Sometimes It's A Sad Song
The other day AOL.com, as a part of its daily highlights, decided to give a list of the 25 saddest songs in the whole world. I hope you're laughing right now like I did when I read the headline. Obviously the songs were all in English, so let's be real here: 25 Saddest Songs in the US and Britain. For real. Also, they were in no way the saddest songs. The only one I remotely agreed with was "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley. The other ones were obviously chosen for one of two reasons: 1) they represented a genre of music other than pop/rock, or 2) they were about the death of a child (& if someone had written about the death of a puppy, that would've been in there). These characteristics alone can't make a song sad. Shouldn't "sadness" also have something to do with the mere construction of the music and lyrics? I beg to offer another list. While it may not be exclusive, it's sure a heck of a lot of sadder (more sad?) than AOL's lame attempt. Plus I offer more music. Lo sabes.
I give you:
The 45 Saddest Songs I Own
by ellen_drell
45. Boyz II Men & Mariah Carey - One Sweet Day
"Sorry I never told you
All I wanted to say"
44. Green Day - The Time of Your Life
"It's something unpredictable
But in the end it's right
I hope you had the time of your life"
43. John Williams - Schindler's List Theme
42. Dar Williams - We Learned the Sea
"I am the captain
And I have been told
That tomorrow we land and my ship has been sold"
41. Yo La Tengo - I Feel Like Going Home
"A restless imagination
But for now, I move my feet on the ground
'Cause I feel like going home"
40. Frou Frou - The Dumbing-Down of Love
"And if i tell you
Lover alone without love
What will happen
Lover alone without love
Will you listen?
Lover alone without, without love"
39. Yoko Kanno - Eyes
38. Bee Gees - I Started A Joke
"I started a joke
Which started the whole world crying
But I didn't see
That the joke was on me"
37. Maria Solheim - The Man Who Left His Past
"Only time can heal a broken heart
I once heard a wise man say
But for the man who left his past
Will time just send him further away?"
36. Hyde - Shallow Sleep
"Somewhere in the calm
A feeling that nothing had ever changed
Your presence close beside me till I wake"
35. The Decemberists - Red Right Ankle
"This is the story of the boys who loved you
Who love you now and loved you then
And some were sweet, and some were cold and snuffed you
And some just laid around in bed"
34. Savage Garden - I Don't Know You Anymore
"I don't know you anymore
I don't recognize this place
The picture frames have changed
And so has your name"
33. Badly Drawn Boy - The Shining
"And you will dry this tear
Now that we're here
And grieve for me, not history"
32. Craig Armstrong - Glasgow Love Theme
31. Yoko Kanno - Farewell
30. Fisher - I Will Love You
"'Til my body is dust
'Til my soul is no more
I will love you, love you"
29. The Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
"And I'd give up forever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel me somehow"
28. Lost - Life Taken, Life Given
27. Duncan Sheik - Half-Life
"Maybe, I need to see the daylight
Leave behind the half-life
Don't you see I'm breaking down"
26. Howard Shore - Evenstar (featuring Isabel Bayrakdarian)
25. Sister Hazel - Champagne High
"I wasn't looking for a lifetime with you
And I never thought it would hurt just to hear
'I do' and 'I do'"
24. Dave Matthews Band - Grace Is Gone
"Take my heart, take me eyes cause I need them no more
If never again they'll fall upon the one I so adore"
23. The Hilliard Ensemble - Parce Mihi Domine
22. Train - Hopeless
"But you don't need my pictures on your wall
You say you need no one
And you don't need my secret midnight call
I guess you need no one"
21. The Beatles - Yesterday
"Why she
Had to go I don't know, she wouldn't say
I said
Something wrong, now I long for yesterday"
20. Jude - I Do
"I hope you're smiling when
He turns around and says I do"
19. Matchbox Twenty - Leave
"I'm not saying there wasn't nothing wrong
I just didn't think you'd ever get tired of me"
18. Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
"When busy streets a mess with people
Would stop to hold their heads heavy"
17. Sufjan Stevens - John Wayne Gracy, Jr.
"Twenty-seven people, even more
They were boys with their cars, summer jobs"
16. Smashing Pumpkins - Landslide
"Well, I've been afraid of changing cause I've
Built my life around you"
15. The Weepies - World Spins Madly On
"I thought of you
And where you'd gone
And the world spins madly on"
14. Damien Rice - Delicate
"Why'd you sing Hallelujah
If it means nothing to ya?
Why'd you sing with me at all?"
13. DeVotchKa - How It Ends
"And you already know
How it ends"
12. Tom McRae - Draw Down the Stars
"Draw down the stars
Draw down the stars
What's in your heart?"
11. Sufjan Stevens - Casimir Pulaski Day
"On the floor at the great divide
With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied
I am crying in the bathroom"
10. Jimmy Eat World - Hear You Me
"Song for a heart so big
God wouldn't let it live"
9. Kings of Convenience - Manhattan Skyline
"On the front page
A black and white picture
Of Manhattan skyline"
8. John Mayer - Comfortable
"She says the Bible is all that she reads
And prefers that I not use profanity
Your mouth was so dirty"
7. Snow Patrol - Run
"Light up, light up
As if you have a choice"
6. Sarah McLachlan - When She Loved Me
"When somebody loved me, everything was beautiful
Every hour we spent together lives within my heart"
5. Chris Isaak - Wicked Game
"I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you"
4. Tori Amos - Pretty Good Year
"Hold onto nothing
As fast as you can
Well still pretty good year"
3. Vega 4 - Burn and Fade
"I'm alone in the rain
With a movie in my head
About a dream you were in
Where we lost ourselves"
2. Doves - Ambition
"Ain't a love as perfect
Everybody knows it"
1. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
"Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah"
All links are yousendit files. This list is intended to be in order from least to most sad (45 being least, 1 being most), but I'm not the sadness expert (well, if you've been reading my LJ lately, you might disagree). Feel free to download any and all of it and decide for yourself.
