The Tear Jerker Thread (songs)

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread (songs)
From: Mrrzy
Date: 05 Oct 19 - 06:26 AM

Surprised no mention of Bringing Mary Home...

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread (songs)
From: Jack Campin
Date: 04 Oct 19 - 06:09 PM

Moving away from English - "Papirosn" (in Yiddish) pushes all the right buttons.

There must be a ton of them in Italian.

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread (songs)
From: GUEST,Clayton
Date: 04 Oct 19 - 05:47 PM

Special commendations to
Two little boys - Rolf Harris
Cats in the cradle - Harry Chapin
The Living Years - Mike and the mechanics

But the "Bohemian Rhapsody" of tear jerkers is .....
Daisy A Day - Jud Strunk

Subject: TEARJERKER
From: GUEST,Stacey
Date: 12 Jan 18 - 02:14 PM

Iam trying to find an old song my dad sang from the early 1900,s maybeabout a bum who watched his wife and daughter burn in a house fire starts with Dont you think by my dress I would rob a hens nest
if any one heard this or knows what the name of it is Iwould love to get it

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: Joe_F
Date: 19 Nov 10 - 06:02 PM

"Please sell no more drink to my father" surely belongs here, tho IMO it is a good song.

What is the name of that one about the highschool football player who gets bawled out by his coach for being depressed during practice, but plays brilliantly in the game? Turns out he was depressed because his father was sick, but just before the game he got the news that his father, who had been blind, was now in heaven & could see him play for the first time.

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 19 Nov 10 - 05:33 PM

Past Carin'

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 19 Nov 10 - 04:04 PM

Have you ever read the whole original lyric of the much-parodied [see an ongoing thread] It Was Christmas Day In The Workhouse? Most poignant tearjerker indeed ~~

http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/xmas/christmasdayintheworkhouse.shtml

Written by prolific Victorian author & social reformer George R Sims, it is a work by no means to be despised.

♥♫❤Michael❤♫♥

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: gnu
Date: 19 Nov 10 - 01:23 PM

Ooooohhh, it's kinda lonely in the saddle since ma horse died...

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: olddude
Date: 19 Nov 10 - 01:13 PM

The Golden Guitar

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: kendall
Date: 19 Nov 10 - 01:13 PM

Old Shep, he laid his head on my knee, I STROKED the best pal not STRUCK.

I have to get out of here, my old dog is lying at my feet and I wonder if he knows he is not long for this world?

Subject: Lyr Add: A DAISY A DAY (Jud Strunk)
From: beardedbruce
Date: 19 Nov 10 - 12:59 PM

"A Daisy A Day"

(As recorded by Jud Strunk)
JUD STRUNK

He remembers the first time he met her
He remembers the first thing he said
He remembers the first time he held her
And the night that she came to his bed
He remembers her sweet way of sayin'
"Honey has something gone wrong?"
He remembers the fun and the teasin'
And the reason he wrote her this song.

I'll give you a daisy a day
Dear I'll give you a daisy a day
I'll love you until the rivers run still
And the four winds we know blow away.

They would walk down the street in the evenin'
And for years I would see them go by
And their love that was more than the clothes that they wore
Could be seen in the gleamof their eye
As a kid they would take me for candy
And I'd lvoe to go taggin' along
We'd hold hands as we'd walk to the corner
And the old man would sing her his song.

I'll give you a daisy a day
Dear I'll give you a daisy a day
I'll love you until the rivers run still
And the four winds we know blow away.

Now he walks down the street in the evenin'
And he stops by the old candy store
And I somehow beliee he's believin'
He's holdin' her hand like before
For he feels all her love walkin' with him
And he smiles at things she might say
Then the old man walks up to the hilltop
And gives her a daisy a day.

I'll give you a daisy a day
Dear I'll give you a daisy a day
I'll love you until the rivers run still
And the four winds we know blow away.

(c) Copyright 1972 by Every Little Tune, Inc./Pierre Cossette Music Co.,
3 E. 54th St., New York, N.Y.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE ANGELS REJOICED LAST NIGHT (Louvin)
From: GUEST,GPF
Date: 19 Nov 10 - 12:54 PM

THE ANGELS REJOICED LAST NIGHT
The Louvin Brothers

A house not a home was the picture Satan painted
For sweet little sister and me. Our daddy would frown
While mother was prayin', his heart was so hardened
That he would not believe.

