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{{quote|''Well ain't there one damn song that can make me break down and cry?''|'''[[
These songs [[Tear Jerker|will surely make you cry]]. If not? Well...there's not much else we can say to ya. Sometimes involves [[Soundtrack Dissonance]].
Note: ''any'' song can be a [[Tear Jerker]] if it gets associated with the wrong thing. We ideally want songs that are tearjerkers in themselves.
----
== Artist subcategories ==
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* [[ABBA (Music)/Tear Jerker|ABBA]]▼
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</div>
== Genre subcategories ==
* [[Classical Music/Tear Jerker|Classical Music]]
* [[Country Music/Tear Jerker|Country Music]]
* [[
* [[
* [[Vocaloid
* [[
{{examples|Examples (Artist Specific, Alphabetical Order)}}
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* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2Cn6BqE4TM "Da Slockit Light"] by Tom Anderson.
* [[Aphex Twin]], yes, Aphex Twin, has a sweet little piano song off of ''Druqks'' called [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfYl6_f2Mdg Avril 14th.]
* [[
* Army of the Pharaoh's "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH_BQZURZGg Into the Arms of Angels]" is a hip-hop example that's a chronicle of life in about as crapsack as a [[Crapsack World]] can get.
* 3000 Feet by Assemblage 23. The entire song is a guy calling his lover because he's on a plane that's going to crash. It's his last chance to talk to his lover. The worst part? When the poor guy has one more thing to say, and he gets cut off by the plane impacting.
* ATB's 2005 [[Softer and Slower Cover|ballad remake]] of his single "Let You Go".
* [[
** "The Waitress". It's about a homeless man's bickering relationship with a waitress and how he honestly doesn't have much life left in him {{spoiler|Oh and the waitress he's been argueing with the whole song? Yeah that's his daughter.}}
** "Yesterday". [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEHTTFOwsDs Just listen to it.] All the way through.
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** Another Chanticleer performance: "Calling My Children Home". Hearing this one live and can break one's heart.
* "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles.
{{quote|
But time has stood still since we've been apart..." }}
** "Georgia on My Mind" is another one.
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* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYC8edEtujM A Thousand Heartbreaking Reasons]" by Jacky Cheung.
* "What Would You Do?" by City High. "What would do if your son was at home/ Lying all alone on the bed crying cause he's hungry / What would you do if the only way to feed him / Is to sleep with a man for a little bit of money/ and his daddy's gone / somewhere smoking rock now, in and out of lock down / I ain't got a job now / So for you this is just a good time / but for me this is what I call life." The second verse really does not help.
* "Poison and Wine" and "Falling", both by The Civil Wars. "Please tell me you know/I've got to let you go/I can't help falling/out of love with you."
* Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton, with out a doubt he saddest song ever written, if you know the story behind it. Make sure to have a Kleenex.
* "Somebody else not me" by Duran Duran is even more sadder if broke with your boy/girlfriend
* "Boy Soldier" by Johnny Clegg, especially the chorus.
{{quote|
Once we were children
Then one morning they came
The soldiers took us away..." }}
* "Many Rivers To Cross", by Jimmy Cliff (also covered effectively by Joe Cocker). Even with the singer's perseverance, the adversity and temptation can be too much to bear at times.
* "The Doctor's Wife" by The Clockwork Quartet.
{{quote|
I can see the gleam
of her eyes
amidst the new machines!
and at night
I can hear her whisper..." }}
** As much [[Nightmare Fuel]] as it is [[Tear Jerker]]; same goes for the wife's refrain.
* Biffy Clyro's "Folding Stars". Sure, it's a depressing song in
** "Many of Horror": "When we collide we come together / If we don't we'll always be apart"
* "Flame Trees" by Cold Chisel. Especially in the movie ''Little Fish'', where this song about lost loves and small towns and long gone glory days is sung by a ''children's choir''.
{{quote|
* "Hush Hush Hush," by [[Paula Cole]], is a lullaby sung by a father to his dying son. One might break down when the song gets to the line "Maybe next time, you'll be given a chance."
* "Kilkelly, Ireland" by Ciara Considine. It's about farmers during a famine, which you'd expect to be sad. Then it gets EVEN WORSE THAN THAT.
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* "Superman's Song" by the Crash Test Dummies. It's the perfect eulogy to give the Man of Steel.
* "Spancil Hill" by Cruachan has heart-wrenching lyrics about a man longing for his native Ireland.
* "I Know What Kind of Love This Is" was kind of depressing when The Nields did it, but when Cry Cry Cry covered it... [[Exactly What It Says
* Most songs by Rebekah Ann Curtis are tearjerking, but [http://www.ourstage.com/tracks/CNUIXKLKXMPF-byrons-song "Byron's Song"] can really make one tear up. It's about a friend of hers who died of cancer. Not to be confused with the film ''[[Brians Song]]'', whose protagonist also died of cancer.
* "Emotion" by [[
* Anything by Dark Sanctuary. Just try it. (Actually, this type of song was the premise of the band.)
* "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree" can make one mist up a little, especially the chorus and final verse.
* [[
* Skeeter Davis' "The End Of The World". After seeing ''[[Girl, Interrupted]]'', you may not be able for a time afterward to hear it without feeling a) deeply depressed or b) [[Nightmare Fuel|deeply disturbed.]]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnJOH5PImrw "The Host of the Seraphim"] by Dead Can Dance is incredibly haunting. Never mind its use as background music in The Mist, or accompanying the terrible scenes of abject poverty in Baraka.
* "Fatal hesitation" by Chris DeBurgh. "Oh Romeo is standing in the rain... I know I have let her slip away... Fatal hesitation..."
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* Grey Delisle's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kXXTe6M1PE cover] of "Bohemian Rhapsody" is possibly the most heartbreaking song one might ever hear. It takes on an even deeper meaning when we realize this woman also voiced Azula from ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Although, your mileage may vary on that one ...
* [[Demons and Wizards]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOzDykuoal0 "Love's Tragedy Asunder"] probably qualifies, but [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGMx0YkeTFQ "Fiddler on the Green"] definitely does:
{{quote|
I'll take you there
Your pain will go away..." }}
* Sandy Denny's "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?".
* [[
* DeVotchKa's "How It Ends." A 7-minute, accordion-lead indie balled with VERY emotional vocals, an extended cello solo, haunting and vaguely Canadian pianos, and lyrics such as this:
{{quote|
They poked a million holes
You never let them show
Come on it's time to go." }}
** It's like... orphans boarding a train through Siberia... or something.
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* "Sunrise" by [[The Divine Comedy]] is a resigned, jaded song about the troubles in Ireland that builds first to despairing rage at the futility of it all ("Who cares what name you call a town? Who'll care when you're six feet beneath the ground?") then goes from ''there'' to a glorious, crying-with-joy crescendo.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLUh70zp0LE "Little Ghetto Boy"] by Donny Hathaway.
* "Laleña" by Donovan.
* Rob Dougan's "Furious Angels" and "Left Me For Dead".
* Mike Doughty's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaB9dow1eR4 "Ft. Hood,"] named after the army base in Texas that's produced the most US casualties in the Iraq war.
* Nick Drake. His biography is depressing alone, but the album ''Pink Moon'' can leave some people weeping. It doesn't help that Nick committed suicide a few years after this album, and you can hear how completely he had given up on the world.
** "Fruit Tree" can do it, especially since Nick wound up living the song.
** Even ''Bryter Layter'', which was probably his most cheerful album, isn't immune to
* Dream Academy's "Life in a Northern Town". So often dismissed as a [[Chorus
* "Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife" by Drive-By Truckers seems at its surface to be about a man realizing the importance of his family after he's died unexpectedly, but the entire tone of the song is changed once you discover that actually it's about the [
** Drive-by Truckers' "[http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=14153 Little Bonnie]" can hit some people hard in the gut.
*** Decoration Day. Just... Decoration Day.
{{quote|
and I’ve got a family in Mobile Bay
and they’ve never seen my Daddy’s grave.
But that don’t bother me, it ain’t marked anyway.
Cause I got dead brothers in Lauderdale south
and I got dead brothers in east Tennessee.
My Daddy got shot right in front of his house
he had no one to fall on but me. }}
* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5s4wjOmW_M Green Fields of France]" by the Dropkick Murphys.
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** "Fairmount Hill" from their last album is another one. To those who have lived in Boston, it can bring nostalgic tears to their eyes.
