Miserable Music (songs that make you cry)

[shereads]

"Mercy Street" ~ Peter Gabriel

for Anne Sexton


looking down on empty streets, all she can see
are the dreams all made solid
are the dreams all made real

all of the buildings, all of those cars
were once just a dream
in somebody's head

she pictures the broken glass, she pictures the steam
she pictures a soul
with no leak at the seam

lets take the boat out
wait until darkness
let's take the boat out
wait until darkness comes

nowhere in the corridors of pale green and grey
nowhere in the suburbs
in the cold light of day

there in the midst of it so alive and alone
words support like bone

dreaming of mercy st.
wear your inside out
dreaming of mercy
in your daddy's arms again
dreaming of mercy st.
'swear they moved that sign
dreaming of mercy
in your daddy's arms

pulling out the papers from the drawers that slide smooth
tugging at the darkness, word upon word

confessing all the secret things in the warm velvet box
to the priest - he's the doctor
he can handle the shocks

dreaming of the tenderness - the tremble in the hips
of kissing Mary's lips

dreaming of mercy st.
wear your insides out
dreaming of mercy
in your daddy's arms again
dreaming of mercy st.
'swear they moved that sign
looking for mercy
in your daddy's arms

mercy, mercy, looking for mercy
mercy, mercy, looking for mercy

Anne, with her father is out in the boat
riding the water
riding the waves on the sea​

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Cry for pretty or cry for sad?

Of cry for God knows why?

 

[minsue]

That's too easy, too many songs make me cry. One that'll usually start me off simply hearing the notes (Pavlovian, I swear) is:

Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning ~ Alan Jackson

 

[impressive]

Pachelbel's Canon in D gets me every time.

 

[carsonshepherd]

This is our last goodbye
I hate to feel the love between us die
But it's over
Just hear this before I go
You gave me more to live for
More than you'll ever know
This is our last embrace
Must I dream and always see your face?
Why can't we overcome this and more?
Baby, maybe its 'cause you didn't know me at all
Kiss me, please kiss me
But kiss me out of desire, babe, not consolation
Oh, you know it makes me so angry
'Cause I know that in time, I'll only make you cry
this is our last goodbye
Did you say, "No, this can't happen to me"
Did you rush to the phone to call
Was there a voice unkind in the back of your mind
Saying maybe you didn't know him at all
Well, the bells out in the church tower chime
Burning clues into this heart of mine
Thinking so hard on her soft eyes
And the memories offer signs that it's over
Over...



~ Last Goodbye, Jeff Buckley. Partly because he drowned in the Memphis harbor in 1998 and he'll never fulfill his potential

 

[shereads]

Cry for pretty or cry for sad?

Of cry for God knows why?

Scream for ice cream.

Strange things about songs:

There are no songs that make me hungry.

The first songs I remember were from cigarette commercials. "Salem softly freshens your taste...soooooooftly freshens." (Girls in straw hats and white eyelet skirts frolicking in mountain meadows with cigarettes.)

 

[Blackie Malone]

If I had the capacity for tears it would be anything by Karen Carpenter...especially Ave Maria.

 

[shereads]

"I Can't Make You Love Me" sung by Bonnie Raitt is the first C&W crossover song that I actually looked forward to hearing repeatedly. Because I could always expect a good cry.

(If you have to ask why "a good cry" is a good thing...I dunno. Is it a chick thing?)

 

[Akito01]

'Distant (Rubicon II)' - VNV Nation

the paths I once tread have all but gone. only embers now smoulder where bridges once burned. I feel alive and yet fear what may happen now. I know I can't return. and I hear me say again oh let me not return. damn the illusion of redemption and the hopes that held me here. I will oppose all that would befall me. with all the rage inside of me I will defy what I would become. the solitude and anger that do battle within me will always guide me to the answers that I know I may not see. they are the bonds that hold me tighter. they are the chains that weigh on me. one day I know they will be gone. can I start again and erase this pain by casting doubts into the waters. asking judgement of the sea. though fortune may guide the fools I have no wish to be free until I am gone.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Pachelbel's Canon in D gets me every time.

Bach is my undoing.

