what is the saddest song you know?

[Wilco Worshipper]

'Jeannie's Afraid of the Dark' - Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner

 

Although, I'm partial to the Robbie Fulks version myself.

 

 

 

Her two little feet would come running into

Our bedroom almost every night

Her soft little face would be wet from her tears

And her little heart pounding with fright

She'd hold out her arms, then she'd climb in beside us

In her small voice, we'd hear her remark

"Mommie and Daddy, can I sleep here with you

'Cause Jeannie's afraid of the dark"

One day in the summer, we took some flowers

To place on some old family graves

Jeannie said, "Mommy, ain't it dark in the ground

Oh, Daddy, I'd be so afraid"

Then she looked up at her daddy and me

And said somethin' that broke both our hearts

She said, "When I die, please don't bury me

'Cause Jeannie's afraid of the dark"

 

Jeannie was always afraid of the dark

And we never could understand why

'Cause we looked after Jeannie with the very best of care

Because Jeannie was our only child

Perhaps it was death that she was so afraid of

'Cause it took her one dark stormy night

I think we always knew that we'd never see Jeannie grown

'Cause it seemed she was destined to die

But on Jeannie's grave, we placed an eternal flame

That glows and never loses its spark

And on the darkest night, there's always a light

'Cause Jeannie's afraid of the dark

 

Our Jeannie's afraid of the dark

[Guest Hollinger.]

Ben Harper's cover of The Drugs Don't Work usually gets me.

[stooka]

It's a Dream - Neil Young

 

In the morning when I wake up and listen to the sound

Of the birds outside on the roof

I try to ignore what the paper says

And I try not to read all the news

And I'll hold you if you had a bad dream

And I hope it never comes true

'Cause you and I been through so many things together

And the sun starts climbing the roof

 

It's a dream

Only a dream

And it's fading now

Fading away

It's only a dream

Just a memory without anywhere to stay

 

The Red River stills flows through my home town

Rollin' and tumblin' on its way

Swirling around the old bridge pylons

Where a boy fishes the morning away

His bicycle leans on an oak tree

While the cars rumble over his head

An aeroplane leaves a trail in an empty blue sky

And the young birds call out to be fed

 

It's a dream

Only a dream

And it's fading now

Fading away

It's only a dream

Just a memory without anywhere to stay

 

An old man walks along on the sidewalk

Sunglasses and an old Stetson hat

The four winds blow the back of his overcoat away

As he stops with the policeman to chat

And a train rolls out of the station

That was really somethin' in its day

Picking up speed on the straight prairie rails

As it carries the passengers away

 

It's gone

Only a dream

And it's fading now

Fading away

Only a dream

Just a memory without anywhere to stay

 

It's a dream

Only a dream

And it's fading now

Fading away

It's only a dream

Just a memory without anywhere to stay

 

It's a dream

Only a dream

And it's fading now

Fading away

[zoom]

Death Don' Have No Mercy - Rev Gary Davis

 

Death don't have no mercy in this land

Y' know death don't have no mercy in this land, in this land

Come to your house, you know he don't take long

You look in the bed, you find your mama is gone

Death don't have no mercy in this land

I said death don't take no vacation in this land

Death don't take no vacation in this land, in this land

Come to your house, no he doesn't stay long

Look around the room, you see your father will be gone

Say now death don't, death don't take no vacation in this land

Death will leave you standing and crying in this land

I said death will you standing and crying in this land, in this land

He comes into your house and he don't take long

You look all around and you find your mother gone

Death don't have no mercy in this land

Death don't have no mercy in this land

Death don't have no mercy in this land, in this land

Come to your house, you know he don't take long

You wake up one morning and your whole family be gone

Oh, death don't have no mercy in this land

[Guest Speed Racer]

Wise Up - Aimee Mann. I don't know if it's the scene in Magnolia or the Jon Brion magic, but it's a real bummer.

 

So much of From a Basement on a Hill seemed really aggressive to me (I know where I'm going, so get out of my way) - or very resigned (I'm here and can't come back). A lot of his songs were like that to me. The lyrics that deal with ambivalence about misery and addiction are the ones I find the saddest.

 

New Monkey still puts knots in my stomach:

 

look at your hands unoccupied

look at the lengths you'll go to hide

you're under the veil, pretending to fail

 

gotta whole lot of empty time left to go

now you gotta fill it with something

I know what you could do - don't you know?

anything is better than nothing

[Pocahontas]

In the Ghetto by Elvis Presley, everytime I hear that song the tears stream down my face.

[Lammycat]

"You Know You're Right" by Nirvana (This one just hurts; it's a song I love that's so sorrowful, and he died 2 months after recording it.)

