Regarding the definition of "sadness" desired: the basic quest is
for songs that really grab you, evoking much empathy. EXCLUDED
should be songs of a maudlin, sentimental, or self-pitying nature.
The musical genre of the song is not particularly important;
however, much preferred are highly acoustic performances or low-key
electric ones.
Examples of such songs might be:
Andersen, Eric: For what was gained (Avalanche)
Nelson, Willie: Always on my mind (Always on my mind)
Jimmy's road (The IRS Tapes)
Ochs, Phil: No more songs (The best of PO)
Rehearsals for retirement (The best of PO)
For the above songs, both "For what was gained" and "Jimmy's road"
involve young men who are killed in war. The sadness of the other
three songs is accentuated due to personal circumstances
surrounding the artist performing the song.
Feel free to email me directly as I will eventually post a summary
listing. Thanks for your help.
Linda Ronstats(sp?) recording of "Long, Long Time" is the quintessential
sad song. Something about that pedal steel guitar...
The song was implicated in a rash of teen suicides here a few years ago.
I don't know the songwriter or the original album. I have it on her
greatest hits album.
--
Ruth Cross >
nor...@usht10.hou130.chevron.com >
>
Tim Keenan
Department of Forest Resources
UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK
*-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-*
+ +
| My baby came to me this morning |
+ She said "I'm kinda confused....... +
| If me and B.B. King was both drownin' |
+ Which one would you choose?" +
| And I said " Wo-o-oh, baby |
+ Wo-o-oh, baby +
| I said " Wo-o-oh, baby---- |
+ Babe, I ain't never heard you play no blues." +
| |
+ .................S. Goodman +
*-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-*
> Feel free to email me directly as I will eventually post a summary
> listing. Thanks for your help.
Well, he _did_ ask for email, but since everybody else is posting I will
too.
Eric Bogle -- The Green Fields of France (a.k.a. "No Man's Land" and
about 20 other titles).
Eric Bogle again -- And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
John McCutcheon -- Christmas in the Trenches
(Gosh, WW I generated lots of sad songs, didn't it?)
Fred Small -- Larry the Polar Bear
Stan Rogers -- The Lock Keeper (A song about the relative merits of life
on the road and life at home; especially sad when taken in
the context of Stan's own short life, too much of which was
spent on the road.)
Stan Rogers again -- Lies
Richard Thompson -- 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
(Anybody know the name of the song Thompson does in concert, about the
girl he meets working in the factory in London? Something about a
"Butterfly's Wing"? Even sadder than the Vincent song; I don't know if
it's recorded yet, though.)
(Hey, as long as we're on the subject of Vincents...)
Don McLean -- Vincent (or is it called "Starry Starry Night"?)
June Tabor -- well, just about any cut from any album since "Abyssinians".
For starters, two Bill Caddick songs: "She Moves Among Men"
from "Abyssinians", and "Aqaba" from "Aqaba".
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-__ __ /_ Jon Berger "If you push something hard enough,
//_// //_/ jo...@netcom.com it will fall over."
_/ --------- - Fudd's First Law of Opposition
I strongly recommend "The Chimneysweeper," on Greg Brown's album
_Songs of Innocence and of Experience_. (The lyric comes from a
William Blake poem.)
A few other suggestions:
Loudon Wainwright III: "Sometimes I Forget" and "The Picture"
(both on _History_)
Bill Morrissey: "Man from out of Town" (_Inside_)
"John Haber"
"Small Town on the River" (first album)
Leonard Cohen: "(Seems So Long Ago,) Nancy"
"One of Us Cannot Be Wrong"
John Gorka: "The Sentinel"
Bob Dylan: "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll"
--
- Ron Mura, Boston, Massachusetts rm...@world.std.com
Kate and Anna McGarrigle "Hearbeats Accelerating"
I Eat Dinner
I'm Losing You
Leave Me Be
St. James Hospital
Loudon Wainwright III "History"
Sometimes I Forget
Janis Ian "Breaking Silence"
Tattoo
I think they're all each artist's most recent release.
'It's Over, Goodbye'
Some time ago, when I used to get together with friends in
Santa Fe to sing songs, a subgroup of three women invited me
to come to their sad song sing, which they reserved for
themselves, since the rest of the folk song club didn't care
for those sad songs, but I said that I loved sad songs. I
asked how sad, and they said "as sad as you can get." So I
sang the following song, which was written by the Australian
folk poet Henry Lawson around the turn of the century, put to
music possibly by Slim Dusty, and sung by Priscilla Herdman
on her album of the same name. It was based on a true story,
told by the woman in question to Lawson.
When I was done, the three Sad Sisters said, "No, not that sad!"
The song was :
The Waterlily
Lonely young wife in her dreaming discerns
A lily decked pool with a border of ferns.
And a beautiful child with butterfly wings,
Trips down to the edge of the water and sings
Come momma, come, quick follow me.
And step on the leaves of the waterlily.
And the lonely young wife, her heart beating wild
Cries, wait till I come, till I reach you my child.
But the beautiful child with butterfly wings,
Steps out on the leaves of the lily and sings
Come momma, come, quick follow me.
And step on the leaves of the waterlily.
And the wife in her dreaming steps out on the stream,
But the lily leaves sink and she wakes from her dream.
Oh, the waking is sad for the tears that it brings,
And she knows it's her dead baby's spirit that sings,
Come momma, come, quick follow me.
And step on the leaves of the waterlily.
Come momma, come, quick follow me.