** Their latest album has some big tear jerkers as well in "Broken Hymns" (about deceased soldiers in the Civil War returning home to be buried) and "1953" (about the main character proposing to his soon-to-be-wife).
** The lyrics of "The Last Letter Home" from ''Warrior's Code'' consist of letters exchanged between a solider in Iraq and his family. The last letter is a [[Death Notification]].
* "Riding A Tiger", by the filk band Echo's Children. It's set for a science fiction
* Julia Ecklar is mostly known for some fannish power ballads, and cheery stuff like "Born Again Trek," but then she sings "Lullaby for a Weary World." It might be a good song to pass along to anyone at an anti-war rally...
* ''"Friend of Ours"'' by [[Elbow]] is the band's goodbye to a dead friend of theirs. The words "love you, mate" can be so heart-wrenching.
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* [[Brian Eno]] has a few, including "On Some Faraway Beach", "Taking Tiger Mountain", "Everything Merges With The Night" and "Spider And I".
* [[Evelyn Evelyn]]'s "Sandy Fishnets", about the disappearance and probable murder-by-drowning of a twelve-year-old prostitute. While this song may trigger a [[Lolicon]] [[Squick]] (there's no graphic detail in that arena, but just enough for the listener to get the idea), it's also just heartbreaking. The bridge especially can bring one to tears - don't listen to it after the death of a loved one:
{{quote|
With the wind in her sails and a knife in her teeth
At the helm of a ship on its way to a distant shore?
Bermuda or Thailand, an uncharted island?
Sandy, we're all getting older.
What will they do with us
When they are through with us?
Sandy, what are we sailing for?" }}
* "Ooh La La" by The Faces can do it for people who are going through rough times. "I wish that I knew what I know now" can take on more and more resonance, as the time goes by.
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* [[Fallout]] fans unite: The Inkspots took melancholy to an art form. "Maybe", "I Don't Want to Start the World on Fire", and "If I Didn't Care". Mix and match with 50's nuclear apocalypse, art deco, underwater distortions, and objectionism. Keep a tissue handy as well.
* Out of ''all'' of Fiction Junction YUUKA's songs, the one that might make cry the most is "Hitomi no kakera" - although, "Akatsuki no kuruma" is also quite the tear jerker.
* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-kpR32B-Uk World]" by [[Five For Fighting]], and, and this can double as a [[Live
** Five for Fighting's "Superman", cliche or not, can also get some people choked up during it.
*** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHnT908mp3U This video makes it a million times worse. * SNIFF* ]
** "A Hundred Years" is one that can change your entire view on life. It can have that much of an effect, including mass tears.
* "Do You Realize" by the [[Flaming Lips]]: The most life-affirming song about death ever.
{{quote|
** "Mr. Ambulance Driver", which has many of the same themes as "Do You Realize".
* Flanders and Swann's 'The Slow Train'.
* "He Doesn't Know Why" by [[Fleet Foxes]] has the power to make some people incredibly emotional.
** Then follow it up with the more recent "Helplessness Blues" and try not to lose it.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIb-49ePFII This particular song] from the Fleischer Brothers' "[[
* "Happy Birthday" by Flipsyde. The song is an apology to the unborn child of the narrator, which was aborted. It talks about how he wonders what the kid would be like, and lights a candle every year for it. The song can make one choke up. God. This is just... "I love you, whoever you would've been"
* Flobots' song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuK2A1ZqoWs "Handlebars"] can actually be depressing; [[Word of God|according to the music video]], it's about {{spoiler|two brothers going off on different paths: one becomes a protester with little money but happy nonetheless, the other becomes an evil, power hungry dictator who accidentally kills his brother during a political protest gone riot}}.
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** After the dual tragedies of Barbaro and Eight Belles coming so close together, it can be tough to listen to "Run For the Roses" without welling up. It's so sad because it's about how the whole point of the horse's life is the Triple Crown races, especially the Kentucky Derby.
** "Leader of the Band" can absolutely affect some people upon hearing it. Just thinking of the words can be enough to break one.
{{quote|
And Papa, I don't think I've said 'I love you' near enough." }}
* Jay Foreman, "Martin Was A Monkey". It's about a monkey who wants to go skiing. And it's ''heartbreaking''.
{{quote|
And there was nothing he could do,
It seemed that all things had a place
And his was in the zoo." }}
* [[Switchfoot|Jon Foreman]] has a song named [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybRHqHJI5fc Somebody's Baby]
* Fort Minor's "Slip out the Back", particularly the ending.
{{quote|
I'm not a hero but don't think I didn't care." }}
* Most anything by Jeffrey Foucault can make some people tear up. Especially "Battle Hymn (of the College Dropout Farmhand)" and "Stripping Cane".
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* "How to Save a Life" by the Fray. Maybe not so much due to the song itself - but because of how effectively it was used during the tragic climax of the [[Scrubs]] episode ''My Lunch''. Although, the song itself is concerned with the writer's real attempts to prevent the suicide of a boy he was counselling, which failed.
** Also, "You Found Me"
* Freezepop's "Swimming Pool" can do it, particularly the last few lines "I went under and you followed/let's not think about tomorrow/everything is perfect now". It can be even more so, if you associate it with [[Mayfly
* Rie Fu's ''Life Is Like A Boat'' is remarkably touching. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik8J9L5rJnc Really, just listen.]
{{quote|
The oceans heave up to my heart
You make me wanna strain at the oars
And soon, I can see the shore..." }}
* "Maggot Brain" by Funkadelic. Legend has it that Eddie Hazel was asked to play his guitar as if someone told him his mother had died and later found out that she was okay.
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* "The Prince's Tale" from The Final Battle. Lena Gabrielle is a master at these.
* "The '59 Sound" by the Gaslight Anthem. Its about the narrator's theoretical conversation with a dead friend, asking him questions such as if he heard his favorite song one more time before he died.
{{quote|
* "Taion" by The Gazette, especially during the chorus. Look up the lyrics and the backstory while listening, especially during the live version. The vocalist seems to begin tearing up at the start of the song. Unfortunately, it's hard to blame him.
* "Oklahoma" by Billy Gilman is a rather powerful mix of this and heartwarming.
* "Flowers and Football Tops" by Glasvegas, a song about the brutal murder of Scottish schoolboy Kriss Donald. The song is written from his father's perspective.
{{quote|
Just another number
My daughter without her brother" }}
** Most heartbreakingly of all, the song segues into "You Are My Sunshine" towards the end, but James Allan changes the words:
{{quote|
How could they take my sunshine away?" }}
* [[Exactly What It Says
* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQsoAGgrh9g How can it be? I can taste you now...]" Damn you Goldfrapp, damn you...
* Jean-Jacques Goldman:
** ''Pas Toi'', about a person who realizes that a relationship was one-sided when the breakup hurts them, but not the other person. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q6ExxFD9YU Link is here.]
{{quote|
Whatever I learn, I just cannot know why I'm bleeding
And not you. }}
** ''Comme toi'', where a narrator tells a young girl that he knew another girl who was just like her. He proceeds to list everything the other girl liked ("just like you"), then heavily suggests that she died at the hands of the Nazis.
{{quote|
Her life was sweetness, dreams and white clouds,
But other people had decided otherwise.
She had your clear eyes and she was your age,
She was a good and well-behaved little girl
But she was not born here and now like you were. }}
** ''Puisque tu pars'', where a parent mourns their kid's departure, feeling that they never did enough for the kid.
{{quote|
But everything I could still wasn't enough… }}
** ''Là-bas'', where a man states that he needs to leave for another country in order to remain himself and fulfill his dreams, while his fiancée tearfully begs him to stay by her side ("as a husband and a father"). Made even more poignant when you know that the girl who sang the fiancée's parts was murdered by her jealous boyfriend not long after recording the song.
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** The story behind the song put the whole video in perspective - Good Charlotte was getting a lot of fanmail saying "Thank you for giving me the courage to go through with killing myself". This did not sit well with the band. They realized that if their music could have such a profound effect on their fans, that they could do something to help suicidal listeners, and when they went on TRL to premiere the video, they essentially turned their segment into a suicide prevention PSA.
* "Held" by Natalie Grant. Even non-religious people can cry upon hearing this song, if they lose someone that they loved.
