Songs that just rip your fucking heart out any time you hear them

[Mooney]

"Who Will Love Me Now?" - PJ Harvey
"Farewell" - Helen and Anita Carter
"King Of Sorrow" - Sade
"Me And The Eagle" - Steve Earle
"Leaving Train" - Gillian Welch
"Gloomy Sunday" - Diamanda Galas
"Starless" - King Crimson
"Coattails" - Low
"I Was Made To Love Magic" - Nick Drake
"It's Over" - Roy Orbison
"A Box" - King's X
"Who Wants To Live Forever?" - Queen
"Old Man" - Neil Young

That's the current list, anyway. I've got millions of others but that's it this week.

[enigmatic]

1. Ruby's Arms"- Connie Champagne

Every time:

http://recluseshow.blogspot.com/2007/02/rubys-arms-connie-champagne.html

[cemaphonic]

10. Naturally, it's a Tom Waits song.

He's written about a million great tearjerkers. Haven't heard that version though.

[fizzgig]

2. a few of mine

when you say nothing at all - alison kraus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT0QFM78fpo

in a funny way - mercury rev
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YpBAK0YBOY

edge of the deep green sea - the cure
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlYoYipVXUE

[auntAgonist]

7. I love Alison Kraus

and especially "when you say nothing at all" great choice.
I also like it as a duet with keith whitley and alison kraus.

aA

[fizzgig]

8. i bawl just about every time i listen to her

there are no words to describe her voice

[Danger Mouse]

107. alison kraus is amazing...have you ever heard the soundtrack to

'oh brother where art thou'? she's got some good stuff on there.

[Nevernose]

112. "Perfect Day" by Lou Reed

You made me forget myself; I thought I was someone else, someone good.

[zanne]

116. Puff the Magic Dragon

The thought of that dragon going into his cave and staying there alone forever just tears me up.

[Ptah]

3. The race is on

http://youtube.com/watch?v=H9b2zB3HwOM

[auntAgonist]

4. a couple of them..

Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground - Willie Nelson
Amazing Grace - Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

[Mooney]

5. Good call on Willie Nelson

About 60% of the "Red Headed Stranger" album could reside in this thread.

[BeachBaby]

32. Oooohhhh, that's a good one.

Amazing Grace - yeesh, they played that at my grandfather's funeral (WWII vet). Somethin about those bagpipes can grab the toughest person by the balls and have 'em crying like a baby. Ugh.

[fight4my3sons]

75. oh, I love that Willie Nelson song

I like Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain too.

[krispos42]

6. "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?", by Bryan Adams

It was "our song".

:-(

[The Animator]

9. This one.

Gets me right here (snif)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT6MU8DdBZQ

[Drum]

11. Love Hurts -Nazareth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrSs7gfLDjc

Never knew there was a film or video of it, and now seeing it---after just knowing the audio---is, well, I guess ya just had to be there. Regardless, I heard it "then," and remember it poignantly.

And, honestly, Alanis' "Uninvited"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjTB6EG3xGo

[Frank Cannon]

12. Garth Brooks - The Dance

I'm not a huge fan of country music or Garth, but this song is gorgeous and still makes me weep every time I hear it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKsnZpBNARo

[Rhythm]

14. I hadn't heard that one until a couple of years ago,

when Oktoberain showed me that video.

Bawled my eyes out. :cry:

[BlueIris]

13. "Fast Car" (Tracy Chapman).

[Danger Mouse]

108. That song is amazing. Seconded.

[TommyO]

15. Home Is Where The Heart Is, by Sally Fingerett

On our corner, there's this nice man,
his name is Mark, he's always smiling
He's got this mom who comes on Wed.
in the evening with soup so steaming
He shares his house with his friend Martin,
They're not brothers, they're not cousins
My little girl wonders all about these men,
I take hold of her hand, I begin.

CHORUS: Home is where the heart is
No matter how the heart lives
Inside your heart where love is
That's where you've got to make yourself
At home.

Through the yard live Deb and Tricia,
with their drills and ladders and their room addition
My kid yells over are you having a baby,
they wink and smile and say, "Someday maybe"
Through their doors go kids and mommies,
funny how you don't see the daddies go in.
My little girl wonders 'bout the house with no men,
I take hold of her hand, I begin
Home is where the heart is......CHORUS

'Round the corner, here comes Martin,
he's alone now, he tries smilin'
He roams around his well stocked kitchen,
he knows that fate will soon be comin'
My little girl wonders where will he live,
I take hold of her hand and I begin
Home is where the heart is.....CHORUS

Martin sits and waits with his window open,
his house is empty his heart is broken
We bring him toys and water colors,
he loves to hear my little baby's stories.
She's the gift I share, she's his companion,
she's the string on the kite
She guides him up into the wind.....into the wind
My little girl wonders who will care for him,
We take hold of his hand, we begin, lets begin now
Home is where the heart is.....CHORUS


Damn, I choked up just reading the lyrics again!

[hobbit709]

16. My top 3

"Piece Of My Heart"-Janis
"Today"-Jefferson airplane
"Bell Bottom Blues"-Clapton

[Danger Mouse]

110. Bell Bottom Blues...incredible song...very emotional...

:thumbsup:

[ordinaryaveragegirl]

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTLR3zHxnr8

Turn down the lights, turn down the bed
Turn down these voices inside my head
Lay down with me, tell me no lies
Just hold me close, dont patronize - dont patronize me

Chorus: cause I cant make you love me if you dont
You cant make your heart feel something it wont
Here in the dark, in these lonely hours
I will lay down my heart and Ill feel the power
But you wont, no you wont
cause I cant make you love me, if you dont

Ill close my eyes, then I wont see
The love you dont feel when youre holding me
Morning will come and Ill do whats right
Just give me till then to give up this fight
And I will give up this fight
Chorus: cause I cant make you love me if you dont
You cant make your heart feel something it wont
Here in the dark, in these lonely hours
I will lay down my heart and Ill feel the power
But you wont, no you wont
cause I cant make you love me, if you dont

[Phillycat]

Oh god, yes.