And step on the leaves of the waterlily.
By the way, Priscilla Herdman was a queen of sad songs, on
that album. Three more that come to mind are
The Bush Girl, also written by Henry Lawson
Here's To You Rounders, written by Don Lange about his grandad
Do You Think That I Do Not Know, again, by Henry Lawson
A couple more that I like:
The Dutchman, by Steve Goodman
There Were Roses, by Tommy Sands
That's enough for a start.
Rob D.
BTW, his recording contract is now with ARC (American Recording Company).
They changed their name recently from Def American.
greg
everything the man wrote makes me weep for one reason or another
James Keelaghan:
Jenny Bryce
Rebecca's Lament
Princes of the Clouds
Steve Gillette:
Darcy Farrow
Andy Barnes (member of Greenpeace in Britain):
The Last Leviathan
I can probably think of LOADS more..
Jefro
> The musical genre of the song is not particularly important;
OK, how about Albinoni's Adagio in D-?
Hobo's lullaby is pretty sad. Songs about
railroads and motherhood (not necessarily
together) are often very sad, for some
reason. Songs of shipwrecks are usually
fearsome, but sometimes sad. Old Blue
is sad: "link by link, I'd call his name."
Almost anything by Richard Thompson, but particularly
Night Comes In, off the Pour Down Like Silver album
The End of the Rainbow, off "I want to see the bright lights tonight".
Almost anything sung by June Tabor, especially
Where are you Tonight off Aqaba
And, finally, anything written by Richard Thompson and sung by June Tabor!
Waltzing's for Dreamers, only sung live so far as I know.
In fact, I think I'll change my .sig for today.
Morgan Conrad One step for aching,
Applied Biosystems Two steps for breaking,
m...@apldbio.com Waltzing's for dreamers
415-570-6667 and losers in love.
That's on "Scraps of Paper," an album full of pretty sad songs. As a
matter of fact, every song except two on that album is a sad song.
The album is on Flying Fish Records in the USA.
{lotsa stuff deleted - we've already read it a few times, right? ;-)}
My nominee is a song called "Grace." Unfortunately, I can't tell you who wrote
it, but all the Irish pub singers hereabouts (and lots of other places too, I'm
sure) know it. The chorus goes:
Oh, Grace, just hold me in your arms
And let this moment linger
They'll take me out at dawn and I will die
With all my love I place
This wedding ring upon your finger
We won't have time to share our love
For we must say goodbye
Would some kind person fill in the who's and what's for the requestor?
--
___________________________________________________________________________
Ed M. Auvers | Bitnet: AUV...@DRYCAS.BITNET
(a.k.a. "Salieri") | Internet: AUV...@DRYCAS.CLUB.CC.CMU.EDU
Vampire aficionado |
Writer of vamp fiction | "I think, therefore I'm dangerous."
Apprentice folkie | + + + + + + +
Beater of bodhrans |"To work 'til you're dead / for one room and a
-------------------------------| bed / is not the reason I left Mullingar!"
|--------------------------------------------
There was a thousand dollar wedding, supposed to be held the other day
And with all the invitations sent, the young bride went away
When the groom saw people passing notes, "Not unusual," he might say
"But where are the flowers for my baby?
I'd even like to see her mean old Mama,
And why ain't there a funeral, if you're gonna act that way?"
I hate to tell you how he acted when the news arrived
He took some friends out drinking, and it's lucky they survived
'Cause he told them everything there was to tell there along the way
And he felt so bad when he saw the traces of old lies still on their faces
So why don't someone there just spike his drink,
why don't you do him in, some old way?
Supposed to be a funeral, it's been a bad, bad day . . .
The Reverend Dr. William Grace was talking to the crowd
All about the sweet child's holy face and the saints who sung out loud
And he swore the fiercest beasts could all be put to sleep the same silly way.
But where are the flowers for the girl? She only knew she loved the world.
And why ain't there one lonely horn with one sad note to play?
Supposed to be a funeral, it's been a bad, bad day . . .
Oh, supposed to be a funeral, it's been a bad, bad day
Bob Weir "Looks Like Rain" (might fall into the self-pity category, but a good
song nevertheless ...)
Dick Gaughan "Song For Ireland" (perhaps not overtly sad, but certainly
extremely poignant ...)
"Last Train From Poor Valley" (Norman Blake recorded and popularized it some
years back.)
Becky Miller
gayla a rabdyke
gwor...@carina.unm.edu
Sad songs...
Fred Koller: "Life As We Knew It"
Jethro Tull: "Slow Marching Band"
Fairport Convention: "Crazy Man Michael"
D.
--
* The Minstrel in the Gallery "Heteroskedastic" *
* D. A. Scocca sco...@uncvx1.oit.unc.edu *
* "My love does not, cannot _make_ her happy. My love can only *
* release in her the capacity to be happy." --J. Barnes *
Ugo
*************************************************************************
Ugo Piomelli
Associate Professor The less I seek my source
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering For some definitives
University of Maryland Closer I am to fine
College Park, MD 20742 Emily Saliers
*************************************************************************
>:
>: I'm interested in making a compilation of sad, poignant songs
>: (don't worry, I'm alright mama!). I would appreciate suggestions
>: of such songs. Please be as specific as possible; i.e., include
>: artist, song title, and album information, perhaps in the format
>: below.