In anger he'd swear, his voice cold and loud.
His Sunday's were spent out with the gamblin' crowd.
I'd never seen my daddy inside the house of God
For Satan held his hand down the path of sin he trod.

Not long ago our circle was broken
As God called on mother in a voice sweet and low.
Her last words were spoken asking our daddy
To raise her children right.

The angels rejoiced in Heaven last night;
I heard my daddy pray, "Dear God, make it right!"
He was smiling and singing with tears in his eyes
While mother with the angels rejoiced last night.
While mother with the angels rejoiced last night.

Subject: Lyr Add: AS IF HE KNOWS (Eric Bogle)
From: eddie1
Date: 19 Nov 10 - 03:20 AM

I can listen to real "tear jerkers" of the over-sentimentalised type and remain pretty unmoved beyond the urge to smile.
Leading up to Remembrance Sunday I played several anti-war, pro peace songs on my radio show and certainly found some that were difficult to handle but this one, which I included in another thread some time ago, never fails to really get to me.

Copied from As If He Knows

Here are the lyrics of a song by Eric Bogle. It is about the horses of the Australian Light Horse in World War 1. The below is about the song as Eric Bogle describes.
The story is as follows:
The song is of course about the horses sent overseas during WW1 to serve in the various theatres of war. Of the approximately 53000 horses Australia sent overseas during WW1, only one ever returned to Australia after the war (this horse belonged to a general). At the end of the war the Anzacs were ordered to get rid of their horses, the authorities did not want them returning to Australia and perhaps bringing in anthrax or TB or suchlike back into the country. Most of the horses were sold or given away, but in Palestine the Light Horsemen refused to give or sell their horses to the Arab population of Palestine, and chose instead to shoot them all. I based the song on an actual Light Horseman called Elijah Conn who had a horse in Palestine called Banjo. Elijah never forgot Banjo and for the rest of his life could not talk about him without tears coming to his eyes.


AS IF HE KNOWS

It's as if he knows
He's standing close to me
His breath warm on my sleeve
His head hung low
It's as if he knows
What the dawn will bring
The end of everything
For my old Banjo

And all along the picket lines beneath the desert sky
The Light Horsemen move amongst their mates to say one last goodbye
And the horses stand so quietly
Row on silent row
It's as if they know

Time after time
We rode through shot and shell
We rode in and out of Hell
On their strong backs
Time after time
They brought us safely through
By their swift sure hooves
And their brave hearts

Tomorrow we will form up ranks and march down to the quay
And sail back to our loved ones in that dear land across the sea
While our loyal and true companions
Who asked so little and gave so much
Will lie dead in the dust.

For the orders came
No horses to return
We were to abandon them
To be slaves
After all we'd shared
And all that we'd been through
A Nation's gratitude
Was a dusty grave

For we can't leave them to the people here, we'd rather see them dead
So each man will take his best mate's horse with a bullet through the head
For the people here are like their land
Wild and cruel and hard
So Banjo, here's your reward.

It's as if he knows, he standing close to me,
His breath warm on my sleeve, his head hung low.
As he if he knew.
Copyright Eric Bogle July 2001

Eddie

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: Allen in Oz
Date: 19 Nov 10 - 12:15 AM

" O My Papa" by the late and much married Eddie Fisher

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: Amergin
Date: 18 Nov 10 - 11:51 PM

I just heard a great song by Ted Egan called Old Ned....it's about a drover who's too old to ride anymore.

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: SINSULL
Date: 18 Nov 10 - 10:47 PM

Hello Central, give me Heaven
For my Mommy's there
You will find her with the angels
On the golden stairs.
She'll be glad it's me who's calling
Hurry will you please
For I want to surely tell her
We're so lonely here.

Subject: Lyr Add: NO SCHOOL BUS IN HEAVEN (Stanley Brothers
From: fumblefingers
Date: 20 Jun 07 - 02:29 AM

No School bus in heaven
Stanley Brothers

On route 23 down in eastern Kentucky,
A school bus wrecked there in the county of Floyd.
It left many parents a weepin' and moanin'.
It took away the lives of their little girls and boys.

