The Saddest Song of All

Subject: The Saddest Song of All
From: Shack
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 05:58 PM

I think the saddest song I ever heard is "I Heard a Heart Break Last Night." I heard it on a jukebox in an old honkey tonk and don't know the artist. The final verse goes like this: "I heard the mournful sobbing/ Of the wind in the pines;/ I felt the cold icey (eye-see) fingers (fangers)/ Of fear in my spine,/ For I knew in my heart/ You'd never be mine,/ And I heard a heart break last night." What is the saddest song you ever heard?

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Llanfair
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 06:05 PM

There's two. The first is "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" Sandy Denny, of course, and the other is "Beautiful Boy" John Lennon. Both are so sad because the creators died so young. Lennon could "Hardly wait, to see you come of age" but he never did. Hwyl, Bron.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: WyoWoman
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 06:49 PM

Too many to name. I LOVE a good melancholy song -- must be the Irish in me (sorry, all '-} )

One version of "Geordie," in which the judge tells her, "sorry about you bein' pregnant with his child and all, but it's off to the gallows with 'im." Some versions have a very uppity wife reacting in various ways, but the one I learned years ago and still love ends with him being hanged for killing one of the King's deer.

"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"

One by Malvina Reynolds, of "Little Boxes" fame, called "The Girl on the Rim of the World," written about a homeless girl she kept seeing out the window of her apartment in San Francisco.

One by Dave van Ronk, which I think is called "In a Mood for Going," and which is just wonderful for when you're really morose and just need a song as sad as you are.

"Waltzing Matilda," by Tom Waits.

And ... oh, heavens. I could keep this up all day. What does it say about me (whom most people would describe as having a downright *merry* disposition) that I love really, really sad songs so much?

WW

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Pete Curry
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 07:25 PM

This topic should be a Web site all its own! Some of my favorites have already been mentioned (eg. "Who Knows Where The Time Goes," "Waltzing Matilda"). Others include: "The Grand Tour" by George Jones (which ends, "When you leave you'll see the nursery/She left me, without mercy/Taking nothing but my baby and my mind"); "Sad Songs & Waltzes" by Willie Nelson; "Yesterday Just Passed My Way Again" and "My Wishing Room" by Lefty Frizzell; "Swiss Cottage Place" by Mickey Newburry; "No One Will Ever Know" by Ronnie Milsap or Hank Snow; "Mexican Divorce" by Ry Cooder (written by Burt Bacharach & Bob Hillard, orig. recorded by The Drifters); "Afraid to Care" by Jack Green; "The Gypsy" and "Time Out For Tears" by The Ink Spots; and last, because I'm basically a child of the 1950s, the following by Lee Andrews & The Hearts never fail to choke me up--"Why Do I," "I'm Sorry Pillow," and "Try The Impossible." Phew... I feel better now.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: emily rain
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 07:39 PM

the saddest song i know is a ladino (sephardic) song with a haunting, east-meets-west melody. the translations goes like this:

here comes the captive
with all the captive women
among them
is the white girl

it was not dawn,
neither was it daylight
when the white girl
sang her sorrow:

oh green fields,
fields of olive trees
where my mother, grace,
washed and hung out the clothes

oh beautiful pine
where, with my husband,
under its shade,
we slept with pleasure

oh white tombs
tombs of the grandfathers
i pass over them
like a bird in flight

it was not dawn,
nor was it daylight
when the white girl
sang her sorrow, thus.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: mountain tyme
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 07:44 PM

One song we perform that always wets the floor.... Jack & May (sweethearts were they) (Stanley Brothers) Dozens of others that bring tears I could list as well but two that stand out in my memory that are fitting to list on this thread are... The Little Old Log Cabin In The Lane (Albert E. Brumley) and He Stopped Loving Her Today (George Jones) Great thread idea/subject..may it become the longest on the "Cat" Thanks Shack

Subject: Lyr Add: SOMEBODY MUST LEAVE (Reba McIntire)
From: bseed(charleskratz)
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 08:00 PM

Impressive list, Pete--but I'd have a hard time keeping a straight face rhyming mercy with nursery. Another George Jones tearjerker is "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Reba McIntire's "Somebody Must Leave" is one that always gets me:

It sure gets quiet when the kids go to bed;
We sit here in the silence putting off what must be said.
I read a book, you watch TV, as our love dies quietly:
I'm so sad I don't know what I just read.
(chorus)
Somebody should leave, but which one should it be?
You need the kids, and they need me.
Somebody should leave, but we hate to give in;--
We keep hopin' somehow we might need each other again.

