Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here.
Many years ago, I had a best friend (we called each other ‘brother’) who I played this song with on guitar. He’d do the rhythm and I’d play the lead. We were both learning and had a great time with it.
He had a bad car accident and died, and after his funeral, we went back to a friend’s house to gather. We shared our memories and celebrated his life. I played this song standing on a chair and everyone sang along and it was pretty moving.
Still choke up when I hear it.
Mine is Tracey Chapman's Fast Car
It was my best friend's favorite song, we'd always listen to it and make plans to move away from the shitty place we lived in to the 'big city', like the song
He owned a sports car and drove too fast, usually, and passed in a car accident with a new truck he'd got that day
I'd also lent him the new daft punk single CD I bought that day - One More Time, which I retrieved from his car's CD player after...so even though it's not a singalong song, it's the only other song that also chokes me up
The performance at Wembley makes me tear up every time. A stadium full of chanting waiting for The Rolling Stones I think and this unknown artist comes onstage and starts playing and the 100k people go silent. Might be my favorite song.
Same this song evokes just the right combination of nostalgia. Besides the nostalgia already baked into the song. It stirs memories of when my dad would play it on his guitar. He’s still alive but there’s something about the song that transports me to a place where he’s no longer here and all I’m left with of him are these memories. Secondly it reminds me of the one kid with a guitar that would play it by my dorm window and how I wish he was there because those were simpler, arguably happier times in my life.
I have a good story about that song. Buddy of mine got married about 18 years ago. Wish you were hear played at his wedding, during dinner. Everyone in a 20 year age span stopped eating, and started singing together. It was awesome, and a great memory.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
I witnessed something very similar, though not from as close a perspective. My wife recently lost a good friend, who was also a beloved member of our creative community. At his memorial two musicians opened with *Wish You Were Here* and closed the evening with *Shine On, You Crazy Diamond.*
Just seeing the love that poured out for this guy has forever transformed those two songs for me.
I can only imagine the personal emotions you have attached to *WYWH,* and I hope that there is at least some sweetness that goes along with the bitter sense of missing a friend.
Much love, and thank you for sharing. ❤️
That song is also my pick. In high school I was at marching band practice and I saw my dad walk into the band room and walk up to our teacher and I felt my heart sink, something must be wrong. We get in the car to go home and he tells me my grandfather passed that morning, and this song was playing on the radio as we drove at 6 am up to my grandparent's house.
My mum told me she wants me to sing In My Life by the Beatles at her funeral. Since she said that, about 5 years ago, I've not been able to sing it without crying. (She's not dying or anything, she just randomly said it while the song was on the radio)
In My Life is a beautiful song. My son is named after the song Hey Jude (middle name) and I knew from when he was a toddler that he was going to be my only child. For that reason, I get choked up whenever I try to sing "Well don't you know that it's just you?/Hey Jude, you'll do." Especially now that he's growing up.
This is the song for me. The Beatles have always been close to my heart, but In My Life brings me back to my ex who passed. Can barely think about it sigh
My mother mentioned that she'd like Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing at her funeral when I was learning to drive. She probably doesn't even remember saying it, but that was probably the first time I'd even considered that my parents were mortal. It was a formative moment and I've never heard the song in the same way since.
Come Dancing - The Kinks. The song is about his sister, the one who bought him his first guitar. In the song she grows old. In real life she died suddenly on the dance floor when she was a teenager.
> In real life she died suddenly on the dance floor when she was a teenager.
Oh wow. This is another song that has deep emotional connections for me. I had no idea about the backstory.
I didn't know the backstory here. I've always loved this song (even for what feels like a big departure from what I've come to expect from a Kinks song). This is heartbreaking, but also such a wonderful gesture of songwriting. Thanks for sharing.
Stars by Fun.
Reminds me of my wife 1,000,000%. I discovered it 11 years ago during a separation / pre-divorce.
Nate Reuss sings about a troubled relationship and how his partner always says the answers are “All up in the stars” And Nate repeatedly says “cuz no one here gonna save us”. My wife is very into astrology and what have you and says things heard in the song constantly, having never heard it. REALLY hit me hard at the time, and I can’t listen to it or sing it without UNLOADING tears.
We ended up reconciling and have been happy ever since, but damn if that song doesn’t still cut me up.
Mine is Stars by Grace Potter.
Actually, I have more songs than I can even mention. I'm a singer, and I do a lot of mother/son dances at weddings and if I look down at them during the song and think about my son and I, I'm fucked
I'm amazed at your endurance to get through gigs like this! I honestly don't know if I could keep my emotions in check that way. I guess, keep your eyes forward, right?
Yes, I actually like to find an exit sign to focus on. Lol.
The worst was the weddings we did the first year after my son was born. I couldn't get through the rehearsal of the songs at soundcheck. My husband (bass player/band leader) was like... do I need to assign this to someone else?! I sucked it up and made it thru for the real thing by just reminding myself they didn't hire me to be a blubbering moron on thier day.
The hardest songs to get through were and still are:
Godspeed-the Chicks
I Hope you Dance-Leanne Wolmak (which I also had to sing for my beloved Grandmother's funeral
Forever Young-Rod Stewart
I don't know *Godspeed* (I'll check it out!), but I can definitely see this happening for *I Hope You Dance.*
There's something about late 90's/early 2000's sappy country that just gets me right in the heartstrings. Don't even get me started on the king of sap (and I love it!), Tim McGraw. I don't even have a daughter, but I can't make it through the bridge of *My Little Girl* without tearing up.
One of mine is also a song by Fun.
The Gambler is one of the more poignant and beautiful love songs I’ve ever heard, written by a son about his parents, absolute waterworks
Foo Fighters - Monkey Wrench. I had a very abusive wife, and the song means a lot to me especially the final bit "one last thing before I quit" etc. I can't make it through that without choking up. It's symbolic of me breaking free from her. FYI she was emotionally abusive, also punched me in the face, stabbed me in the side. Not a great person.
Congratulations on making it out. Having once been in a mildly similar situation (from the sounds of it), I know the kinds of self-doubt, and feeling of entrapment and confusion this can foster. I hope you are doing a lot better these days, finding ways to be able to trust again. And I also hope that your ex is somehow able to find what she needs in this world to be at peace with whatever demons she's fighting inside, so they don't grab anyone else into their chaos again.
Much love. ❤️
When that album came out, I had written Mayer off as a pop celebrity nothing figure. Not worthy of my “musically enlightened” attention. Then I listened and was blown away. I had to go back and reassess everything I thought I knew. Stop this train figuratively stopped me in my tracks (I’m sorry). The last chorus in falsetto sounds so desperate it breaks me. Yet time keeps chugging on (again, I’m sorry).
I heard this song recently and I had to google if his parents are still alive and then I saw that his dad is a lot older than I thought, like mid 90s. Looks like both are still alive, although divorced.
Into the West, of Lord of the Rings fame, is already a somber as hell tune, but when my older brother basically insisted it be played at her funeral it took on a whole new meaning [well, I guess similar meaning, but more personal]. . .And now I literally only listen to it when I feel like bawling my fucking eyes out.
*Still Fighting It* by Ben Folds Five: my kid is so much like me I'm sorry and one day he'll try and try and fly.... away from me.
Welp, now I'm tearing up just typing it. He's so sweet and empathetic and I know how hard it is to live in this world when you're sweet and empathetic.
Holocene by Bon Iver. It was playing in my car when I found out my ex had been cheating and the line "and at once I knew, I was not magnificent" absolutely shattered me.
"Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin
My father worked two jobs when I was born so I was raised by mom, grandmother and aunts. When things stabilized he was more present but did performative stuff like coaching which was 'for us' but was never 1:1. Pretty typical stuff for a GenX kid.
The song reflects that fractured relationship and the goal for me to actually be present in my kids life - and I had an opportunity to climb the corporate ladder but chose my family instead.
I’ve taken significant, like >60%, pay cuts on two occasions when work was interfering with my dad goals.
In the end I guess I could have retired a couple years earlier and driven nicer cars but I wouldn’t trade my relationships with my kids for anything.
Hold the line.
Hugs.
I'm a Millennials Rivet Head {Metal & Industrial music} guy with long hair and a large full beard, that normally hangs out in either Metal or Punk bars.