* Great Big Sea's ''Fisherman's Lament''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110908001853/http://www.greatbigsea.com/music/discography/songdetails.aspx?songid=7530df09-17f9-4501-9fdf-0b32f554037e The lyrics speak for themselves], but it's about losing the only life you've ever known, the loss of much of what your home province is known for, the future of said province... the anger and hurt and the feeling of betrayal are there in spades.
** Also "Safe Upon The Shore", especially when hearing a live performance of it.
* Gred and Forge is a band that plays lively rock songs with hilarious (and sometimes WTF-inducing) lyrics - which makes "Page 637", a slow, instrumental song about {{spoiler|Fred's death}}, so heartwrenching.
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* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7uMLhYnqXE "The Last Spring"] by Grieg.
* Der Weg from Herbert Grönemeyer. He wrote it for his wife, who died in a car crash. It's about her love, the fact that its too late, and the knowledge that he have to live on alone.
{{quote|
(We made mistakes, loved each other desperatly...)" }}
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvsd8yab2IY Groove Coverage - "Little June"] is about a fun-loving girl named June being kidnapped and murdered ("taken away on a beautiful day... by the hands of a man that she barely knew"). Worse, it's [[Lyrical Dissonance|set to a high-energy Euro-trance melody]].
* Guillemots' "If the World Ends" can make some people want to break into a sad puddle of tears upon hearing it. That it's actually about the end of the world and not just a metaphore for a break-up makes it such a killer. "If the world ends/I hope you're here with me/I think we can laugh just enough to not die in pain..."
* Ayumi Hamasaki's "[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x119xs_ayumi-hamasaki-a-song-for-xx_events A Song for XX]" (specially the more emotional re-recording for the A BEST) can make some people tear up. Finding [https://web.archive.org/web/20130907072238/http://ayumi.primenova.com/lyrics/asongforxx.htm the translation of the lyrics] can make things even worse.
** Also, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131007042106/http://ayumi.primenova.com/lyrics/endoftheworld.htm End of the World]"
** "A song is born". It's doubly sad when you remember that it is about the September 11 tragedy. Also, if you're listening to it on her ''I am...'' album, it's followed immediately by "Dearest". Oh God. Listening to both of those songs back-to-back can leave you crying for a long time. And for a more recent example, "You Were..." The lyrics are sad enough, but the emotion in her voice can really make one
** Memorial address (which is rumored to be about her father). Anger, rage, hurt, and grief.
** And teddy bear, which finds her thinking back to the day her father abandoned her and her mother.
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* [http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/walter_hawkins_lyrics_4142/love_alive_1_lyrics_12588/goin_up_yonder_lyrics_146300.html "Goin' Up Yonder"], originally by Walter Hawkins.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7nJZ9iqu68 Words] by Darren Hayes. The quiet, understated music video just helps, or makes things worse.
{{quote|
You'll keep them inside
They cut like a knife
And you keep it together,
All those feelings inside
There's nowhere to hide but away from me
And I just wanna listen..." }}
* "Midnight Radio" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, especially at "All you strange rock and rollers... you know you're doing all right!"
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* "Another Pilot" by Hey Rosetta! can be a bit of a tearjerker.
** Also "The Simplest Thing" and "Bandages".
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120828070143/http://smokeys-trail.com/9-11-01.html This version] of "Silent Night". Words by Stacey Randall. Recitation by Bob Holiday.
* Billie Holiday's version of "Gloomy Sunday" is simply amazing... if by "amazing" you mean "not being able to listen to it without getting it stuck in your head and being hurled into a vicious blue funk".
* The Hoosiers' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHbrf9Z_44A&feature=BFa&list=PLAA587A6FCB4AEB64&index=73 "Everything Goes Dark"] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hewEMQUIuU&feature=view_all&list=PLAA587A6FCB4AEB64&index=74 "A Sadness Runs Through Him"]. You can tell from the titles, but here's a sample from "A Sadness Runs Through Him":
{{quote|
And impatient they start, fearful they end
But here was a man mourning tomorrow
He drank, but finally drowned in his sorrow..." }}
* Jennifer Hudson's "Can't Stop The Rain" is a song about drink driving, and is quite depressing.
* Hussalonia's latest release, "The Somewhat Surprising Return of the Hussalonia Robot Singers" is made up of songs sung by synthetic robot voices. The first track is hilarious, the second one is hilarious bordering on creepy, and all subsequent tracks are either [[Tear Jerkers]] or at least very disturbing. Special mention goes to "I Can Still Wave," which features the most Woobie-ish robot since [[The
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etw3aSumBEU "My First Friend"] by Hyadain. BAWWWW ;_;
* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM0puiA4c3w Just For Today]" by Hybrid. Despite being instrumental, it can give one the feeling of a [[Hopeless War]] and a [[Last Stand]]. But [[Your Mileage May Vary]] for most of you out there.
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** Also, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgT7AyPmjfM this] performance which she sung in remembrance of a deceased friend. Breathtaking and devastating.
* "Godspeed" by Ron Hynes, in tribute to his late friend Gene [[Mac Lellan]], a famous songwriter ("Put Your Hand In The Hand", "Snowbird") who committed suicide after suffering from depression:
{{quote|
You put your hand in the hand of the man
Must have believed he would understand
Forgive a sweet soul a desperate deed
Godspeed, Godspeed." }}
* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWJTKc2-SWU Mama]" by Il Divo.
* "Hide and Seek" by [[Imogen Heap]]. Yes, despite the "Dear Sister" [[Memetic Mutation]] (or maybe because of it, actually). Or, even if you haven't heard of these memes on the song, it might still you cry. However, others might find it more [[Nightmare Fuel]].
** Also by Imogen Heap: Half Life and her cover of Hallelujah. A lot of Imogen Heap songs can be considered tearjerkers, just because of how incredible they are.
* "Fever Dream" and "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" by Iron and Wine can make some people cry, simply because of how beautiful they are.
** Other Iron and Wine examples include "Radio War," "Each Coming Night," "Naked As We Came," and "Passing Afternoon," which has the particularly poignant line, "There are sailing ships that pass/All our bodies in the grass/Springtime calls her children till she lets them go at last."
* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL3ZbNRH1Wc Edge of the Ocean]" by Ivy.
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** Other Tear Jerkers by Jarre: "Souvenir of China" (especially at the "Oxygen in Moscow" concert where it was dedicated to Princess Diana), "Ron's Piece" (dedicated to the victims of the Challenger disaster; [[Author Existence Failure|was originally planned to be played by one of them aboard the Shuttle]]), and "Oxygène 13".
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dysG12QCdTA Gay Pirates] by Cosmo Jarvis, particularly the final verse:
{{quote|
{{spoiler|Your hands as tight as mine,}}
{{spoiler|I'll see you on the bed of this}}
{{spoiler|Blue ocean babe, sometime}}
{{spoiler|But I'm yours you know}}
{{spoiler|And I'll love you still in hell}}
{{spoiler|Down we fell...}} }}
** The acoustic version is possibly even more of a tear jerker...
* "September Song". Taken on its own, with someone like Frank Sinatra singing it, it can be pretty moving. Then [[Voice of Dramatic|Tony Jay]] covered it.
{{quote|
And these precious days, I'll spend with you. These precious days, I'll spend with you..." }}
* Jay-Z's "Young Forever", which samples "Forever Young" by Alphaville and stirs the nostalgia.
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* Jump Little Children's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt-2Y2fV6gU "Cathedrals"].
* "Fatima" by K'Naan brings a whole new level to [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]]. The abduction of a close childhood friend and crush [[Lyrical Dissonance|never sounded so jolly]].
{{quote|
Before he took you away
On that fateful day?
Fatima, did he know your name
Or the plans we'd made
To go to New York City? }}
* "Aria" by Kalafina, especially in the context of the 4th [[Kara no Kyoukai:]] movie, where it is used as the ending theme.
{{quote|
The bonfire you gave me
Is lighting the life
That was born within my hollow chest"
"Rowing this lonely boat
The bonfire keeps assembling grief
In this hollow world
Your aria is resounding..." }}
** Similarly, "Sprinter", used as the ending theme for the 5th movie. Especially harrowing since it follows {{spoiler|a tear jerking heroic sacrifice -- which is made all the more tear jerker by the fact that it was unnecessary yet unavoidable}}.
