What's the saddest song you've ever heard

nyarlothothep

Fade Out by Radiohead is bleak. The lyrics really add to the despairing atmosphere of hopelessness.

Just found this thread on the main page. Some good music mentioned.


I think my favourite "sad song" would probably be Finger Eleven's "Thousand Mile Wish".


For anyone who hasn't heard it (very few people seem to know who they even are?) I'd recommend listening to it at least once.



Song:

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=TOePqnxR4EU



Lyrics:

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Thousand-Mile-Wish-lyrics-Finger-Eleven/853413BE4DDEE42948256D48000ABE8F

Dlite

Has to be "The Grave" by "Don McLean"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6uRg9aslZg

I can't imagine what soldiers go through during a war, this song expresses to me how terrifying it must be.... so sad yet beautiful.

Amazing song writer.

Rock Dog

Man Of The World by Peter Green s Fleetwood Mac
You can feel and hear his pain,

God Only Knows by The Beach Boys
The strings and harmonies are perfect,

On the other hand lifes too short to be sad,if u cant handle the drugs then dont take them.

Poor old Peter Green and poor Brian Wilson

DerKaiser

"The show must go on" by Queen

Freddie knew he was dying at that point, the lyric in the chorus is "Inside my heart is breaking, my make-up may be flaking but my smile still stays on"

I think he left part of his soul in that song

byhookorbycrook

Martha, Tom Waits.

The famine ballad " Kilkelly" based on letters between Irish abroad and the family at home.

The band played waltzing matilda, by Eric Bogle.One of the best anti-war songs ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG48Ftsr3OI



Another great anti -war song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT0ysO58KXE

based on the Christmas truce during world war 1, I
always choke on the "and I killed the boy who sang in no-mans land" bit


I also love Eric Bogles "Glasgow Lullaby"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b--kuKfpwko

norwegianwood

Johnny Cah- Hurt
You can hear all his misery and pain in his voice when he's singing. I love the song, but I always feel so depressed whenever I hear it.

Redpunto

norwegianwood wrote: »

Johnny Cah- Hurt
You can hear all his misery and pain in his voice when he's singing. I love the song, but I always feel so depressed whenever I hear it.

yep agree with ya there

Wires by Athlete....i have been able to listen to it since the first time,,,it just makes me cry

JerryHandbag

Neil Young - Philadelphia

Latchy

All I think about is you - Harry Nilson .

Something very haunting about this . Got to be one of the saddest songs ever.

MoveOn

boredatwork82 wrote: »

Puff the magic Dragon

This f***in song TRAUMATISED me when I was a child. And I STILL can't listen to it.

'Why does my heart feel so bad' by Moby - not in itself a terribly sad song but with the video there's something terribly lonely about it.

But if you want a standalone 3 minutes of pure sadness without the schmaltz, real heart wrenching stuff, for me it's all there in Tom Waits' 'Martha'...

Kieo

one sweet day by mariah carey

Kevster

Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings

carchaeologist

Epilogue(for lisa) By shawn lane..i prefer this version on the electric guitar.

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

tech77

nyarlothothep wrote: »

Fade Out by Radiohead is bleak. The lyrics really add to the despairing atmosphere of hopelessness.

Street Spirit (fade out)?
What does Thom York say about that song.
He can never play it live without breaking down or something.. something like that.

It's mesmerizingly beautiful.

lordgoat

Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie - Bob Dylan.

Not a song exactly but it's an amazing piece.

These people are so pretty in their ribbons and bows....

Tar.Aldarion

Johnny Cash - Hurt(cover)
Romeo and juliet - dire straits
Tears In Heaven - Eric Clapton
Creep - Damian rice(cover)
Avril Lavigne - Fall to Pieces: Because when I heard it it was exactly how I had felt for over a year, haven't listened to it in 2 years now, too sad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGh0CcbVoPQ

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

Waxing the Gaza

Warren Zevon- Keep Me in Your Heart. Considering that he knew he was dying when he wrote it. Great song.

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

pablomakaveli

Of the top of my head "Starry Starry Night" by Don McClean is a very sad song but in a beautiful way.

"Abraham,Martin and John" by Marvin Gaye is a very sad song as well.

tony1kenobi

This one:

And i wished for so long, cannot stay
All the precious moments, cannot stay
It's not like wings have fallen, cannot stay
But still something's missing, i cannot say yeah

Holding hands are daughters and sons
And their faiths are falling down down down down

I have wished for so long
How i wish for you today

Will i walk the long road (the long road)
Cannot stay (the long road)
There's no need to say goodbye say goodbye

All the friends and family
All the memories going round round round

I have wished for so long
How i wish for you today

And the wind keeps roarin'
And the sky keeps turning grey
And the sun is setting
The sun will rise another day

I have wished for so long
How i wish for you today
I have wished for so long
How i wish for you today

Will i walk the long road
We all walk the long road
Will i walk the long road
We all walk the long road


Or Dock of The Bay by Otis Redding.

gally

Old Shep by Elvis.Its about his faithful dog he has to put down.My 5 year old son cried when he heard it.

spacecoyote

Probably the saddest would be "Ne Me Quitte Pas" as sung by Nina Simone. Its in french (title might be a giveaway there), but I don't think I've ever heard a song sung with more emotion in their voice than this. Its a very simple arrangement and beautifully sung.