These little school children have gone on to glory.
No lessons to study, no worries or cares.
They're now rejoicin' and walkin' with Jesus.
They won't have to ride on a school bus up there.

God please watch over these heart broken families.
Give them the courage to go on alone.
Show them the right way that leads us to heaven.
Where once more these families will be all at home.

These little school children have gone on to glory.
No lessons to study, no worries or cares.
They're now rejoicin' and walkin' with Jesus.
They won't have to ride on a school bus up there.

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: GUEST,Young Buchan
Date: 19 Jun 07 - 12:25 PM

As I was saying ….

a) He looked at me. No word he said.
And then I knew my love was dead.
'He's drowned in lowland seas' they said;
The rushy reeds are now his bed.
Trad Lowlands

b) There's many a horse is gone now, as there's many a lad gone too
Of all the lads and horses in the old fields I once knew.
For Dick fell at Givenchy and Prince beside the guns
On that red road to glory a mile or two from Mons.
Cicely Fox-Smith Home Lads Home

c) If those lips could only speak, if those eyes could only see;
If those beautiful golden tresses, were here in reality;
Could I only take your hand, as I did when you took my name -
But it's only a beautiful picture, in a beautiful golden frame.
Charles Ridgewell and William Godwin If Those Lips Could Only Speak


d) One night as she lay in her cold attic chamber
She dreamt that her own darling truelove was there.
But it was the Angel of Death that so softly came by her
And took away Ethna from this sad world of care.
Trad Derry So Fair

e) There fell a deep hush, as the song of the thrush was heard by that motley throng;
Many a rough fellow's eyes grew dim as the notes rang out clear and strong.
Eyes lighted up with a bright yearning look, as the bird trilled its beautiful lay;
It brought to their minds dear old England at home thousands of miles away.
Walter Hastings and George Le Brun The Song of the Thrush

f) Shall I never see you more, sweet Fanny Adams?
You're the daughter I so dearly did love.
You were killed and cut to pieces by a villain.
But now you're in heaven up above.
Trad Sweet Fanny Adams

Your challenge, should you wish to accept it, is to say which of these are tear jerkers and why.
In the interests of not using up too much space, I have forborne to print the whole of each song, and I am sympathetic to those who say it is impossible to answer the question by reference to just one verse, without having the context of the full song; but I guess that most who may wish to answer the question will be familiar with the majority of these six songs.

For what it is worth, I feel that to qualify as tearjerkers there needs to be a positive intention on the part of the writer to make the hearer cry, and it must be artfully written to that end; a very Victorian phenomenon, I think, though it has lived on! So I would put c) and e) in there, but not b) which has higher ambitions. The problems come when we look at the works of Mr Trad. f) is so badly written that it is hard to judge intention, but I think I would put it down as a tear jerker; a) not. d) is the most difficult – definitely maudlin, as are most emigration ballads, but I think there is a genuineness there, which makes me feel it a real descriptive product, and not simply a device.
Over to you ….

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: GUEST,Kerry 27/female
Date: 19 Jun 07 - 01:37 AM

Okay, I know that some of these songs are oldies...but they still stick out in my mind as the ALL-TIME "tear-jerker" songs:

1.) "Chiseled in Stone" by Vern Gosdin
2.) "Ghost in this House" by Shanendoah
3.) "The Little Girl" by John Michael Montgomery

You should pull these songs up and check them out. Most effective when you listen to the actual song, but these songs are powerful enough that you could actually just pull up the lyrics and that alone is moving enough.

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 16 Jun 07 - 05:45 AM

And that reminds me: Last Letter Home, by Kim C on the Plum CD of the Mudcat CDs, is a beautiful (and similar) song.

Lin

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 16 Jun 07 - 02:32 AM

Very moving, Lucius. And Les Sullivan in Bishops Stortford (UK) has put the words of this letter to a most touching song, "Sullivan's Farewell".

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: Lucius
Date: 15 Jun 07 - 09:16 PM

A week before the battle of Bull Run Sullivan Ballou, a Major in the 2nd
Rhode Island Volunteers, wrote home to his wife in Smithfield.