{{quote|
I saw a dream that could never come true
An eternity that could be overcome within a single second"
"Facing the wind I wave a torn flag
On this way where you are not
I will live my life for myself
Till the end of the world..." }}
* Patricia Kaas' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I176aL2dTUw "Et s'il fallait le faire"] is a major tearjerker.
** Oh goodness, yes. Particularly her performance of the song at the 2009 [[Eurovision Song Contest]].
* Kaizers Orchestra's "170" is about an soldier who's sent out on the battlefield and knows that he won't return to see his wife and kid again. It gets especially heartbreaking when the general asks him if he's ready (we're waiting for an answer, 170).
* [http://threefingeredguy.revsoft.org/SMKN/asthefootstepsdieoutforever.mp3 Tomas Kalnoky's "As The Footsteps Die Out Forever"]{{Dead link}}.
* "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.
* Christian Kane does a cover of Tracey Chapman's song "Fast Car" that may be even more of a tearjerker than the original.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBR-a7GD9N8 Butterfly In The Still by Kaori Kano]. May sound rather [[Narm
* ''And if you got a minute, why don't we go/ Talk about it, somewhere only we know.'' Keane's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oextk-If8HQn "Somewhere Only We Know"] is about the pining remorse from missing your lost childhood, and the notes and intruments chosen for each part just pulls at your strings.
** It was used in the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQl2afjbW64 2010 trailer] for the [[Continuity Reboot]] of ''[[Winnie the Pooh|Winnie-The-Pooh]]'', where it takes on a whole new meaning.
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*** "A Bad Dream" is particularly sob-inducing if you know that it's based off of "An Irish Airman Forsees His Death" by William Butler Yeats. "In a better time you could be my friend" and "Wouldn't mind it if you were by my side but you're long gone yeah you're long gone now" are particuarly sad lines.
* James Keelaghan's "Captain Torres" is about the real-life sinking of a freighter in the Cabot Strait; conditions were so bad that there could be no rescue. The crew lined up and was given a few minutes to call home and say goodbye. The song is from the point of view of one of the wives, and if the verses don't get you, the bridge will be a punch in the gut.
{{quote|
I was home the phone was ringing
What of other's wives who missed it
Came home to red lights blinking..." }}
** Also by James Keelaghan, "Cold Missouri Waters", a retelling of the 1949 [
*** ''OUCH''. "La mer ne pardonne pas", indeed. Then the long playout with the cello mimicking the stormy sea and the almost-audible voice breaking through every so often.
* Luke Kelly's powerful tenor and genuine emotion in his rendition of "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55OBEs98Pj4 The Town I Loved So Well]" is so moving, especially the end of the penultimate verse:
{{quote|
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlrrAWCTRg Pittance of Time by Terry Kelly] can make many a person break down in tears.
* "It Just Is" by [[Rilo Kiley]] is a tribute to the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith who had just committed suicide, but its damn sad with or without the context.
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* "Pyro" by Kings of Leon, despite its title, is pretty melancholy. Caleb Followill has stated that it was inspired by the story of a fundamentalist Christian group who were massacred by federal agents.
* "Guide You Home" By Rebecca Kneubuhl and Gabriel Mann should be just another sappy romance song. Except that it was played at the conclusion of The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, the end of a trilogy in a [[Spyro the Dragon|series]]. Add this to the fact that it followed a ''Thank You'' to the fans of the series for the last ''ten years'', and... yeah. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNSNW44SY-Q Tears ahoy.]
{{quote|
Somehow it feels so familiar
We have been here before." }}
** It's sadder if you know the story. Hansi Kursch saw 2 car accidents a week apart - one killed a little boy, another a little girl. They were barely a mile apart. The song says that the fiddler, Death, took the boy by accident and had to take his soulmate as well, because she'd never be truly happy without him.
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* "Dead Actor's Requiem" by L'Âme Immortelle can be particularly sad.
* The song "Jueves", by the Spanish band La Oreja de Van Gogh; a hauntingly beautiful song about a girl confessing her love to a man she saw every day when they took the train together, only to find that he loved her back. While one may originally find the song to be heartwarming... the feeling can became rather depressive upon learning the song was in rememberance to the deaths caused in the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings.
** La Oreja de Van Gogh have several tear jerker songs, "La Playa" tells the story of a young man who meets a girl, promises her to see her again, only to wait 50 years in vain.
** "Rosas" tells the story of a young girl who meets and fall in love a man, they have a relationship but one day he just leaves, she just keep waiting for him to reapear in her life with a bouquet of roses.
** "Cuídate" is an upbeat song about a pair of ex-lovers who met again, there seems to be still some feeling between them, but the girl just tell the guy to "Take care of yourself, I'll be fine. Forget about me, I'll remember you".
* "The Ballad of Ira Hayes", by Peter LaFarge and its numerous covers.
{{quote|
Alone in the land he fought to save
Two inches of water in a lonely ditch
Was a grave for Ira Hayes." }}
* "All the Wild Horses" by Ray LaMontagne almost sounds like a sweet, quiet lullaby, but anyone who's seen [[Rescue Me]] knows how heartbreaking it can be. If you haven't, {{spoiler|it plays during the death of Tommy's son Connor}}.
* Oddly enough, the old song "Laurie (Strange Things Happen in This World)" by Dickey Lee. It's a retelling of the old ghost story about [[Beware of Hitch
* Annie Lennox's rendition of Cole Porter's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye". Especially the video.
** "Why" is also pretty heartwrenching, considering the lyrics.
** "Into The West" is pretty and sad at the same time and more so if you put it in context with what happened at the end of the third ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' movie. It won best original song at the 2003 Academy Awards.
* Less Than Jake can really bring on the wistful melancholy sometimes, just listen to "Screws Fall Out": "Friends leave as time fades away/The people and the places along the way/Without a doubt/Yeah, screws fall in and screws, they fall out", and then try looking at some old school photos.
* English folk punk group The Levellers offer "Another Man's Cause", a tragic account of a young soldier marching off to war in the footsteps of his dead father and brother.
* It's a very obscure space filk
{{quote|
Of reaching for the stars/to touch their lights,
So near and yet so far
They tried to leave the cradle
To explore the great unknown
To proudly stride the Cosmos on their own." }}
* She's Falling Apart by Lisa Loeb, which is about a girl whose struggling with an eating disorder (possibly anorexia) and self harm.
* "Andmoreagain" by Love:
{{quote|
And everything still turns out bad
And all your secrets are your own
And you don't know how much I love you..." }}
** Three more from ''Forever Changes'': "Alone Again Or", "Old Man" and "You Set The Scene".
* "Don't Forget" by [[Demi Lovato]].
* Any of the songs on "Nobody's Daughter" by Courtney Love, but specifically Letter to God. Think what you like about her as a person, listen to the album thinking of how it's being song by a woman who never knew her parents, had a shitty childhood, suffered from substance abuse, and had the love of her life kill himself, and a lot of people blame her and hate her for it. One might cry just thinking about her situation, never mind adding lyrics like "I been tortured and scorned/Since the day that I was born/But I don't know who I am..."
* "Runaway Love", by [[Ludacris]] and Mary J. Blige. Especially live. Enough said.
* Both editions of Lunar's The Unknown
* "The Ordeal" by Anders Lunqvist is [[Darker and Edgier]] then most of his songs, and evokes images of a stalemated [[Hopeless War]].
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* Not a well-known song (the Internet knows the lyrics and that it was by one Jenna Lynn, but doesn't seem to have a clue who Jenna Lynn is), but there is a song called "Flying Free". You've all heard [[An American Tail|"Somewhere Out There"]], right? It's precisely that kind of song.
* "We'll Meet Again" as performed by Vera Lynn. Not only can the lyrical content be construed as depressing (considering that it's a World War II song, it's implied that the place that "we'll" meet again is heaven), but it's the song that plays at the end of the Futurama episode "Jurassic Bark," an incredible tearjerker in its own right.
** Kudos to all the funny people behind ''[[Futurama]]'' for making their audiences cry.
* "Lower Your Eyelids to Die with the Sun" by [[
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVD0MsNSu10 "Farewell/ Goodbye"] may just be even sadder.
* Jesse Mac's song "Invincible". It's about his friend who drove drunk and died. Very sad.
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* The song "Sugar and Spice" by Madness describes a marriage dissolving through describing the couple meeting and falling in love. It's also an example of [[Lyrics Dissonance]] with its cheerful tune, but it can still reduce some people to tears.
