The saddest song ever

[Lee Callicutt]

[I don't know if I'd personally pick that one, but whatever the saddest song ever written is, my bet is that it's a Van Zandt tune. That man was seriously tortured, and had a gift for sharing it with the world. There's a a part in the excellent documentary about him, "Be Here to Love Me," where Townes sings "Waiting Around to Die," and there is an old man who is just sitting there listening with tears pouring down his cheeks.]


Yeah, it was probably Lyle Lovett's rendition of the song at Van Zandt's funeral at the end of the film which made me nominate that one, which pretty well illustrates your larger point about our (viewer/listener)contextual perception of sadness.

[Steve Scott]

Here's another one: Queen of the Rails by Utah Philips. About a hobo and his dog named "Queen of the Rails". Briefly, the hobo dies under a rail car and "leaves his little pal alone". Always brings a tear.

[JEStanek]

Mikeomando- The Smiths... fertile territory. I used to LOVE the Smiths. Now I just really like them. I was more depressed then! Morrisey should be the poster boy for anti-depressants.

I remember when Jonny Mar left the Smiths for The Pretenders he apologized to the world for the Smiths. Frankly, I thought his guitar work was great.

Jamie

[sunburst]

Well, somebody beat me to the one that is becoming the saddest song for me; "Happy Birthday", but I'll nominate "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" by Merle Haggard. Now that's sad!

[Lee Callicutt]

Okay, how about this desolation bomb: Johnny Cash's renditon of Trent Reznor's "Hurt."

[Steve Cantrell]

So true, Lee. It makes you want to lie down.

[JEStanek]

Has anyone seen the Sad Kermit version of Hurt by Trent Reznor / Cash. Not sad. Actually wrong, but funny...

This and the Murder Ballads has been my favorite thread in a while. Thanks!

Jamie

[ShaneJ]

Forgive me for not reading through all the posts to see if this one has been posted already (surely it has). In case everyone has forgotten David Alan Coe's "perfect country & western song"...

"I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison.
I went to pick her up in the rain.
But before I got to the station in my pickup truck,
She got ran-ed over by a damned old train...."

[Mike Buesseler]

Somebody mentioned Steve Goodman awhile back. I heard him sing "My Old Man" all by himself in Anchorage about 25 years ago. I almost stopped breathing....(My old man was killed when I was six.)

[Lee Callicutt]

Has anyone seen the Sad Kermit version of Hurt by Trent Reznor / Cash. Not sad. #Actually wrong, but funny...

No, but that sounds like a good one!

For a slight variation, how about the most uplifting sad song?

My first nominee would be Jim Webb's "Highwayman" sung by Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and the IMMORTAL Johnny Cash!

[Lee Callicutt]

So true, Lee. It makes you want to lie down.

Yeah, I call that one a bone crusher.

[Rick Jones]

My first vote - "Sand and Water", by Beth Neilsen Chapman.

My Old Man, by Steve Goodman was great too. He also did The Dutchman, though the song was written by Michael Smith.

Speaking of Michael Smith - "Ballad of Elizabeth Dark" is a gem ...

Probably my favorite sad song is "Blood Count" ... written by Billy Strayhorn very shortly before he died. Any of Stan Getz' versions will about bring you to tears ... he says more with a few notes than most lyricists could say with a whole pad of paper.

[chipotle]

saddest song....Strange Fruit sung by Billie Holliday, also Gloomy Sunday, aka the Hungarian suicide song.

Sorry, no bluegrass content, jmho

[mikeomando]

Don't apologize, this isn't a bluegrass thread. By the way, I believe the saddest key signature for a standard-tuned mandolin is gb minor.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Have a listen to the 'Greenbriar Boys' singing a song written by Marty Robbins - " At the end of a long,lonely day". It's guaranteed to bring a tear to a glass eye.It's also a very beautiful song. Another tear jerker is Tim O'Brien's song "Late in the day",again a beautiful song.
Beth Neilsen Chapman sings a song called "Amazing Grace" (not THE Amazing Grace),which is a totally awesome song,but is also extremely sad,
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # Saska

[swampstomper]

Honourable mention:

Mary of the wild moor (sung by Charlie Moore, of course)
They're at rest together (Callahan Brothers, revived by the Dream Scene -- Connell and Duffy)
Tiny broken heart (Louvins, revived by AK)

and #1 ...

Little Roy the crippled boy (Del McCoury, John Duffy)

[chirorehab]

Tony Rice's version of "House of the Rising Sun"

[K3NTUCKI8oy]

I hear a sweet voice calling by Bill

[roberto]

-IF I COULD ONLY FLY. Billy Joe Shaver
-MY LAST DAYS ON EARTH. Bill Monroe
-MANIFIESTO DE INVIERNO. La Ronda de Boltaña (the best band in the Spanish traditional music field)

[Soupy1957]

"He Stopped Loving Her Today" (George Jones didn't write it, but he gave it life).

Having said that, you know what you get when you play a Country song backwards?

You get your house back, your wife back, your dog back.....

-Soupy1957

[B. T. Walker]

Soupy, you forgot to say that you sober up.

SJennings, "You Never Even Call Me By My Name" is the song I thought of. Must be a Texas thang.

[Bret Roberts]

For me it would have to be Concrete Angel by Martina McBride. Have to add Silent Night for personal reasons.

[PhilGE]

Don't think anyone's mentioned "Long Black Veil" yet...

[MikeEdgerton]

Martin Mull's "They never met". Now that was a sad song.

[Chippster]

I'm the one who brought up Townes Van Zandt. He loved other people's sad songs more than his own! He used to call them "Razor Songs" as in "the kinda song that'll make you wanna go out and slash yer wrists." I was at his house one time (bringing him vodka) and while there i picked up a piece of paper on the table beside me and started reading the saddest poetry ... i said "Townes, this is a sad song" and he said "That's not a song, it's a suicide note!"