_I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry_ by Hank Williams
_From Hank to Hendrix_ by Neil Young (Harvest Moon)
_It's The Little Things_ by Robert Keen (West Textures)
jb
- the midnight train is whining low -
cb
Ruth Cross >
nor...@usht10.hou130.chevron.com >
>
1. "Marcie" -- from Joni Mitchell's first album
2. "Dublin City" --traditional, I'm hearing in my mind's ear the version on
the Bok/Muir/Trinket album "Bay of Fundy". There are a few other
quite sad songs on that album.
3. "Carolina" -- by Townes van Zandt, as sung by Nanci Griffith on "Other Voices,
Other Rooms". His song "Poncho and Lefty" comes to mind also. Emmylou
Harris sings that somewhere.
4. "What Have They Done to the Rain" -- by Melvina Reynolds, as sung by Joan Baez
on one of her early albums.
5. "Deportees" -- by Woody Guthrie. I'm thinking of Arlo's version, for example.
I also can't resist a few songs from another genre, since they are likely to get me
tearful:
"Das Abschied" -- last song in Mahler's song Cycle "Das Lied von der Erde"
"Die Earlkonig" ("THe Earl King") by Franz Schubert -- sad and SCARY
I could go on and on...
---
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff Fookson
Internet: je...@cns.nyu.edu Center for Neural Science
Dept of Psychology
New York University
Phone: (212) 998-7782 6 Washington Place, Rm 866B
Fax: (212) 995-4011 New York, NY 10003
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just got done reading Nelson's sort-of autobiography (purchased at
Buck-a-Book for $2, which unfortunately won't help Willie out much with
his tax problems, and obviously written before them),
and he says in it the reason he will never write another
song like "Crazy" or "Funny How Time Slips Away"
is that whenever he feels such a mood coming on,
he works himself right out of it;
its counter to his current philosophy of life.
(Too bad for us lovers of timeless heartbroken songs.)
The odd thing about it all is that the originator of this thread cited
Nelson's "Always on my Mind" as an example of the kind of "non-maudlin"
(by thread-guy's estimation) sad songs he was in quest of...
so Nelson's still sad enough for some
(not for me, lately; elegiac is more like it)
This sudden lonlieness is making me dangerous
Please don't watch me as I fall apart
'Cause I'm sad and I'm angry
And armed with a broken heart.
And Tom Paxton's "What could I do" about wife-battering.
Here's the songs that do this for me.
When I'm Sad, I Cry by Tom Hunter. I don't remember which of his 3 albums
this is on. Tom's local to SFBayArea, his
albums are on Long Sleeve Records.
Although it's been a long time, don't
know if Long Sleeve is still around or
if Tom's stuff is still in print.
He's great!
Kilkelly, Ireland ??? I heard Robbie O'Connell do this in concert.
It's also on a 2-CD set (I've heard) called
"Bringing it all Back Home"; I don't know
what group does it on this CD.
julie (julie dickinson, jdic...@novell.com)
--Dave Palmer
--
"But as you all know, and as fate would have it, I didn't die.
I landed on the top of a police car. And he died. ... You gotta sing
it with that kind of enthusiasm. Like you just squashed a cop..."
Arlo Guthrie
--
Alison Scott [Ali...@moose.demon.co.uk]
Chester, England
Confabulation is the 1995 British National SF convention (Eastercon).
For more details email Confabulation at Con...@moose.demon.co.uk
Yeah, but she doesn't do it any favours.
>
> Sad songs...
>
> Fred Koller: "Life As We Knew It"
>
> Jethro Tull: "Slow Marching Band"
>
> Fairport Convention: "Crazy Man Michael"
What? I've rarely heard such a garbled, incomprehensible, (for that
matter inconsequential) piece of dippy hippy drivel in my life. Next
thing you know you'll be recommending that piece of high maudlin
kitsch "Who knows where the time goes"
--
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Piers Cawley, 2 Widford Park Place, Chelmsford, ESSEX, CM2 8TB. |
| pdca...@iest.demon.co.uk pdca...@cix.compulink.co.uk |
| Once upon a time, and a very good time it was, there lived a . . . |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
It's another song that demands a lot of the singer; I've heard some
absolutely awful renditions of it done by well meaning singers who
should have known better.
Sadly this song has been sung to death over here (Andy refers to it as
"The Bloody Whale Song") then again it has paid for the home studio
and a rather lovely bouzouki(sp?) from Oakwood.
Andy is also the best writer of traditional songs I've ever met, if
you get a chance (ie: if you meet him (or me) at a festival, ask him
to do _Turn, Turn ye Seasons_).
Weelll, up to a point Lord Copper; to actually sound good it needs to
be sung by a 'damn good singer, preferably whilst sober, and people
like that tend not to be ten a penny.
Damn you! I was trying to forget that one. It can sound awfully
maudlin in the wrong hands... In the right ones though...
_Romeo and Juliet_ as sung by Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls on
_Rites of Passage_, _Turn me About_(?) by Mary-Chapin Carpenter on
_Come on, Come on_.
Oh yeah, he hasn't made this into a song yet, but how about this.
The Florins and the Farthing
The year was 1914 and the men were off to war
To fight for King and Country, for that's what young men are for;
To be brave; to leave their loved ones; to kill, perhaps to die;
There loved ones' lot to stay behind, to wait and wonder why.
The bravado and beer was flowing in the public bar
And lovers swore to wait till lovers came back from afar;
Each nailed a florin to a beam that spanned the Crown
And as each man returned home safe, a florin would come down
The men went off in trains with farewell kiss and fond goodbye,
In trains that took them off to boats, more trains, and then to die;
A line of florins waited for the swift return of all
And beside them hung a farthing, poor, solitary and small.