* "Mistakes We Knew We Were Making" by Mae. This song is about a couple preparing to have their first child and how scared they both are. Beautiful lyrics and a beautiful voice.
{{quote|
{{spoiler|Dance until the band stops playing,}}
{{spoiler|Sing with all your might.''}} }}
* The Magnetic Fields has quite a few of these types of songs, but especially "All My Little Words".
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* The Mandisa song "You Wouldn't Cry (Andrew's Song) is enough of a [[Tear Jerker]] for anyone who has lost someone close to them, as it is sung from the perspective of the deceased as they describe Heaven to and try to comfort their loved ones. The sob factor shoots [[Up to Eleven]], though, when you read up on the background of the song: Mandisa wrote it after a friend of hers had delivered her first baby and he was stillborn. The baby's name was Andrew.
* "4st 7lb" by the [[Manic Street Preachers]] is a graphic account of a girl with anorexia, filled with some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful lyrics Richey James has ever written, in particular:
{{quote|
I want to walk in the snow and not soil its purity." }}
** "Nobody Loved You". A song written by Nicky Wire (bassist/lyricist) about the loss of Richey Edwards (former lyricist/guitarist, now missing). Example lines. "Cherry blossom tree/but at least you are free/Nobody loved you/Like me" can make one tear up.
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*** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boqUczdbjh4 "Stan"] by Eminem serves as one, since it runs very much like six minute story (or eight minutes for the longer version).
* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ImiqaXBMkM Marvin, I Love You]" by Marvin might be hard to hear all the way through without getting teary eyed.
* "Gone" by [[
* The often clinical, sinister [[Everything Is an Instrument]] electronic duo Matmos have "For Felix (And All The Rats)", a tribute to their deceased pet played on the bars of his cage. It is almost impossible to not cry while listening to it.
* "Gravedigger", off Dave Matthews' solo album.
{{quote|
Lost both of her babies in the second Great War
Now, you should never have to watch
As your only children are lowered in the ground
I mean, never have to bury your own babies." }}
* Have a girl/guy in your life you can't have anymore and just can't see with anybody else? Mayday Parade's "Miserable At Best" will probably get you:
{{quote|
** "Jamie All Over". "And please don't tell me that I'm dreaming, 'cause all I ever wanted was to dream another sunset with you..."
* [http://www.myspace.com/mayormcca Mayor McCa] has loads of stuff like this. "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha3LfN5n53k One Million Songs For You]" and "[http://scruss.com/music/mayor_mcca-lees_palace-20040618/07-you_better_watch_out.mp3 Watch Out]" are especially sad. (You're witty and smart and your eyes are like art!)
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* Her version done of "Marvin, I Love You" on her Christmas album ''A Winter Garden'' is even especially heart-rending thanks to her haunting instrumentation, gorgeous voice, and vibrato.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnGeHR-jveY Lover is Childlike by The Low Anthem]. The fact that it was written for The Hunger Games soundtrack, and fits well with {{spoiler|Finnick and Annie's}} love story (and we all know how that ends) just makes it worse.
* [[
* "Over It" by Katherine McPhee can have some people bawling even after the song ends.
* "Streets of London" by Ralph McTell. "One more forgotten hero, and a world that doesn't care...."
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** "Dear Me", especially when you consider the song was released just after the death of her husband Keith Whitley.
* ''Perfect'' by Alanis Morisette, about parents who expect perfection.
{{quote|
* "L.G. Fuad" (Lets Get Fucked Up and Die) by Motion City Soundtrack
{{quote|
But I choose to abuse for the time being
Maybe I'll win, but for now I've decided to die..." }}
** So is "Hold Me Down", "My Favorite Accident", "Time Turned Fragile", "Mary Without Sound", and "Broken Heart" when coupled with its music video.
* "No Children" by the Mountain Goats. It's not good to be addicted to a song with lyrics as bleak as:
{{quote|
Hand in unlovable hand
And I hope you die
I hope we both die." }}
** The Mountain Goats may have outdone themselves with "Matthew 25:21" from their most recent album, which, in a similar fashion to [[Sufjan Stevens]]' "Casimir Pulaski Day", chronicles a loved one's death from cancer. From the last verse:
{{quote|
We all stood there around you, happy to hear you speak
The last of something bright burning still burning
Beyond the cancer and the chemotherapy
And you were a presence full of light upon this earth
And I am a witness to your life and to it's worth
It's three days later when I get the call
And there's nobody around to break my fall..." }}
* Moxy Früvous is half a peppy, quirky, Canadian folk band. The other half of their songs will rip your heart out. For instance, "The Drinking Song", apparently about a friend who drank himself to death:
{{quote|
Quietly saying goodbye
But I was so hammered I sputtered and stammered
Told him he couldn't just die
He was a rock, went straight for his own armageddon
Face froze in a grin
Ambulence flyin' in, I never drank again
Can't really call that a loss or a win
And the band played on..." }}
* John Munro has collaborated with Eric Bogle <ref>See ''And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda'' above</ref> several times, so this should come as no real surprise:
** "The Ballad of Charles Devonport" is about a real person. It's sung from the point of view of the mother who was forced to give him up for adoption. The whole song goes over the reasons she did it and what happened to him, including getting shipped across the ocean and being told she was dead. It's sad enough as all the things that the mother and son missed out are ennumerated in painful detail and all the things she wants to make up for. {{spoiler|Then you find out in the end you find out that it's her ghost singing the song as her son kneels at her gravestone.}}
* "Another Lonely Day" by Mute, which is the unofficial theme song to the indie movie A.K.A, can make one cry buckets, because the lyrics can resonate with them.
{{quote|
Lord only knows
It's just another lonely day..." }}
* One of the many [[MOD]] pieces that can bring one to tears is "Alertia" by Myvoice & Reptile.
* "Tanjyou" ("Birth") by Miyuki Nakajima. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI6N803NC44 "Remember, when you were born, someone must have said it. Listen closely and remember the first time you heard someone say 'Welcome'. Remember that you were born. Remember that we met. Remember that we lived together, and that you remember."]
* [[Nas]]'s [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uWwLX4j970 Doo Rags] moves from nostalgia, to how life can be unfair, to how even in adversity and struggle one can find faith and beauty.
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siBCajh2g5E Dance] is his tribute to his dead mother.
* The original, piano-only version of the Kate Nash song "We Get On" can cause one to shed a tear or two. "But I must admit that there is still a part of me/That still thinks that we might get on" The way she sings the song, just simply and so honestly, can do it.
* Ne-Yo's song "Never Knew I Needed" from the [[Princess and The Frog]] soundtrack.
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* If you're on a downer, try listening through the whole thing of City and Colour's ''Bring Me Your Love''.
* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu6HyN-OoDQ I'll Wait for You]" by Joe Nichols. Especially at the last verse.
* Nickel Creek's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARIr6S_0lAQ "The Lighthouse's Tale"]. Odd as having a narrator being a lighthouse is, the song is still weep
** It's especially tearjerking when you combine it with some [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUnPo2mTI9c incredibly emotive ASL-singing]. (Yes, it's possible to sing in sign language. Have a look. Bring a tissue.)
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eFe3net82s "Doubting Thomas"] is even worse, even for people who aren't religious.
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* Norwegian Recycling's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg4j8o0XiBs "Viva la Viral"]. Though a mix of realitvely cheesy songs, somehow they make something wonderful together. All we have is the past; let's make sure we make it worth remembering.
** Damnit, thank you for linking this. Made tear up in class. Damn you, but thank you.
* "A Prayer For The Unborn" by Gary Numan. On first hearing, it's sad
** If you thought "A Prayer For The Unborn" was bad, wait till you hear his other song Little Invitro. The lyrics are twice as devastating, and the guitars exploding at the end of the song can really signify breaking down as hard as you've ever been broken down before in your life.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-3SjWDD5rs "Breaking Ties"] from Oceanlab. Beautiful vocals, melancholy music, hopeful but sad
* [[Phil Ochs]]'s rendition of the Alfred Noyes poem "The Highwayman".
* "Moonlight Shadow" by Mike Oldfield. And the piano version by Groove coverage (''not'' the techno version).
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** "The Hill", however... just listen to the lyrics, and the emotion in her voice when she sings them.
* Chihiro Onitsuka's "castle.imitation", mostly due to its capacity as the end theme to ''[[Breath of Fire]] V.'' They're more bittersweet tears of the "triumphing over adversity/hoping through sorrow" sort though.