You say goodnight and turn and face the wall;
We lie here in the darkness and the tears start to fall.
If it was only you and me, goodbye might come more easily,
But what about those babies down the hall?

chorus, chorus repeated with "We just keep hopin' we might need each other again," spoken.

Of course, Reba is a great interpreter of sad songs.

--seed

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: jbrandberg
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 08:07 PM

There are so many good sad songs, but one of them that always gets to me is THERE WERE ROSES by Tommy Sands.

Unfortunately, it may become more topical again if the situation in Northern Ireland continues to deteriorate.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: WyoWoman
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 09:12 PM

Oh, Pete. That was a really, really good sad one..."taking nothing but my baby and my mind..."

Emily, where could I hear the melody to that one?

I need a sad song today. I went to see the traveling exhibit for The Wall That Heals, the replica of the Vietnam memorial wall. Found the name of a boy I grew up with. Drafted in late May, dead October 1. What's a song for that? I need to do some sobbing.

WW

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From:
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 09:43 PM

"First Christmas" by Stan Rogers, the most depressing Christmas song written since "The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot".

I think "Dark-Eyed Molly" by Archie Fisher a quite sad love song, but a very beautiful one.

Kate Rusby from England seems to specialize in melancholy songs, like "Annan Water." Indeed I am worried when one so young specializes in such tunes.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Gene
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 09:51 PM

Three of my favorite SAD SONGS...
1/Sing Me A Sad Song Hank Williams and
2/When *He Sang [*Hank Williams]and
3/Hank Williams Sings The Blues No More

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 09:53 PM

Un Bel Dia, from "Butterfly", sung by Lucretzia Bori, some time in the 1920s. I've been playing it every few months for many years now and I still cry, cry, cry my little eyes out. I'm just a big Wuzzum!
rick

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: campfire
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 10:07 PM

I'd like to add "Lying To the Moon" to the list, written by Matraca Berg. The version that "gets" me is by Robin and Linda Williams.

campfire

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 10:24 PM

Vincent by Don McLean has always brought tears to my eyes.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: mountain tyme
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 10:42 PM

WyoWoman..."A Soldiers Grave" by the Stanley Brothers. Always wets the floor when we do it on the various Memorial days.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Jeri
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 10:56 PM

I second many of the above contributions. Nobody's mentioned 'Kilkelly' yet. I don't know how many times I heard that song before I quit getting choked up.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Art Thieme
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 11:10 PM

"Waltzing With Bears"

Art

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From:
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 11:35 PM

"Waltzing With Bears"?

Subject: Lyr Add: HOME FROM THE FOREST (Gordon Lightfoot)
From: Dale Rose
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 11:54 PM

Home from the forest
Gordon Lightfoot, 1967.

Oh, the neon lights were flashin' and the icy wind did blow
The water seeped into his shoes and the drizzle turned to snow
His eyes were red, his hopes were dead and the wine was runnin' low
And the old man came home from the forest

His tears fell on the sidewalk as he stumbled in the street
A dozen faces stopped to stare but no one stopped to speak
For his castle was a hallway and a bottle was his friend
And the old man stumbled in from the forest

Up a dark and dingy staircase the old man made his way
His ragged coat around him as upon his cot he lay
And he wondered how it happened that he ended up this way
Getting lost like a fool in the forest

And as he lay there sleeping, a vision did appear
Upon his mantle shining the face of one so dear
Who'd loved him in the springtime of a long forgotten year
When the wildflowers did bloom in the forest

She touched his grizzled fingers and she called him by his name
And then he heard the joyful sound of children at their games
In an old house on a hillside in some forgotten town
Where the river runs down from the forest

With a mighty roar the big jet soars above the canyon streets
And the con men con but life goes on for the city never sleeps
And to an old forgotten soldier the dawn will come no more
For the old man has come home from the forest

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Margo
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 01:18 AM

Lot's of civil war songs, but in particular, "The Vacant Chair". I get real choked up on that one. Plus, it has a wonderful melody.

Then there is the "Kindertotenlieder" by Mahler which means Children's Death Songs. Written when it was all to common for one or more children in a family to die from illness, the songs talk about missing the little footsteps and such. I can't listen to them.

Ah, Rick. Madama Butterfly. Of course, always touching.

