The saddest song ever

[Lowlands Blue]

This is a great thread! Love a good tear jerker.

Funkadelic's Maggot Brain is high on my list of most sad tunes. Eddie Hazel's 10 minute guitar solo inspired by the idea of finding out his mother passed is just a haunting tune. Fantastic guitarist who doesn't get enough credit IMO.

[CES]

At work, so no time to read through all 16 pages (on which I've probably posted before), so sorry if it's been mentioned before. No mandolin content, but Jason Isbell's "Elephant" is up there. Warning, an F bomb gets dropped, so listen with discretion, but listen. It's a darn fine song, and for those whose lives have been touched by cancer, is amazingly poignant, raw, and real.

[Johnny60]

I think it was Raul Malo from the Mavericks that said sad songs delivered a greater punch if they weren't too slow. Not sure I agree 100% with that, but here are two songs that are really sad but aren't slow:

The Carolinian by Chatham County Line
This is me missing you by James House

How about this for a cracking final verse from the James House song...

If you've touched empty, reached in the darkness and don't find me,
Then you'll know just what I'm going through.
This is me missing you

[Kenny A]

In my opinion (as if that carries any weight), the country song by George Jones, he stopped loving her today, is no doubt the saddest damn song I ever heard.

[FLATROCK HILL]

I'm gonna start at page one and try to read all the songs mentioned so far. In the mean time, maybe someone out there can help me find the one I'm looking for.

I think it was from the '60s...maybe early '70s; I'm not sure. A country song sung by a male singer. The main theme of the song was the lonely existence of the toys left behind after their little-boy owner grows into adulthood and forgets about them. Pretty dang sad as I recall.
If anyone remembers that one, I'd appreciate any info.

(and it ain't 'Puff the Magic Dragon')

[Willie Poole]

Without reading all of the pages: "Mothers not dead, she`s only a sleeping", "Bed by the window" also pretty sad

All of them that I play sound sad....

Willie

[Charles E.]

In my opinion (as if that carries any weight), the country song by George Jones, he stopped loving her today, is no doubt the saddest damn song I ever heard.

Not only one of the saddest songs ever written but one of the best songs ever written. IMHO

[brunello97]

Crusher song. I've been playing it on mandolin and accordion lately. Not sure which one I prefer.

Mick

[V70416]

Andy Statman's "Flatbush Waltz" has a very sad feel;but,in an uplifting way. Sorta.
I play it in Gm on mando. Dm would,obviously,just be too sad I reckon.

Some that were mentioned that jogged my memory:
"Sweet Old World"(I am most familiar with Emmylou's version).
"Time To Learn" Tim O'Brien
"Ghost In This House" A.Krouse nails that one.

Jessie Winchester's "Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding" gets me;and several others of his too like "Lullaby For The First Born".

I've only read 12 pages of this stuff. Am I too blue?

[Milky2390]

In the "sad mining songs" subsection I'll nominate Utah Phillips's "Miners Lullaby" to go along with Darrell Scott's "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive", that was mentioned previously

[WW52]

Here are several I think are sad:

Chet Atkins -- I Still Can't Say Goodbye
Reba McEntire -- The Greatest Man I Never Knew
Ralph McTell -- Streets of London
David Bromberg -- Mister Blue
Don McLean -- Empty Chairs


And some orchestral music that plumbs the deepest regions of sadness:

- Soundtrack Music from Schindler's List
- Samuel Barber, Adagio for Strings
- Henryk Gorecki, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs
- Tchaikovsky, Sixth Symphony, Adagio Lamentoso, Andante
- Elgar, Cello Concerto, 1st movement

[ollaimh]

mick maloney;s "killkelly ireland", a song about generations of exile, starvation and lost family.

[Astro]

I'm So Lonesome I could Cry.

Elvis said this Hank Williams song that was the saddest ever written. (Especially when I do it but for a different reason )

This recording was from several years ago. I do it one step higher now and have it down a little smoother and fragile ego alert--please dont judge. Anyway my apogee wont sync with my new lap top so I cant record anymore to redo it.

https://soundcloud.com/bill-seasharp...lonesome-edit3

[Steve VandeWater]

mick maloney;s "killkelly ireland", a song about generations of exile, starvation and lost family.

I second this one, and everyone who mentioned Sam Stone and Hello In There by John Prine. Also, if they haven't been mentioned yet...
Doc Watson's "Little Orphan Girl" where she freezes to death on the rich man's doorstep and Nickel Creek's version of "The Lighthouse's Tale"

[Jess L.]

CAUTION, if you're feeling mildly sad, you might not want to listen to these, it might make it worse. But if you're seriously depressed, sometimes this kind of stuff helps. To quote a blues guitarist I used to know, "Don't listen to the blues if you're happy, it'll bring you down. But if you're totally sad, it can cheer you up".

1. "Sweet Sunny South", covered c. 1962 by New Lost City Ramblers, think it's Mike Seeger singing:


(or direct link)

2. "Country Bumpkin", Cal Smith, 1974. I can't stand this song!!! Too sad!