Add that one to my list as well. :cry:

[Perry Logan]

18. "The Freshmen" - Verve Pipe

[hellbound-liberal]

19. The Living Years-Mike and the Mechanics

Makes me really miss my Dad every time I hear it. There were so many things left unsaid. :cry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSrKNVF2VI

[grannylib]

82. I'm sorry...that song is just so simple and profound and I'm sure

many have connected with it...I'm sorry you're missing your dad and feel that things were left unsaid. I miss my dad too, like crazy...but I was lucky enough to help him through his last 8 days and I wouldn't give that up for anything, despite the bits that were not so much fun.
I'm really sorry.

[hellbound-liberal]

90. Thanks, grannylib. The pain isn't as sharp as it used to be but it's still there

It's funny but when I see other guys who would have been my father's age, I just kind of wish he was still here. My siblings and I were lucky in that we did get to spend two weeks with him the last summer that he was here. We all traveled from the East Coast to meet him in California and we did enjoy ourselves. I think he did too. Thanks for your response! :pals:

[arundhatiroyfan]

20. Jefferson Airplane- Today.

I get so sad when I listen to this.
Also Prime Movers- Strong as I am (from the Manhunter Soundtrack)

[abq e streeter]

47. Surprised to see someone else to whom Today does that to

Comin Back to Me does it too; guess its just the melancholy, wistful tone of them, because lyrically they're not really sad.

[regnaD kciN]

117. Those two don't exactly "tear me up"...

...but they are lovely and touching.

[lost-in-nj]

21. can't cry hard enough by the Williams brothers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDrRGcRcQ8k&feature=related

"Can't Cry Hard Enough"

I'm gonna live my life
Like every day's the last
Without a simple goodbye
It all goes by so fast

And now that you've gone
I can't cry hard enough
No, I can't cry hard enough
For you to hear me now

Gonna open my eyes
And see for the first time
I let go of you like
A child letting go of his kite

There it goes, up in the sky
There it goes, beyond the clouds
For no reason why
I can't cry hard enough
No, I can't cry hard enough
For you to hear me now

Gonna look back in vain
And see you standing there
When all that remains
Is an empty chair

And now that you've gone
I can't cry hard enough
No, I can't cry hard enough
For you to hear me now

There it goes, up in the sky
There it goes, beyond the clouds
For no reason why
I can't cry hard enough
No, I can't cry hard enough
For you to hear me now

And now that you've gone
I can't cry hard enough
No, I can't cry hard enough
For you to hear me now


lost

[vi5]

22. Wow...someone knows that song....

In the early 90's I was a punk kid working at a top 40 radio station running the sound board for their Sunday countdown show. They played that song quite a bit and I thought it was awesome. But never heard of or from that band again and nobody ever mentions that song even in the barely a one hit wonder category. I know their sister Victoria got a lot of press and notoriety among indie hipster circles and also for her musician health insurance advocacy. But never heard much else from her brothers.

Either way, great song and good choice.

[BeachBaby]

33. Ugh. Me too.

I'm crying right with you, neighbor. Rips my heart out.

BTW, :hi:

[charlie and algernon]

23. "Goodbye to my Momma" from a Priarie Home Companion soundtrack

[LanternWaste]

24. Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'

Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'

Springsteen's "Incident on 57th Street"

Empty Chairs and Empty Tables from the musical, Les Miserable

And my guilty "cry-in-your-beer" pleasure song is The Bangles, Eternal Flame (yeah-- so sue me...)

[Phillycat]

25. "Blue Valentine" - Tom Waits

"Must I Paint You A Picture" - Billy Bragg
"Waiting For The Day" - George Michael
"Frying Pan" - the cover by Evan Dando (orig. Victoria Williams)

[abq e streeter]

49. a Waits classic.....also Tom Traubert's Blues , and Kentucky Avenue ,too...

" and its a battered old suitcase, to a hotel someplace, and a wound that will never heal..."

[BarenakedLady]

26. A few

War On Drugs - Barenaked Ladies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt3wfTi3WXo&feature=related
Everybody's Fool - Evanescence http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u55fpsbzAfk
Bring Me To Life - Evanescence http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TILCIRspO0
Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-F5L1S7LKU
Creep - Radiohead http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxpblnsJEWM
Warning - Incubus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvZY3-y4l8Q

I have more too, but I'm blanking atm.

[Danger Mouse]

111. From Creep...

'I don't care if it hurts
I wanna have control
I want a perfect body
I want a perfect soul
I want you to notice
When I'm not around...'

God, that part of the song absolutely kills me.
Every time I hear it.
Check out my list, btw.

[mac56]

27. "Are You Tired Of Me, My Darling"

Recorded by many.