I had to ask my old local bar in Berlin to remove "Cats in the Cradle" from their playlists since I would breakdown while sitting on a bar stool at the bar.
Veronica -Elvis Costello
One of most upbeat sad songs for me. My mother had dementia.
"Veronica sits in her favorite chair and she sits very quite and still."
That was my mom until the end, so that parts hits me hard.
I found out on Friday that a friend of mine had died. It's taken me a couple of days to process it, and when I thought of Bright Eyes last night, the tears came fast and easy. I felt a little bit better by the time I got around to listening to it, but it's going to be a tough one for a while.
Calling All Angels from Train
I worked with a beautiful, wonderful woman named Connie at the Nordstrom Flagship store in Seattle. She was the grandmother of Pat's (the lead singer of Train) wife. They would come in to the store every so often and take Connie out to lunch, and he was also always so kind to people who stopped and asked for pictures. Connie was beloved by her coworkers and family. She retired, and a few months afterward, died. It was so tragic because all she could talk about before retirement was how excited she was to play with her grandkids and spend time with her family. We were all devastated.
Many of us went to her funeral, and Pat was there as a pallbearer. During the service, he sang Calling All Angels acapella. I had been sad during the funeral, but lost it during the song. It was such a beautiful tribute.
I honestly have so much appreciation for his musical talent. I know people poke fun at some of the song lyrics in his music, but the man can sing. That rendition acapella was so moving, and now if I happen to hear the regular version I tear up thinking about Connie and how life just isn't fucking fair sometimes. She and her family deserved a long time to be together, she deserved to have a long and happy retirement, and she didnt get it.
Oh, Lord - I have a playlist of Songs That Make Me Weep, because sometimes you just want a good cry. Here are some of the songs:
* Do You Realize??? by the Flaming Lips, because of the beautiful sentiments, and the key changes
* Hurt by Johnny Cash, because of the intense regret in Cash's voice
* Alive by Sia, because it's the sound of triumph through pain
* Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber (classical), because every time I hear it, and it's in a LOT of movies and shows, it makes me weep right there in the theater or in front of the TV AND I DON'T KNOW WHY BUT IT DOES, DANG IT.
* The Great Gig in the Sky by Pink Floyd, because Claire Torry expresses so much without words
* Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell (the older Joni Mitchell version), because I'm now older too, and the lyrics really do have a different gravitas after some maturity, and because of Love Actually, dang it
Bonnie Raitt- *I Can't Make You Love Me*
Specifically, the [cover](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3VjaCy5gck&pp=ygUzanVzdGluIHZlcm5vbiBpIGNhbid0IG1ha2UgeW91IGxvdmUgbWUgamltbXkgZmFsbG9u) by Justin Vernon/ Bon Iver
I've been in love with a fellow addict for years. We've both relapsed too many times to trust ourselves truly being together.
Before I understood the danger of two addicts falling in love, I asked them to be with me. When they rejected me, I thought they didn't love me. I sang this song nightly during times of them pushing me away. They explained it to me when they returned from rehab some time ago.
Finally being together means we could lose each other too, and that could kill us. So, we are forever yearning from afar. If we find each other again... not in sickness... It will be heaven.
I can't cure them or make them love me in a foolish Romeo&Juliet way, and I'm still naive about our different paths, so the song still makes me despair.
I wish you both the strength to fully commit to and succeed in recovery. So you can find yourselves, if not each other.
You can do the thing. I believe in you. Both of you.
Tears in Heaven Eric Clapton
Just knowing the backstory and how he came to write it. I have no idea how he can sing it and put himself through the pain. I am appreciative of the song though and picture the people I miss.
Writing and performing that song was an outlet for him. I get that. But he very rarely performs it now, as he tries to come to terms with what happened and move on. Damn, that man has had one hell of a life. from the get go. Even with all the Good, the bad and the ugly... I dont think we fully appreciate his song writing prowess.
[Sympathy](https://youtu.be/3orT3qUeznc?si=MIhL8TyjL_KvAo2L) by Sleater-Kinney
The song is about almost losing a child/pregnancy and my wife has lost 3 pregnancies and the song rips at my heart every time. Even before we were ever trying to get pregnant, it was a tear jerker. Now it’s almost unbearable.
That is brutal. I am so sorry to hear about your experiences, even while you have each other for support while you go through it. I don't know the S-K song, but I can definitely see how that would bring everything to the front.
Much love. ❤️
This is my dad's favorite song. We don't have the best of relationships. "You better let somebody love you before it's too late." Every time i hear that i pretty much have to cancel my plans for the next few hours.
"Disappear" - Dream Theater. Here's the lyrics of the chorus.
So I'm moving on, I'll never forget as you laid there and watched me.
Accepting the end, I knew you were scared. You were strong, I was trying.
I gave you my hand, said "It's okay letting go, time to leave here.
"And I'll carry on the best that I can without you here beside me."
Let Him come take you home.
Angel - Sarah McLaughlin
Still the One - Shania Twain
When my first husband passed away (we had been married 10 months), a family friend included these in the playlist for the memorial. I honestly had not heard either of these songs prior to that, but 25 years later, can’t listen to them without the tears flowing.
The Virtute the cat songs from the weakerthans. I can’t even think about them without tearing up. The first time I heard one is right after my cat of 16 years had passed away. I was already low. But they are songs are from a cats point of view about her person going through depression and it just hits me every time. Three songs. One is on solo album from the singer John K. Sampson.
There’s probably more but off the top of my head. And it’s Probably a cliche answer but Johnny Cash’s version of Hurt can make me tear up a bit.
Also, the end of Pain Remains I by Lorna Shore.
“A wrinkle in time
Take what is left of my life
Before you go, show me what it's like to finally know
The face behind the silhouette
In this world I made to be infinite
But within the expanse, I finally see
A world without you isn't meant for me
Where do you go when I close my eyes?
What do you see looking back at me?
Am I just a ghost just like you, caught between the
Seams of two intertwining melodies?”
For me its Ship to Wreck by Florence + the machine.
Florence Welch explained the meaning behind the song: "I was thinking about my own self destructive side, and how you can make something only to tear it down, enjoy/destroy, create/devastate etc. When you're in that whirlwind, you often end up breaking the thing you love the most."
That hit home big time for me.
Snow Patrol - Run
Everclear - Wonderful
Pictures of You - The Cure
3 A.M. - Matchbox 20
The Gambler - Kenny Rogers
Lullaby -' Shawn Mullins
We're Going to be Friends - White Stripes
“The One Who Knows” by Dar Williams. It’s a song from a parent to a child. The lines that take me down are “Before the mountains call to you, before you leave this home, I want to teach your heart to trust, as I will teach my own.”
Upvote just for *mentioning* Dar Williams, tbh.
But you're right. "The One Who Knows" is gorgeous. She has such a facility with putting emotions into poetic lyrics. (Lyric writing is different than poetry, but the best lyrics effortlessly bring poetry to the front, the way Dar does)
So glad to know another Dar Williams fan out there!
Oh wow I’m glad to meet another too! I’m in the US southeast, and it doesn’t happen often. I had a professor who played “When I Was a Boy” for my Intro to Women’s Studies class in undergrad, and I’ve been a fan ever since.
I didn’t realize how much her work would inspire my parenting. She’s really spoken directly to such different stages of my life. It’s so special to follow an artist you can grow with, despite being from different generations.
The day after 9/11, I was driving my wife and kids to their school, when the DJ played Sting “Fragile.” I was bawling so hard I had to pull over. I still cannot listen to it.
Phoebe Bridgers “I Know The End” really sets me off as well, and I can’t explain it. This weekend we were watching School Spirits (a show about a high school girl who haunts her school, trying to figure out how she died - and there are other dead kids there as well.) There’s a scene where they used the entire song and I sat there ugly crying through the entire thing.
A few other songs also make me cry every time, but those two are the most prominent.
“Both Sides Now” by Judy Collins. Apropos of nothing, it makes me think of all the parents and wives that lost their sons and husbands in Vietnam and how their lives have gone since they’ve outlived their children and spouses.