Was that all that he was worth, or was it all that she could spare?
Was the forfeit of a florin more than one poor purse could bear?
And as they nailed it to the beam, did she feel ashamed?
Bur a farthing or a florin, it's a symbol just the same.
Symbols of constancy of lovers left to wait,
Symbols of their hope, and maybe offerings to fate;
And as each soldier came home, as each couple reunite,
A florin was brought down for every man came back from the fight.
A florin was brought down for every man back through the door,
But in the Crown at Hartest, you will still see twenty four;
Twenty four who never came back from the fields of France alive
And a solitary farthing makes the numbers twenty five.
---Les Barker
Les is actually far better known over here as a writer of comic poems
(and very funny they are too), but an album of his serious material,
_Some Love_, recorded by people like Martin Carthy and June Tabor is
available from Mrs Ackroyd Records, 62 Cotton Hill, Manchester M20
9XR, England (of course)
Okay, here goes, but be warned some of these are pretty obscure and
will be well nigh impossible to find in the States.
1. Adrian May is an English singer/songwriter who writes killingly
funny and achingly sad songs in roughly equal quantities, although he
has now settled down with a girlfriend and is not writing so much of
the sad stuff. (Which, were he not such a nice bloke, would be sad, as
his sad songs are gorgeous.)
Favourites are:
Simple as the Need
I can't resist quoting the first verse of this:
Just to reassure ourselves that we are human we look for love
Just to stop ourselves from turning into stone
Though we're terrified, we take our hearts and courage in both hands
When you ask for love, you're never more alone.
And it hurts to know that hurting is so easy
And it hurts to know that love can go so wrong
Why can't love be as simple as the need for love is strong?
Why can't love be as simple as the need for love is strong?
My favourite version of it is the one sung by my SO and her singing
partner on their tape _Simple as the Need_, they go out as Panzie
Potter and it's on the PanZ label (told you it was obscure) if you're
interested mail me and I'll tell you more.
Also recommended:
_After All Those Goodbyes_, and _I Am No Good at Love_
2. Other stuff with less detail
Keith Marsden:
_Prospect Providence_ (on the Cockersdale tape of the
same name, Fellside records), this one doesn't start sad, but packs a
whallop at the end.
_The Vampire_ (on the same tape if memory serves), a poem by Kipling
with a tune by Keith.
Most of Keith's serious stuff has a poignancy that can catch at your
throat and heart before you realise at it; highly recommended.
Rod Shearman:
_Is the Big Fella Gone_ (sorry I don't know any details), a beautifully
sad shanty lamenting the death of the whales.
John McCutcheon:
Damn! the names escaped me (something like litany or lament), but it's
on the _Signs of the Times_ Album with Si Kahn. I almost crashed the
car the first time I heard this one.
_The Old Browns Head Light_ (Live at Wolftrap?) About the
decommissioning of a lighthouse.
Tony Winn (another friend from Chelmsford):
_Goodbye my Romeo, Farewell Juliet_, on Short Stories' eponymous tape.
Mark
Yeah, I second and third this one!
: Sweet Agnes (I *hope* I have that title right ... about a woman
: who's family is celebrating her 90th birthday.)
Lovely Agnes, by Sally Rogers, and achingly sweet.
I also like [his face reddening] "Roses From The Wrong Man" by Christine Lavin.
aw, c'mon- not sure if willie wrote it, but Rock From a Rolling Stone (on
the Clean Shirt disc with waylon) still breaks my heart.
cb
ALso from Christine - - "The Kind of Love You Never Recover From" Last
time I saw her do this live many in the audience started crying.
susan krauss
skr...@panix.com
Or "Joanna" by Chris Williamson which always chokes me up a little,
although I have no idea what the history of the song is.
*BB*
ptj
--
Hey, like, do what y'wilt, y'know. And, like, don't hurt anyone, okay?
-Cherry PopTart
You know, I always think of THE DUTCHMAN as a moving song,
but not necessarily sad. I think Goodman celebrates
the Dear Margaret/Dutchman relationship as a testimony
to loving devotion.
: This isn't country and whatnot, but in (I believe) the '30s
: there was a popular song in Hungary called GLOOMY MONDAY that
: led to a spate of self-inflicted deaths due to the innate
: morosity of the song and the tune.
: --
: Ted....
This was "Gloomy Sunday". The verses were sung to the singer's
recently deceased beloved, and he is thinking of joing her.
--
Dorothy Westphal, Sunnyvale, Calif. % Always expect the good. %
west...@zuni.litc.lockheed.com % %
Sad: "Jimmy Newman", by Tom Paxton (it's about a soldier who dies in
a hospital in Vietnam on the day he was supposed to go home)
Upbeat: "Blue Red & Grey", by Pete Townsend ("I like every minute of the
day")
Any other examples?
--f2
-----------------
"First, we take Manhattan;
Then we take Berlin!"
Ruth Cross > Em rio que tem piranhas,
nor...@usht10.hou130.chevron.com > jacare nada de costas.