Are you tired of me, my darling
Did you mean those words you said
That has made me yours forever
Since the day that we were wed

Tell me, could you live life over
Would you make it otherwise
Are you tired of me, my darling
Answer only with your eyes

Do you ever rue the springtime
Since we first each other met
Since we spoke in warm affection
Words my heart can ne'er forget

Tell me, could you live life over
Would you make it otherwise
Are you tired of me, my darling
Answer only with your eyes

Do you think the bloom departed
From these cheeks you once thought fair
Do you think I've grown cold-hearted
With the passing of the years

Tell me, could you live life over
Would you make it otherwise
Are you tired of me, my darling
Answer only with your eyes

[cyberswede]

28. "Turn Around"

This one has made me bawl ever since I was a little kid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBWVWjdNWC0

aw crap...I'm crying now!

[pink-o]

95. OMFG!!!

I remember being 6 years old and bawling my head off when I saw that commercial! I hadn't thought about that song in years--y'know, cuz I'm so sophisticated and cultural now, some corny old ditty couldn't possibly have the power to reduce me to...

Can I tell you I can barely see what I'm typing right now, my eyes are so wet!!!

Thanx for the memory. Oh, and "Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell: same concept. I heard that when I was a teenager and just fell apart!

[regnaD kciN]

118. Same here...

That song got to me even when I was a kid myself.

TRUE STORY: Many years after the last time I heard it, I was out somewhere with my youngest daughter, who was around three at the time. As is her wont, she took off running after something interesting. Without even thinking, I called out to her "where are you going, my little one?" Oh, boy...talk about needing a kleenex right there on the spot. :cry:

By the way, although Harry Belafonte co-wrote the song -- I think Malvina Reynolds was the main author -- I find his version too slow. If you can, try finding the version by the Kingston Trio (during their days with John Stewart, R.I.P.).

[pink-o]

131. Yeah, it got me a few years later as well...

I was a senior in high school, trying (and miserably failing) to be cool, when our choir teacher suggested we sing it for the graduation ceremony. He started playing it on the piano, and I had to leave the room!

Later, when we did sing it, I stood in the back and lip-synched, hoping not to lose it completely. But I saw a few other pairs of shiny eyes around me!

OT: And since you told me it was written by Harry Belafonte and Malvina Reynolds, that gives it a bit of street cred. I live on the border of Malvina's famous "Little Boxes" town, Daly City--which is a lot more low-rent than the So Cal town "Weeds" is set in!

[AngryAmish]

29. Walk This Way by Run-DMC

[tonkatoy57]

30. Wasteland of the Free...

by Iris DeMent.

It's a musical depiction of the death throes of American civilization.

Makes me sad, angry, and depressed beyond all hope.

[Shae]

42. That's such a great song!

I also love her "The Way I Should"
and her duet with John Prine "In Spite of Ourselves."

[Maccagirl]

31. Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) by Elton John

"He must have been a gardener that cared a lot..."


:cry:

[Amerigo Vespucci]

53. Steve Marriott wrote a similar song, same subject matter:

Teenage Anxiety - Humble Pie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9k-kfxJxA8

"They shot my hero in the street
And as I sing the world still weeps..."

The Elton song is powerful, but I prefer Marriott's.



:toast:

[Mad_Dem_X]

57. Oh, yes

That sound kills me. Also, "Vincent" by Don Maclean (sp).

[lizziegrace]

34. "Windows and Walls" by Dan Fogelberg

Up every morning
Long before day
Cooking her breakfast alone
She quietly dresses
And pulls up the shades
And sits in the chair by
The phone.

But nobody ever comes
By anymore
Nobody ever calls
Most days she sits and
Just stares
At the windows and walls
Windows and walls.

Children all married
Husband's passed on
Nothing but time on her hands
Most of her mornings
Are spent in her dreams
Or making her sad little plans.

Maybe she'll go to the
Corner today
And pick up the new mccalls
If just to escape for an hour
From her windows and walls
Windows and walls.

The clock on the mantel
Chiming the hours
Must be the loneliest sound
She washes her dishes
And waters her flowers
And afterwards has to sit down.

Sometimes she still can
Remember a child
Playing with china dolls...
Now all that she's left
Are these memories and
Windows and walls
Windows and walls
(day after day)
Windows and walls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7X_h_kyfjw

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

35. "Abraham, Martin and John"

[BeachBaby]

36. Not a big fan, but

Pearl Jam's "Black".....

Hey...oooh...
Sheets of empty canvas, untouched sheets of clay
Were laid spread out before me as her body once did
All five horizons revolved around her soul
As the earth to the sun
Now the air I've tasted and breathed has taken a turn
Ooh, and all I taught her was everything
Ooh, I know she gave me all that she wore
And now my bitter hands chafe beneath the clouds
Of what was everything?
Oh, the pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything...

I take a walk outside
I'm surrounded by some kids at play
I can feel their laughter, so why do I sear
Oh, and twisted thoughts that spin round my head
I'm spinning, oh, I'm spinning
How quick the sun can drop away
And now my bitter hands cradle broken glass
Of what was everything
All the pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything...

All the love gone bad turned my world to black
Tattooed all I see, all that I am, all I will be...yeah...
Uh huh...uh huh...ooh...

I know someday you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a star
In somebody else's sky, but why, why, why
Can't it be, can't it be mine?

[RadiationTherapy]

37. Tom Waits has so many, but 'Martha' gets me everytime.

Funny thing is, I don't have any real memories like the narrator of the song, but my brother's lonely alcoholism is driven in part by his own hurt from a magical woman from his past.

Operator, number, please:
Its been so many years
Will she remember my old voice
While I fight the tears?
Hello, hello there, is this martha?
This is old tom frost,
And I am calling long distance,
Dont worry bout the cost.
cause its been fourteen years or more,
Now martha please recall,
Meet me out for coffee,
Where well talk about it all.