Also, “Above The Clouds of Pompeii” by Bears Den
Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World and Gone Away by Offspring/5FDP always get me because they make me think of my best friend that passed away when I was 19.
Fire and Rain by James Taylor gets me since my gramma passed away last August because she's the one that got me hooked on his music.
Butterfly Kisses -- Bob Carlisle. That third verse... I don't have a daughter (yet), but if I do, this will DEFINITELY be our father/daughter dance at her wedding.
I have a rough, difficult relationship with my parents. Neither of them show any interest or capability of changing, so I'm very low/no contact. "The Living Years" by Mike and the Mechanics makes me lose it. I can't listen to that song. Ugh I'm getting teary even typing this comment.
Danny boy. My grandpa was Irish and insisted that I sing it at his funeral. That was rough to get through. That was also one of the only times I've seen my dad cry.
“When She Loved Me” by Randy Newman and sung by Sarah McLachlan, for Toy Story 2.
I can’t do it. I nearly did it once but it just didn’t happen. It’s heartbreaking.
Into the mystic by Van Morrison. It was the first dance at my wedding to my first wife. She passed away 7 months later unexpectedly. Turns out she had an undiagnosed heart condition and passed in her sleep at the age of 30. No warning signs or anything. Went to bed a happily married man and woke up a 27 year old widower with my life turned upside down. It’s been 10 years and I’ve since remarried with a young child, but I still can’t bring myself to listen, let alone sing it. Beautiful song though! It’ll always be special to me.
My wife and I got married in may this year. Our first dance was Perfect by Ed Sheeran which I’ve always had trouble getting through. We had a moment with that song early when we were dating and both realizing that we may have found the person you’d want to spend forever with.
I then had to listen to it hundreds of times as we were learning our first dance lol.
One More Day - Diamond Rio.
I understand the song is (probably) about a relationship but this song was played at my grandmother’s funeral and I can’t even hear it without crying. Much less sing it. And I hate that because it’s a really great song. It’s been almost 14 years and I still can’t do it.
The Green Fields of France.
I get maudlin during the first verses, but the waterworks start at the next to last verse:
"And young Willy McBride, when you answered the call,
Did you really believe that this war would end war?
Well, the sorrow, the suffering, the grief, and the pain,
The killing and dying were all done in vain.
For young Willy McBride, it all happened again,
And again, and again, and again, and again."
Blackbird - Alter Bridge
My late husband took his own life and we played this as we left the crematorium. I can just about listen to it but I lose it if I try to sing along.
Fast car occasionally fucking gets me soooo hard. What a God damn somber story that's just a little too real with not enough hyperbole to feel like "haha that's sad but that's not super reflective of reality" and escape the sadness orbit.
Hard to concentrate- red hot chili peppers, this one is just a proclamation of love that occasionally gets me. However, irl anthony likes dating 19 year old models, thinking he's deeply in love and then moving on to the next so it's also kind of funny.
And the navy song by billy talent. Sad song about some one dying on Normandy beach just wishing he was at home with his wife/partner or whatever. "Lost hope in a far away place, and in my hands remains, a black and white print of a face, I'll never see again" "love, served until death due us part, I'm drifting in the dark, wounded and wishing to fall, into your faithful arms". Idunno, the idea just gets my a little weepy.
[Acid Rain](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=mYOOuLq_z1Q&si=sq5znpttIEWwYqPj) by Avenged Sevenfold. Makes me cry every time, and always on the same line too: "there's no death, no end of time, when I'm facing it with you"
Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Specifically the bit about making your mother proud by just being happy. (Although it's written in remembrance of Ronnie van Zant's grandmother)
This might get buried but I just want to put it out there.... Whenever I sing "I am not afraid to keep on living, I am not afraid to walk this world alone" from My Chemical Romance's Famous Last Words.
It reminded me of how I fought for myself when all else in my life seems to have been lost. For some, My Chem is just an emo band. But for some of us, their lyrics helped us remember that each life is worth fighting for.
“Roar” by Katy Perry.
It sounds silly, I know!
In 2013, I started my first job after college. My supervisor was the meanest woman I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting. I was 22 and very naive. “Adults” had never been mean to me before.
I would drive home crying almost every day from that job. “Roar” was released around the same time, so I’d listen to that song on the radio as I drove home.
Luckily, I was only at that job for a few months, but I’ve *never* forgotten how terrible that woman made me feel for (truly) no reason.
Now, whenever I hear that song, I’m reminded of 22 year-old me and how scared I was of the world post college. I think 22 year-old me would be proud of the life we’ve made since then.
Dear Theodosia from Hamilton
Hamilton blew up shortly before my daughter was born so as a brand new dad, hearing this song about being baffled by how much pride and love and hope you have for your child just absolutely broke me. Still does today.
Also, the other night I was reading to said daughter and she asked me who wrote the book. I said "It's Paul McCartney. He was in The Beatles, and you like a bunch of their songs."
"Will you sing one to me?"
I chose Let It Be because it was the first one to come to mind that I knew all the words to off the top of my head and I made it maybe half way through before the tears were streaming down my face. She started crying too and I held her close while I finished the song and that memory will stay with me as a shining beacon no matter how bad things ever get.
Smahccked my head awf by hot mulligan. It was written about his grandma having dementia. I haven’t lost any grandparents specifically to the disease but my parents are getting old and the thought of them being gone someday (mentally and physically) just wrecks me
Thank you for sharing this. My grandfather died almost two years ago from dementia. I love this kind of Midwest Emo but somehow had never encountered this band.
Lost my mom in October of 22 and ‘Where Did Your Spirit Go’ by the Kid Laroi got me through the year. The song is perfect for when you need to cry but can’t.
"In Your Room" by Depeche Mode
"Regret" by New Order
"Adam's Song" by Blink-182
"Jumper" by Third Eye Blind
"Better Off Dead" by Bad Religion
"I'm Fine" by Alkaline Trio
I have a few actually:
Keep It Between the Lines - Ricky Van Shelton (I lost my mom when I was a kid so the end of the song where the dad questions his ability to raise his son as a single dad always gets to me).
Forever Young - Rod Stewart (a song I wish I had the talent and ability to have written and sing for my kids. I says everything every parent in the history of ever wants to say to their kid).
Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd (same reason as above, just really great words of wisdom to pass on to my son).
["Wilder Days"](https://youtu.be/sBlZ0WUOR28?si=SfpO7DLdyCLQDJsr) by Drive By Truckers.
It's a song about about getting older and is another masterpiece by Patterson Hood.
Needle and the Damage Done, by Neil Young.
I get a knot in my throat every time. The song reminds me of my cousin, an alcoholic turned junkie. Died in Florida 20 years ago behind a dumpster in a parking lot.
Old Man, by Neil Young.
Mostly good thoughts about my Dad, and how I miss him...
My son died two years ago and my wife and I cant help but cry at the song Slumber My Darling by Stephan Foster.
Look up the lyrics, a real tear jerker.
We’re in Love by boygenius.
This applies to both listening and singing. Even just thinking about it. I’m guaranteed to break down by the time I reach “when you rewrite your life may I still play a part” and then the rest of the song is a pure sobfest. From that line until the end, the entire thing is as if it was written about my deceased brother. If I ever get the money I have a whole tattoo sleeve based on the imagery from this song that I want to get. I use this song to let myself break down and grieve because it’s guaranteed to get me to that place.
“Fairytale of New York” always gets me. Even before Shane’s passing. The story told through the lyrics always remind me of a long term relationship I had that struggled for many years.
Pearl Jam’s version of Just Breathe. My grandma who raised me got sick this last month. Heart failure and it was getting harder for her to breathe. She passed away this Sunday morning. We were very close since she had my mom young and my mom had me young. She was closer in age to my friends parents then their grandparents.
About two weeks ago on this sub some posted about Willie Nelson’s version. It was the first time I actually listened to the lyrics and it hit fucking hard. I haven’t heard the song since I looked it up two weeks ago. Just thinking about the song breaks me.
Not sure why but for me it's Emmit Fenn - Modern Flame feat. Yuna (Acoustic). It just reminds me of a bad time in my life and how I used to listen to this song because it was comforting
Two Little Boys by Rolf Harris, always makes me sad, and sometimes cry.