July 14,1861
Camp Clark, Washington DC

Dear Sarah:

The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days - perhaps tomorrow. And lest I should not be able to write you again I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I am no more.

I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how American Civilization now leans upon the triumph of the government and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing - perfectly willing - to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this government, and to pay that debt.

Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but omnipotence can break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly with all those chains to the battlefield. The memory of all the blissful moments I have enjoyed with you come crowding over me, and I feel most deeply grateful to God and you, that I have enjoyed them for so long. And how hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes and future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and see our boys grown up to honorable manhood around us.

If I do not return, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I loved you, nor that when my last breath escapes me on the battle field, it will whisper your name...

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless, how foolish I have sometimes been!...

But, 0 Sarah, if the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they love, I shall always be with you, in the brightest day and in the darkest night... always, always. And when the soft breeze fans your cheek, it shall be my breath, or the cool air your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Sarah do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for me, for we shall meet again...

Sullivan Ballou was killed a week later at the 1st Battle of Bull Run.

You know the music.

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: GUEST,jackdad
Date: 15 Jun 07 - 04:20 PM

How about this tale of a poor unfortunate lass?

She is More to be Pitied than Censured':
At the old concert hall on the Bowery
'Round the table were seated one night
A crowd of young fellows carousing,
With them life seemed cheerfull and bright.
At the very next table was seated
A girl who had fallen to shame;
And the young fellows jeered at her weakness,
Till they heard an old woman exclaim:
She is more to be pitied than censured,
She is more to be helped than despised,
She is only a lassie who ventured
On life's stormy path, ill advised.
Do not scorn her with words fierce and bitter,
Do not laugh at her shame and downfall;
For a moment just stop and consider
That a man was the cause of it all.

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 15 Jun 07 - 11:00 AM

Nothing beats "Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin, for me. Heard it on the car radio just last week and just had to stop the car, for safety's sake.

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: GUEST,Art Thieme
Date: 15 Jun 07 - 10:41 AM

There is an amazing thread here called RECITATIONS. It's filled with these tear jerker songs too.

There was a Recitations 2 thread also, but I can't find it using the orum Search.

Try 'em, you'll like 'em!

Art

Subject: Lyr Add: JUST BEFORE THE BATTLE MOTHER
From: GUEST,edthefolkie
Date: 14 Jun 07 - 12:10 PM

Have we had this one yet? American, Civil War period.

A version used to be performed by Mike Clifton and John Watcham (Mr. Gladstone's Bag) around London in the 1970s. They did it complete with actions, putting great emphasis on the "beneath the sod" line.

Just before the battle, Mother,
I am thinking most of you,
While upon the field we're watching
With the enemy in view.
Comrades brave are 'round me lying,
Filled with thoughts of home and God
For well they know that on the morrow,
Some will sleep beneath the sod.
CHORUS:
Farewell, Mother, you may never
Press me to your breast again,
But, oh, you'll not forget me, Mother,
If I'm numbered with the slain.
Oh, I long to see you, Mother,
And the loving ones at home,
But I'll never leave our banner,
Till in honor I can come.
Tell the traitors all around you
That their cruel words we know,
In every battle kill our soldiers
By the help they give the foe.
Hark! I hear the bugles sounding,
'Tis the signal for the fight,
Now, may God protect us, Mother,
As He ever does the right.
Hear the "Battle-Cry of Freedom,"
How it swells upon the air,
Oh, yes, we'll rally 'round the standard,
Or we'll perish nobly there.

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: GUEST,Young Buchan
Date: 14 Jun 07 - 11:58 AM

My apologies. I was interrupted by a person from Porlock and pressed Submit in a moment of panic. I will return ( as McArthur said on being interrupted by the Japanese in the 21st verse of Lord Bateman).

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: GUEST,Young Buchan
Date: 14 Jun 07 - 11:30 AM

Enough of the practical. Let's move on to the delights of theory.
At what point does a sad song become a tearjerker?

a) He looked at me. No word he said.
   And then I knew my love was dead.
   'He's drowned in lowland seas' they said;
   The rushy reeds are now his bed.


b) There's

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: Bert
Date: 13 Jun 07 - 06:13 PM

Actually Lin, I'd be more amazed to find a song that Bill doesn't know!!!