Margarita

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Animaterra
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 09:12 AM

I know it's hardly folk, but Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven" does me in every time, thinking about his little boy who died.
Other than that, "There were roses," and a Yiddish song, "S'dremlen feygl" which was a poem written by Leah Rudzinski after a Polish ghetto was "cleansed"- there were few survivors, among them a 3-year old for whom the lullabye was written. Rudzinski later disappeared before WWII was over.
Allison

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: NSC
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 09:23 AM

The saddest song I have ever come across is a very new one written by Deidre Scanlan and included on her inaugural and just released CD.

The song is titled Dunblane and is about the tragic occurrence of chldren and teachers who were shot in Scotland a couple of years ago.

American catters will relate to the many similar occurrences in the USA.

When Deirdre performed this song in Dublin about 3 weeks ago, at the Goílín Singers Club, there was a stunned silence. It was the last song of the night and people had difficulty getting up to leave.

See her Web site or contact Nenagh Singers Circle for details of how to obtain this unique CD.

George Henderson

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: MudGuard
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 09:24 AM

Two Little Orphans a.k.a. The Orphan's Lament

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Mr. D.
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 09:42 AM

This is really a good thread. I get tear-jerked just reading ABOUT these songs. One of the saddest songs to me is "Lullabye Blues" by Jimmie Rodgers. Another heart-wrencher, especially the way it is sung, is Travis Tritt's "Nobody Answers When I Call Your Name."

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Mike Regenstreif
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 10:03 AM

One of the saddest songs I've heard in recent years is David Massengill's "Rider On An Orphan Train."

It's also performed by Tom Russell.

Mike Regenstreif

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Allan C.
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 10:14 AM

Last night I heard the cry
Of my last companion.
A blast from a harpoon gun
And I was alone...

I arose for to take a breath
It was my last one.
From a gun came the roar of death
And I am undone...

from "The Last Leviathan" as I have heard it by Golden Bough

It brings me to tears nearly every time.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Art Thieme
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 12:06 PM

"The Death Of Queen Jane"

Art

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: catspaw49
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 01:20 PM

Well this is quite a list. Personally, I dunno'.......

It seems that most of the songs I do are sad songs. At least that's what I'm told. Every time I finish one, someone says, "Jesus, that was really sad."

catspaw

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Cara
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 02:11 PM

Sad sons are my favorite. One of my favorite performers used to call the songs that my friends and I requested "the wrist-slasher set". I love "Waltzing Matilda" by Tom Waites, a good interpretation of "Where have all the Flowers Gone?", that Reba McIntyre song about the little boy whose father killed his mother, "Daniel" by Elton John, and, I shamefacedly admit that I wwas in my twenties before I could sing "Puff the Magic Dragon" to my little cousins without choking up (I'm still in my twentiesw, so it wasn't long ago). Also "You are My Sunshine"; that damn Oscar Mayer commercial song makes it look so cute, then you hear the second verse ahnd it's just wrenching.

Subject: Lyr Add: BOB DYLAN'S DREAM
From: Jack (who is called Jack)
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 02:11 PM

BOB DYLAN'S DREAM as sung by PP&M always gets me.

While riding on a train goin' west,
I fell asleep for to take my rest.
I dreamed a dream that made me sad,
Concerning myself and the first few friends I had.

With half-damp eyes I stared to the room
Where my friends and I spent many an afternoon,
Where we together weathered many a storm,
Laughin' and singin' till the early hours of the morn.

By the old wooden stove where our hats was hung,
Our words were told, our songs were sung,
Where we longed for nothin' and were quite satisfied
Talkin' and a-jokin' about the world outside.

With haunted hearts through the heat and cold,
We never thought we could ever get old.
We thought we could sit forever in fun
But our chances really was a million to one.

As easy it was to tell black from white,
It was all that easy to tell wrong from right.
And our choices were few and the thought never hit
That the one road we traveled would ever shatter and split.

How many a year has passed and gone,
And many a gamble has been lost and won,
And many a road taken by many a first friend,
And each one of them I've never seen again.

I wish, I wish, I wish in vain,
That we could sit simply in that room once again.
Ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat,
I'd give it all gladly if our lives could be like that.

HTML line breaks added in place of double spacing. --JoeClone, 6-Oct-02.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: catspaw49
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 02:20 PM

And on a serious note (C#)......Sorry, but seriously, I'm totally with you Jack. Way too strong, too true, forme to get through that one anymore.