>
Joe Henry:
"Short Man's Room" (same album)
"Date For Church" (Shuffletown)
John Gorka:
"Houses In The Fields" (Jack's Crow)
Richard and Linda:
"Walking On A Wire" (Shoot Out The Lights)
Karla Bonoff:
"Lose Again" (her 1st album)
"Someone To Lay Down Beside Me" (same)
The Jayhawks:
"Settled Down Like Rain" (Hollywood Town Hall)
Jimmy Buffett:
"That's What Living Is To Me" (Hot Water)
"It's My Job"*
*Actually, it's Livingston Taylor who plays a slow version of this song
live which really tugs at my heartstrings.
fIREHOSE:
"In Memory Of Elizabeth Cotten"
(a beautiful acoustic song from a normally hard-rocking band)
Pat Metheny Group/Pedro Aznar:
, ,
"Mas Alla" (First Circle)
Nancy Griffith:
"It's A Hard Life" (Storms)
--
| mike a - dept chem |
| Max *Plonk* Institute |
A small correction here: While Steve Goodman recorded "The Dutchman",
Michael Smith wrote it.
Jerry Corrigan
Mark
[Request details omitted]
>Well, one that I have *never* listened to without choking up (I
>admit I'm a bit of a softy) is "First Christmas(away from home)" on
>_Between the Breaks..Live_ by the late lamented Stan Rogers
>(Fogarty's Cove music). Ditto for Eric Bogle's "And the Band Played
>Waltzing Matilda" (sorry, don't know the particulars). John Prine
>wrote a few, too--"Hello in There" comes to mind, as does Steve
>Goodman's "the Ballad of Penny Evans".
>
>Tim Keenan
>Department of Forest Resources
>UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK
Not to mention "Harris and the Mare," also off of _Between the
Breaks...Live" and "Lies," *also* by Stan Rogers. A new version can be
found on the recently released _Home in Halifax_. Also, "Silent Night" by
Uncle Bonsai, on their _Boys Want Sex in the Morning_. And any number of
songs by Renaissance; the ones that do it best for me are "Kiev"
(_Prologue_), "Ocean Gypsy" (_Renaissance and Other Stories_ and also _Live
at Carnegie Hall_), and "The Captive Heart" (_Novella_). plus the ones I
mentioned in e-mail...
- Bruce -
br...@src4src.linet.org
"If I had $1000000, I'd buy you some art (a Picasso or a Garfunkel)."
-- Barenaked Ladies
: I'm interested in making a compilation of sad, poignant songs
Gilbert O'Sullivan: Alone Again Naturally
--
Kirt Krammer speaking for himself
Unisys Corp, D1V03
322 N. 2200 W., Salt Lake City, UT 84116
801-594-5742 k...@unislc.slc.unisys.com -or- unislc!kjk
How about the following:
Steve Earle: 'Billy Austin' (Shut Up And Die Like An Aviator; The Hard Way)
Mary Chapin Carpenter: 'Goodbye Again' (State of the Heart)
Hank, Jr.: 'Cutbank Montana' (Maverick)
'Montana Song' (Hank, Jr. And Friends)
Michelle Wright: 'He Would Be 16' (Now & Then)
Sawyer Brown: 'All These Years' (Cafe On the Corner)
'Gypsies On Parade' (Out Going Cattin)
Restless Heart: 'New York' (Wheels)
Atlanta: 'Sweet Was Our Rose' (Pictures)
Gary Morris: 'Anything Goes', 'South December Road' (Anything Goes)
'Bed of Roses', 'Miracle' (Faded Blue)
'The Man Upstairs' (Full Moon Empty Hearts)
Earl Thomas Conley: 'Many Forgiving Years', 'That Was a Close One' (Too Many
Times)
Alabama: 'Lady Down On love' (The Closer You Get; Live)
'Alabama Sky' (The Closer You Get)
'Never Be One' (Mountain Music)
'The Boy' (Roll On)
Exile: 'Yet' (Still Standing)
Garth Brooks: 'Down In Lonesome Dove' (Ropin the Wind)
Billy Dean: 'Somewhere In My Broken Heart' (Young Man)
George Jones: 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' (?)
Southern Pacific: 'Trail of Tears' (Zuma)
Dan Seals: 'Everything That Glitters Is Not Gold' (?)
'Five Generations of Rock County Wilsons' (Addicted)
Tom.
Rudi Schmid, UC Berkeley sch...@garnet.berkeley.edu
Also known as the Hungarian Suicide Song. The original Hungarian title was
"Szomoru Vasarnap" The composer committed suicide in 1968.
also of note:
Jackson Browne: Song for Adam (Saturate Before Using)
Harry Chapin: Mr. Tanner (Short Stories)
Tangled up Puppet
(Legends of the Lost & Found)
Steve Goodman: City of New Orleans
(I've only got Arlo's version)
Great. Now you've got me flipping through my albums. This
may take a while...8-}
-Lyle
Call me warped, but I thought this one was funny. Lines like:
It's the way that you remember/ that I was late for dinner/ eleven
months and fourteen days ago/It's the little things you do/
That piss me off
It just didn't strike me as poignant. :-)
My nominations for sad songs:
_To Love is to Bury_ by The Cowboy Junkies (The Trinity Sessions)
(good version of _I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry_ there too)
_No Place To Stand_ by k.d. lang (Absolute Torch and Twang)
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geri Olson, Academic Programmer Internet: Ol...@Macalstr.Edu
Macalester College, St. Paul MN BITNet: Olson@Macalstr
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: I'm interested in making a compilation of sad, poignant songs
Shades of Gray -- The Monkees[Headquarters]
500 Miles -- Peter, Paul, and Mary[Ten Years Together]
Watching and Waiting -- Moody Blues[To Our Children's Children's Children]
Please Be the One -- Karla Bonoff[Wild Heart of the Young]
Where Have All the Flowers Gone -- Kingston Trio
Not quite what you're on about, but "When Ye Go Away" by the Waterboys
on the _Fisherman's Blues_ album is a song that creeps up on you with
it's sadness. There's a yearning for something there, but I'm still
not quite sure what.