The Prelude to the Unaccompanied Suite for Cello in G as played by Yoyo Ma (I happen to remember that one because it's the Galapagos theme in the movie "Master & Commander")

Partita for Unaccompanied Violin in E. I almost started taking violin lessons just so I could try and play it. It makes my hair stand on end.

 

[shereads]

If I had the capacity for tears

You need to rehydrate. Drink lots of water today.



Pavarotti singing "Nessun Dorma" makes me boo-hoo like a faucet with PMS. Because my dad loved it. My little southern redneck dad loved classical music.

Hotel California doesn't make me cry but it does creep me out, because it was on the radio every half-hour the night my dad and I took turns driving to try and get my mom to her dad's bedside before he died. We didn't make it in time. Every time I hear Hotel California I feel a sense of doomed urgency, loss and failure.

 

[shereads]

Bach is my undoing.

The Prelude to the Unaccompanied Suite for Cello in G as played by Yoyo Ma (I happen to remember that one because it's the Galapagos theme in the movie "Master & Commander")

Partita for Unaccompanied Violin in E. I almost started taking violin lessons just so I could try and play it. It makes my hair stand on end.

The cello and violin are instruments of emotional torture. Most tear-inducing recordings rely heavily on the string section.

My classical music tear-faucet-turner is near the end of Brahms' Third Symphony: there's been this big, aggressive battle with horns in charge, all wrath and vengeance, and just when you think the world will blow up...the string section takes over, with the most sweet, plaintive melody. The sound of redemption and forgiveness.

I need a Kleenex. Gotta go.

 

[LadyJeanne]

You've Lost That Loving Feeling - Righteous Brothers

You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips.
And there's no tenderness like before in your fingertips.
You're trying hard not to show it, (baby).
But baby, baby I know it...

You've lost that lovin' feeling,
Whoa, that lovin' feeling,
You've lost that lovin' feeling,
Now it's gone...gone...gone...wooooooh.

Now there's no welcome look in your eyes when I reach for you.
And now your're starting to critisize little things I do.
It makes me just feel like crying, (baby).
'Cause baby, something in you is dying...

 

[OhMissScarlett]

this is the current tear jerker for me, because it reminds me a lot of a situation with a friend of mine who died a few years back.

A Lifetime-Better Than Ezra


Allie woke up 8AM
Graduation day.
Got into a car,
And crashed along the way.

When we arrived late to the wake,
Stole the urn while they
Looked away,
And drove to the beach
'Cause I knew you'd want it
That way.

And you were standing
On the hood of the car
Singing out loud
When the sun came up.

And I know I wasn't right,
But it felt so good.
And your mother didn't mind,
Like I thought she would.
And that REM song was playing
In my mind.
And three and a half minutes
Felt like a lifetime

It felt like a lifetime

And you move like water
I could drown in you.
And I fell so deep once,
Till you pulled me through

You would tell me
"No one is allowed to be so proud
They never reach out
When they're giving up."

And I know I wasn't right,
But it felt so good.
And your mother didn't mind,
Like I thought she would.
And that REM song was playing
In my mind.
And three and a half minutes
Felt like a lifetime

Are you sitting in the lights?
Or combing your hair again,
And talking in rhymes?
Are you sitting in the lights?

When I got home, heard the phone,
Your parents had arrived.
And your dad set his jaw
Your mom just smiled and sighed.

But they left soon
And I went to my room.
Played that disc that you'd given me,
And I shut my eyes
And I swear I could hear the sea.

And we were standing
On the hood of your car
Singing out loud when the sun came up.

And I know I wasn't right,
But it felt so good.
And your mother didn't mind,
Like I thought she would.
And that REM song was playing
In my mind.
And three and a half minutes,
Three and a half minutes,

Felt like a lifetime.

 

[carsonshepherd]

 

[minsue]

I can do ok with this one until they reach the line, "Please tell mom this is not her fault," and then I lose it every time. Too close to home, the thought of her blaming herself was all the kept me alive at times...


