What's the saddest song you've ever heard

Kold

I don't want lists of sad songs, I want you to make a decision and give a reason for it.

I got the idea when I was just hanging out with some good friends and Pink Floyd's 'Wish you were here' came on. I said "Class" and then one of them says he loves the song so much because he thinks it's probably the saddest song he's ever heard. Now whilst it's a beautiful song, I can withstand a blast of it without becoming morose.

My choice would be Radiohead's 'No Surprises' because I think it has such a depth to it that you're still able to relate to. The music isn't obviously gloomy because the instrumental isn't (their most..) blatantly sad song, it's no How to disappear completely like.. But then the lyrics.. it's about someone so terrified of life that they pray for a life of numbness. They'll take a life of complete mediocrity and gladly step back to live as another statistic, the life that when we're young we absolutely refuse to accept the idea of living.. When you decide that the obstacles in your life are actually too difficult to overcome. All this masked in a tune pretending to be catchy and nice.


It's weird cos it's far from my favourite song on OK Computer (Lucky ftw) and you don't really realise how sad it is until you really think about it.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

DonkeyStyle \o/

John Lennon - Imagine
Certainly the most moving/powerful song I've heard... gives me the chills. :eek:

Of Radioheads, I'd probably say Exit music or Nice dream.

Kold

Exit Music is sad but it seems fairly superficial, whilst I don't think [nice dream] is a particularly sad song in itself. PS. I was thinking of making this thread an OK Computer appreciation thread..

Wishbone Ash

"Where do you go to my lovely" by Peter Starsted (spelling??).

I always think it's sad but I can't give an indepth analysis of why. Probably something to do with the "back streets of Naples " and "two children begging in rags".

imeddyhobbs

I feel sad to admit it but i only cried listening to one song..old shep by Elvis


When i was a lad and old shep was a dog.....................:(

imeddyhobbs

Kold wrote:

I was thinking of making this thread an OK Computer appreciation thread..

Do it!

Paulj

has to be 'perfect day' by lou reed. so sad...agree also that radioheads stuff is quite sad also.

DonkeyStyle \o/

Kold wrote:

whilst I don't think [nice dream] is a particularly sad song in itself.

Maybe it's just my interpretation.
Which is one of the things I really like about Radiohead (apart from them actually sounding amazing)... the songs are vague and open enough to hear from different angles... even re-listening to the same songs at different times... I find my interpretation changes based on my mood.
Gives it a lot of replay value.
I always found 'nice dream' really positive and chilled out until I listened to it from a more cynical angle.
Same with FakePlasticTrees actually... in a good mood; the song just sounds silly and lighthearted, but in a more melancholy mood; it takes on a really hauntingly sad tone.

A f*ck it, maybe I should just become an Emo and get it over with.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

Kold

Well Radiohead are actually my favourite topic of conversation so some kind of serious Radiohead thread would be pretty cool. Whilst I recognise OK Computer is probably the best album ever, my faves will still gravitate towards Hail to the Thief and Amnesiac.

hshortt

Sad Song or songs that make you sad?

Trust - The Cure, beautiful and sad melody.
To Wish Impossible Things - The Cure, a common thought and well performed.
Mother - Tori Amos, great song, very emotive and passionate.
Cooling - Tori Amos, the end of the relationship, one my favourite Tori Amos songs.

These would be some my favourite sad songs, love them, but there are so many more these just came to me as I heard them today. Also love the Peter Starstedt - check this wiki entry for the song - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_Do_You_Go_To_(My_Lovely)
and most but not all of Radioheads OK Computer. I've kinda unusal tastes really.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

romperstomper

love sick - bob dylan

although i agree with a lot of the stuff mentioned above, I challenge anyone to listen to this and hear the older voice of dylan giving his wiser but ultimately more hopeless take on love.

311

The Blobby song ,A sad song for sad people :mad:

Nightwish

Razorlight "America"... it makes me weep anytime I hear it.

Rigsby

imeddyhobbs wrote:

I feel sad to admit it but i only cried listening to one song..old shep by Elvis


When i was a lad and old shep was a dog.....................:(

Ya beat me to it !!

impr0v

Gary Jules' version of Mad World.