And those were the days of roses,
Poetry and prose and martha
All I had was you and all you had was me.
There was no tomorrows,
Wed packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day.

And I feel so much older now,
And youre much older too,
Hows your husband?
And hows the kids?
You know that I got married too?
Lucky that you found someone
To make you feel secure,
cause we were all so young and foolish,
Now we are mature.

And those were the days of roses,
Poetry and prose and martha
All I had was you and all you had was me.
There was no tomorrows,
Wed packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day.

And I was always so impulsive,
I guess that I still am,
And all that really mattered then
Was that I was a man.
I guess that our being together
Was never meant to be.
And martha, martha,
I love you cant you see?

And those were the days of roses,
Poetry and prose and martha
All I had was you and all you had was me.
There was no tomorrows,
Wed packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day.

And I remember quiet evenings
Trembling close to you...

I got goosebumps just posting this.

[Mooney]

61. I was just thinking I should have added this song, but you beat me to it.

I don't think you necessarily have to have an old flame for this song to be relevant. If you have any significant regrets in your life, it really touches a nerve.

[RadiationTherapy]

69. I think you are right.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

38. "Hurt"

Either the Nine Inch Nails original or the Johnny Cash cover...either are equally depressing but so good.

[Cabcere]

64. That's my first pick, too

:cry: I've never actually heard the NIN original, but the Johnny Cash version just rips my heart out - especially with the video that was made shortly before his death. :( Gah.

[Shae]

39. You probably never heard of mine.

"Bless my soul" --Jeff Black
It's on his album "B-sides and Confessions.'
I've listened to that album 1,000 times and it always seems new to me.

I was supposed to go see Jeff Black on April 20 at the Blue Moon Cafe somewhere in West Virginia.
The cafe called the other day and said he cancelled. :(

[CBHagman]

40. "It Makes No Difference."

Sung by the late Rick Danko.

Words and music by Robbie Robertson.

http://www.toplyrics.net/artist_t/the_band_lyrics/it_makes_no_difference_lyrics.html

It makes no diff'rence where I turn
I can't get over you and the flame still burns
It makes no diff'rence, night or day
The shadow never seems to fade away
And the sun don't shine anymore
And the rains fall down on my door

Now there's no love
As true as the love
That dies untold
But the clouds never hung so low before

It makes no diff'rence how far I go
Like a scar the hurt will always show
It makes no diff'rence who I meet
They're just a face in the crowd
On a dead-end street

And the sun don't shine anymore
And the rains fall down on my door
These old love letters
Well, I just can't keep
'Cause like the gambler says
Read 'em and weep
And the dawn don't rescue me no more

Without your love I'm nothing at all
Like an empty hall it's a lonely fall
Since you've gone it's a losing battle
Stampeding cattle
They rattle the walls
And the sun don't shine anymore
And the rains fall down on my door

Well, I love you so much
It's all I can do
Just to keep myself from telling you
That I never felt so alone before

[Bennyboy]

74. One of the all timers....

The way Danko's voice would just break at the right moment when he sang it..... Chills.

[CBHagman]

79. Oh, absolutely.

It's a brilliant matching of a song to a voice. Danko conveyed such vulnerability, such pain.

[lizziegrace]

41. "Let the Wind Chase You" - Trisha Yearwood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mEJqeCRcOk (only clip I could find - very short)


Like a wildwood flower
Doesn't have to reach for the sun
And when it needs a drop of water
It doesn't have to ask the rain to come

I don't wanna work for your love
I don't wanna try to be
Something that you're looking for
You're never going to find in me

Chorus:
So let the wind chase you
I can't do it anymore
Let the road run after you
Like I always did before
Let the stars catch your eye
Cause I've tried and tried and tried
But I won't do
So let the wind chase you

No one says a diamond ain't precious
Just because it hasn't yet been found
And no one blames the moon for not shining
Just because it's hidden by the clouds
I don't want to blame myself
Thinking that I'm not enough
And wondering what's wrong with me
Because I couldn't win your love

Chorus

I don't wanna work for your love
I don't wanna try to be
Something that you're looking for
You're never gonna find in me

Chorus

[livetohike]

43. "Time in a Bottle" - Croce

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that Id like to do
Is to save every day
Till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
Id save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
Ive looked around enough to know
That youre the one I want to go
Through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
Ive looked around enough to know
That youre the one I want to go
Through time with

[Canuckistanian]

103. Yeah, me too.

RIP, Jim.

[Iris]

44. "He Stopped Loving Her Today" - George Jones

He stopped loving her today
They placed a wreath upon his door
And soon they'll carry him away
He stopped loving her today

[Tommy_Carcetti]

45. A couple others

Born in the USA, by Bruce Springstein, especially this line (and just to let you know, Vietnam was long before my time):

I had a buddy at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They're still there, he's all gone

And no musical post would be complete without a couple of Smashing Pumpkins references from me. From Adore, Behold the Nightmare:

I faced the fathoms in your deep
Withstood the suitors' quiet siege
Pulled down the heavens just to please you
Appease you
The wind blows, and I know

I can't go on
Digging roses from your grave
To linger on
Beyond the beyond
Where the willows weep
And the whirlpools sleep
You'll find me
The coarse tide reflects sky

And the night mare rides on
And the night mare rides on
With a December black psalm
And the night mare rides on

Where I fear is lost here
The wind blows, and I know

All you have to do is run away
And steal yourself from me
Become a mystery to gaze into
You're so cruel in all you do
But still I believe, I believe in you

So may you come with your own knives
You'll never take me alive
With all the force of what is true
Is there nothing I can do?