* Orbital's "One Perfect Sunrise", their swan song. Features [[One
* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu9DPAdnidc Perfect]" and "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUGV5wlBC7Y Everyday]" by Maren Ord can bring some people who have lost loved ones to tears.
* [[Owl City]]'s song "Vanilla Twilight", despite ending on a hopeful note, is still incredibly melancholy.
** ''Any'' Owl City song for some - the melodies in even the most upbeat tracks (e.g. 'Super Honeymoon') can bring a person to tears.
** "Lonely Lullaby", though, is probably the most depressing of his songs. The fact that he is never once bitter or angry about the failed relationship that inspired the song only adds to how heart-wrenching it is. He ''still'' loves this girl, and it shows in every single line.
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* "Little Digger" by [[Liz Phair]]. It's about her son coping with her new boyfriend after she splits up with his dad. "Now you're thinking little thoughts about it, taking every inch of him in. What does it mean when something changes how it's always been? And in your head you keep repeating the line, 'My mother is mine'." *sobs*
** "Divorce Song".
{{quote|
But if you're tired of looking at my face, I guess I already am..." }}
* "Strange Chameleon" by The Pillows, particulary the verse after the ''bitching'' guitar solo.
{{quote|
And the cat that I tamed was just hungry for food
Even if it's an illusion that bursts with the sound of a snap
The palm of my hand is still warm..." }}
* "In My Arms" and "Taken" by Plumb.
* Poe's "Amazed", particularly this line (especially within the context of the album):
{{quote|
It used to scare me, but not anymore..." }}
* If Poets of the Fall's "Late Goodbye" doesn't get you, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzsiE44Lz_w the video will]. Bonus points for featuring heavily in ''[[Max Payne 2]]'', which is ''incredibly'' depressing all by itself.
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* "Hello in There" by John Prine. And he wrote the song when he was only 16!
* Proof's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxfMTbZ9ThM Forgive Me]. The song is desperate plea for help and it's depressing already, but given Proof's fate it's just on a whole new level.
{{quote|
** Talking about Proof, the last song of that album, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx1ee_6fH60 Kurt Kobain] is a suicide letter through a song. Everything about it is sad, from his voice (which breaks at some points) to the lyrics to the beat. It's called Kurt Kobain (correct spelling of the song) because of the suicide aspect.
* While we're on the subject of hip-hop, [[Tupac Shakur|Tupac's]] repertoire has a good few of these; [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rpDmqRrnaI Dear Mama], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL5sdu3pNrU Changes], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V6arJZgFL4 Runnin' (Dying to Live)] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN9efn6dxD4 Thugz Mansion] are just a few examples.
* The song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqumTeDDBcc Walzer für Dich] by the German band PUR about losing one's father can bring some people to tears, even if their fathers are still alive.
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* Rancid's "Otherside" - A tribute to Lars's brother. "I love you Robert, and I always will"
* Rasputina has "A Quitter". A suicide note? Check. Strings? Check. Too-believable emotion from singer. Tear-smudged check.
* "Late Bloomer" by the now-defunct [https://web.archive.org/web/20110801215204/http://www.scottandrew.com/democlub/demos/realitytwitch/ Reality Twitch] ''will'' sound familiar to anyone who's ever battled with parents over bad grades, anti-social tencencies, ADD, or just being "different".
* "Pieces" by Red. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq6l9DIhz3E Listen to it] and you will probably end up fighting back tears.
** Also [http://youtu.be/Y72_b3iMyoQ "Hymn for the Missing"]. So beautiful it hurts.
** Also, Nothing and Everything. See a good example of it being used in a amv [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKbEdEVuoNs here].
{{quote|
My beginning and my end
Broken truth, whispering lies
And it hurts again
What I fear and what I try
Words I say and what I hide
All the pain, I want it to end
But I want it again
And it finds me
The fight inside is coarsing through my veins
And it's raging
The fight inside is breaking me again }}
* The chorus of "Guardian Angel" by Red Jump Suit Apparatus can set one bawling...
{{quote|
And stars are falling all for us
Days grow longer and nights grow shorter
I can show you I'll be the one"
"I will never let you fall
I'll stand up with you forever
I'll be there for you through it all,
Even if saving you sends me to heaven..." }}
* "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay", by Otis Redding, both in terms of the song being recorded just days before his untimely death and the song itself.
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* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unms0DvGg_Q For Jo] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNjG1Cx-tW8 Fight or Flight] These two songs by [[Riddle TM]] The video with clips from the films make it more tear inducing.
* Some people may find themselves bawling at Sam Roberts' "Hard Road".
* "Shine Your Light" by Robbie Robertson. Thanks to a beautiful fanvid done to honor Doyle from ''[[
{{quote|
Maybe trying to find his way home..." }}
* Kelly Rowland's "Stole" can move one to tears by the story of young students having dreams and then their lives being taken away from them by carelessness and negative thoughts. The music video, which accentuates the story, was then put into rotation on MTV.
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** For that matter, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ubqk7c8tpg "Angels Calling"] needs to be here. If you read any of the ''Real Life'' tearjerkers, even if you've got a stone heart, while listening to this... It'll likely really open the waterworks up.
* Saint Etienne's "Teenage Winter", the centrepiece of the ''Tales From Turnpike House'' [[Concept Album]]. "Holding on to something / And not knowing exactly what you're waiting for" can really do it. The four-fold repetition of the chorus with the strings in the middle is just gorgeous, and by the closing coda even the album's characters are in tears.
{{quote|
Tears in their eyes
They'll never buy another [[Bee Gees|Gibb Brothers]] record again<br />
Their old 45s gathering dust<br />
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* Mark Sandman has had many in his songs, but two are the most heartbreaking because of their later [[Funny Aneurysm Moment]] usage. In the Morphine song, "French Fries With Pepper" he references the date of 09/09/99, which is the same year he died. In the Treat Her Right song "No Reason" he recounts that his brothers all died at young ages as well as the stabbing that would lead to his fatal heart attack.
* The [[Say Anything]] song "Goodbye Young Tutor, You've Now Outgrown Me" is just one of the many tearjerkers from the double-album In Defense of the Genre, an album all about the lead singer (Max Bemis) and his descent into mental illness coupled with a rapidly souring relationship. When you start the album the ensuing 90 minutes of music will build you up and break you down only to leave you with one last glimmer of hope at the end.
* ANYTHING Mark Schultz has done. But especially "He's My Son" and "Letters From War"
* "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" by The Script. Mostly because of the lyrics, in which the titular Man clearly has some mental health issues, but believes that by sleeping on the street where he met his lost love he's making a big romantic gesture that will win her back.
** "Breakeven", also. And at the end of their debut album, "Anybody There".
* Selah's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APHuAEhV6uw "Moments Like These"] is a song about a father and him cherishing the time he has with his daughters. That's tearjerking in itself, but then comes this verse:
{{quote|
Those streets of gold are her playground
The two hours she lived was enough to fall in love
She’s the sweetest thing I ever let go of }}
* "Immediate Music" by Serenata.
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* "Breathe Me" by Sia. Especially if you're a fan of [[Six Feet Under]]. The breakdown near the end ''will'' break your heart.
* The last song on The Crow OST, "It Can't Rain All the Time" by Jane Siberry is just absolutely shattering. Her partially spoken word account of what happened to Eric and Shelley is so full of grief that it's almost unbearable to hear.
* "Viðrar Vel Til Loftárása" by [[Sigur
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EyI4p0yjDQ Hoppipolla], also by Sigur Ros. Knowing what the [[Lyrical Dissonance|lyrics mean]] can make it even worse.
** The music video to "[http://youtube.com/watch?v=P0AZIFmkogY Untitled # 1]" can make one her curl up in the fetal position sobbing wretchedly upon watching it.
* "Tear by Tear" by Sister Hazel. The lyrics to the bridge include such gems as
{{quote|
All the taunts and the names and the ugliest words
No one even stopped to notice
Went on with their day
Till he pulled out a gun
and blew himself away." }}
* [[The Sisters of Mercy]], "Nine While Nine."