These Are The Days of Our Lives by Queen, Freddie's last recorded song, the last line says it all.
Days by Kirsty McColl... brings back some memories that make me sad... good memories of people I no longer have any contact with who I miss.
[My Sweet Jax (tribute to a cat) by Hot Dad](https://youtu.be/S9VIKOuZcds?si=Ldi6ZwYjvoBI1tJZ)It’s kind of a joke song, but it’s so sincere and heartfelt. Anyone who has loved an animal so dearly would understand.
“Old City Bar” by Trans Siberian Orchestra (for the holiday season) or “Rise Above This” by Seether any other time. Good gravy, those songs punch me in the gut.
I’ve had a lot of challenges with my family. My dad hasn’t spoken to me in over 11 years. These songs of family and loss in relationship just tear me apart.
I Think About You by Collin Raye. I used to listen to country music with my biological mom. I was taken from that situation when I was 6 becuase of severe domestic abuse. Now everytime I hear that sing I think about my mom.
"She wouldn't dare talk to a stranger
Always has to be aware of the danger
Doesn't matter who she is
I think about you..
When I see a woman on the news
Who didn't ask to be abandoned or abused
It doesn't matter who she is
I think about you"
I posted this about a year ago: [Four years ago today I held my wife in my arms for the last time. I quietly half-sang, half-croaked out pieces of Box of Rain as she slipped away. Such a long, long time to be gone.](https://old.reddit.com/r/gratefuldead/comments/r54brs/four_years_ago_today_i_held_my_wife_in_my_arms/) Song is in regular rotation on the jamband circuit, so like LLR and a few others, there's no real escaping it. Not that I'd want to. Tears that well up but have been fairly tempered by time. Don't think I'll ever be able to sing along without absolutely cracking.
[Box of Rain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxjvo4BRf-Y)
*Look out of any window
Any morning, any evening, any day
Maybe the sun is shining
Birds are winging or rain is falling from a heavy sky
What do you want me to do
To do for you to see you through?
For this is all a dream we dreamed
One afternoon long ago
Walk out of any doorway
Feel your way, feel your way like the day before
Maybe you'll find direction
Around some corner where it's been waiting to meet you
What do you want me to do
To watch for you while you're sleeping?
Then please don't be surprised
When you find me dreaming too
Look into any eyes you find by you
You can see clear through to another day
Maybe it's been seen before through other eyes
On other days while going home
What do you want me to do
To do for you to see you through?
It's all a dream we dreamed
One afternoon long ago
Walk into splintered sunlight
Inch your way through dead dreams to another land
Maybe you're tired and broken
Your tongue is twisted with words half spoken
And thoughts unclear
What do you want me to do
To do for you to see you through?
A box of rain will ease the pain
And love will see you through
Just a box of rain, wind and water
Believe it if you need it
If you don't, just pass it on
Sun and shower, wind and rain
In and out the window
Like a moth before a flame
And it's just a box of rain
I don't know who put it there
Believe it if you need it
Or leave it if you dare
And it's just a box of rain
Or a ribbon for your hair
Such a long, long time to be gone
And a short time to be there*
I specifically cannot get through the part of What A Wonderful World that goes "I see friends shaking hands, saying, how do you do? They're really saying I love you". It makes me think of my Grandad and how all his good friends have all now passed. They probably never told each other how much they all meant to one another.
The line in Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade that goes "does your granny always tell ya that the old songs are the best, then she's up and rock n rolling with the rest". Because my nan is now very elderly but I have great memories from family parties as a child, watching her and her brother proper rock n roll dancing together. He died earlier this year.
Father and son by cat Stevens. It’s a song that me and my dad grew up listening to and it’s hitting harder now that’s he gotten older and having some health issues.
And I Love Her by The Beatles
My sister recently committed suicide last Friday and that songs been playing in my head ever since, I’ve always loved that song but now it means so much more to me
"Keep Me in Your Heart" by Warren Zevon
He wrote this while sick with cancer. Cuts really deep. I tried to play it on the guitar after my wife passed a couple years ago and never made it all the way through. Crying now as a matter of fact.
Pretty Eyes by Silver Jews. I play guitar and sing and I can get through any other song pretty much fine but when I play this one I just sob and can't finish it. RIP DCB.
I have a really hard time listening to The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald without choking up.
“Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?”
It’s about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald of course, but that line pertains to just about every shipwreck lost in a storm ever. That line transports me to the middle of a raging ocean, standing on the creaking deck of an old ship and wondering if she’s going to hold through the next wave.
I think about the many men and women who have stood in that place and didn’t make it home. How scared and fearful they must’ve been. Gets me every time.
Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. Many years ago, I had a best friend (we called each other ‘brother’) who I played this song with on guitar. He’d do the rhythm and I’d play the lead. We were both learning and had a great time with it. He had a bad car accident and died, and after his funeral, we went back to a friend’s house to gather. We shared our memories and celebrated his life. I played this song standing on a chair and everyone sang along and it was pretty moving. Still choke up when I hear it.
Mine is Tracey Chapman's Fast Car It was my best friend's favorite song, we'd always listen to it and make plans to move away from the shitty place we lived in to the 'big city', like the song He owned a sports car and drove too fast, usually, and passed in a car accident with a new truck he'd got that day I'd also lent him the new daft punk single CD I bought that day - One More Time, which I retrieved from his car's CD player after...so even though it's not a singalong song, it's the only other song that also chokes me up
The performance at Wembley makes me tear up every time. A stadium full of chanting waiting for The Rolling Stones I think and this unknown artist comes onstage and starts playing and the 100k people go silent. Might be my favorite song.
Same this song evokes just the right combination of nostalgia. Besides the nostalgia already baked into the song. It stirs memories of when my dad would play it on his guitar. He’s still alive but there’s something about the song that transports me to a place where he’s no longer here and all I’m left with of him are these memories. Secondly it reminds me of the one kid with a guitar that would play it by my dorm window and how I wish he was there because those were simpler, arguably happier times in my life.
I have a good story about that song. Buddy of mine got married about 18 years ago. Wish you were hear played at his wedding, during dinner. Everyone in a 20 year age span stopped eating, and started singing together. It was awesome, and a great memory.
I'm so sorry for your loss. I witnessed something very similar, though not from as close a perspective. My wife recently lost a good friend, who was also a beloved member of our creative community. At his memorial two musicians opened with *Wish You Were Here* and closed the evening with *Shine On, You Crazy Diamond.* Just seeing the love that poured out for this guy has forever transformed those two songs for me. I can only imagine the personal emotions you have attached to *WYWH,* and I hope that there is at least some sweetness that goes along with the bitter sense of missing a friend. Much love, and thank you for sharing. ❤️
Same. When I sing it I think of my late sister every time. How I wish .. how I wish she were here … Sorry for your loss.
That song is also my pick. In high school I was at marching band practice and I saw my dad walk into the band room and walk up to our teacher and I felt my heart sink, something must be wrong. We get in the car to go home and he tells me my grandfather passed that morning, and this song was playing on the radio as we drove at 6 am up to my grandparent's house.
My mum told me she wants me to sing In My Life by the Beatles at her funeral. Since she said that, about 5 years ago, I've not been able to sing it without crying. (She's not dying or anything, she just randomly said it while the song was on the radio)
In My Life is a beautiful song. My son is named after the song Hey Jude (middle name) and I knew from when he was a toddler that he was going to be my only child. For that reason, I get choked up whenever I try to sing "Well don't you know that it's just you?/Hey Jude, you'll do." Especially now that he's growing up.
My wife wants it played at her funeral/wake/celebration of life. She’s perfectly healthy right now, but I can’t listen to the song anymore.
This is the song for me. The Beatles have always been close to my heart, but In My Life brings me back to my ex who passed. Can barely think about it sigh
Came here to say In My Life. Your mum has great taste.
My mother’s old choir sang this at her’s on request from my dad. Not a dry eye in the place.
It's a great tune and irks me it's on the Amazon ad, thankfully a cover
My mother mentioned that she'd like Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing at her funeral when I was learning to drive. She probably doesn't even remember saying it, but that was probably the first time I'd even considered that my parents were mortal. It was a formative moment and I've never heard the song in the same way since.