I can't go on
Digging roses from your grave
To linger on
Beyond the beyond
Where the willows weep
And the whirlpools sleep
You'll find me

And the night mare rides on
And the night mare rides on
With a December black psalm
And the night mare rides on

I've faced the fathoms in your deep
Withstood the suitors' quiet siege
Pulled down the heavens just to please you
To hold the flower I can't keep



And from Melon Collie, Stumbleine is one that always gets me. And for whatever reason, the lines of "Farewell and Goodnight" at the very end:

The sun shines but I don't
A silver rain will wash away
And you can tell, it's just as well

[northzax]

46. 100,000 Fireflies

the Magnetic Fields: http://youtube.com/watch?v=zvr6tQPsh4k&feature=related

I have a mandolin
I play it all night long
It makes me want to kill myself
I also have a dobro
Made in some mountain range
Sounds like a mountain range in love
But when I turn up the tone
On my electric guitar
I'm afraid of the dark without you close to me
I went out to the forest and caught
A hundred thousand fireflies
As they ricochet round the room
They remind me of your starry eyes
Someone else's might not have made me so sad
But this is the worst night I ever had
'cause I'm afraid of the dark without you close to me
You won't be happy with me,
But give me one more chance
You won't be happy anyway
Why do we still live here
In this repulsive town?
All our friends are in New York
Why do we keep shrieking,
when we mean soft things?
We should be whispering all the time...

[abq e streeter]

48. My Man- The Eagles...written in memory of Gram Parsons

" ...so he traveled along, touched your heart, and then was gone. Like a flower, he bloomed till that old hickory wind called him home." Springsteen's Thunder Road does it to me sometimes now too... Sang it at the funeral of one of my best friends ( we had seen Bruce together less than a year before my friend's dirt bike accident, and his wife asked if I would sing it---I'd been the singer in a rockabilly band with Tom a couple of years earlier). Still not sure how I got through the line " heaven's waitin' down along the track" without completely losing it... Sting's Fields of Gold gets to me too...

[last_texas_dem]

76. Good choice

I love that song. It's one that I've recommended to the couple of people I know who have told me that they can't stand anything by the Eagles.

[NMDemDist2]

50. "The Wind Beneath My Wings"

reminds me of my late Grammy ever time

:cry:

[redqueen]

51. Waiting Around To Die - Townes Van Zandt

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTGKzWDakK8



How To Disappear Completely - Radiohead



Nice list you have. What an awesomely depressing subject.

[Mooney]

60. Oh my god, how the hell did I forget Townes?

He deserves his own thread on this topic alone. "Nothin'" is probably one of the greatest songs in his catalog, but for the purposes of this thread alone I would have to say that "Marie" is the winner. You don't listen to that songs so much as survive it.

Townes is also probably one of the greatest songwriters in American history, but that's another thread altogether.

[redqueen]

63. I...

I think I might be falling in love with you.

;)

Thanks, and I agree completely. Marie is indeed his masterpiece. He deserves so much more credit than he gets. What an amazing talent he was. *sniff*

[Mooney]

66. Run away with me!

Yeah, Townes was probably the most significant musical discovery I've made in the last ten years or so. I can't think of anybody who's such a good singer, such a good guitar player and such a good songwriter, all wrapped up in one.

Did you see "Be Here To Love Me," the documentary about him? I used to almost be kind of personally mad at him for pissing away his gifts on alcohol and drugs, but after I saw that movie I understood him a lot better. It seems like he had problems that were pretty insurmountable.

Oh, and you have to add "Flying Shoes" to the list. I almost can't get through that song sometimes.

[redqueen]

67. I did see that, and it made me cry.

He was dealt a bad hand, no doubt.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

52. John Lennon's "Woman"...

...because he got shot down in the fucking street about five minutes after it started to get airplay. Also "Watching The Wheels" and "Just Like Starting Over" from the same album, but "Woman" is the one that hits the hardest.

:toast:

[MorningGlow]

65. "Beautiful Boy" for the same reason

Even worse now, because I have a 4 YO, and I can't even think what it would be like to be separated from him.

Especially the bridge:

Out on the ocean sailing away
I can hardly wait
To see you to come of age
But I guess we'll both
Just have to be patient

[cemaphonic]

54. Springsteen - My Father's House

Even though my own relationship with my Dad has always been close and happy.

[kineneb]

55. Bridge Over Troubled Waters-Simon and Garfunkel

and the last movement of Beethoven's 9th (makes me mourn what humankind could have been...)

...grabs hankie...:cry:

(yes, I know S&G date me a bit...)

[Miss Carly]

56. That's My Job-Conway Twitty(?)

Carly

[ceile]

58. Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah


Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah


Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew her
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah


Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah


Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah


I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah


Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah

[redqueen]

68. That's odd... where's this verse?

Maybe there's a God above,
but all I ever learned from love
was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
And its not a cry you can hear at night,
its not somebody who's seen the light,
its a cold and its a broken Hallelujah


Excellent choice, btw.

[nomorenomore08]

70. That's from the Jeff Buckley version.

A lot of the lyrics on that one are different, although I think they're still all Cohen's words.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

59. me and a gun: tori amos

[asteroid2003QQ47]

62. Cats In The Cradle: Harry Chapin

It's a powerful painful song
that I cannot listen to.

[Bennyboy]

71. Standing on the Moon, Brokedown Palace, Black Peter., Ripple..

Always were very emotional but with Jerry's passing and so many other friends, they are especially poignant.