3. "You Win Again", Hank Williams Sr.

4. "You Take Me For Granted", Merle Haggard.

5. "Cats in the Cradle", Harry Chapin (already mentioned by "jasona" a few pages back). I have never had cause to identify with it personally but it's still a powerful message.

The next songs are sad *but* they have at least some signs of hope, in places, kinda-sorta:

6. "Darling Nellie Gray", 1937 version, Maxine Sullivan. The main character gets to die at the end, I guess that's better than nothing, um...

7. Cry the Clock Said (lyrics), Gary Numan, 1981. I eventually quit listening to him because his music started creeping me out, but that particular song was helpful at one time.

8. "Song For Athene" (video below), John Tavener, mixed choir version, this is the same melody that was played at Princess Diana's funeral:


(or direct link)

9. "Just Another Day", Caitlin Crosby. No personal experience with the subject matter but it seems like a powerful song anyway.

10. "Peace in the Valley", Elvis Presley, 1957. I guess it's supposed to be a happy-ending song but it makes me cry. (But then so do a number of other common church hymns.)

[Caleb]

I'm So Lonesome I could Cry.

Elvis said this Hank Williams song that was the saddest ever written. (Especially when I do it but for a different reason )

This recording was from several years ago. I do it one step higher now and have it down a little smoother and fragile ego alert--please dont judge. Anyway my apogee wont sync with my new lap top so I cant record anymore to redo it.

https://soundcloud.com/bill-seasharp...lonesome-edit3

"The silence of a falling star lights up a purple sky ... And as I wonder where you are ... I'm so lonesome I could cry..."

I've long thought that this line was among the most beautiful ever penned, and certainly a mental image that always gives me pause and even chills. It's hard for me to fathom someone writing something so perfect. It's like Shakespeare in a cowboy hat.

[CES]

Caleb, agree totally. If forced to name a "favorite song of all time," that would be my answer, morbid though it may be

He Stopped Loving Her Today is spectacular as well, but the strings flourish in that one annoys me on occasion for some reason...still, an amazing song, though!

[Polecat]

Warren Zevon: Keep me in your heart

(I would probably nominate something different tomorrow)

[JeffD]

"The silence of a falling star lights up a purple sky ... And as I wonder where you are ... I'm so lonesome I could cry..."

I've long thought that this line was among the most beautiful ever penned, and certainly a mental image that always gives me pause and even chills. It's hard for me to fathom someone writing something so perfect. It's like Shakespeare in a cowboy hat.

OMG yes. Chilling:

Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die?
Like me, he's lost the will to live
I'm so lonesome I could cry

[V70416]

Many great melancholy tunes listed. I must enjoy being miserable. Been looking up the ones with which I am not familiar.

Polecat,regarding Warren Z.,of his last songs,"Don't Let Us Get Sick" ,I feel,is his most poignant. Maybe because I have been lucky enough to enjoy a heap of years/more behind me than ahead of me. It's not just a plea for himself but everyone. "Don't let us get stupid...alright?" A solemn prayer from a man who some might consider somewhat a hedonist. (and I just have to say that your avatar of the fat cat on a stick is really something!!! A great cat person once said,"There are no ordinary cats."

[mtucker]

The Beatle's wrote a few back in the day.

Yesterday

Long and Winding Road

[Jeff Mando]

There is a version of Danny Boy by Roy Orbison easily found on youtube that adds different intro verses and outro verses in addition to the commonly heard "Oh, Danny Boy" portion in the middle. Of course, it is well-done and really great, but very sad, strange, and quite haunting. I've never heard anyone else do this arrangement.

I also second, He Stopped Loving Her Today by George Jones -- really hard to beat. (if sadness is your thing!)

[Bill McCall]

How about Danny Paisley-Don't throw Mama's Flowers Away

[michaelcj]

One Part Love…. Jeffery Foucault
Dean Moriarity…. Eric Taylor
Late in the Day…. Tim O'Brien
Songbird… Jesse Winchester
Just about all of Mickey Newberry's catalog…….. Really!!!!

I can go on and on and on

[Mandobart]

I'm sitting in a hotel room so I read the whole thread, which started a few years before I'd even heard of mandolincafe. I'm a big fan of many of these submissions: Tom Waits, Steve Earle, TVZ, Warren Zevon, Bruce Springsteen and real real big fan of John Prine and Steve Goodman. Here are a few that haven't been mentioned yet:

Wreck on the Highway - Bruce Springsteen's version
The Final Trawl - Archie Fisher
Pay No Attention to Alice - Tom T. Hall. This one really gets me as a vet who saw a lot of this.

My Father's House - Bruce Springsteen
Christmas in Prison - John Prine
Time - Tom Waits

This last one I heard at a concert I took my daughter to five years ago. Its worth checking out on youtube to hear her introduce it. In a nutshell someone had setup cameras on the Golden Gate bridge to film birds and ended up capturing several successful and unsuccessful suicide attempts. This was made into a documentary that strongly affected Ingrid Michaelson. She performs it live but hasn't recorded it.
San Francisco - Ingrid Michaelson