Actually, though I like "Song for Adam", I find "My Opening Farewell"
much more sad.
Mike Jones | jon...@rpi.edu
I take Him shopping with me. I say, 'OK, Jesus, help me find a bargain.'
-Tammy Faye Bakker
Going back to "Song for Adam", who is Adam supposed to be? I find it to
be a very intriguing song, but I sure wish I knew who it was written for.
Jackson Browne sure has written a lot of emotional (if not sad) songs
over the years, hasn't he :
"Fountain of Sorrow"
"Hold On Hold Out"
"Of Missing Persons"
"For A Dancer"
"Before The Deluge"
"Late For The Sky"
"These Days"
"For Everyman"
"I Thought I Was a Child"
"The Load Out"
"For America"
Didja ever notice that (as far as I know) there's never been a "Jackson
Browne's Greatest Hits" album? Just doesn't sound right for some reason.
=============================================================================
Bob Marshall \\ If 10% is good enough for Jesus,
Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. \\ it ought to be good enough for
Sunnyvale, CA \\ Uncle Sam!
mars...@nebula.ssd.lmsc.lockheed.com\\
"I tell the truth 'cept when I lie" \\ - Ray Stevens
=============================================================================
I second these. The first is listed as "No Man's Land" on
Eric's "Scaps of Paper" album. A friend who I introduced to Eric
Bogle's music commented that she imagined "he goes off his lithium for
inspiration."
> Stan Rogers again -- Lies
This one I must strongly disagree with. While it is one of my
favourite Stan Rogers songs, it is also one of the most uplifting and
life afirming songs I can think of.
Mark
--
Mark D. Eklof
Co-os Grange (ASCII translit - omit the dash with two dots above second 'o'.)
Brookline, New Hampshire, USA
Sometimes, I wonder if it's me.
"Mama, Look Sharp," from the musical _1776_
- Bruce -
br...@src4src.linet.org
Mena (am...@math.lsa.umich.edu)
> > : This isn't country and whatnot, but in (I believe) the '30s
> > : there was a popular song in Hungary called GLOOMY MONDAY that
> > : led to a spate of self-inflicted deaths due to the innate
> > : morosity of the song and the tune.
> >
> > This was "Gloomy Sunday". The verses were sung to the singer's
> > recently deceased beloved, and he is thinking of joing her.
>
> Also known as the Hungarian Suicide Song. The original Hungarian title was
> "Szomoru Vasarnap" The composer committed suicide in 1968.
I have a tape of a Leonard Cohen broadcast from 1968 in which he
refers to this song during an introduction to his own "Dress
Rehearsal Rag." He mentions that he recently read in the paper
that the composer of "Gloomy Sunday" had killed himself.
--
- Ron Mura, Boston, Massachusetts rm...@world.std.com
> I'm interested in making a compilation of sad, poignant songs
> (don't worry, I'm alright mama!). I would appreciate suggestions
> of such songs. Please be as specific as possible; i.e., include
> artist, song title, and album information, perhaps in the format
> below.
>
> Regarding the definition of "sadness" desired: the basic quest is
> for songs that really grab you, evoking much empathy. EXCLUDED
> should be songs of a maudlin, sentimental, or self-pitying nature.
>
> The musical genre of the song is not particularly important;
> however, much preferred are highly acoustic performances or low-key
> electric ones.
OK, here goes:
Albums that have that 'sad' feel:
Jackson Browne - Late For The Sky
Richard & Linda Thompson - most albums contains some really sad tracks
Joy Division - Closer
Cure - Faith
Van Morrisn - Veedon Fleece
Sting - Soul Cages
Individual songs:
Shirley Collins - Poor Murdered Woman
Costello - The Birds Will Still be Singing
- Psycho
Don McLean - Three Flights
- Empty Chairs
- The Grave
Jonathan Ricman - Hospital
Van Morrison - Slim Slow Slider
- T.B.Sheets
Shangri-Las - Past, Present & Future
Tom Waits - Postcard From A Hooker
- Dirt In The Ground
Tim Buckley - Once I Was
- Morning Glory
- Song To The Siren
Marlene Dietrich - Bitte Geh' Nicht Fort
Nick Lowe - Baker Street
Lorraine Ellison - Stay With Me Baby
Gladys Knight - Queen Of Tears
The Specials+Rhoda - The Boiler
Suzanne Vega - Luka
Paul
>pdca...@iest.demon.co.uk writes:
>> In article <1993Aug4.1...@hemlock.cray.com> ro...@cherry09.cray.com (Robert Derrick) writes:
>> > A couple more that I like:
>> > The Dutchman, by Steve Goodman
Except it's not by Steve Goodman. It's by
Michael Smith (if I'm remembering his name
right), as has been pointed out innumerable
times in this rec.music.folk. Who'll write
the necessary "Lament for a Missing FAQ"
(and would it take more time to do that or
to maintain a FAQ file) for r.m.f.?