[Mojambo]

72. "Long Lost Pen Pal" - Hello Saferide

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZOiZ6bZ_KM

Lovely song.

[fight4my3sons]

73. This Woman's Work - Kate Bush

By Your Side - Sade

[Javaman]

77. Troubled by the way we came together. - Natalie Imbrulio. nt

Especially the line:

"you wanted today, I wanted forever"

[KansDem]

78. "Time after Time"--Chet Baker

I've got a few more, but it's late and I've a long way to go...

[nomorenomore08]

80. Bruce Springsteen - "Jersey Girl"

Oh, look, it's another Tom Waits song... Who'da thunk it?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=v4e0WrBsXbE

But of course, Springsteen himself wrote "The River" and "Adam Raised A Cain." Amazing how affecting a song can be, even when the life of the character(s) is nothing like your own.

Some other candidates:
The Replacements - "Here Comes A Regular" (drinking, getting older, still drinking drinking drinking)
The Byrds' version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" (because I once listened to it when I was within a hair's breadth of taking my own life)
This Mortal Coil - "Song to the Siren"
The Smiths - "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I want" (please, please, please don't make fun of me for this one)
Howlin' Wolf - "I Asked for Water" (not really a sad song, but fucking terrifying, especially the verse about the hearse rolling by and the church bell tolling)

[grannylib]

81. "And She Goes On" by Crowded House

Amazing Grace - can't listen to that without tears any more
Silent Night at candlelight services - same deal

[realisticphish]

83. Bruce Springsteen- Youngstown

being from Ohio, and coal territory specifically, it hits hard

(yes, it's about the steel mills, but you know)

[Ramsey]

84. Ten Million Years- Black Lab

it's such a simple thing.
i never feel this way.
i have nightmares i have dreams of you gone.
there is something in you i want today.
so hide the bones away beneath the yellow lines.
you're scared of what you lose or what you might gain this time.
i love you more than i should.
i would wrap my heart in bands of rosewood.
i love you more than i should.
i would stay beside you here ten million years.
you see yourself in the mirror.
you see yourself at night.
you see yourself in the gutter, baby you see yourself like a star
shining bright.
i love you more than i should.
i would stay beside you here ten million years.
every minute every hour every second you take me over.
every night of every day i wait i take i know i take but i love you
more than i should.
i would stay inside you here ten million years.


Also:
All Night Long- Peter Murphy
The Old Ways- Loreena McKennitt
Wild is the Wind- David Bowie
Come Again- Duran Duran
Several Del Amitri songs, especially Here and Now

Gosh I've got a whole mix of these kind of songs, at least 200!

[laylah]

85. A few of mine

"I Can't Make You Love Me" Bonnie Raitt http://youtube.com/watch?v=wlrXIvMmG3s
"In My Father's Field" John Cowan http://youtube.com/watch?v=cdfcQtAeHNg
"A Home" Dixie Chicks http://youtube.com/watch?v=XvmNY5Uze7U

edited to add my all time favorite "Turn Around" http://youtube.com/watch?v=qBWVWjdNWC0 :cry:

[MotorCityMan]

86. "You'll Never Know"

The last cd I bought before my partner died was Bette Midler's tribute to Rosemary Clooney. She does this song and it fit TOO well. Any version of it can have me sobbing.

You'll never know just how much I loved you
You'll never know just how much I cared
And if I tried
I still couldn't hide
My love for you
You ought to know
For haven't I told you so
A million or more times

You went away and my heart went with you
I speak your name in my every prayer
If there is some other way
To prove that I love you
I swear I don't know how
You'll never know if you don't know now

Others:

"The Dance" - Garth Brooks
"Chasing Cars" - Snow Patrol
"In This Life" and "Love, Me" - Colin Raye
"I'll Be Seeing You" - Linda Eder
"God Bless Us Everyone" - Laurie Beechman

[RoyGBiv]

87. Patty Loveless - How Can I Help You Say Goodbye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4F_cXGQN9k

I really can't stand her, but I heard this song for the first time the day after my grandmother died. Feeling completely lost and confused and guilty (I'd had to tell the doctor to turn off the machine keeping her heart beating even though her mind/soul was gone), I went to work that day just to have something to do to help distract my mind. And I made the mistake of turning on the radio.

Needless to say, I went home after I heard this.

And I'm not gonna listen to it now 'cause it'll have the same effect on me as it did then.

[kgnu_fan]

88. Guilty Forest - Coaltar of the Deeprs

Daniel Johnston - Some Things Last a Long Time
Coaltar of the Deepers - Lifeblood

[nytemare]

89. "Vincent" by McLean, and "Travelin' Soldier" by the Dixie Chicks.

They kill me.

[hellbound-liberal]

91. Two very good choices, nytemare! Vincent is often overlooked. I'll add Fields of Gold by Eva Cassidy

even though someone else mentioned it, her version is all the more poignant because she is no longer with us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3YVil3Ajjs

[nytemare]

109. She had a wonderful voice.

Thank you for sharing.

[Duer 157099]

92. Cats in the Cradle - Harry Chapin n/t

[Hayabusa]

93. Come Back-Pearl Jam

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9wnJ49TL9cY

To explain it, I have to say that I'm a writer. Even though it's only fan fiction (and to make me even nerdier, Star Wars fan fiction...), I get connected with the characters that I create. One of my characters was a woman whose Jedi husband was killed by Vader. The song just fits. I don't know if I made it fit unconciously, or if it was a big coincidence, but it just fits.