Subject: Lyr Add: ORPHAN CHILD (Gillian Welch)
From: GUEST,Rich (Bodhránaí gan ciall)
Date: 13 Jun 07 - 05:51 PM

Orphan Child by Gillian Welch

I am an orphan, on God's highway
but I'll share my trouble if you're going my way

I have no mother, no father, no sister, no brother
I am an orphan child.

I have had friendships, pure and golden
but the prize of kinship, I have not known it,

I have no mother, no father, no sister, no brother,
I am an orphan child

Oh Blessed Saviour, if you are willing,
walk beside me until I'm with them

Be my mother, my father, my sister, my brother
I am an orphan child

When He calls me I will be able
to meet my family at God's table

I'll meet my mother, my father, my sister, my brother
No more an orphan child

Subject: Lyr Add: GEORGIA LEE (Waits/Waits-Brennan)
From: Rain Dog
Date: 13 Jun 07 - 05:24 PM

Georgia Lee

Written by: Tom Waits and Kathleen Waits-Brennan


Cold was the night and hard was the ground
They found her in a small grove of trees
And lonesome was the place where Georgia was found
She's too young to be out on the street

Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there
for Georgia Lee?

Ida said she couldn't keep Georgia from dropping out of school
I was doing the best that I could
Oh, but she just kept running away from this world
These children are so hard to raise good

Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there
for Georgia Lee?

Close your eyes and count to ten
I will go and hide but then
Be sure to find me, I want you to find me
And we'll play all over
We'll play all over
We'll play all over
again

There's a toad in the witch grass, there's a crow in the corn
Wild flowers on a cross by the road
And somewhere a baby is crying for her mom
As the hills turn from green back to gold

Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there
for Georgia Lee?

Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there
for Georgia Lee?


This song has been covered by Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman, Solas, Tim Grimm, The Cottars and there is an instrumental version by Joanna MacGregor & Andy Sheppard.

Of course songs have to stand on their own but you can read about the background to this song here

Georgia Lee

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: GUEST,Highlandman
Date: 13 Jun 07 - 02:53 PM

I admit that sometimes I'm a sucker for a tearjerker, but it depends on my mood, the context, and whether it strikes me as being _intended_ to be a tearjerker.
The older ones, like "The Vacant Chair," "All Quiet Along the Potomac," "Katy Wells," and many other war-related songs, usually get to me because they have (I think) a more authentic emotion about them. Modern stuff like "Honey," "The Christmas Shoes," and (sorry) even "Teddy Bear" just strike me as too formulaic, too calculated, to generate real emotion.
Understated songs like Jim MacLean's "Don't Cry In Your Sleep" sometimes catch me by surprise... the real emotion behind the words, can be much more powerful than anything worn on the singer's sleeve. Another one I just can't sing, tho' I really like it, is "Mama Look Sharp" from the musical "1776."

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 13 Jun 07 - 11:44 AM

Bill/Sables, I am amazed! I would not have guessed that you would know Teddy Bear!

Charley, too right. At least my eyes aren't dry. Maudlin or not, that one always gets me.

One of the hazards of being raised on country music, I reckon. There are many, many tear-jerker songs.

Lin

Subject: Lyr Add: PRETTY PAPER (Willie Nelson)
From: GUEST,Bert
Date: 03 Feb 07 - 01:08 AM

Pretty Paper

Artist: Roy Orbison
Words & Music by Willie Nelson


Crowded street, busy feet hustle by him
Downtown shoppers, Christmas is nigh
There he sits all alone on the sidewalk
Hoping that you won't pass him by

Should you stop?, better not, much too busy
You're in a hurry, my how time does fly
In the distance the ringing of laughter
And in the midst of the laughter he cries

Pretty paper, pretty ribbons of blue
Wrap your presents to your darling from you
Pretty pencils to write "I love you"
Pretty paper, pretty ribbons of blue

(Interlude)

Pretty paper, pretty ribbons of blue
Wrap your presents to your darling from you
Pretty pencils to write "I love you"
Pretty paper, pretty ribbons of blue

Pretty paper, pretty ribbons of blue

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Feb 07 - 10:05 PM

Well, Bill, you certainly clinched this thread. There shouldn't be a dry eye in the house.