--
Daniel M. Rosenblum, Assistant Professor, Quantitative Studies Area,
Graduate School of Management, Rutgers University (Newark Campus)
ROSE...@DRACO.RUTGERS.EDU ROSE...@ZODIAC.BITnet
d...@andromeda.rutgers.edu ...!rutgers!andromeda.rutgers.edu!dmr
My grandfather was born in Gronigen (sp?) Holland. And he was very
much the Dutchman of the song, towards the end. And no one in the
family can hear this song without getting teary eyed. Now that's
sad, no doubt of it.
rob d.
> comp1...@camins.camosun.bc.ca (lbeaulac) writes:
>> also of note:
>> Jackson Browne: Song for Adam (Saturate Before Using)
> Actually, though I like "Song for Adam", I find "My Opening Farewell"
> much more sad.
I agree, I also find "MOF" sadder than "SFA", but IMHO neither come close
to some of the tracks off of _Late For The Sky_, "These Days" for example.
Paul
Anachie Gordon
The version by Mary Black was the one I heard first. Stayed
with me for days.
Early Morning Rain
The Peter, Paul and Mary version.
Pvt. Wille McBride, Fields of Flanders, etc. by Eric Bogle
I think I heard Dick Gaughan sing this first. Incredibly
moving.
Young Waters
On June Tabor's Airs and Graces CD. A story about a knight who
is put to death because the Queen said that he was the fairest
knight in the parade.
The opening theme from "Nausicaa".
If you watch Japanese animation you'll know what I mean ^_^
My Heart Belongs to She
I think thats what its called. It starts "Late in the evening
when the gloamin' comes down/Its deep in the Country I'll be/
When all the wild creatures and sensible men/Are asleep in their
beds I roam free". I think Dick Gaughan sings it. I listened
to it in the car for ages. I think its on the Andy M. Stewart
- Dick Gaughan CD "Dublin Lady".
The Moonlight
My second favorite of Ann Mortifee's songs, on her "Baptism"
album. I like "Baptism" better but it isn't sad. If you
haven't listened to Ann Mortifee this is the album to get.
What an incredible voice.
The Old Folks
by Jacque Brel. Ann Mortifee does a version of this on her
Jacque Brel CD. Not sure what the title is in French.
--
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Iskandar Taib | The only thing worse than Peach ala
Internet: NT...@SILVER.UCS.INDIANA.EDU | Frog is Frog ala Peach
Bitnet: NTAIB@IUBACS !
Judy Small - A man among men - about gay men dying from AIDS
Charlesworth Bay - about the ugly redevelopment of bay
in NSW
Montreal - about the killing of those inocent female
students at the university there a few years back.
Judy Small is an Australian singer/songwriter, who has toured the
States.
Hope this helps,
Rowan.
>OK I joined in late. Here is my list, in the order of which they come
>to mind.. ^_^ Some are a lot better than others.
Oops. How could I forget.
Eleanor Plunkett
Carolan's Farewell to Music
by the Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan. Versions abound. My
favorite Eleanor Plunkett is on Kim Robertson's Wind Shadows
CD. This song has a gruesome story behind it by the way ^_'
i'd have to go for `Farewell, Farewell' by Fairport Convention (Liege and Lief)
(`Crazy Man Michael' from the same album is also a classic sad song.)
also `Double Cross' sung by Mary Coughlan (Tired & Emotional) (I don't know
who's the author of the song)
Of course, if it's just sad, poignant music you're after, i'd recommend
the first part of Faure's Requiem...
cheers,
rog. (r...@ohm.york.ac.uk)
What a Strange Thought by Jack Hardy
You are Not Needed Now by Townes Van Zandt
This could go on and on and on.....
Debbie Riel
Debbie
Tracie.
Mark
Mark
--Sorry, but this is just one of my all time gag-reflex-engendering
horrors....I mean, Rod McKuen *and* Terry Jacks in one package?? I need
to go and brush my teeth.....
later,
Tim Keenan
Tim Keenan
Department of Forest Resources
UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK
*-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-*
+ +
| My baby came to me this morning |
+ She said "I'm kinda confused....... +
| If me and B.B. King was both drownin' |
+ Which one would you choose?" +
| And I said " Wo-o-oh, baby |
+ Wo-o-oh, baby +
| I said " Wo-o-oh, baby---- |
+ Babe, I ain't never heard you play no blues." +
| |
+ .................S. Goodman +
*-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-*
-Chris
--
Chris Butler cbu...@bnr.ca #include <std_disclaimer.h>
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Music...has been my closest friend, my fiercest foe..." - H. Chapin
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The Town I Love so Well (Dubliners?)
Returning to his home town in Ireland, am man has to face that
it had been turned into military base meanwhile. He is not amused.
Only Our Rivers Run Free (performed e.g. by Cristy Moore, Planxty)
Pessimistic analysis about when Ireland will be free.
Braw Burn the Bridges (The Tannahill Weavers)
One of the Tannie's best. I heard it live and highly recommend it.
The Man with the Cap (Patrick Street)
A quiet story about a lonely, kind old man. Outstanding in
lyrics and tunes.
The West Coast of Clare (Planxty)
Another lost love. But with Andy Irvine singing and Donal Lunny
playing the bouzouki...
Prince among Men (Patrick Street)
A father ruining his health and finally getting killed in a
coal mine in order to allow his son to visit school and save
him from slave-like working conditions.
Die Moorsoldaten (written in a nazi-concentration camp, performed by
almost every german folk-singer, e.g. Hannes Wader)
Describing the hard and hopeless life in the camp. Poignant indeed.