lyrics are

Ne me quitte pas
Il faut oublier
Tout peut s'oublier
Qui s'enfuit déjà
Oublier le temps
Des malentendus
Et le temps perdu
A savoir comment
Oublier ces heures
Qui tuaient parfois
A coups de pourquoi
Le coeur du bonheur
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Moi je t'offrirai
Des perles de pluie
Venues de pays
Où il ne pleut pas
Je creuserai la terre
Jusqu'après ma mort
Pour couvrir ton corps
D'or et de lumière
Je ferai un domaine
Où l'amour sera roi
Où l'amour sera loi
Où tu seras reine
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Ne me quitte pas
Je t'inventerai
Des mots insensés
Que tu comprendras
Je te parlerai
De ces amants-là
Qui ont vue deux fois
Leurs coeurs s'embraser
Je te raconterai
L'histoire de ce roi
Mort de n'avoir pas
Pu te rencontrer
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

On a vu souvent
Rejaillir le feu
De l'ancien volcan
Qu'on croyait trop vieux
Il est paraît-il
Des terres brûlées
Donnant plus de blé
Qu'un meilleur avril
Et quand vient le soir
Pour qu'un ciel flamboie
Le rouge et le noir
Ne s'épousent-ils pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Ne me quitte pas
Je ne vais plus pleurer
Je ne vais plus parler
Je me cacherai là
A te regarder
Danser et sourire
Et à t'écouter
Chanter et puis rire
Laisse-moi devenir
L'ombre de ton ombre
L'ombre de ta main
L'ombre de ton chien
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas


or in English:

Don't leave me.
We must forget
all that can be forgotten,
that already has passed away.
Forget the times
of misunderstandings,
and the times lost
trying to know how
Forget those hours
which sometimes killed
in attacks of "whys"
the heart of happiness.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.
I'll cover you
with pearls of rain
from countries
where it never rains.
I will dig the earth
until my death
to cover your body
with gold and lights.
I will make a land,
where love will be king,
where love will be law,
and you my queen.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.

Do not leave me.
I'll make up
crazy words
that you'll understand.
I'll tell you
about the lovers
who have twice seen
their hearts catch fire.
I'll tell you
the story of this king
who died from not
being able to meet you.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.

We often see
the fire erupt
from the ancient volcano
we once thought too old
It is shown that
lands that were burned
gave more wheat
than the best April.
And when the evening comes
with the sky blazing
-- the red and the black --
which doesn't blend.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.

Don't leave me.
I won't cry anymore
I won't talk anymore
I will hide there.
To watch you
dance and smile
and to hear you
sing and then laugh.
Let me become
the shadow of your shadow,
the shadow of your hand,
the shadow of your dog.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.

Nina Simone's version of Strange Fruit is also quite depressing!

Also 3 Cigarettes in an Ashtray by Patsy Cline, again as much for the delivery as anything else

lyrics:

Lyrics to Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray :
Two cigarettes in an ashtray,
My love and I in a small cafe.
Then a stranger came along,
And everything went wrong.
Now there's three cigarettes in the ashtray.

I watched her take him from me,
And his love is no longer my own.
Now they are gone, and I sit alone,
And watch one cigarette burn away.

I watched her take him from me,
And his love is no longer my own.
Now they are gone, and I sit alone,
And watch one cigarette burn away.

lordgoat

gally wrote: »

Old Shep by Elvis.Its about his faithful dog he has to put down.My 5 year old son cried when he heard it.

That's a cover. Elvis didn't write many (any?) songs of his own.

norwegianwood

ralph mctell- streets of london
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctb-SrwL884

Ponster

Some very good suggestions up there but no examples of fado ?

Mariza - Há uma música do povo

Diabhal Beag

Everybody Hurts - REM

nyarlothothep

tech77 wrote: »

Street Spirit (fade out)?
What does Thom York say about that song.
He can never play it live without breaking down or something.. something like that.

It's mesmerizingly beautiful.

If I recall correctly he said that it came from somewhere else entirely rather than from his own mind, which is a common experience among songwriters/writers/artists and so forth. Tolkien says something similar in relation to how he wrote LOTR, of course he was relying on old nordic myths. Nothing necessarily mystical about that either I should say.

Yes I agree, though it is a very unusual song, very medieval and contemplative, I could imagine a 5000 Buddhist monk in some long forgotten temple thinking the end of the world into existence when listening to that song. The reason I say this is that the lyrics seem to be about the futility of existence, the song evokes this idea in a really powerful if not fundamental way, which is why I find it incredibly gloomy. But the really impressive thing about the song is that its about transcendence because at the end he says "immerse your soul in love." Its like the destructiveness of nature is so overpowering, it instigates a transcendent reaction to overcome it completely, in other words it could be about the human potential to elevate itself against all odds to a higher state of being. That's what I take from the song anyway.:o

pcardin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJEySrDerj0

and this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1dNN0-TEHg

MonicaBing

Thin Lizzy- Parisienne Walkway
Johnny Cash-If You could read my mind
Bon Jovi - Its hard letting you go, reduces to my knees every fricking time...
Rufus Wainwright- Coming to a town
Jack Savoretti- Between the minds
Evanescence- My Immortal
Pearl Jam - Black
Jet - Shine On
Great Big sea- Im a rover
Ocean Colour Scene- I love you

dolliemix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DjiDuLhHpA

Hot Chocolate - I'll put you together again

Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5JkHBC5lDs