Oh, the tune for "Little Alice" for those that care is "Gathering Flowers for the Master's Bouquet."

Tearfully,
Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: TEDDY BEAR
From: bill\sables
Date: 02 Feb 07 - 07:23 PM

Teddy Bear
I was on the outskirts of a little southern town,
Trying to reach my destination before the sun went down.
The old CB was blaring away on channel one-nine
When there came a little boy's voice on the radio line.
And he said, "Breaker, one-nine, is anyone there?
Come on back, truckers, and talk to Teddy Bear."
Well, I keyed the mike and I said, "Well, you got it,Teddy Bear."
And the little boy's voice came back on the air.
"'Preciate the break. Who we got on that end?"
I told him my handle, and then he began:
"Now, I'm not supposed to bother you fellas out there,
Mom says you're busy and for me to stay off the air.
But, you see, I get lonely and it helps to talk
'Cause that's about all I can do. I'm crippled and I can't walk."
I came back and told him to fire up that mike
And I'd talk to him as long as he'd like.
"This was my dad's radio," the little boy said,
"But I guess it's mine and Mom's now 'cause my daddy's dead.
Dad had a wreck about a month ago.
He was trying to get home in a blinding snow.
Mom has to work now to make ends meet
And I'm not much help with my two crippled feet.
She says not to worry, that we'll make it all right,
But I hear her crying sometimes late at night.
You know, there's one thing I want more than anything else to see.
Aw, I know you guys are too busy to bother with me,
But, you see, my dad used to take me for rides when he was home
But I guess that's all over now since my daddy's gone."
Not one breaker came on the old CB
As that little crippled boy talked with me.
I tried hard to swallow, the lump just wouldn't stay down
As I thought about my boy back in Greenville town.
"Dad was gonna take Mom and me with him later on this year.
Why, I remember him saying, 'Someday this old truck'll be yours, Teddy Bear.'
But I know I'll never get to ride an 18-wheeler again,
But this old base will keep me in touch with all my trucker friends.
Teddy Bear's gonna back on out now and leave you alone
'Cause it's about time for Mom to come home.
But you give me a shout when you're passing through
And I'll sure be happy to come back to you."
Well, I came back and I said, "Before you go ten-ten,
What's your home-twenty, little CB friend?"
Well, he gave me his address and I didn't once hesitate
'Cause this hot load of freight was just gonna have to wait.
I turned that truck around on a dime
And headed straight for Jackson Street, 229.
And as I rounded the corner, boy, I got one heck of a shock--
Eighteen-wheelers were lined up for three city blocks!
Why, I guess every driver for miles around had caught Teddy Bear's call
And that little crippled boy was having a ball.
For as fast as one driver would carry him in,
Another would carry him to his truck and take off again.
Well, you better believe I took my turn at riding Teddy Bear
And then I carried him back in and put him down in his chair.
And, buddy, if I never live to see happiness again
I want you to know I saw it that day, in the face of that little man.
We took up a collection for him before his mama got home
And each driver said goodbye and then they were all gone.
He shook my hand with a mile-long grin
And said, "So long, trucker, I'll catch you again!"
I hit that interstate with tears in my eyes
And I turned on the radio and I got another surprise.
"Breaker, one-nine," came a voice on the air,
"Just one word of thanks from Mama Teddy Bear.
We wish each and every one a special prayer for you
'Cause you just made my little boy's dream come true.
I'll sign off now before I start to cry.
May God ride with you. Ten-four, and goodbye."

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: sapper82
Date: 02 Feb 07 - 04:21 PM

Slag:-
Didn't Petula Clark record that song?

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: GUEST,Scoville
Date: 02 Feb 07 - 11:39 AM

Oops--forgot I had this loaded into iTunes:

Cyril Tawney's "Sammy's Bar".



SouthernCelt: I'm just a hopeless sucker for a) horses, b) ballads. Complete and utter history fiend. Slaid Cleaves does a lot of ballads.