Spaw

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: PattyG
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 02:32 PM

Is this some form of mashochism, or what?! Love it!..........

//For the Vietnam memorial: "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "Danny Boy" and, in general, "Sonny Boy."

"First Christmas" by Stan Rogers, the most depressing Christmas song written since "The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot".

//Heard the former on a t.v. special and about lost it. I have two sons and my oldest has a terminal illness...... But this also reminds me of a thread some time back about Sad Christmas Songs - someone was going to make a CD of melancholy holiday music.......ever accomplished?

I think Kevin Sharp singing, "Nobody Knows" is pretty darned sad too.

Hate to admit this, but I guess I've never paid much attention to "Waltzing Matilda" - didn't realize it was sad! (I shouldn't admit this, but now I'd like to know the lyrics!)

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Bryant
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 03:40 PM

Glad I'm not the only one who love sad tunes.

I think Leonard Cohen does sad better than almost anyone I can think of. "It Seems so Long Ago, Nancy" "Famous Blue Raincoat". And then there's one called "Dress Rehersal Rag" where some washed-up, junky, entertainer has a long conversation with his reflection in a mirror just before offing himself. Maybe more scary than sad. . .

Bryant

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Tiger
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 04:36 PM

For me, the answer changes as I hear new ones. Right now, it's a Civil War song:

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Tiger
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 04:39 PM

Sorry, that last msg got scrambled by a fat finger error.

My current saddest nominee is "The Faded Coat of Blue"

BTW, that Dave Van Ronk song mentioned earlier is "Need for Going" by Joni Mitchell, and I agree wholeheartedly. It's also done beautifully by Tom Rush.

....Tiger

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: LEJ
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 04:49 PM

Does Those were the Days my Friend conjure up nostalgic tears from any of you aging 60's revolutionaries? Especially the lines "Just last night I saw you in the tavern
I saw your face, and heard you call my name
Yes my friend, we're older but no wiser
For in our hearts the dream is still the same"

LEJ

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Lowcountry
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 05:19 PM

Someone did a thread about an alleged third verse to The Rose of Tralee, and it turned out to be a gut wrencher: In the far fields of Africa, midst war's dreadful thunder,/ Her voice was a comfort and solace to me;/ The cold hand of death has now rent us asunder; /Tonight I am missing the Rose of Tralee. For such a beautiful and emotional love song, that really is a rough ending.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Mike Regenstreif
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 05:23 PM

Not to be picky, but in the interest of accuracy, the song reffered to as "In a Mood for Going" and "Need for Going," is actually called "Urge for Going." As noted, it was written by Joni Mitchell.

And the Tom Waits song identified as "Waltzing Matilda," is actually called "Tom Traubert's Blues."

Mike Regenstreif

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Mbo
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 07:41 PM

I agree that sad songs are probably my favorite kinds of songs. As a fan of many kinds of music, I draw on a large range of styles and genres. Here are some of my favorites (all work well in a folk setting, too):

- "The Wall" by The Statler Brothers (for the Vietnam Memorial.) - "I Go To Pieces" by Peter & Gordon - "Norland Wind" by Battlefield Band - "Bridget O' Malley" (Altan's version) - "What's the Use of Wings?" (John Wright Band version) - "Ae Fond Kiss" - "The Boys of Barr Na Sraide" - "The Massacre of Glencoe" - "The Rain Song" by Led Zeppelin - And the ultimate sad song "Carrickfergus"

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From:
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 10:59 PM

Definitely "First Christmas" - Stan Rogers, but what about "The Enigma" or "Gift of Years" - Eric Bogle (lyrics available on request) or "Absent Friends" as recorded by Vin Garbutt?

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From:
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 11:02 PM

One of the saddest songs I know is "Poor Kitty Popcorn" by Henry Clay Work. We have tried to sing it on one or two occasions and it has'nt gone over wery well. -John Haigis P.S. Does anyone know the words to "In the Town of Adleypool" about a pet monkey being washed overboard and hung in the town square as a spy?

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: peter bugden
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 11:05 PM

the song you are after is called the Hartleypool Monkey and was recorded by Vin Garbutt back in the seventies. I think it's on his album "Eston California".

Subject: Lyr Add: THE LAST LEVIATHAN (from Rory Block)
From: WyoWoman
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 11:12 PM

Allan -- I'm learning "The Last Leviathan" from a Rory Block CD I have. It is so sad I just feel like MY soul has been torn from me. But I think it's an important song to do, so I'm learning it.