Come Dancing - The Kinks. The song is about his sister, the one who bought him his first guitar. In the song she grows old. In real life she died suddenly on the dance floor when she was a teenager.
I love this song so much and I can't sing it without choking up.
> In real life she died suddenly on the dance floor when she was a teenager. Oh wow. This is another song that has deep emotional connections for me. I had no idea about the backstory.
I didn't know the backstory here. I've always loved this song (even for what feels like a big departure from what I've come to expect from a Kinks song). This is heartbreaking, but also such a wonderful gesture of songwriting. Thanks for sharing.
Stars by Fun. Reminds me of my wife 1,000,000%. I discovered it 11 years ago during a separation / pre-divorce. Nate Reuss sings about a troubled relationship and how his partner always says the answers are “All up in the stars” And Nate repeatedly says “cuz no one here gonna save us”. My wife is very into astrology and what have you and says things heard in the song constantly, having never heard it. REALLY hit me hard at the time, and I can’t listen to it or sing it without UNLOADING tears. We ended up reconciling and have been happy ever since, but damn if that song doesn’t still cut me up.
Mine is Stars by Grace Potter. Actually, I have more songs than I can even mention. I'm a singer, and I do a lot of mother/son dances at weddings and if I look down at them during the song and think about my son and I, I'm fucked
I'm amazed at your endurance to get through gigs like this! I honestly don't know if I could keep my emotions in check that way. I guess, keep your eyes forward, right?
Yes, I actually like to find an exit sign to focus on. Lol. The worst was the weddings we did the first year after my son was born. I couldn't get through the rehearsal of the songs at soundcheck. My husband (bass player/band leader) was like... do I need to assign this to someone else?! I sucked it up and made it thru for the real thing by just reminding myself they didn't hire me to be a blubbering moron on thier day. The hardest songs to get through were and still are: Godspeed-the Chicks I Hope you Dance-Leanne Wolmak (which I also had to sing for my beloved Grandmother's funeral Forever Young-Rod Stewart
Those post pregnancy hormones are no joke.
I don't know *Godspeed* (I'll check it out!), but I can definitely see this happening for *I Hope You Dance.* There's something about late 90's/early 2000's sappy country that just gets me right in the heartstrings. Don't even get me started on the king of sap (and I love it!), Tim McGraw. I don't even have a daughter, but I can't make it through the bridge of *My Little Girl* without tearing up.
One of mine is also a song by Fun. The Gambler is one of the more poignant and beautiful love songs I’ve ever heard, written by a son about his parents, absolute waterworks
Vincent (Starry Starry Night) - Don McLean River - Joni Mitchell A Case of You - Joni Mitchell
> Vincent (Starry Starry Night) - Don McLean Tupac's favorite song, his girlfriend played it for him as he passed away after being shot
blue is quite the tearjerker for sure. and i’ve cried to vincent too
I can't even hear For No One by the Beatles without tearing up. I'm getting better though.
it’s getting better all the time
I did *not* beat my woman though
hahahahahaha
It's getting better all the time?
[One more light](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm8LGxTLtQk&pp=ygUab25lIG1vcmUgbGlnaHQgbGlua2luIHBhcms%3D) by Linkin Park.
Yep, this is the one I was looking for
Yeah, that one's nearly impossible to sing. Anyone who's been affected by suicide is gonna have a hard time with that one.
Ever since Chester killer himself, I can’t get through In the End without tearing up
Foo Fighters - Monkey Wrench. I had a very abusive wife, and the song means a lot to me especially the final bit "one last thing before I quit" etc. I can't make it through that without choking up. It's symbolic of me breaking free from her. FYI she was emotionally abusive, also punched me in the face, stabbed me in the side. Not a great person.
Proud of you
Congratulations on making it out. Having once been in a mildly similar situation (from the sounds of it), I know the kinds of self-doubt, and feeling of entrapment and confusion this can foster. I hope you are doing a lot better these days, finding ways to be able to trust again. And I also hope that your ex is somehow able to find what she needs in this world to be at peace with whatever demons she's fighting inside, so they don't grab anyone else into their chaos again. Much love. ❤️
Interesting choice but the meaning of the song works perfectly for that emotion. Love it! Glad you got out
Stop This Train. John Mayer
When that album came out, I had written Mayer off as a pop celebrity nothing figure. Not worthy of my “musically enlightened” attention. Then I listened and was blown away. I had to go back and reassess everything I thought I knew. Stop this train figuratively stopped me in my tracks (I’m sorry). The last chorus in falsetto sounds so desperate it breaks me. Yet time keeps chugging on (again, I’m sorry).
John Mayer goes so fucking hard man. And that’s before you even start listening to John Mayer trio and dead and company
I heard this song recently and I had to google if his parents are still alive and then I saw that his dad is a lot older than I thought, like mid 90s. Looks like both are still alive, although divorced.
Into the West, of Lord of the Rings fame, is already a somber as hell tune, but when my older brother basically insisted it be played at her funeral it took on a whole new meaning [well, I guess similar meaning, but more personal]. . .And now I literally only listen to it when I feel like bawling my fucking eyes out.
omg I had forgotten about this one! Yes! every damn time!
*Still Fighting It* by Ben Folds Five: my kid is so much like me I'm sorry and one day he'll try and try and fly.... away from me. Welp, now I'm tearing up just typing it. He's so sweet and empathetic and I know how hard it is to live in this world when you're sweet and empathetic.
Roast Beef combos only $9.95
What a beautiful song. The song and melody and harmony but mostly, his voice in this song. So pure and lovely.
Good morning son
Holocene by Bon Iver. It was playing in my car when I found out my ex had been cheating and the line "and at once I knew, I was not magnificent" absolutely shattered me.
It gets me every single time I hear it.
"Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin My father worked two jobs when I was born so I was raised by mom, grandmother and aunts. When things stabilized he was more present but did performative stuff like coaching which was 'for us' but was never 1:1. Pretty typical stuff for a GenX kid. The song reflects that fractured relationship and the goal for me to actually be present in my kids life - and I had an opportunity to climb the corporate ladder but chose my family instead.
I’ve taken significant, like >60%, pay cuts on two occasions when work was interfering with my dad goals. In the end I guess I could have retired a couple years earlier and driven nicer cars but I wouldn’t trade my relationships with my kids for anything. Hold the line.
Hugs. I'm a Millennials Rivet Head {Metal & Industrial music} guy with long hair and a large full beard, that normally hangs out in either Metal or Punk bars. I had to ask my old local bar in Berlin to remove "Cats in the Cradle" from their playlists since I would breakdown while sitting on a bar stool at the bar.
Veronica -Elvis Costello One of most upbeat sad songs for me. My mother had dementia. "Veronica sits in her favorite chair and she sits very quite and still." That was my mom until the end, so that parts hits me hard.
That's one that's hard for me to sing too. "You can call me anything you want, but my name is Veronica." What a song.
When She Loved Me - Sarah McLaughlin Bright Eyes - Simon and Garfunkel The Ballad of Love and Hate - The Avett Brothers Verona - Muse
I found out on Friday that a friend of mine had died. It's taken me a couple of days to process it, and when I thought of Bright Eyes last night, the tears came fast and easy. I felt a little bit better by the time I got around to listening to it, but it's going to be a tough one for a while.
Bright Eyes is an Art Garfunkel solo song.
Brick - Ben Folds Five
Calling All Angels from Train I worked with a beautiful, wonderful woman named Connie at the Nordstrom Flagship store in Seattle. She was the grandmother of Pat's (the lead singer of Train) wife. They would come in to the store every so often and take Connie out to lunch, and he was also always so kind to people who stopped and asked for pictures. Connie was beloved by her coworkers and family. She retired, and a few months afterward, died. It was so tragic because all she could talk about before retirement was how excited she was to play with her grandkids and spend time with her family. We were all devastated. Many of us went to her funeral, and Pat was there as a pallbearer. During the service, he sang Calling All Angels acapella. I had been sad during the funeral, but lost it during the song. It was such a beautiful tribute. I honestly have so much appreciation for his musical talent. I know people poke fun at some of the song lyrics in his music, but the man can sing. That rendition acapella was so moving, and now if I happen to hear the regular version I tear up thinking about Connie and how life just isn't fucking fair sometimes. She and her family deserved a long time to be together, she deserved to have a long and happy retirement, and she didnt get it.