Adam's Song
~ Blink 182

I never thought I'd die alone
I laughed the loudest who'd have known?
I trace the cord back to the wall
No wonder it was never plugged in at all
I took my time, I hurried up
The choice was mine I didn't think enough
I'm too depressed to go on
You'll be sorry when I'm gone

I never conquered, rarely came
16 just held such better days
Days when I still felt alive
We couldn't wait to get outside
The world was wide, too late to try
The tour was over we'd survived
I couldn't wait till I got home
To pass the time in my room alone

I never thought I'd die alone
Another six months I'll be unknown
Give all my things to all my friends
You'll never step foot in my room again
You'll close it off, board it up
Remember the time that I spilled the cup
Of apple juice in the hall
Please tell mom this is not her fault

I never conquered, rarely came
But tomorrow holds such better days
Days when I can still feel alive
When I can't wait to get outside
The world is wide, the time goes by
The tour is over, I've survived
I can't wait till I get home
To pass the time in my room alone

 

[English Lady]

So many make me cry, there are a few that will make me cry no matter where or when I hear them though :

Bright Eyes from Watership down


Is it a kind of a dream
Floating out on the tide
Following the river of death downstream
Oh, is it a dream?

There's a fog along the horizon
A strange glow in the sky
And nobody seems to know where you go
And what does it mean?
Oh, is it a dream?

Bright eyes
Burning like fire
Bright eyes
How can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes

Is it a kind of shadow
Reaching into the night
Wandering over the hills unseen
Or is it a dream?

There's a high wind in the trees
A cold sound in the air
And nobody ever knows when you go
And where do you start
Oh, into the dark

Bright eyes
Burning like fire
Bright eyes
How can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes

Bright eyes
Burning like fire
Bright eyes
How can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes

 

[English Lady]

I've just searched for these lyrics, just reading them through has brought tears ot my eyes

I'm already there -Lonestar

He called her on the phone
From a lonely cold hotel room.
Just to hear her say “I love you” one more time
And when he heard the sound
Of the kids laughing in the background
He had to wipe away a tear from his eye.
A little vice came on the phone
Said, “Daddy when you coming home?”
He said the first thing that came to his mind:
Chorus:
I'm already there,
Take a look around.
I'm the sunshine in your hair,
I'm the shadow on the ground.
I'm the whisper in the wind,
I'm your imaginary friend.
And I know that I'm in your prayers,
I'm already there.

She got back on the phone
Said, “I really miss you darlin’.
Don't worry about the kids they'll be all right.
Wish I was in your arms,
Lyin’ right there beside you.
But I know that I’ll be in your dreams tonight.
And I’ll gently kiss your lips,
Touch you with my fingertips.
So turn out the light and close your eyes,

I'm already there,
Dont make a sound.
I'm the beat in your heart
I'm the moonlight shining down
I'm the whisper in the wind
And I’ll be there to the end
Can you feel the love that we share?
I'm already there

We may be a thousand miles apart,
But I’ll be with you wherever you are.

I'm already there,
Take a look around.
I'm the sunshine in your hair,
I'm the shadow on the ground.
I'm the whisper in the wind,
And I’ll be there to the end.
Can you feel the love that we share?
I'm already there.
I'm already there

 

[Guest]

This one really gets me (doesn't actually make me cry, but makes me feel all goose-bumpy). It's not only the lyrics, it's the instrumentals that accompany them.


Run - Snow Patrol

I'll sing it one last time for you
Then we really have to go
You've been the only thing that's right
In all i've done.

And I can barely look at you
But every single time I do
I know we'll make it anywhere
Anywhere from here

Light up, Light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear

Louder, louder
And we'll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can't raise your voice to say

To think I might not see those eyes
It makes it so hard not to cry
And as we say our long goodbyes
I nearly do.

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear

Louder, louder
And we'll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can't raise your voice to say

Slower, slower
We don't have time for that
All I want is to find an easier way
To get out of our little heads

Have heart my dear
We're bound to be afraid
Even if it's just for a few days
Making up for all this mess.

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear

 

[Wildcard Ky]

(If you have to ask why "a good cry" is a good thing...I dunno. Is it a chick thing?)

Most definitely a chick thing.