Here are the lyrics:
(It has this beautiful drone in the bass line, which on the CD is done with an organ, I think, but could be done with voices. A friend of mine did this part with his accordian...)

THE LAST LEVIATHAN

My soul has been torn from me
And I am bleeding.
My heart it has been rent,
And I am crying.

All beauty around me fades,
And I am screaming.
I am the last of the great whales.
And I am dying.

Last night I heard the cry
Of my last companion.
The roar of the harpoon gun
And I was alone.

I reflect on the days gone by
When we were thousands.
And I know that I soon shall die.
The last leviathan.

This morning the sun arose
Crimson in the sky.
The ice was the color of blood
And the wind it did sigh.

I rose up to take a breath.
It was my last one.
From the berm came the roar of death.
And now I am done.

Now that we're all gone,
And there's no more hunting.
The big fellow is no more,
And there's no use lamenting.

Which race will be next in line
For the slaughter?
The elephant or the seal?
Or your sons and daughters?

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 6-Oct-02.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Alice
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 11:17 PM

Give My Love To Nell, Kilkelly, There Were Roses, Skibbereen, The Town I Loved So Well.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Mike Regenstreif
Date: 20 Jul 99 - 09:30 AM

I'd also add all of Eric Bogle's WWI songs: "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda," "No Man's Land (Willie McBride," etc.

Mike Regenstreif

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Peter T.
Date: 20 Jul 99 - 11:18 AM

I am not sure about whether this is a wallowing around thread or not (I can do that with the best of them!), but this is the saddest/hardest poem I know. I used to use it as an audition piece, but had to give it up, because I could never get all the way through it without breaking down. It is from Ariel Dorfman's poem, Missing, about the people who were taken away during Pinochet's rule in Chile.

my son has been
missing
since May 8
of last year.

They took him
just for a few hourse
they said
just for some routine
questioning.

After the car left,
the car with no licence plate,
we couldn't
find out
anything else about him.

But now things have changed.
We have heard from a companero
who just got out
that five months later
they were torturing him
in Villa Grimaldi.
He says he recognised
his voice
his screams
he says.

Somebody tell me
what times are these
what kind of world
what country?
What I am asking is
how can it be
that a father's
joy
is knowing
that they
that they are still
torturing my son?
Which means that he was alive
five months after he
disappeared
and that my greatest
hope
can only be to find out
next year
that they are still
torturing him
and so he is still
maybe
maybe
alive.


yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: JSTPLNFOLK
Date: 20 Jul 99 - 09:09 PM

Of course certain songs are sadder to certain people. Life experiences,age,etc. are all important factors. One of my favorites, because it touches several aspects of my life is 'This Old House' by the Rice brothers. I swear I tear up just thinking about it. Great song.

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: emily rain
Date: 20 Jul 99 - 10:23 PM

WyoWoman ----

i'll post a wav file of that song on my webpage... won't be a minute...

emily

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: annamill
Date: 20 Jul 99 - 11:30 PM

My Old Man by Furies. I heard it by our own Bill Sables. There wasn't a dry eye in the house...or on the gazebo. Even the rowdies stopped being rowdy and were hit between the eyes. Everything was quiet for Bill. He had the house. Glenn's Dad died at the tender age of 45, when Glenn was quite young. He was particularly hit hard.

Love, annap

Subject: RE: The Saddest Song of All
From: Barry Finn
Date: 21 Jul 99 - 12:59 AM

I'll toss in:

Flowers of the Forest, the loss of that battle was nothing to the countryside losing most of the male popular from the young boys to the old men. No pollination, no flowers left a lonely, sad, barren countryside with no chance to recoupe.

Dave Van Ronk's "Another Time & Place" & Robert Burn's "One Fond Kiss" two of a kind

"Stor Ma Chroi" (sp?)

"The Shearing's Not For You"

"Will You Go To Flanders"

the slow slave version of "Shallow Brown"

a prison hollar sung alone at night from behind bars called "Edie" or "Go away Edie"
Go away Edie quit worrying my mind, go away Edie go away (2x)
Can't sleep for dreaming, can't dream for crying, go away Edie go away

"Another Man Done Gone"

"Take This Hammer"

a sad upbeat slave song "Through My Body Anywhere"

but Art's suggestion of "Waltzing With Bears" takes the cake. Barry