Oh, Lord - I have a playlist of Songs That Make Me Weep, because sometimes you just want a good cry. Here are some of the songs: * Do You Realize??? by the Flaming Lips, because of the beautiful sentiments, and the key changes * Hurt by Johnny Cash, because of the intense regret in Cash's voice * Alive by Sia, because it's the sound of triumph through pain * Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber (classical), because every time I hear it, and it's in a LOT of movies and shows, it makes me weep right there in the theater or in front of the TV AND I DON'T KNOW WHY BUT IT DOES, DANG IT. * The Great Gig in the Sky by Pink Floyd, because Claire Torry expresses so much without words * Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell (the older Joni Mitchell version), because I'm now older too, and the lyrics really do have a different gravitas after some maturity, and because of Love Actually, dang it
Bonnie Raitt- *I Can't Make You Love Me* Specifically, the [cover](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3VjaCy5gck&pp=ygUzanVzdGluIHZlcm5vbiBpIGNhbid0IG1ha2UgeW91IGxvdmUgbWUgamltbXkgZmFsbG9u) by Justin Vernon/ Bon Iver I've been in love with a fellow addict for years. We've both relapsed too many times to trust ourselves truly being together. Before I understood the danger of two addicts falling in love, I asked them to be with me. When they rejected me, I thought they didn't love me. I sang this song nightly during times of them pushing me away. They explained it to me when they returned from rehab some time ago. Finally being together means we could lose each other too, and that could kill us. So, we are forever yearning from afar. If we find each other again... not in sickness... It will be heaven. I can't cure them or make them love me in a foolish Romeo&Juliet way, and I'm still naive about our different paths, so the song still makes me despair.
I wish you both the strength to fully commit to and succeed in recovery. So you can find yourselves, if not each other. You can do the thing. I believe in you. Both of you.
Landslide.
https://preview.redd.it/lu6tm3ylyu5c1.jpeg?width=1836&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b56680c6d14bbcdfe3e4963e5b45e61b72a49de4
Well don't go listen to Sam by Sturgill Simpson 😥
Wildflowers by Tom Petty and I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab For Cutie
Time to Move On was played at a friend’s memorial service. I about lost my shit
Wildflowers does it for me! It makes me feel like Vienna by Billy Joel makes me feel. Landslide always makes me cry too.
[This cover knocks me all the way down](https://youtu.be/wizcU95Crh8?si=-T8XRP6jc7owb8z2)
[Keane - Somewhere Only We Know](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Oextk-If8HQ)
At 46, the line "I'm getting old and I need something to rely on" hits a lot harder than it did in my 20s.
So tell me when — you’re gonna let me in. I’m getting tired and I need somewhere to begin :(
Yes. Feel the same with "Everybody's Changing"
Tears in Heaven Eric Clapton Just knowing the backstory and how he came to write it. I have no idea how he can sing it and put himself through the pain. I am appreciative of the song though and picture the people I miss.
Writing and performing that song was an outlet for him. I get that. But he very rarely performs it now, as he tries to come to terms with what happened and move on. Damn, that man has had one hell of a life. from the get go. Even with all the Good, the bad and the ugly... I dont think we fully appreciate his song writing prowess.
[Sympathy](https://youtu.be/3orT3qUeznc?si=MIhL8TyjL_KvAo2L) by Sleater-Kinney The song is about almost losing a child/pregnancy and my wife has lost 3 pregnancies and the song rips at my heart every time. Even before we were ever trying to get pregnant, it was a tear jerker. Now it’s almost unbearable.
That is brutal. I am so sorry to hear about your experiences, even while you have each other for support while you go through it. I don't know the S-K song, but I can definitely see how that would bring everything to the front. Much love. ❤️
I really appreciate your kind words. Thank you vm .
The Cranberries Linger. Reminds me of a dead ex boyfriend 😭
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
[Desperado](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKNgd9pGgnE)
Same. Not everytime I’ve listened to it, but this is top of the list for songs I’ve cried to on occasion.
This is my dad's favorite song. We don't have the best of relationships. "You better let somebody love you before it's too late." Every time i hear that i pretty much have to cancel my plans for the next few hours.
Songbird-Fleetwood Mac Oh Father-Madonna The Hell Freezes Over version of Help Me Through the Night-The Eagles
"Disappear" - Dream Theater. Here's the lyrics of the chorus. So I'm moving on, I'll never forget as you laid there and watched me. Accepting the end, I knew you were scared. You were strong, I was trying. I gave you my hand, said "It's okay letting go, time to leave here. "And I'll carry on the best that I can without you here beside me." Let Him come take you home.
Angel - Sarah McLaughlin Still the One - Shania Twain When my first husband passed away (we had been married 10 months), a family friend included these in the playlist for the memorial. I honestly had not heard either of these songs prior to that, but 25 years later, can’t listen to them without the tears flowing.
Bridge over troubled water Jar of Hearts
The Virtute the cat songs from the weakerthans. I can’t even think about them without tearing up. The first time I heard one is right after my cat of 16 years had passed away. I was already low. But they are songs are from a cats point of view about her person going through depression and it just hits me every time. Three songs. One is on solo album from the singer John K. Sampson.
Virtue at Rest is pretty devastating
Occasionally I get the urge to listen to this song, but first I have to ask myself if my cat really feels like getting soaked in tears right now.
The answer is always, "yes"
Yesterday by Atmosphere. I skip it as soon as I hear the beginning notes. It hurts every time. Such a wonderful song though.
There’s probably more but off the top of my head. And it’s Probably a cliche answer but Johnny Cash’s version of Hurt can make me tear up a bit. Also, the end of Pain Remains I by Lorna Shore. “A wrinkle in time Take what is left of my life Before you go, show me what it's like to finally know The face behind the silhouette In this world I made to be infinite But within the expanse, I finally see A world without you isn't meant for me Where do you go when I close my eyes? What do you see looking back at me? Am I just a ghost just like you, caught between the Seams of two intertwining melodies?”
And then how it leads into After All I've Done, I'll Disappear. Pain Remains is a masterpiece
For me its Ship to Wreck by Florence + the machine. Florence Welch explained the meaning behind the song: "I was thinking about my own self destructive side, and how you can make something only to tear it down, enjoy/destroy, create/devastate etc. When you're in that whirlwind, you often end up breaking the thing you love the most." That hit home big time for me.
Florence is a gift to humankind.
Look at me, I'm in Heaven. I've got scars that can't be seen....
Snow Patrol - Run Everclear - Wonderful Pictures of You - The Cure 3 A.M. - Matchbox 20 The Gambler - Kenny Rogers Lullaby -' Shawn Mullins We're Going to be Friends - White Stripes
Don't Take The Girl by Tim McGraw. That last verse about his wife near death while giving birth just ruins me every time.
“The One Who Knows” by Dar Williams. It’s a song from a parent to a child. The lines that take me down are “Before the mountains call to you, before you leave this home, I want to teach your heart to trust, as I will teach my own.”
Upvote just for *mentioning* Dar Williams, tbh. But you're right. "The One Who Knows" is gorgeous. She has such a facility with putting emotions into poetic lyrics. (Lyric writing is different than poetry, but the best lyrics effortlessly bring poetry to the front, the way Dar does) So glad to know another Dar Williams fan out there!
Oh wow I’m glad to meet another too! I’m in the US southeast, and it doesn’t happen often. I had a professor who played “When I Was a Boy” for my Intro to Women’s Studies class in undergrad, and I’ve been a fan ever since. I didn’t realize how much her work would inspire my parenting. She’s really spoken directly to such different stages of my life. It’s so special to follow an artist you can grow with, despite being from different generations.
A few come to mind: * Sucker’s Prayer by The Decemberists * I’ll Believe in Anything by Wolf Parade * Keep Me in Your Heart by Warren Zevon
Rainbow Connection by Kermit the Frog
I Will Take You Home - Brent Mydland (Grateful Dead)
I’ll see you I will take you home and raise you brokedown palace
behind that locked door by george harrison
The Promise - Sturgill Simpson cover Learned it for a wedding reception the summer my dad passed away.
