve,
Anyone can do that" -- well, that's true, I suppose,
But who else could make them believe?

What can I say without you there to guide me?
How else am I supposed to give?
How can I sing without you there beside me?
How else am I supposed to live?

You could never just do the expected,
I was just an idea in a bog,
But you sewed up your dream and we made quite a team,
Jim and Kermit, a boy and his frog.

It was me, Rolph, and you, but I think that he knew
There was something that you and I had.
The magic we made just kept growing,
And none of it ever was bad.

Then came Ernie and Scooter and Gonzo,
Doctor Teeth, Cookie Monster, and more.
But now all of those voices are silent,
And I want to go on... but what for?

No one can make me what you did,
No one could walk in your shoes,
Nothing can make me forget you,
But that's not a thing that I'd choose.

I can't just let it be over,
And you wouldn't want it that way,
So I'll stand up and I'll face it,
And, though not quite in your voice, I'll say:

I will go on without you there to guide me,
There's so much more I can give.
Whenever I sing, you will be there beside me,
As long as I keep you, you'll live.

We just wanted to make people happy,
I was always much more than your toy.
I will never regret and I'll never forget
What we had,
I'll miss you, Dad,
This frog and his boy.

[BOSSHOG]

135. INDIAN SUNSET by Elton John

And peace to this young Warrior comes with a bullet hole.