[Juche]

94. They don't rip my heart out

The only songs that do that are on the soundtrack to 'deliver us from evil', but good sad songs are

Not ready to make nice - Dixie chicks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwc5YSAc-7g

Concrete Angel - Martina McBride
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLwwy-g2wkc

Hey Mama - Kanye West
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNAR8Gqb1ok

Harry Chapin - WOLD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l0fH0dRUow

Johnny Cash - Hurt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go

Kenna - Hell Bent
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owS1coeoWEc

The Fray - How to save a life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKxnJ5iyC-w

Sixx AM - Life is beautiful
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJDDxHIaaVk

Eels - Last Stop This Town
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8hyCWH1Ww0

[Ahpook]

96. Pulled out some Soundgarden

They still blow me away:)

Follow me into the desert
As thirsty as you are
Crack a smile and cut your mouth
And drown in alcohol
‘Cause down below the truth is lying
Beneath the riverbed
So quench yourself and drink the water
That flows below her head

Oh no there she goes
Out in the sunshine
the sun is mine
the sun is mine

(chorus)
I shot my love today would you cry for me
I lost my head again would you lie for me

Close your eyes and bow your head
I need a little sympathy
‘Cause fear is strong and love’s for everyone
Who isn’t me
Kill your health and kill yourself
And kill everything you love
And if you live you can fall to pieces
And suffer with my ghost

(chorus)
I shot my love today would you cry for me
I lost my head again would you lie for me
I left her in the sand just a burden in my hand
I lost my head again would you cry for me

Just a burden in my hand
Just an anchor on my heart
Just a tumor in my head
And I’m in the dark

So follow me into the desert
As desperate as you are
Where the moon is glued to a picture of heaven
And all the little pigs have God

Oh no there she goes
Out in the sunshine
the sun is mine
the sun is mine

(chorus)
I shot my love today would you cry for me
I lost my head again would you lie for me
I left her in the sand just a burden in my hand
I lost my head again would you cry for me
yeah, would you cry for me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp7A46gmf_A

[Duer 157099]

97. Haven't heard this one for years, but when I was a kid, it used to make me really sad

HONEY

See the tree, how big it's grown,
but friend, it hasn't been too long it wasn't big.
I laughed at her and she got mad,
the first day that she planted it was just a twig.
Then the first snow came and she ran
out to brush the snow away so it wouldn't die.
Came runnin' in all excited,
slipped and almost hurt herself, I laughed 'til I cried.
She was always young at heart,
kind a dumb and kind a smart and I loved her so.
I surprised her with a puppy,
kept me up all Christmas eve two years ago.
And it would sure embarrass her when
I came home from working late 'cause I would know
that she'd been sittin' there cryin
over some sad and silly late, late show.

And Honey, I miss you and I'm being good.
And I'd love to be with you if only I could.

She wrecked the car and she was sad
and so afraid that I'd be mad but what the heck.
Though I pretended hard to be,
guess you could say she saw through me and hugged my neck.
I came home unexpectedly
and found her crying needlessly in middle of the day.
And it was in the early spring
when flowers bloom and Robins sing, she went away.
And Honey, I miss you and I'm being good.
And I'd love to be with you if only I could.
Yes, one day while I wasn't home,
while she was there and all alone, the angels came.
Now all I have is memories
of Honey, and I wake up nights and call her name.
Now my life's an empty stage
where Honey lived and Honey played and love grew up.
A small cluod passes over head
and cries down in the flower bed that Honey loved.
See the tree, how big it's grown...

[opiate69]

98. "Forever Love" by X Japan..

I actually don't know the translation, but the song is beautiful, and in this video, they're playing it during their farewell concert.. after rising to the pinnacle of the Japanese music world, they decided to go out on top. A very moving performance... and little did any of them know, but within a year, they would be performing this same song yet again at the funeral of lead guitarist Hideto Matsumoto.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=myWmu-wIym0

[KamaAina]

99. Uh, Piece of my Heart?

oh wait, that one rips out Janis' (or Melissa Etheridge's) heart.

[Redneck Socialist]

100. Black Lung by Hazel Dickens

That song fucking kills me. Even more poignant knowing her brother died of it.

[dana_b]

101. props on the Queen and Neil Young songs!!

Also,
"Wild World" by Cat Stevens
"Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own" - U2
"Imagine" - John Lennon
"Black" - Pearl Jam
there's more, but that's a start

[pink-o]

132. As for Queen...

"The Show must go on" is the obvious gut-wrencher, but I usually have a good cry when I hear "Days of Our Lives". Especially seeing the video, such an emaciated Freddie whose eyes look so wise and reconciled.

We lost such a talent--one of so many. It still infuriates me that people in power sat on their hands while an epidemic took some of the best of ours--people deemed "expendable" by the governments of the western world.

[Canuckistanian]

102. Just about ANYTHING by Nick Drake

The man EXUDED sadness, regret and longing in about every song he sang.

Oh, and any hit by Bread.

[Canuckistanian]

104. Art Garfunkel "Second Avenue"

Since we can no longer make it girl,
I found a new place to live my life.
It's realy no place at all,
Just a hole in the wall you see.
It's cold and dusty but I let it be.
Livin' here without you on Second Avenue.

And since our stars took different paths,
I guess I won't be shavin' in your looking glass.
Guess my old friendly grin,
Must have stared to dim some how.
And I certainly don't need it now.
Still I keep smiling through, on Second Avenue.

I can still see you standing,
There on the third floor landing.
The day you visited, we hardly said a word.
Outside it was rainin',
You said you couldn't be stayin'.
And you went back to your flowers and your birds.
etc....

