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Sad Songs say so much...

19 August 2004, 05:17

OK. Reader response required, people.

What is your all-time most gut-wrenching “one.more.lyric.and.its. game.on.with.the.hot.water.and.razorblades” sad song?

I was wandering to work this morning, with MD in tow, listening to a collection of stuff I nicked from Kazaa last summer, and that gifted southern wench, Tori Amos spilled out of the airways with “Can’t see New York” and dammit if the tears. just. inched. out. of. the. corner. of. my. eye (ahem, just slightly). It’s one of those songs you can’t possibly listen to without feeling something tragic…

“and you said
you would find me even in death
and you said
you’d find me
but i can’t see new york
as i’m circling down
through white cloud, falling out
and i know his lips are warm
but i can’t seem to find my way out
my way out i can’t see.
of this hunting ground…”

Doesn’t that kill ya? She is the Divine Priestess of finding the most viscerally evocative way to put things.

Other top contenders for me are: “Stan” (Eminem), “It Can’t Rain all the Time” (Jane Siberry), “Gloomy Sunday” (Billie Holiday) and “Putting the Damage On” (Tori again)

Now…over to you…

Posted by Kinki on 19 August 2004, 05:17
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  1. 'The Last Goodbye' (Jeff Buckley...actually quite a lot of his repertoire is heart wrenching stuff); 'The Lost Song' (The Cat Empire - beautiful but such sad lyrics); 'Big Exit' (PJ Harvey - a tad suicidal) 'Departures (globe - lyrics are melancholy - http://www.animelyrics.com/jpop/globe/departures.jis) There are others..but I just can't think of them right now..probably a couple of U2 songs.
    — nicole    Aug 19, 09:02 AM    #
  2. i agree.. "the last goodbye" by jeff buckley is one of the saddest songs of all time.. i can't think of any others. my collection of music is decidedly upbeat especially since i don't listen to tori amos (i feel asleep at one of her concerts 6 years ago and haven't been a fan since) or the like.
    — gleek    Aug 19, 11:33 AM    #
  3. "At This Moment" by Billy Vera & the Beaters
    — pastilla    Aug 19, 01:48 PM    #
  4. Ah yes, upbeat is good. I must admit to having a bit of the melancholy wench in me, though, that enjoys a decent wailing and gnashing of teeth over a gloomy toon. I'd forgotten about Jeff Buckley...there's got to be a few in there. And The Verve's/Ben Harper's "Drugs don't work" is also a killer.
    — Kinki    Aug 19, 05:41 PM    #
  5. iris, goo goo dolls china, tori amos (old skool) fallen, sarah mclachlan *sniff, sniff*
    — lacroix1    Aug 20, 01:36 AM    #
  6. It would have to be "Needle in the Hay" by Elliot Smith. Id you have ever seen the movie "The Royal Tennenbaums" you will know what I'm talking about.
    — derekjay    Aug 20, 04:51 AM    #
  7. I loved listening to this, but usually without listening to the words :-) When I gave the headphones to my wife, she immediately started crying, so I had to take them away very quickly :-( Song: Makber Melody from: Mehmet Baha Words from: Abdulhak Hamit Tarhan Her yer karanlik pur-nur o mevki Magrip mi yoksa makber mi ya Rab Ya habgah-i dilber mi ya Rab Ruya degil bu ayniyle vaki Kabri cicekten bir turbe olmus Donmus o turbe bir haclegahe Bir haclegahe donmusse turben Ac koynunu ac masukanim ben It is dark all around but that place is awash with light Is it a tomb or is it a grave my God? or is it a place where the beauty sleeps? This is not a dream, it happened exactly like this Her grave has become a mauseleum made of flowers That mauseleum turned into a brideLs room If a brideLs room your mauseleum has become, then open your arms and accept me, ILm your beloved Original old version: www.turkishmusic.org/cgi-bin/t1.pl?rc/c3/burhan05.ra New version from Eurovision-winner Sertap Erener: http://bogaziciek2.sitemynet.com/makber.mp3
    — Ferit Orbay    Aug 20, 07:13 AM    #
  8. ok now don't laugh, but i think "casi un bolero" by...ah...ricky martin is a beautiful song. a beautiful SAD song. '...sadness sweeps through me, like the wind in the mountains...' ( in spanish ) and i love john mayer's "split screen sadness", esp. when he goes 'so i check the weather, wherever you are, coz i wanna know if you can see the stars tonight. might be my only right.' and there's a hindi song called 'mora saiyan' by Fuzon that's incredible too. m hm. can't think of any more :/
    — megha    Aug 20, 12:54 PM    #
  9. Interesting mix guys, must check these out for meself! Excuse my ignorance Ferit, but what language is Makber in? Is it Turkish?
    — Kinki    Aug 20, 05:29 PM    #
  10. goo goo dolls... acoustic 3. BLAH. It's a good song, just horribly depressing. Iris is pretty close too. I try to avoid such songs, even though they're good.
    — moska    Aug 20, 08:28 PM    #
  11. "Who Let The Dogs Out" ... oh, hang on. Sorry, I thought we were on the "Annoying Songs Rolling In Your Head For Three Days That Can Only Be Stopped By Telling Someone Else, Resulting In Them Having The Annoying Song In *Their* Head" thread.
    — andrew    Aug 21, 12:10 AM    #
  12. Well, Andrew, if you want to open that can of worms, I'd have to put my hands up for "Macarena" and "Teenage Dirtbag" (although I do quite like that song)...
    — Kinki    Aug 21, 01:00 AM    #
  13. sad songs... well, Fade into you by Mazzy Star... I dunno for me it is.
    — Atsuko    Aug 21, 04:15 AM    #
  14. Yes, it is Turkish. Very famous poet (http://www.osmanli700.gen.tr/english/individuals/a19.html) who had to bury his wife in Beirut. There is a full poem with same title (http://edebiyatdostlari.sitemynet.com/sairler/abdulhakhamittarhan.htm) but more difficult to translate (and even sadder).
    — Ferit Orbay    Aug 21, 06:26 AM    #
  15. i was just listening to 'Fade into You'...aaah. the days of 'double J' in the 90s/early JJJ. yikes.
    — nicole    Aug 21, 07:57 AM    #
  16. When the Chicago Cubs blew their chance at making it into the World Series last year, I nearly drowned in The Cure. Not quite sure how I made it to spring training of this year. Eternal optimist I guess.
    — erikman    Aug 21, 02:53 PM    #
  17. There is a Light That Never Goes Out. Driving Your Girlfriend Home. Two Smiths songs -- nothing is more depressing than being a teenager, sitting in the dark, listening to hours and hours of The Smiths. Well, except maybe being old and gray and still listening to the same crap you did as a kid, and feeling oooold... -_-
    — hikaru    Aug 24, 06:51 AM    #
  18. Low Light. Sung by larla O Lionaird from Peter gabriel's OVO for the millenium dome.
    — Razz    Aug 24, 12:28 PM    #
  19. a day late and a dime short, but how about "She's Already Made Up Her Mind" by Lyle Lovett??? p.s. Julia Roberts is a stupid cow to have let THAT one go.... cheers!
    — caroline    Aug 31, 09:56 PM    #
  20. Uh, "Pale September" by Fiona Apple-- before she had the mtv meltdown and and revealed herself as a pretentious wanker. Amen to "Last Goodbye". Ah, Jeff Buckley. And weirdly, Audioslave's "Like A Stone". Can't explain it.
    — crash happy    Sep 10, 05:45 PM    #
  21. "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" - Meat Loaf ? - Terrible Ending :-)
    — Ferit    Oct 1, 10:17 PM    #