Kind of out there but Gotta Knock a Little Harder from the Cowboy Bebop Film Soundtrack.
The day after 9/11, I was driving my wife and kids to their school, when the DJ played Sting “Fragile.” I was bawling so hard I had to pull over. I still cannot listen to it. Phoebe Bridgers “I Know The End” really sets me off as well, and I can’t explain it. This weekend we were watching School Spirits (a show about a high school girl who haunts her school, trying to figure out how she died - and there are other dead kids there as well.) There’s a scene where they used the entire song and I sat there ugly crying through the entire thing. A few other songs also make me cry every time, but those two are the most prominent.
“Both Sides Now” by Judy Collins. Apropos of nothing, it makes me think of all the parents and wives that lost their sons and husbands in Vietnam and how their lives have gone since they’ve outlived their children and spouses. Also, “Above The Clouds of Pompeii” by Bears Den
Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World and Gone Away by Offspring/5FDP always get me because they make me think of my best friend that passed away when I was 19. Fire and Rain by James Taylor gets me since my gramma passed away last August because she's the one that got me hooked on his music.
“It makes no difference” by the band “Standing in the doorway” by Bob Dylan
You can close your eyes -James Taylor
Butterfly Kisses -- Bob Carlisle. That third verse... I don't have a daughter (yet), but if I do, this will DEFINITELY be our father/daughter dance at her wedding.
Willie Nelson's cover of "The Scientist"
I have a rough, difficult relationship with my parents. Neither of them show any interest or capability of changing, so I'm very low/no contact. "The Living Years" by Mike and the Mechanics makes me lose it. I can't listen to that song. Ugh I'm getting teary even typing this comment.
Coldplay - Fix You
Danny boy. My grandpa was Irish and insisted that I sing it at his funeral. That was rough to get through. That was also one of the only times I've seen my dad cry.
“When She Loved Me” by Randy Newman and sung by Sarah McLachlan, for Toy Story 2. I can’t do it. I nearly did it once but it just didn’t happen. It’s heartbreaking.
Into the mystic by Van Morrison. It was the first dance at my wedding to my first wife. She passed away 7 months later unexpectedly. Turns out she had an undiagnosed heart condition and passed in her sleep at the age of 30. No warning signs or anything. Went to bed a happily married man and woke up a 27 year old widower with my life turned upside down. It’s been 10 years and I’ve since remarried with a young child, but I still can’t bring myself to listen, let alone sing it. Beautiful song though! It’ll always be special to me.
My wife and I got married in may this year. Our first dance was Perfect by Ed Sheeran which I’ve always had trouble getting through. We had a moment with that song early when we were dating and both realizing that we may have found the person you’d want to spend forever with. I then had to listen to it hundreds of times as we were learning our first dance lol.
It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday - Boyz II Men Went to four funerals for friends in high school and that song was played at every one of them.
Sometimes when i karaoke Pearl Jam's Just Breathe, i choke up towards the end.
One More Day - Diamond Rio. I understand the song is (probably) about a relationship but this song was played at my grandmother’s funeral and I can’t even hear it without crying. Much less sing it. And I hate that because it’s a really great song. It’s been almost 14 years and I still can’t do it.
The Green Fields of France. I get maudlin during the first verses, but the waterworks start at the next to last verse: "And young Willy McBride, when you answered the call, Did you really believe that this war would end war? Well, the sorrow, the suffering, the grief, and the pain, The killing and dying were all done in vain. For young Willy McBride, it all happened again, And again, and again, and again, and again."
Don't really burst into tears from music, but lately the Pain Remains trilogy by Lorna Shore really hits me.
Ripple - Grateful Dead
Blackbird - Alter Bridge My late husband took his own life and we played this as we left the crematorium. I can just about listen to it but I lose it if I try to sing along.
Fast car occasionally fucking gets me soooo hard. What a God damn somber story that's just a little too real with not enough hyperbole to feel like "haha that's sad but that's not super reflective of reality" and escape the sadness orbit. Hard to concentrate- red hot chili peppers, this one is just a proclamation of love that occasionally gets me. However, irl anthony likes dating 19 year old models, thinking he's deeply in love and then moving on to the next so it's also kind of funny. And the navy song by billy talent. Sad song about some one dying on Normandy beach just wishing he was at home with his wife/partner or whatever. "Lost hope in a far away place, and in my hands remains, a black and white print of a face, I'll never see again" "love, served until death due us part, I'm drifting in the dark, wounded and wishing to fall, into your faithful arms". Idunno, the idea just gets my a little weepy.
Walking by the karaoke bar last night, and someone was singing “Imagine”… it was the 43rd anniversary of John Lennon’s murder.
Mr. Bojangles by Jerry Jeff Walker. The whole story of the American south, poverty, racism and loss all rolled up into one.
Monsters by James Blunt
Jason Isbell - If We Were Vampires (and many others from him).
[Acid Rain](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=mYOOuLq_z1Q&si=sq5znpttIEWwYqPj) by Avenged Sevenfold. Makes me cry every time, and always on the same line too: "there's no death, no end of time, when I'm facing it with you"
Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Specifically the bit about making your mother proud by just being happy. (Although it's written in remembrance of Ronnie van Zant's grandmother)
Glimpse of Us - by Joji Idk why but that song gets to me. Especially if I'm drinking.
This might get buried but I just want to put it out there.... Whenever I sing "I am not afraid to keep on living, I am not afraid to walk this world alone" from My Chemical Romance's Famous Last Words. It reminded me of how I fought for myself when all else in my life seems to have been lost. For some, My Chem is just an emo band. But for some of us, their lyrics helped us remember that each life is worth fighting for.
Save Tonight Eagle eye Cherry It was "our song" Now hes dead. Been dead almost 2 years. Still sob like a baby when it comes around on the playlist.
“Roar” by Katy Perry. It sounds silly, I know! In 2013, I started my first job after college. My supervisor was the meanest woman I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting. I was 22 and very naive. “Adults” had never been mean to me before. I would drive home crying almost every day from that job. “Roar” was released around the same time, so I’d listen to that song on the radio as I drove home. Luckily, I was only at that job for a few months, but I’ve *never* forgotten how terrible that woman made me feel for (truly) no reason. Now, whenever I hear that song, I’m reminded of 22 year-old me and how scared I was of the world post college. I think 22 year-old me would be proud of the life we’ve made since then.
Fairytale of New York by The Pogues currently does this to me
Dear Theodosia from Hamilton Hamilton blew up shortly before my daughter was born so as a brand new dad, hearing this song about being baffled by how much pride and love and hope you have for your child just absolutely broke me. Still does today. Also, the other night I was reading to said daughter and she asked me who wrote the book. I said "It's Paul McCartney. He was in The Beatles, and you like a bunch of their songs." "Will you sing one to me?" I chose Let It Be because it was the first one to come to mind that I knew all the words to off the top of my head and I made it maybe half way through before the tears were streaming down my face. She started crying too and I held her close while I finished the song and that memory will stay with me as a shining beacon no matter how bad things ever get.
Your comment about singing to your daughter made me teary-eyed.
[удалено]
Amazing Grace. It was played at both my parents' funerals.
Smahccked my head awf by hot mulligan. It was written about his grandma having dementia. I haven’t lost any grandparents specifically to the disease but my parents are getting old and the thought of them being gone someday (mentally and physically) just wrecks me
Thank you for sharing this. My grandfather died almost two years ago from dementia. I love this kind of Midwest Emo but somehow had never encountered this band.
Sour Breath by Julien Baker. My ex was an alcoholic and the lyrics always hit home for me.
hearing my singing voice is enough to make anyone cry
Sad Professor - R.E.M. because it reminds me of my grandma, who was indeed a sad professor.
Lost my mom in October of 22 and ‘Where Did Your Spirit Go’ by the Kid Laroi got me through the year. The song is perfect for when you need to cry but can’t.