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: SouthernCelt
Date: 31 Jan 07 - 01:43 PM

Scoville, "Quick as Dreams" fits this thread but it's a good song, not too maudlin. I've put it in my miscellaneous songs set to do for general audiences.

SC

Subject: Lyr Add: OLD SHEP
From: dianavan
Date: 31 Jan 07 - 03:52 AM

When I was a lad
And old shep was a pup
Over hills and meadows wed stray
Just a boy and his dog
We were both full of fun
We grew up together that way

I remember the time at the old swimmin hold
When I would have drowned beyond doubt
But old shep was right there
To the rescue he came
He jumped in and then pulled me out

As the years fast did roll
Old shep he grew old
His eyes were fast growing dim
And one day the doctor looked at me and said
I can do no more for him jim

With hands that were trembling
I picked up my gun
And aimed it at sheps faithful head
I just couldnt do it
I wanted to run
I wish they would shoot me instead

He came to my side
And looked up at me
And laid his old head on my knee
I had struck the best friend that a man ever had
I cried so I scarcely could see

Old shep he has gone
Where the good doggies go
And no more with old shep will I roam
But if dogs have a heaven
Theres one thing I know
Old shep has a wonderful home

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 30 Jan 07 - 11:23 AM

I have a number of tearjerkers in my repertoire, including

A Bird in a Gilded Cage
Please, Mr. Conductor
Hobo Bill

To my mind, No-one sings "Please Mr. Conductor" or "The Picture That is Turned Toward the Wall" better than our Ozzie friend, Joybell. Her singing projects (to my mind) a whole time when these songs were endemic, and without any smirking or overplay. Simple, affecting songs.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: GUEST,ib48
Date: 29 Jan 07 - 02:38 PM

anything by westlife is guaranteed to make me cry,oh,and ronan keating as well

Subject: Lyr Add: THE LITTLE BLUE MAN (Betty Johnson)
From: Slag
Date: 28 Jan 07 - 11:25 PM

OK, here it is, the jerkiest tear jerker of all times. Remember this?

The Little Blue Man
by Betty Johnson

One morning when I was out shopping
Though you'll find this hard to believe
A little blue man came out of the crowd
And timidly tugged on my sleeve.
      
       (Chorus)

"I wuv you, I wuv you" said the little blue man,
"I wuv you, I wuv you to bits."
"I wuv you." He loved me said the little blue man
And scared me right out of my wits.
       (repeat)

For weeks after that I was haunted
Though no one could see him but me
Right by my side was the little blue man
Wherever I happened to be.

One evening in wild desparation
I rushed to a rooftop in town
And over the side pushed the little blue man
Who sang to me all the way down

       (chorus)

I whispered "Thank goodness that's over."
I smiled as I hurried outside
But there on the street stood the little blue man
Who said with a tear in his eye,

"I don't wuv you anymore."



My baby sister bawled her eyes out when she heard it and made such a fuss that we could never play the radio whenever it was on. I think this was around 60 or 61.

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: GUEST,Bardan
Date: 28 Jan 07 - 11:15 PM

I'll assume the 'rolf harris' comment was directed at me. Just listen to a decent recording mate. (Not 'waltzing matilda' mind, 'the band played waltzing matilda' is the one to look for.)

I have since remembered ae fond kiss, anachie gordon, she moved through the fair, black is the colour, my dreams have withered and died, ride on, farewell farewell.

So much depends on context though, like there's one or two songs make me think of my grandfather, or there's one my dad used to sing to my sister- the lyrics and tune become almost irrelevant next to context. Similarly sometimes a song will seem to speak for you perfectly at some point because it describes what you're going through (teenagy unrequited love angst, grieving, homesick, marriage falling apart... whatever). Few years down the line will it have the same effect?

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 28 Jan 07 - 08:58 PM

Scoville,

That was always my reaction to The Blizzard, too...might as well have been a couple of thousand. But Reeves almost manages to pull it off anyway, with that golden voice of his.

Lin

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: GUEST,Allen in Oz
Date: 28 Jan 07 - 05:59 PM

Beer, I think that John Connolly sang " I Don't Remember Loving You"

Jenny G...." Vacant Chair" must come close to best tear jerker( we must sing it at Cursed Toongabbie one night

AD 1943

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: fumblefingers
Date: 28 Jan 07 - 12:22 PM

"No Schoolbus In Heaven," Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys.