Photi

Spiritualized - Broken Heart.

Chokes me up every time I listen to it.

Blood Embrace by Bonnie 'prince' Billy is pretty harrowing too.

JamesM

Rigsby wrote:

I feel sad to admit it but i only cried listening to one song..old shep by Elvis.
Ya beat me to it !!

If you're that vintage, you must have cried to the Everly's "Ebony Eyes" or "Tell Laura I love her"

melekalikimaka

you are my sunshine, i used to love it til i actually listened to the words

30txsbzmcu2k9w

hmm alot of Bonnie prince billys stuff . 'I See A Darkness' is an extremely moving song, he sounds like he could burst into tears at any moment singing it.
'Wires' by Athlete is really quite moving too, i read somewhere( maybe on these boards) he wrote about his daughter after she had to be taken to hospital.
'The Suffering Song' by Willard Grant Conspiracy - speaks for itself really,amazing song too.

wild_eyed

elliott smith's pitseleh

icklekinkykat

saddest song has to be the sun goes down- Thin Lizzy ..cant listen to it without crying for a good hour damn you Phil Lynott

cue

Tail-lights Fade - Buffalo Tom

Sinfonia

JamesM wrote:

If you're that vintage, you must have cried to the Everly's..."Tell Laura I love her"

That'd bring the house down, Laura's mom could sing it:D

fuse

James Taylor - Fire & Rain.

Jumpy

Tom Petty - Learning to fly.

swingking

Tom Waits- Grapefruit Moon

stipey

Far too many contenders to give this the consideration it deserves and still expect to be actually do anything worth paying me for. Like most people I go through phases and what I'm listening to heavily influences the first song that comes to mind..

At the moment though, with the weekend that's in it, I have nothing but Irish artists in my playlist so I'm going to say...

A Lady of a Certain Age by The Divine Comedy

with an very honourable mentions for

"Still in Love with You" by Thin Lizzy (esp. the live version). I was a teenager of the 90's but while most of my classmates were into Nirvana and Pearl Jam, I was on a diet of Thin Lizzy and the Doors. I wasn't one for slower songs at the time and generally skipped this one on the CD player and then one day it caught me completely unawares, sucked me in and I noticed the passion, pain and heartbreak screaming at me through the guital solo. The ultimate break up song.

and

"He Ain't Heavy" by The Hollies. When I was 19, I lost my best friend to cancer. The played this at the funeral and it was still in my mind as I was helping to carry his coffin from the church. I was still fairly lean at the time and wouldn't have been the strongest so it was a bit of a struggle but there was no way I was going to let him down (figuratively and literally). I still well up every time I hear it.

Dubh Geannain

I think "the Streets of London" (can't remember who sang it) really captured the plight of down and out Irish emigrants in our not too distant past.

Also think "The very thing" by Stars is good depressing one.

purple'n'gold

Dubh Geannain wrote:

I think "the Streets of London" (can't remember who sang it) really captured the plight of down and out Irish emigrants in our not too distant past.

Also think "The very thing" by Stars is good depressing one.

streets of London, Ralph McTell

Bri~

Bright eyes - Poison Oak

Fanny Cradock

The saddest songs known to man are as follows:

Place to be - Nick Drake (anything off his 'Pink Moon' Ablum for that matter

Symphony of sorrowful songs: II. Lento E Largo - Tranquillisimo - Henryk Gorecki

Lost Cause - Beck

Dirty - Christina Agulera

copacetic

as above, from a funeral so brings back memories, might be a bit obvious but

angel : sarah mclachlan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CbAjj80NIM

Kevster

I don't know why but Manic Street Preachers' Little Baby Nothing is the first that popped into my head.

PullMyFinger!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFmp9K8RTcc

keane2097

Summer in the City by Regina Spektor chokes me up a bit...

I guess I associate it with good times gone for good - lovely tune though...

keane2097

wild_eyed wrote: »

elliott smith's pitseleh

Terribly haunting song...

The line "I'm so angry, I don't think it'll ever pass" resonates so strongly considering how he ended up.

A tortured soul, but boy what a genius...

