Okay, so what are the saddest songs of all-time? I mean, which songs most want to send you running to Home Depot for a length of rope to hang yourself with?

And why the Hell do we love sad songs, anyway? I know that I'm a sucker for them (especially after a few drinks!).

For my money, "All by Myself," by Eric Carmen, and "Alone Again (Naturally)," by Gilbert O'Sullivan share this distinction.

Some others are:

"Tears in Heaven," by Eric Clapton
"Yesterday," by The Beatles
"Honey," by Bobby Goldsboro
"The Way We Were," by Barbra Streisand
"Don't Cry Daddy" and "In The Ghetto," by Elvis Presley

Anyone else?

Nice topic. Here's a few off the top of my head, but I still think there's some real heartwrenchers I'm not thinking of at the moment.

How Do You Mend A Broken Heart -BeeGees
Total Eclipse Of The Heart - Bonnie Tyler
I Am A Rock - S&G
Nowhere Man - Beatles


TIS

"Sad Eyes" by Robert John, which had a very personal connection for me back in 1979 (how is THAT possible??). I just used to sit in my room and cry every time it came on the radio.



PB, "Tears in Heaven" just slays me. Also, the reprise of "I'll Cover You" from "Rent", performed at Angel's funeral, is just a heartbreaker.

One of my favorite songs by one of my favorite artist: "The First Cut Is The Deepest" - Rod Stewart

Oh, and hearing it on the radio now reminds me: Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles




TIS

Love Hurts - Nazareth


Tell Laura I love her

Good one, Mig.

Hey Mig, you'll be shocked to hear that PB loves country music, but he does. Anyway, "How Do I Live," by Leann Rhimes, always gets me. And to think, she was only 14 years old when she recorded it!

And you'll be shocked that it's not my favorite. But here's a sad country one for you.

George Jones - He Stopped Loving Her Today

Lou Reed - Perfect Day

"Bell Bottom Blues" - Eric Clapton...."do you wanna see me crawl across the floor to you, do you wanna hear me beg you to take me back."

Dylan's "Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol", "To Ramona", "Ballad in Plain D", "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands", "Two Soldiers", "When The Ship Sails In", "4th Time Around", "Delia", "Series of Dreams", most of Blood on the Tracks...

I often have a hard time differentiating between "Sad" and "Beautiful".

Wanda Robinson The Final Hour and The Meeting Place and really just about anything she sang. A very depressing artist in many respects..

Stevie Wonder Village Ghetto Land

Bill Withers I can't write left-handed

Jimi Hendrix Machine Gun

WAR Four Cornered Room and The World is a ghetto

James Carr At the dark end of the street

Elmore James Bleeding Heart

Blind Willie Johnson Motherless children have a hard time

John Lee Hooker It serves me right to suffer

also done by Percy Mayfield as Memory Pain

Aretha Franklin "It ain't fair"
Wendy Rene "After Laughter comes tears"

Yes, I also find that a lot of sad songs are also beautiful.

Here's one of the best. It was made famous in a "Family Ties" episode and became one of the most requested songs on FM radio. It was covered by Michael Buble, but I love the heart and soul that Billy puts into the original.

A few more


Against All Odds - Phil Collins
Making Love out of Nothing At All - Air Supply
Angie - Stones



TIS

Lilo, love your blues slant. Many of my leanings are toward the blues.

Yup. I like just about everything but blues is closest to me.

Another sad song that has been done in various incarnations by country, gospel and blues artists or some people that were all three is "Will the Circle be Unbroken".

Oh God, I almost forgot "Seasons in the Sun" (the Terry Jacks version). That song actually qualifies as outright depressing, rather than sad.

And also from that time frame (1973-1974), how about "Billy, Don't Be a Hero"? Man, I was like a sophomore in high school if I remember right, because the Vietnam War was still going on. A very traumatic song for a kid almost old enough to get drafted!

I actually sang "Billy Don't Be A Hero" in the 7th grade talent show.

Just about any slower song by OTIS REDDING usually gets me

Danny Boy

The Living Years - Mike & The Mechanics

Different, yet very nice and kind of sad song IMHO



TIS

Personal history here, Tis. My paternal grandfather passed away in '87. We had gotten the call from Rosary Hill (a hospice in Westchester run by the nuns) at about 11 in the morning. They told us he would likely pass away within a few hours. Well, we ended up missing him "depart" this life by about ten minutes. And missing him go really haunted my Dad.

A year or two later, my Dad and I are in a local bar that we frequented back then, and we hear "The Living Years" for the first time. They get to the verse "I wasn't there that morning, when my father passed away," and my father just lost it. Now keep in mind, he was about 60 years old when this song came out, but a lifetime of love for my grandfather just came pouring out of him.

To this day, I can't listen to that song without getting EXTREMELY emotional. Not so much for my grandfather (because he had a great, full life), but for my father's tears that day.

I guess you're never too old to be your father's little pal.

PB,

I am touched every time I hear that song, but your story brings tears to my eyes.



TIS

It's amazing how songs affect people. I can be out driving and a song that means something to me and I'll just start crying.

When I was little, "The Drummer Boy " always made me cry. I don't know why. An older cousin as a young boy would always lose it to "Arriverderci Roma" and a younger cousin would cry to "Sunshine on my Shoulder."

GC Cameron It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday

"For the Good Times" --- Elvis's version.

Many of the songs already listed are quite familiar to me - particularly the ones from the '60s and '70s.

But, as has already been mentioned, sometimes a particular song will trigger intensely personal memories though the song itself might not be thought of as particularly sad or depressing. For me, the three that immediately come to mind are:

Here, There, and Everywhere - The Beatles
For Emily... - Simon & Garfunkel
The Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler

Best not to even be around me when one of those songs is playing.

Signor V.

The Clown - Roy Orbison

There's also "Nights In White Satin," from the Moody Blues. This was used in Casino. It's one of my favorite popular songs. Very very dark, but to me that's part of its appeal.

"Goodnight" by Roy Orbison. Sung with heartbreaking beauty.