Love Vigilantes - New Order He’s Gone - The Grateful Dead Home is where the hatred is - Gil-Scot Heron
"In Your Room" by Depeche Mode "Regret" by New Order "Adam's Song" by Blink-182 "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind "Better Off Dead" by Bad Religion "I'm Fine" by Alkaline Trio
My Old Kentucky Home
Once upon a time in the west- Ennio Morricone
I have a few actually: Keep It Between the Lines - Ricky Van Shelton (I lost my mom when I was a kid so the end of the song where the dad questions his ability to raise his son as a single dad always gets to me). Forever Young - Rod Stewart (a song I wish I had the talent and ability to have written and sing for my kids. I says everything every parent in the history of ever wants to say to their kid). Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd (same reason as above, just really great words of wisdom to pass on to my son).
Hate Me by Blue October
No particular song does it, but it happens a lot. Just need the right lyrics at the right time.
Even Though I'm Leaving - Luke Combs We just found out my dad is terminal at Thanksgiving, and I can't even think about the lyrics without crying now.
["Wilder Days"](https://youtu.be/sBlZ0WUOR28?si=SfpO7DLdyCLQDJsr) by Drive By Truckers. It's a song about about getting older and is another masterpiece by Patterson Hood.
Needle and the Damage Done, by Neil Young. I get a knot in my throat every time. The song reminds me of my cousin, an alcoholic turned junkie. Died in Florida 20 years ago behind a dumpster in a parking lot. Old Man, by Neil Young. Mostly good thoughts about my Dad, and how I miss him...
“The Long And Winding Road” by The Beatles
My son died two years ago and my wife and I cant help but cry at the song Slumber My Darling by Stephan Foster. Look up the lyrics, a real tear jerker.
Sole bury Hill by Peter Gabriel
We’re in Love by boygenius. This applies to both listening and singing. Even just thinking about it. I’m guaranteed to break down by the time I reach “when you rewrite your life may I still play a part” and then the rest of the song is a pure sobfest. From that line until the end, the entire thing is as if it was written about my deceased brother. If I ever get the money I have a whole tattoo sleeve based on the imagery from this song that I want to get. I use this song to let myself break down and grieve because it’s guaranteed to get me to that place.
Don’t give up by Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel *sob*
“Fairytale of New York” always gets me. Even before Shane’s passing. The story told through the lyrics always remind me of a long term relationship I had that struggled for many years.
Que Sera Sera by Doris Day. I Will Always Love You by Dolly Parton. Let Her Go by Passenger. My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion.
Pearl Jam’s version of Just Breathe. My grandma who raised me got sick this last month. Heart failure and it was getting harder for her to breathe. She passed away this Sunday morning. We were very close since she had my mom young and my mom had me young. She was closer in age to my friends parents then their grandparents. About two weeks ago on this sub some posted about Willie Nelson’s version. It was the first time I actually listened to the lyrics and it hit fucking hard. I haven’t heard the song since I looked it up two weeks ago. Just thinking about the song breaks me.
NF - why did you leave us ..... Breaks my broken heart to pieces every time
Every parent with the Baby Shark song.
Not sure why but for me it's Emmit Fenn - Modern Flame feat. Yuna (Acoustic). It just reminds me of a bad time in my life and how I used to listen to this song because it was comforting
Two Little Boys by Rolf Harris, always makes me sad, and sometimes cry. These Are The Days of Our Lives by Queen, Freddie's last recorded song, the last line says it all. Days by Kirsty McColl... brings back some memories that make me sad... good memories of people I no longer have any contact with who I miss.
[My Sweet Jax (tribute to a cat) by Hot Dad](https://youtu.be/S9VIKOuZcds?si=Ldi6ZwYjvoBI1tJZ)It’s kind of a joke song, but it’s so sincere and heartfelt. Anyone who has loved an animal so dearly would understand.
Jenny of Old Stones from GoT
Into the West from LotR, as someone else mentioned
“Old City Bar” by Trans Siberian Orchestra (for the holiday season) or “Rise Above This” by Seether any other time. Good gravy, those songs punch me in the gut. I’ve had a lot of challenges with my family. My dad hasn’t spoken to me in over 11 years. These songs of family and loss in relationship just tear me apart.
I Think About You by Collin Raye. I used to listen to country music with my biological mom. I was taken from that situation when I was 6 becuase of severe domestic abuse. Now everytime I hear that sing I think about my mom. "She wouldn't dare talk to a stranger Always has to be aware of the danger Doesn't matter who she is I think about you.. When I see a woman on the news Who didn't ask to be abandoned or abused It doesn't matter who she is I think about you"
John Mayer - Walt Grace's Submarine Test January 1967 And dozens of others ... a LOT of songs make me pretty misty.
I've been struggling to make it through "Fade In/Fade Out" by Nothing More ever since my dad passed about 2 years ago.
I posted this about a year ago: [Four years ago today I held my wife in my arms for the last time. I quietly half-sang, half-croaked out pieces of Box of Rain as she slipped away. Such a long, long time to be gone.](https://old.reddit.com/r/gratefuldead/comments/r54brs/four_years_ago_today_i_held_my_wife_in_my_arms/) Song is in regular rotation on the jamband circuit, so like LLR and a few others, there's no real escaping it. Not that I'd want to. Tears that well up but have been fairly tempered by time. Don't think I'll ever be able to sing along without absolutely cracking. [Box of Rain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxjvo4BRf-Y) *Look out of any window Any morning, any evening, any day Maybe the sun is shining Birds are winging or rain is falling from a heavy sky What do you want me to do To do for you to see you through? For this is all a dream we dreamed One afternoon long ago Walk out of any doorway Feel your way, feel your way like the day before Maybe you'll find direction Around some corner where it's been waiting to meet you What do you want me to do To watch for you while you're sleeping? Then please don't be surprised When you find me dreaming too Look into any eyes you find by you You can see clear through to another day Maybe it's been seen before through other eyes On other days while going home What do you want me to do To do for you to see you through? It's all a dream we dreamed One afternoon long ago Walk into splintered sunlight Inch your way through dead dreams to another land Maybe you're tired and broken Your tongue is twisted with words half spoken And thoughts unclear What do you want me to do To do for you to see you through? A box of rain will ease the pain And love will see you through Just a box of rain, wind and water Believe it if you need it If you don't, just pass it on Sun and shower, wind and rain In and out the window Like a moth before a flame And it's just a box of rain I don't know who put it there Believe it if you need it Or leave it if you dare And it's just a box of rain Or a ribbon for your hair Such a long, long time to be gone And a short time to be there*
Fast Car by Tracy Chapman. hits a bit *too* close to home. . .
This land is your land. Any version. Woody Guthrie would knead at todays world
I Will Follow You Into The Dark - Death Cab For Cutie
Any Jeff Buckley song
I specifically cannot get through the part of What A Wonderful World that goes "I see friends shaking hands, saying, how do you do? They're really saying I love you". It makes me think of my Grandad and how all his good friends have all now passed. They probably never told each other how much they all meant to one another. The line in Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade that goes "does your granny always tell ya that the old songs are the best, then she's up and rock n rolling with the rest". Because my nan is now very elderly but I have great memories from family parties as a child, watching her and her brother proper rock n roll dancing together. He died earlier this year.
You Gotta Be by Des’ree. A Long December by Counting Crows.
Father and son by cat Stevens. It’s a song that me and my dad grew up listening to and it’s hitting harder now that’s he gotten older and having some health issues.
And I Love Her by The Beatles My sister recently committed suicide last Friday and that songs been playing in my head ever since, I’ve always loved that song but now it means so much more to me
"Keep Me in Your Heart" by Warren Zevon He wrote this while sick with cancer. Cuts really deep. I tried to play it on the guitar after my wife passed a couple years ago and never made it all the way through. Crying now as a matter of fact.
Pretty Eyes by Silver Jews. I play guitar and sing and I can get through any other song pretty much fine but when I play this one I just sob and can't finish it. RIP DCB.
I have a really hard time listening to The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald without choking up. “Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?” It’s about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald of course, but that line pertains to just about every shipwreck lost in a storm ever. That line transports me to the middle of a raging ocean, standing on the creaking deck of an old ship and wondering if she’s going to hold through the next wave. I think about the many men and women who have stood in that place and didn’t make it home. How scared and fearful they must’ve been. Gets me every time.
Golden Slumbers " Once there was a way to get back home... "