 

[ruminator]

For A Dancer
Jackson Browne


Keep a fire burning in your eye
Pay attention to the open sky
You never know what will be coming down
I don't remember losing track of you
You were always dancing in and out of view
I must have thought you'd always be around
Always keeping things real by playing the clown
Now you're nowhere to be found

I don't know what happens when people die
Can't seem to grasp it as hard as i try
It's like a song i can hear playing right in my ear
That i can't sing
I can't help listening
And i can't help feeling stupid standing 'round
Crying as they ease you down
'cause i know that you'd rather we were dancing
Dancing our sorrow away
(right on dancing)
No matter what fate chooses to play
(there's nothing you can do about it anyway)

Just do the steps that you've been shown
By everyone you've ever known
Until the dance becomes your very own
No matter how close to yours
Another's steps have grown
In the end there is one dance you'll do alone

Keep a fire for the human race
Let your prayers go drifting into space
You never know what will be coming down
Perhaps a better world is drawing near
And just as easily it could all disappear
Along with whatever meaning you might have found
Don't let the uncertainty turn you around
(the world keeps turning around and around)
Go on and make a joyful sound

Into a dancer you have grown
From a seed somebody else has thrown
Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own
And somewhere between the time you arrive
And the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
But you'll never know

 

[ruminator]

Late For the Sky
J Browne


The words had all been spoken
And somehow the feeling still wasn't right
And still we continued on through the night
Tracing our steps from the beginning
Until they vanished into the air
Trying to understand how our lives has led us there

Looking hard into your eyes
There was nobody i'd ever known
Such an empty surprise to feel so alone

Now for me some words come easy
But i know that they don't mean that much
Compared with the things that are said when lovers touch
You never knew what i loved in you
I don't know what you loved in me
Maybe the picture of somebody you were hoping i might be

Awake again i can't pretend and i know i'm alone
And close to the end of the feeling we've known

How long have i been sleeping
How long have i been drifting alone through the night
How long have i been dreaming i could make it right
If i closed my eyes and tried with all my might
To be the one you need

Awake again i can't pretend and i know i'm alone
And close to the end of the feeling we've known

How long have i been sleeping
How long have i been drifting alone through the night
How long have i been running for that morning flight
Through the whispered promises and the changing light
Of the bed where we both lie
Late for the sky





Fountain of Sorrow
J Browne

Looking through some photographs i found inside a drawer
I was taken by a photograph of you
There were one or two i know that you would have liked a little more
But they didn't show your spirit quite as true

You were turning 'round to see who was behind you
And i took your childish laughter by surprise
And at the moment that my camera happened to find you
There was just a trace of sorrow in your eyes

Now the things that i remember seem so distant and so small
Though it hasn't really been that long a time
What i was seeing wasn't what was happening at all
Although for a while, our path did seem to climb
But when you see through love's illusions, there lies the danger
And your perfect lover just looks like a perfect fool
So you go running off in search of a perfect stranger
While the loneliness seems to spring from your life
Like a fountain from a pool

Fountain of sorrow, fountain of light
You've known that hollow sound of your own steps in flight
You've had to hide sometimes, but now you're all right
And it's good to see your smiling face tonight

Now for you and me it may not be that hard to reach our dreams
But that magic feeling never seems to last
And while the future's there for anyone to change, still you know it's seems
It would be easier sometimes to change the past
I'm just one or two years and a couple of changes behind you
In my lessons at love's pain and heartache school
Where if you feel too free and you need something to remind you
There's this loneliness springing up from your life
Like a fountain from a pool

Fountain of sorrow, fountain of light
You've known that hollow sound of your own steps in flight

You've had to hide sometimes but now you're all right
And it's good to see your smiling face tonight

Fountain of sorrow, fountain of light
You've known that hollow sound of your own steps in flight
You've had to struggle, you've had to fight
To keep understanding and compassion in sight
You could be laughing at me, you've got the right
But you go on smiling so clear and so bright

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I suppose it's a me thing, but I just don't get much out of lyrics without melody.

One of my prime goose bump songs is the Talking Heads' "Once In A Lifetime", with the refrain about water underground, under the rocks and stones.

By itself, the lyric just seems like nonsense, but in the context of the song, and with the other lyrics abot a failed life ("after the money's gone"), it's just incredibly creepy and kind of inversely spiritual.

Still, if I just printed the lyrics here and you didn't already know the music, not a scintilla of creepiness would come through

 

[dr_mabeuse]

By the way, the univeral antidote to musical misery is Jackie Wilson's "Higher and Higher". Cranked.

 

[Guest]