Good call, especially the acoustic version off of With the Lights Out. However, "All Apologies" is a beautifully sentimental tune for me, particularly off the MTV in New York acoustic show.

 

That, and their cover of The Vaselines "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam" are gorgeously heart-felt.

[bjorn_skurj]

"Left of the Dial," "Unsatisfied," and "Swingin' Party" - The Replacements

[stickman]

Wide Awake On the Voyage Home by Liam Finn

[victor79]

Battery In Your Leg - Blur (In a review someone wrote that this song had the saddest guitar riff ever. I agree.)

[PopTodd]

Battery In Your Leg - Blur (In a review someone wrote that this song had the saddest guitar riff ever. I agree.)

 

 

How about "Tender"?

Another very sad song by Blur.

[Saut Crapaud]

David Bromberg is one of my all time favorite artists. "Sammy's Song" is one of the most beautiful/haunting/disturbing/sad songs i've heard. i don't know if bromberg wrote this but his vocal delivery is spot on. this was originally on his eponymous debut in 1971 but can also be found on The Player: A Retrospective. The lyrics are below. If you are unfamilar with this song, read the lyrics through then listen to bromberg's rendering. OK, i'm done shilling for david bromberg. but seriously, check him out.

 

 

Somewhere in the south of Spain

Sammy, still sixteen, goes with his uncle for a ride

The sun is high

 

Sailing through the city

For to see the sights and talking sex

Sammy's sitting tall

The sun is high

 

His uncle brings him to a brothel

Being big he buys a drink

Rum and coke

Don't taste too bad

 

Having brought him to the brink

His uncle leaves him with his drink

Rum and coke

Don't taste too bad

 

The girls all gather in a group

And give Sammy boy the eye

And stare at him seductively

And try to make him buy

 

So choosing one that's younger

Better looking than the rest

Sammy speaks no Spanish but she understands

 

They go upstairs to buy the room

She wants her money in advance

Sammy speaks no Spanish but he understands

 

And lying on her back upon the bed she beckons

Sammy won't lie down yet

He wants her nude

 

Speaking Spanish she refuses him

At last, afraid of losing him,

She takes off all her clothes

He wants her nude

 

Her hands upon her heart can hardly hide the horrid scars

From her shoulder to her waist, her skin is leathery and hard

She pantomimes an accident

A car, a fire

Not so long ago

His eyes are wide

 

She moves to put her clothes back on

But he won't let her go

He lies her down

His eyes are wide

 

And lightly, like a lover,

Sammy lets his lips caress the leather of her breast

His brain is numb

 

Moved by some far distant mind

He makes himself her bride-groom

Sammy's hardly there at all

His brain is numb

 

She moves to take him in now

But her hand finds him still slack

So she sucks to make him hard

And then again lies on her back

 

And Sammy does the deed to silent screaming in his skull

The scars surround him

Is this all real?

 

Schizophrenic, Sammy sees himself

Outside his body and his brain

Is this all real?

 

And back at the hotel he has to heal himself

But all he does is shake

And shake some more

 

Without the grace of tears or sickness

Sammy sucks it all inside and shakes

And shakes some more

[Saut Crapaud]

and for instrumentals. the greatest sad song in my opinion is "Dark Was The Night" by Blind Willie Johnson

[PopTodd]

Saddest instrumental:

Uncle Tupelo - "Sandusky"

[yermom]

and for instrumentals. the greatest sad song in my opinion is "Dark Was The Night" by Blind Willie Johnson

Definitely not cheerful. Dark was the night, cold was the ground...

[imsjry]

"Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You" by Stevie Nicks.

 

 

Seriously.....

[Guest Moses]

most of the songs i first thought to mention have already been said...

 

Lucinda Williams - Jackson

Sufjan Stevens - Cashmir Polaski Day

The Band - It Makes No Difference

 

for example.

 

one i don't think has been mentioned that has always made me sad, although i think it's a beautiful and very sweet song, would be Please Tell My Brother

[radiokills]

The National - Cardinal Song

 

that cello at the end really gets to me.

[uncool2pillow]

Too Far Down/Hardly Getting Over It - Husker Du (maybe more depressing than sad, if that makes sense)

[Moe_Syzlak]

You should open this mix with Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down" from 4-Way Street. Young's banter before it, "here's a song that's guaranteed to bring you down. ... " is the perfect opener for such a mix.

[froggie]

Bob Dylan's Dream

[Sir Stewart]

Birthday Boy - Ween

[mountain bed]

Damn near anything off of John Prine's debut LP - especially "Hello In There".

[Guest Moses]

garcia and grisman's take on Two Soldiers. jerry's voice on this one kills me.

[nodep5]

I Called You Back - Bonnie 'Prince' Billy from the Letting Go

 

I only listen to this song once in a blue moon, because I don't want to ever hear it without crying.