Subject: Lyr Add: QUICK AS DREAMS (Slaid Cleaves)
From: Scoville
Date: 28 Jan 07 - 12:15 PM

Seven miles in a blizzard on the plains? He might as well have tried to walk to Mongolia.

Slaid Cleaves wrote on based on a chapter from the book Seabiscuit:

Quick as Dreams
(Slaid Cleaves)

My name is Tommy Luther, I'll soon be eighty-four,
I'll show you a little picture I keep here in this drawer,
Sixty years ago, boys, I road for the Diamond team,
Sailing by, eight feet high, on horses quick as dreams.

Well, I joined up with the races when they came through Alabam',
They had a good young rider, just a boy, named Sandy Graham,
We were two kids run away from home when the world was breaking down,
Didn't stay to see the family sell the farm and move to town.

From Detroit to Tijuana to Annapolis we rode.
They called us rookies "bug boys", we were just sixteen years old,
We were worth a couple of saddles and two big bags of grain,
The big men owne the horses and they owned us just the same.

Sixty years ago, boys, I rode for the diamond team,
Sailing by, eight feet high, on horses quick as dreams.

Well, it's Winnipeg and it's raining but the track's not looking bad,
They gave me Irish Princess, Sandy rode on Vesper Lad,
We were flying down the backstretch, my horse was running proud,
I pulled ahead of Sandy, when a roar came from the crowd.

I crouched as Irish Princess thundered across the line,
And then I stood and turned around to see that friend of mine,
Vesper Lad was standing still, there must have been a fall,
And in the mud lay Sandy, looking lifeless as a doll.

Well, a crowd ran up to Sandy, they scooped him off the track,
They took him to the office with shattered ribs and back,
At the hospital the next morning, I sat by Sandy's side,
But the season would be ending soon and then I'd have to ride.

Just a couple days past Danville, word came down the line,
Sandy'd lost the struggle; we hung our heads and cried.
It was poor old Mother Harris from the boarding house in town,
Who paid for the little casket and laid him in the ground.

I sent a couple of dollars, it was all that I could save,
She drew me a little picture of the lonely rider's grave.
I've kept it in my bedroom drawer all these sixty years,
I still see that crumpled body now but I'm to old for tears.

My name is Tommy Luther ...

Subject: RE: The Tear Jerker Thread
From: Cruiser
Date: 28 Jan 07 - 11:49 AM

frogprince:

I very much like the lyrics and the nice melody of your song. Thanks for the all-important sound clip.

I would say it is a beautiful reflective song that some could call a tearjerker.

One small edit: (to) should be (too) in the following phrase:

"Entirely to good to be true;"

As Obie linked above there are 7 other threads about sad songs, one with 225 posts from the year 2000.

Subject: Lyr Add: COUNTRY BUMPKIN
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 27 Jan 07 - 02:23 PM

Country Bumpkin

He walked into the bar
and parked his lanky frame upon a tall bar stool
With a long soft southern drawl said
I'll just have a glass of anything that's cool
A barroom girl with wise and knowing eyes
slowly looked me up and down
And she said I wonder how
on earth that country bumpkin found his way to town

And she said hello country bumpkin
how's the frost out on the pumpkin
I've seen some sights but man you're somethin'

Where'd you come from country bumpkin

Just a short year later
in a bed of joy-filled tears and death- like pain
Into this wondrous world of many wonders
another wonder came
That same woman's face was wrapped up
in a raptured look of love and tenderness
As I marvelled at the soft and warm
and cuddly boy-child feeding at her breast

And she said hello country bumpkin
fresh as frost out on the pumpkins
I've seen some sights but babe you're somethin'
mommy loves her country bumpkin

Forty years of hard work later
in a simple quiet and peaceful country place
The heavy hand of time had not
erased the raptured wonder from my woman's face
She was lying on her death bed
knowing fully well her race was nearly run
But she softly smiled and looked
into the sad eyes of her husband and her son

And she said so long country bumpkin
the frost is gone now from the pumpkin
I've seem some sights and life's been somethin'
see you later country bumpkin
See you later country bumpkin