I give you:
The 45 Saddest Songs I Own
by ellen_drell
45. Boyz II Men & Mariah Carey - One Sweet Day
"Sorry I never told you
All I wanted to say"
44. Green Day - The Time of Your Life
"It's something unpredictable
But in the end it's right
I hope you had the time of your life"
43. John Williams - Schindler's List Theme
42. Dar Williams - We Learned the Sea
"I am the captain
And I have been told
That tomorrow we land and my ship has been sold"
41. Yo La Tengo - I Feel Like Going Home
"A restless imagination
But for now, I move my feet on the ground
'Cause I feel like going home"
40. Frou Frou - The Dumbing-Down of Love
"And if i tell you
Lover alone without love
What will happen
Lover alone without love
Will you listen?
Lover alone without, without love"
39. Yoko Kanno - Eyes
38. Bee Gees - I Started A Joke
"I started a joke
Which started the whole world crying
But I didn't see
That the joke was on me"
37. Maria Solheim - The Man Who Left His Past
"Only time can heal a broken heart
I once heard a wise man say
But for the man who left his past
Will time just send him further away?"
36. Hyde - Shallow Sleep
"Somewhere in the calm
A feeling that nothing had ever changed
Your presence close beside me till I wake"
35. The Decemberists - Red Right Ankle
"This is the story of the boys who loved you
Who love you now and loved you then
And some were sweet, and some were cold and snuffed you
And some just laid around in bed"
34. Savage Garden - I Don't Know You Anymore
"I don't know you anymore
I don't recognize this place
The picture frames have changed
And so has your name"
33. Badly Drawn Boy - The Shining
"And you will dry this tear
Now that we're here
And grieve for me, not history"
32. Craig Armstrong - Glasgow Love Theme
31. Yoko Kanno - Farewell
30. Fisher - I Will Love You
"'Til my body is dust
'Til my soul is no more
I will love you, love you"
29. The Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
"And I'd give up forever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel me somehow"
28. Lost - Life Taken, Life Given
27. Duncan Sheik - Half-Life
"Maybe, I need to see the daylight
Leave behind the half-life
Don't you see I'm breaking down"
26. Howard Shore - Evenstar (featuring Isabel Bayrakdarian)
25. Sister Hazel - Champagne High
"I wasn't looking for a lifetime with you
And I never thought it would hurt just to hear
'I do' and 'I do'"
24. Dave Matthews Band - Grace Is Gone
"Take my heart, take me eyes cause I need them no more
If never again they'll fall upon the one I so adore"
23. The Hilliard Ensemble - Parce Mihi Domine
22. Train - Hopeless
"But you don't need my pictures on your wall
You say you need no one
And you don't need my secret midnight call
I guess you need no one"
21. The Beatles - Yesterday
"Why she
Had to go I don't know, she wouldn't say
I said
Something wrong, now I long for yesterday"
20. Jude - I Do
"I hope you're smiling when
He turns around and says I do"
19. Matchbox Twenty - Leave
"I'm not saying there wasn't nothing wrong
I just didn't think you'd ever get tired of me"
18. Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
"When busy streets a mess with people
Would stop to hold their heads heavy"
17. Sufjan Stevens - John Wayne Gracy, Jr.
"Twenty-seven people, even more
They were boys with their cars, summer jobs"
16. Smashing Pumpkins - Landslide
"Well, I've been afraid of changing cause I've
Built my life around you"
15. The Weepies - World Spins Madly On
"I thought of you
And where you'd gone
And the world spins madly on"
14. Damien Rice - Delicate
"Why'd you sing Hallelujah
If it means nothing to ya?
Why'd you sing with me at all?"
13. DeVotchKa - How It Ends
"And you already know
How it ends"
12. Tom McRae - Draw Down the Stars
"Draw down the stars
Draw down the stars
What's in your heart?"
11. Sufjan Stevens - Casimir Pulaski Day
"On the floor at the great divide
With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied
I am crying in the bathroom"
10. Jimmy Eat World - Hear You Me
"Song for a heart so big
God wouldn't let it live"
9. Kings of Convenience - Manhattan Skyline
"On the front page
A black and white picture
Of Manhattan skyline"
8. John Mayer - Comfortable
"She says the Bible is all that she reads
And prefers that I not use profanity
Your mouth was so dirty"
7. Snow Patrol - Run
"Light up, light up
As if you have a choice"
6. Sarah McLachlan - When She Loved Me
"When somebody loved me, everything was beautiful
Every hour we spent together lives within my heart"
5. Chris Isaak - Wicked Game
"I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you"
4. Tori Amos - Pretty Good Year
"Hold onto nothing
As fast as you can
Well still pretty good year"
3. Vega 4 - Burn and Fade
"I'm alone in the rain
With a movie in my head
About a dream you were in
Where we lost ourselves"
2. Doves - Ambition
"Ain't a love as perfect
Everybody knows it"
1. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
"Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah"
All links are yousendit files. This list is intended to be in order from least to most sad (45 being least, 1 being most), but I'm not the sadness expert (well, if you've been reading my LJ lately, you might disagree). Feel free to download any and all of it and decide for yourself.