{{quote|
* [[Skrillex]]'s [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq-geJ9UwG4 "With You, Friends (Long Drive)"]. Rumor has it the song is about his biological mother (he's adopted) who recently passed. Although the lyrics are [[Mondegreen|different depending on who you ask]] (official lyrics haven't been released), they sound something like:
{{quote|
And I really miss you mom
I love you, you, you
All I love, all my love" }}
* Sarah Slean sings two of these. She specializes, it seems, in heartbreaking piano melodies. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tn3X98c32M "I Know"] is Slean's reflection on violence against women, and she just sounds so damn resigned about it. Then, another, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7Kr7umPnjI&feature=related "Last Year's War"] about a couple getting over infidelity.
** Take Slean's penchant for heartbreaking music, combine it with one of the [
* The song "1000 Candles, 1000 Cranes" by Small Potatoes is about an American woman who lost two sons in WWII and a Japanese woman who lost her parents when the bomb was dropped on Japan.
* The song "Italy and France" by Debi Smith, a song about a mother comparing her "different" special-needs child with flying to Italy when she thought she was going to France.
{{quote|
The best of what seemed a colossal mistake.
But as it turned out, as it unwound
I loved Italy; I was spellbound..." }}
* The circumstances of his death doesn't help, but Elliott Smith's "Waltz No. 2" is a punch to the gut.
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*** "Give me one good reason not to do it (because I love you)" The line in parentheses was provided by his girlfriend. The whole song is heartbreaking, and that line is the culmination.
* "The Fields of Athenry" by Hollie Smith, because it's so beautiful.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090911093344/http://www.curtsmithofficial.com/music/track/halfway-pleased Halfway Pleased] by Curt Smith (other half of [[Tears for Fears]]). It's a song about his relationship with his mom, who had post-natal depression. What the little girl says in the beginning of the track ('What is it? What is it, Mama? Where are you?') makes it even sadder - and that only got into the song ''by accident''.
* ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yzCTe6RyX8 One Moment More]'' by Mindy Smith is a plaintive, heartbreaking song which Smith wrote after the death of her adoptive mother. You can almost hear her fighting back tears in the chorus, and it gets this editor every time.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77f8wDf_Sdg "A Boy and His Frog"] by Tom Smith
** "'[https://web.archive.org/web/20130510084945/http://www.tomsmithonline.com/freestuff/oddio/iT024_192.mp3 Dave]" is another one.
{{quote|
but still someone I liked and he
had passed away quite suddenly
had passed away quite suddenly..." }}
* "Runaway Train" from Soul Asylum is quite depressing because of the theme of the song, and also at the end of the video if you know that not all the (real) runaways that are shown got a happy ending.
* Something Coporate's 'Konstantine'. Near the end, all he says is, "Did you know I missed you?"
* 'Bad Days' by [[
* "Collapse" by Sparta. If the [http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/sparta/collapse.html shockingly dark lyrics] don't do you in, the cello out of nowhere at precisely the right moment will.
* "Some Fantastic Place" by Squeeze. It can be hard make it to the guitar solo without breaking down and crying.
* Star Sailor's "Tie Up My Hands"
** Also "Way To Fall", particularly since it plays right after the soul-crushing ending of [[Metal Gear Solid]] 3.
* "Personal" by Stars (the Canadian ones, not any of the other manifold musical groups under the name) can brings tears to one's eyes at total random. It's somewhat eerie (they went for the foreboding effect, so it sounds like the male of the
** Speaking of Stars, their song "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" can also bring one to tears.
{{quote|
I was trying to remember your name."
"I'll write you a postcard
I'll send you the news
From a house down the road from real love..."
"Live through this and you won't look back..." }}
** "Calendar Girl" perfectly captures the mental state where just surviving the day is a hard-won victory.
{{quote|
Who is lost to the world
Stay alive...
November, December, yeah all through the winter
I'm alive." }}
** "In Our Bedroom After The War." Enough said.
** As well as "Barricade". Gay football hooligans ''who fell tragically in love''.
** No mention of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfYK8wvvU90 "Dead Hearts"]?
{{quote|
Did they seem too real to you?
They were kids that I once knew
They were kids that I once knew..." }}
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqRTtkEHrA4 Sara by Starship] "I'll never find another girl like you... for happy endings it takes two... with fire and ice, your dream won't come true..."
Line 886 ⟶ 885:
* [[Matthew Sweet]] has a few of these on the sentimental parts of his album ''Girlfriend''.
* Symphony X's ''The Odyssey Particularly the last verse of the final part; "Champion of Ithaca":
{{quote|
Home -- I'm finally home
It's been twenty years away from all I ever knew
I have returned to make my dream come true..." }}
* "Cry" by System F, featuring Saskia Lie Atjam on vocals. The original is sad enough, but the Rank 1 remix takes the cake.
* A rather obscure example, but "Read Me" by Tearwave.
** "Shattered Fairytale", [[Exactly What It Says
* [[They Might Be Giants (band)|They Might Be Giants]]' "I've Got a Match" can do it for some.
** As well as "Destination Moon". There might be other ways to interpret the
** "The End of the Tour". TMBG tunes tend to be open to interpretation, but one possible message here is "enjoy what we have because one day, it's gone", and more specifically, "one day we won't be partners anymore; we won't share that interest that binds us, anymore; we won't be friends anymore".
* "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind. "I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend/You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in/And if you do not want to see me again/I would understand." This song can affect someone who has either been suicidal or knows someone who is (or was).
* Same with "The Salt Would Routine" by Thirteen Senses.
* Rob Thomas's "Now Comes the Night." If you ever manage to hear it on the radio while driving, be sure to pull over before the bridge starts. It doesn't really make you
** "Ever the Same" is already an extremely poignant song: "You tide me over with a warmth I'll not forget/But I can only give you love." It becomes a sad [[Tear Jerker]] when you find out that he wrote it when his wife was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease, and it must have been hell for both of
* Richard Thompson's "Beeswing."
** And "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" especially the line "I see angels on Ariels in leather and chrome/Swooping down from heaven to carry me home..."
Line 905 ⟶ 904:
** And, on the punch-in-the-gut tragic side, "God Loves a Drunk". Richard is good at these.
** And "Guns Are The Tongues", though that's more of the despairing-angry tears department.
* Thrice's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwB32L6n2xQ ''Daedalus'']. The fact that the song's written from Daedalus's point-of-
{{quote|
Why is this happening to me?
All I wanted was new life for my son to grow up free
And now you took the only thing that meant anything to me
I'll never fly again, I'll hang up my wings..." }}
** "Like Moths to Flame" is another one.
Line 921 ⟶ 920:
* "Nur zu Besuch" from the Toten Hosen. A song about the sadness of losing a beloved person. Made extra sad as the lead singer dedicated it to his dead mother
* "Shattered" by Trading Yesterday has the ability to make some people break down in tears upon hearing it.
{{quote|
Lifeless words l carry on
But I know, all I know
Is that the ends beginning
Who I am from the start
Take my home to my heart
Let me go and I will run
I will not be silent...'' }}
** "Love Song Requiem" and "One Day" can also do it.
Line 948 ⟶ 947:
* "Tong Hua (Fairy Tale)" by Michael Wong. The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Na7ZNoAcE music video] will make you cry. You don't even need to know what the words mean.
** Alternative link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz82_6hPrgI
* Yes, even comedy musician ''[["Weird Al" Yankovic
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNo8LvdOwSk "Skipper Dan"], amid the theater and Disney references, is a surprisingly sad tale of a man whose dreams of success and fame were shattered by reality, leaving him in an endless rut working day to day to pay the bills and deal with his depression. Not nearly as tragic as other examples on this list, but far more likely to hit close to home...
** "You Don't Love Me Anymore" might be far worse. Not only is the music genuinely sad, but it's about his girlfriend's attempts to murder him. The lyrics are intended to be humourous, but occasional lyrics like "you're still the light of life" and "my scars are all healing but my heart never will" implying the singer still loves the subject of the song might still bring tears to one's eyes.
Line 955 ⟶ 954:
* Zero 7, "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RksdQrqLNs Home]," with vocals by Tina Dico.