Dean820

Hurt by Johnny Cash

Duiske

An oldie, but a goodie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuH4yR9N4Yg

sillybird

+1 for The Dance

Puff Daddy- I'll Be Missing You breaks my heart everytime I hear it
and I dunno why but Sail On by The Comodores/Lionel Richie

thielfer

Dean820 wrote: »

Hurt by Johnny Cash

agree...

Southern girl by Incubus always makes me sad
Always on my mind from Elvis Presley's heritage is one of classic sad songs as well

The one that makes me sad and thrills me out as well is Lennon's Imagine performed and rearranged by A Perfect Circle - kind of thriller itself...and a masterpiece anyway...

keane2097

This thread has made me listen to OK Computer for the first time - super album...

Loads of lines from Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" I've noticed...

Simi

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote: »

Maybe it's just my interpretation.
Which is one of the things I really like about Radiohead (apart from them actually sounding amazing)... the songs are vague and open enough to hear from different angles... even re-listening to the same songs at different times... I find my interpretation changes based on my mood.
Gives it a lot of replay value.
I always found 'nice dream' really positive and chilled out until I listened to it from a more cynical angle.
Same with FakePlasticTrees actually... in a good mood; the song just sounds silly and lighthearted, but in a more melancholy mood; it takes on a really hauntingly sad tone.

A f*ck it, maybe I should just become an Emo and get it over with.

Agreed it depends entirely on your mood when listening to the track. I'd probably go with fake plastic trees when in a particularly melancholic mood.

road_2_damascus

Kold wrote: »

I don't want lists of sad songs, I want you to make a decision and give a reason for it.

I got the idea when I was just hanging out with some good friends and Pink Floyd's 'Wish you were here' came on. I said "Class" and then one of them says he loves the song so much because he thinks it's probably the saddest song he's ever heard. Now whilst it's a beautiful song, I can withstand a blast of it without becoming morose.

My choice would be Radiohead's 'No Surprises' because I think it has such a depth to it that you're still able to relate to. The music isn't obviously gloomy because the instrumental isn't (their most..) blatantly sad song, it's no How to disappear completely like.. But then the lyrics.. it's about someone so terrified of life that they pray for a life of numbness. They'll take a life of complete mediocrity and gladly step back to live as another statistic, the life that when we're young we absolutely refuse to accept the idea of living.. When you decide that the obstacles in your life are actually too difficult to overcome. All this masked in a tune pretending to be catchy and nice.


It's weird cos it's far from my favourite song on OK Computer (Lucky ftw) and you don't really realise how sad it is until you really think about it.

Debussy, Claire de Lune http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=d_6AdmlBBBI&feature=related

reminds me of a lost love and the good times we had before it ended

delbertgrady

Chris Bell: I Am the Cosmos

Especially when the guitar solo kicks in.

jossnjuice

if is should fall behind- bruce springsteen

when he does this live and all the mebers of the E street band take line of vocals it is truely spine chilling and pure emotion

cry to heaven - meatloaf

these days- bon jovi

if only in my dreams- bon jovi, with tico torres on lead vocals- unbelievable voice, gravle, puts magowan to shame.

gscully

For me...Bobby Goldsboro - Honey

Deedsie

Midnight Express by The Sawdoctors.

If you are ever homesick this is the saddest song for alot of Irish people to hear.

Agree with most of the above, dont think to many would know that one though.

Boo-yah

Not the saddest song I've ever heard no doubt but the most recent song in memory -> The Hold Steady: Lord I'm discouraged

Best song from their last (brilliant) album "Stay Positive" deals with a guy who is praying because he's afraid he will lose his girlfriend/girl who is a friend to drug addiction. The last verse is particularly affecting:

"Lord, I’m sorry to question your wisdom, but my faith has been waverin’. Won’t you show me a sign, let me know that you’re listening? Excuses and half-truths and fortified wine. Excuses and half-truths and fortified wine. Excuses and half-truths and fortified wine. I know it’s unlikely she’ll ever be mine, so I mostly just pray she don’t die. "

Also love this verse

"I know I’m no angel…I ain’t been bad, that way. Can’t you hear her? She’s that sweet, missing songbird, when the choir sings on Sunday. And I’m almost busted, but I bought back the jewelry she sold. And I come to your altar, but then there’s just nothing"