Das gelbe Laub (lyrics by Heinrich Heine, music by Hauke Harms)
Heine's sad poem about parting from youth, emphasized by Harm's
feeling tune.
c.u. - Ulf
Ya oughta add "Fountain of Sorrow" to the list, even though when I sing
it these days I usually sing the set of words I wrote for it instead:
sung that way, it's called "Mountain of Laundry".
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Doug.L...@sun.com "Sukkiri ga ii."
Bruce
b...@cs.cmu.edu
A small correction here: While Steve Goodman recorded "The Dutchman",
Michael Smith wrote it.
An even smaller correction here: Michael Smith wrote "The Dutchman"
before Steve Goodman recorded it.
--
Gary A. Martin, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, UMass Dartmouth
Mar...@cis.umassd.edu
Steve Gillette:
Darcy Farrow
This reminds me that Steve's wife, Cindy Mangsen has recorded some of
the saddest songs I can think of:
Annachie Gordon
The Week Before Easter
Mr. Fox (By Pole & Yarnell)
The Long and Lonely Winter (By Goulder)
The Cruel Mother
Fair Annie
A few others that come to mind:
Mary Elizabeth (by Joe Heukerot, about a close friend in college
who died while trying to perform an abortion on herself - prior to
Roe v. Wade - and the effects of Catholic education on both his and
her actions and reactions in the situation)
The Cruel Brother
A song I perform by Andrew Calhoun. The name is "Getaway". It is on his
latest album. (Andrew's from the Chicago area)
Mark
Hmm . . . I don't think of this as a sad song. It's quite upbeat. About
two months ago I gave a copy of the album (Hope) as a gift to some friends.
We put it on in the background while talking and later noticed that the
machine was on repeat mode, so their five-year-old daughter had heard
it two or three times. The next morning she asked me to put on the song
about the bus (Getaway). She then asked me to play it four more times.
Yes, and "After the Deluge" is pretty depressing, too. Do you really think
someone who's been writing such great music for 25 years would beat up Darryl
Hannah? BTW, Chrisy Moore covered this tune really well - better than JB's
rendition, IMHO.
And how about "safe at anchor"?
Ugo
*************************************************************************
Ugo Piomelli
Associate Professor The less I seek my source
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering For some definitives
University of Maryland Closer I am to fine
College Park, MD 20742 Emily Saliers
*************************************************************************
Actually it was Christy Moore - I hate it when that happens.
JCK
>Is "Seasons in the Sun" available on compact disc? I've got it on 8-track
>and I'd like to upgrade. (I actually like several of the songs on the
>album.)
The pop and country versions were pretty tacky, but I had the pleasure
a while back of hearing Jacque Brel himself sing it in English.
Interestingly different.
"The Fields Have Turned Brown" [Bluegrass]
----------------------------------------------------------------
Recorded by the Stanley Brothers in 1949
(written by Carter Stanley)
The regret of lost/wasted time. Puts life into perspective
a little bit. Available on Bear Family cd (BCD 15564).
"Sloe Gin" [bluesy rock]
----------------------------------------------------------------
Recorded by Tim Curry in ~1978
(written two band members)
This should either depress you, or irritate you. I find it
to be either achingly sad or an overwrought wallow in self
pity, depending on my mood at the time.
CD availability unknown. It is on his LP "Read My Lips".
"Mound of Clay" [country/rock-a-billy]
----------------------------------------------------------------
Recorded by Charlie Feathers in 1973
(written by Roy Acuff)
Charlie's voice tugs at the ol' heart strings, if you've ever
lost someone you cared about. Available on Edsel cd (EDCD 355).
Steven Lemons sle...@lime.EBay.Sun.COM
>Some sad folk songs and ballads:
>Die Moorsoldaten (written in a nazi-concentration camp, performed by
> almost every german folk-singer, e.g. Hannes Wader)
> Describing the hard and hopeless life in the camp. Poignant indeed.
I probably have to be out of my mind to pick a bone with a native
German speaker about a German song when I don't even know the
language, but I'll do it anyway. The last stanza and final refrain
(from memory of Paul Robeson's recordings, Ernst Busch's recording,
and, for spellings, the lyric sheet to the album with Ernst Busch,
so please forgive and feel free to correct any errors) are:
Doch fuer uns gibt es kein klagen
Ewig kanns nicht winter sein
Einmal werden froh wir sagen
Heimat, du bist wieder mein.
Dahn zieh'n die Moorsoldaten
Nicht mehr mit dem spaten ins Moor.
Robeson would really hammer out the words "Nicht mehr" when he
sang it. The standard English translation for this is:
But for us there is no complaining;
Winter will in time be past.
Some day we shall cry rejoicing,
"Homeland, dear, you're mine at last."
Then will the peat-bog soldiers
March no more with their spades to the bog.
Now, while the song may present a bleak image of the lives of the
slave laborers in the concentration camps at the time, it ends on
this optimistic affirmation that it will end. Hardly a sad song!
--
Daniel M. Rosenblum, Assistant Professor, Quantitative Studies Area,
Graduate School of Management, Rutgers University (Newark Campus)
ROSE...@DRACO.RUTGERS.EDU ROSE...@ZODIAC.BITnet
d...@andromeda.rutgers.edu ...!rutgers!andromeda.rutgers.edu!dmr
Miriam
Today there is no day or night.
Today there is no dark or light.
Today there is no black or white,
Only "Shades of Gray." Monkees
500 Miles -- Peter, Paul and Mary
Where Have All the Flowers Gone -- Kingston Trio
Tom Payerle