* わたしのココ are known for some very depressing stuff, but it's hard to top "神様お願い." It's just not all that easy to recover hearing the cutesy lead vocalist singing a happy waltz about {{spoiler|having never experienced love firsthand, only seeing others do the same.}} But what really clinches is is the last two stanzas:
{{quote|
{{spoiler|わたし生まれてきたの (Was I born?)}}
{{spoiler|誰にも愛されずに(Am I only to fall apart,)}}
{{spoiler|壊れてゆくだけなの(Before anyone loved me?)}}
{{spoiler|その答えはいつでも(The answer will never)}}
{{spoiler|風のなかで聴こえなくて(Make itself heard in the wind.)}}
{{spoiler|ねえ神様お願い(Please, O God,)}}
{{spoiler|わたしの全てを消して。(Power me down completely.)}}
{{spoiler|ねえ、神様。(O, God.)}} }}
* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pi9KHlSXIc&feature=related Friends]" by [
{{quote|
And it's always right
As it's always been
Yeah, it's always right
Right on
Good times, bad times
You were there at anytime
And that is why you'll always be my friend
And I keep saying
After all we are
We are all friends
After all you are
You're my best friend }}
=== Examples (Non-Artist Specific, Alphabetical Order) ===
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* "A Moment Like This". Depending on the version, it can be so beautifully tender or heart-grabbing triumphant.
* A song, called "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6vy4RmRhko A Walk In the Light Green/Only 19]", is about a new Australian soldier going to Vietnam, losing his friend to a landmine, then coming home to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
* Another tear-jerking American favorite would be "[[Amazing Freaking Grace|Amazing Grace]]". Suffice to say, multitudes of people have cried to that
** "[[Amazing Freaking Grace|Amazing Grace]]" played by a lone bagpipe, at a military, police or firefighter funeral. One doesn't necesarily have to be religious to be moved by it.
* "America the Beautiful".
Line 1,013 ⟶ 1,012:
* "Feliz Navidad" can do it, due to it's association with the opening sequence of Christmas Eve on Sesame Street.
* "Fiddler's Green," a dying sailor's vision of Heaven.
{{quote|
Just give me a breeze and a good rolling sea..." }}
* How about "The Fields of Athenry" at full volume.
* "Flowers of the Forest".
* Hearing the whole crowd at a Dinosaur Jr gig singing the ending of "Freak Scene" can bring one to tears:
{{quote|
'Cos when I need a friend it's still you". }}
* "Gloomy Sunday" (aka "The Hungarian Suicide Song"), especially the versions performed by Billie Holiday and Sinead O'Connor.
Line 1,031 ⟶ 1,030:
** "The Train" from ''Holocaust Cantata'' can leave one crying and numb.
* "House at Pooh Corner"
* "I Thank You God"
* Also, thanks to the Concert for George, "I'll See You In My Dreams".
* "I'll Stand by You". GOD. Every version can make one cry like a small child. Particularly the line:
{{quote|
Could make me love you less
I'll stand by you. }}
* Any decent rendition of "If I Were A Blackbird".
Line 1,051 ⟶ 1,050:
* How about a song based off the idea of the ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vMwYlCIzSk Little Match Girl]''? Translations can be found [http://lilied.livejournal.com/2492.html here].
* "Little Wing" is another one..
* "Living Next Door to Alice". It might be hard to decide who you should feel more sorry
* "Loch Lomond"
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zx9JA2DOow Lullay Myn Lyking].
Line 1,057 ⟶ 1,056:
* "March of the Volunteers" seems a bit out of place here with its almost idealistic talk of bravery and self-sacrifice in casting off oppression, but it stirs something all the same.
* "Nadia's Theme" Oh, sweet Jesus.
* The music video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzSR_TFMirs Okkusenman]
** And somebody made an awesome 3D music video of Megaman 2 right [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKmUy8inBiU here], but at the points around 1:54 and 2:15, he fights the robot masters who finally seem to have respect for him, and he takes their power and it's kind of heartwarmingly sad.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvpjxfWrjzY "On Eagles' Wings"] can do it.
* A slow, a capella rendition of "One Tin Soldier" might do it.
* There's an old soldiers' song, called "Only Remembered"
{{quote|
Only remembered for what we have done.
Shall we at last be united in glory?
Only remembered for what we have done." }}
** When Tams performs it live, he likes to make the audience sing along with the above-quoted chorus.
* "Peat Bog Soliders", known in German as "Moorsoldaten", is moving enough in it's own right, but becomes a [[Tear Jerker]] when you learn that it was written by prisoners in the Nazi concentration camp of Bogermor in the early 1930s, a defiant affirmation of their democratic ideals. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTRpfld45Pw Luke Kelly's rendition] is particularly moving.
* The song "Prayer of the Children" has been known to make many people cry. This is all without mentioning the story behind this beautiful song. A missionary named Kurt Bestor lived in Serbia in the 1970's, and, well, let's let him tell his story:
{{quote|
** And [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTZFIcqnQMg here] is that song in all its glory. Lack of tears proves lack of any human compassion whatsoever.
* "Psalm 23 (Stroope)".
Line 1,076 ⟶ 1,075:
* Another Argentinian one: ''[[Rasgu Ã]]±a las piedras'' by Sui Generis.
* "Read Me A Memory" is a pretty obscure song about fairy tales. Heartstrings mat be plucked: Nostalgia, leaving childhood, a parents love for a child, tradition...
{{quote|
Maybe someday I'll read to a child of my own.
Though I may not remember the stories we shared,
I always knew, through time spent with you
That you loved me too." }}
* "[http://allabouthem.com/fclyrics.htm Reservoir]"
Line 1,087 ⟶ 1,086:
* "Shi Shang Zhi You Ma Ma Hao (Mom is the Best in the World)" might be a Chinese funeral even more depressing.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyQyH4RoDbw Silent Night 9/11], even if it might be narmic or silly to others.
* "Bronte" by [[Gotye]], about a friend's dog that had to be put down. If the [[Never Say "Die"|extremely sensitive lyrics]] and the sweet melody didn't tear you up, the beautifully animated music video [[Growing Up Sucks|will]].
* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hy6WEv_nOM Stopping All Stations]" is a very upsetting Rashomon style song by Hilltop Hoods which details a fatal mugging on an Adelaide bound train from the viewpoint of the victim (a war veteran that the world has left behind), a woman who tried to help him but was knocked out by the mugger and the mugger (a young man angry at the world). The linked song is the Restrung version which changes the last verse but it still loses no impact, just that the old man survives.
{{quote|
He can barely stand but ready to stand up for his own,
She tries to help him she doesn't choose to flee the car,
And catches a blow with enough bruise to leave a scar,
She starts fainting, the rooms moving and seeing stars,
Aint it amazing how courageous human beings are?" }}
* "Taps". Short, simple, and so very sad, due to the association with funerals.
* "Those Were the Days" is another one.
* A certain college a capella group's version of "Walk of Shame"
* "Watchman, Tell Us of the Night", a beautiful, melancholy orchestral piece. The song is dreamlike, through the eyes of a child. Perhaps, "beautiful" is not a comparable word.
{{quote|
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}MJf3e62-oK8 Listen to the first part.][http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}q7wuDjuLvhc Listen to the second part.] [[Tear Jerker|It might be hard not to cry.]] }}
* There's an old spiritual called "Were You There", which is only sung on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. It's such a simply little tune, but incredibly poignant.
** The version with the lyrics "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom", delivered in a melancholy tune, can really do it.
Line 1,112 ⟶ 1,110:
* The standard "You Don't Know Me" is all about unrequited love, but the two versions that might do it the most are Ray Charles' and Michael Buble'.
* "You Light Up My Life" will bring tears to anyone who has ever been loveless or known someone who has.
* "You'll Never Walk Alone" being sung at Anfield on anniversaries of the [
** Oh, god, the line "Hold your head up high and don't be afraid of the dark." Especially if one terrified of losing the people who support her and has an irrational fear of the dark.
* "Zog Nit Keynmol (The Partisans' Song)", a Yiddish song written in 1943 by Hirsh Glick, who was a Jewish inmate of the Vilna Ghetto.
* The Vandals are a punk band known for their sophomoric humor (sample album title: ''Live Fast, Diarhea''), so you'd expect a song of theirs called "Canine Euthanasia" to be in poor taste... It turns out to be a sincere tribute to a beloved pet who had to be put to sleep - if you're a dog lover, the lyrics might well make you cry, especially the BBC session version that has Joe Escalante performing it solo on piano:
{{quote|
but now you don't recognize me
your eyes are blind and dad says
we should let you die with dignity
You knew where we were going on that last ride
when I promised mom & dad I wouldn't cry. }}
* Robert Wyatt's voice alone probably qualifies.
* [[Lou Reed]] managed to create a whole [[Tear Jerker]] ''album'' with ''Berlin''
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