His biography on Rhapsody.com reads,

"The bald-headed stepchild left behind in the wake of Simon & Garfunkel's painful divorce has released solo albums here and there over the years..."

Nice.

[mokawanis]

105. Matthew Good

"Champions of Nothing" and "Avalanche". Get me every time.

[Danger Mouse]

106. For me it's...

The all time, #1, biggest 'rip my fucking heart out everytime I hear it song' IS...drum roll please...
"Protection" - Massive Attack

AND the close #2
"Convenience Stores" - Buddy Wakefield

AND the close #3
"Dear Diary" - Travis

and the best of the rest...
"Motion Picture Soundtrack" - Radiohead
"Fake Plastic Trees" = Radiohead
"True Love Waits" - Radiohead
"Better Things" - Massive Attack
"Elizabeth on the Bathroom Floor" - The Eels
"Haligh, Haligh, A lie, Haligh" - Bright Eyes
"The Overly Dramatic Truth" - El-P
"Broken Wings" - Sage Francis
"Wish You Were Here" - Pink Floyd
"Dear Prudence" - The Beatles
"Needle in the Hay" - Eliott Smith
"I Break Horses" - Smog
"Mad World" - Gary Jules
"Stop Me June" - Kent
"By Starlight" - Smashing Pumpkins
"Hurt" - Nine Inch Nails
"There is a Light That Never Goes Out" - The Smiths
"Innocent When You Dream" - Tom Waits

There are others...these are just my favorites.

[elleng]

113. JESSE COME HOME

Roberta Flack

Been trying to find it all day; had a link some months ago.

[Crabby Appleton]

115. Jesse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIo-fmjtvyE

Jesse, come home, there's a hole in the bed
Where we slept, now it's growing cold
Jesse, your face and the place where we lay
By the hearth, all apart, it hangs on my heart
And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No, I'm not scared -- I wait for you
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home

Jesse, the stairs and the halls, recalling
Your step, and I remember too
All the pictures are shaded and fading in gray
And I still set a place at the table at noon
And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No, I'm not scared -- I wait for you
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home

Jesse, the spread on the bed, it's like
When you left, I kept it for you
All the blues and the greens have been recently cleaned
And are seemingly new -- Hey Jess, me and you
Will swallow the light on the stairs
I'll fix up my hair, we'll sleep unaware
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home

[elleng]

124. Crabby,

thank you.

[Crabby Appleton]

114. Linda Ronstadt - Long Long Time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QloXf3sSz9g

Love will abide, take things in stride
Sounds like good advice but there's no one at my side
And time washes clean love's wounds unseen
That's what someone told me but I don't know what it means.

Cause I've done everything I know to try and make you mine
And I think I'm gonna love you for a long long time

Caught in my fears
Blinking back the tears
I can't say you hurt me when you never let me near
And I never drew one response from you
All the while you fell all over girls you never knew
Cause I've done everything I know to try and make you mine
And I think it's gonna hurt me for a long long time

Wait for the day
You'll go away
Knowing that you warned me of the price I'd have to pay
And life's full of flaws
Who knows the cause?
Living in the memory of a love that never was
Cause I've done everything I know to try and change your mind
and I think I'm gonna miss you for a long long time
Cause I've done everything I know to try and make you mine
And I think I'm gonna love you for a long long time.

[BulletproofLandshark]

119. "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" - Elton John

[bertha katzenengel]

120. not heartbreaking - a good one - but it does rip my heart out

like nothing else, it reminds me of how absolutely in love with and how incredibly lucky I am to have Mrs. Venation.

Look What Love Has Done

just a couple of lines; this is the bridge

and i can't tell - was that a violin, or did you say something?
did lightning strike me where I stand, or did you just reach out and hold my hand?

[LibDemAlways]

121. If you haven't heard Eva Cassidy's

versions of "Fields of Gold" and "Under the Rainbow" you should. Heart-rippers both.

[Doc_Technical]

122. The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

This song has been covered by many artists,
The Pogues do an excellent version.

[miss_american_pie]

123. Brick

True Colors (but only when Cyndi Lauper sings it)
Baby Mine from Dumbo. Freaking Disney.
Round Here


There are a million more, but I'm in a good mood today. ;)

[GreenPartyVoter]

125. Off the top of my head "More than feeling" Boston. That was my sob song when

hubby and I were apart at different colleges. It still gets to me. :)

[China_cat]

126. The one that did it for me when I could still hear

was 'Crying in the Rain' by the Everly Brothers.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

127. Long Shot kick de bucket

By the Pioneers. Song about a horse dieing and financial loss all rolled into one sad song.

[mentalsolstice]

128. "Philadelphia" by Neil Young

It ripped my heart out at the end of the movie by the same name.

"Call to Heaven" by Patty Smyth
"I Will Never Be The Same" by Melissa Etheridge

[Inspired]

130. I so agree. It is a haunting song. n/t

[Thickasabrick]

129. This is really old but everytime I hear the Pretenders - it has that

effect.
The one that rips my heart is

"Kid"

Kid what changed your mood
You've gone all sad so I feel sad too
I think I know some things we never outgrow
You think it's wrong
I can tell you do
How can I explain
When you don't want me to

Kid my only kid
You look so small you've gone so quiet
I know you know what I'm about
I won't deny it
But you forgive though you don't understand
You've turned your head
You've dropped by hand

All my sorrow, all my blues
All my sorrow

Shut the light, go away
Full of grace, you cover your face

Kid gracious kid
Your eyes are blue but you won't cry
I know angry tears are too dear
You won't let them go