Saddest song you ever heard...

Some of you will think this is weird, but I think this might be the saddest song I ever heard.
But this is not just in what the words in the lyric mean...
Something about the way the melody and lyrics work together with the chord progression...

This song conveys to me the poignancy of loneliness and the longing for a loved one.

Just reading the lyrics doesn't cut it... please listen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E80727OUUDI&feature=related

I think Jimmy Web is one of the greatest pop songwriters of all time.
Glen Cambell's still got it too.


Witchita county lineman

I am a lineman for the county.
And I drive the mainroad.
Lookin' in the sun for another overload.

I hear you singing in the wire. Chorus 1
I can hear you thru the whine.
And the Wichita Lineman,
is still on the line.

I know I need a small vacation.
But it don't look like rain.
And if it snows that stretch down south,
won't ever stand the strain.

And I need you more than want you. Chorus 2
And I want you for all time.
And the Wichita Lineman,
is still on the line.




What is the saddest song you ever heard?



ZW

 

lets see. i don't know about the saddest."1913 massacre" a woody guthrie song performed by arlo guthrie.

 

That is a sad one...
Here's the lyrics

by Woody Guthrie

Take a trip with me in nineteen thirteen
To Calumet, Michigan in the copper country
I'll take you to a place called Italian Hall
And the miners are having their big Christmas ball

I'll take you in a door and up a high stairs
Singing and dancing is heard ev'rywhere
I'll let you shake hands with the people you see
And watch the kids dance 'round the big Christmas tree.

There's talking and laughing and songs in the air
And the spirit of Christmas is there ev'rywhere
Before you know it you're friends with us all
And you're dancing around and around in the hall

You ask about work and you ask about pay
They'll tell you they make less than a dollar a day
Working their copper claims, risking their lives
So it's fun to spend Christmas with children and wives.

A little girl sits down by the Christmas tree lights
To play the piano so you gotta keep quiet
To hear all this fun; you would not realize
That the copper boss thug men are milling outside

The copper boss thugs stuck their heads in the door
One of them yelled and he screamed, "There's a fire"
A lady she hollered, "There's no such a thing;
Keep on with your party, there's no such a thing."

A few people rushed and there's only a few
"It's just the thugs and the scabs fooling you."
A man grabbed his daughter and he carried her down
But the thugs held the door and he could not get out.

And then others followed, about a hundred or more
But most everybody remained on the floor
The gun thugs, they laughed at their murderous joke
And the children were smothered on the stairs by the door.

Such a terrible sight I never did see
We carried our children back up to their tree
The scabs outside still laughed at their spree
And the children that died there was seventy-three

The piano played a slow funeral tune,
And the town was lit up by a cold Christmas moon
The parents, they cried and the men, they moaned,
"See what your greed for money has done?"

 

"witcita lineman" is one of my faves.the lyrics are certainly original and the music is a haunting melody.it's a good one to hear at night out on the road.jimmy webb has had a long prolific career.lineman is one of his best.....most of us are familiar with "danny boy" that one usually gets to me.....with memorial day comeing up in the states the music of "taps" is appropriate.it never fails to get to me.

 

Oh man, Taps always gets to me... Military drum calls can sometimes have the same effect.


ZW

 

the saddest song i have ever heard was a song by Chet Atkins. the name of the song is "I Still Can't Say Goodbye". i watched the video on youtube with me dad one day and by the end of the song we were both in tears. lyrics below...

< When I was young, my Dad would say Come on Son let's go out and play
Sometimes it seems like yesterday

And I'd climb up the closet shelf When I was all by my-self
Grab his hat and fix the brim Pretending I was him

No matter how hard I try
No matter how many tears I cry
No matter how many years go by
I still can't say good-bye

He always took care of Mom and me. We all cut down a Christmas tree
He always had some time for me

Wind blows through the trees
Street lights, they still shine bright
Most things are the same
but I miss my Dad to-night

I walked by a Salvation Army store Saw a hat like my daddy wore
Tried it on when I walked in Still trying to be like him

No matter how hard I try
No matter how many years go by
No matter how many tears I cry
I still can't say good-bye >

 

damn man cut it out!everybody is makeing tears come to my eyes.chet atkins the guitar man.i had kind of a similar thought as i walked past a park where i used to push my kids and grandkids on the swings and stuff.i don't know i just started feeling kinda blue remembering the fun.we still have fun though.i think it's the heat outside.

 

Sundog that is a beautiful tune!
Chet Atkins is such a great guitarist and musician.


Here's an old film of Chet performing it...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2ssgDFYRIg&feature=related

Edit: Wait this isn't an old film! I think I just saw Mark Knoffler on stage!

 

dance with the devil by immortal technique. i refrain from listening to this song these days

I once knew a nigga whose real name was William
his primary concern, was making a million
being the illest hustler, that the world ever seen
he used to fuck movie stars and sniff coke in his dreams
a corrupted young mind, at the age of thirteen
nigga never had a father and his mom was a fiend
she put the pipe down, but for every year she was sober
her sons heart simultaneously grew colder
he started hanging out selling bags in the projects
checking the young chicks, looking for hit and run prospects
he was fascinated by material objects
but he understood money never bought respect
he built a reputation cause he could hustle and steal
but got locked once and didn't hesitate to squeal
so criminals he chilled with didn't think he was real
you see me and niggas like this have never been equal
I dont project my insecurities on other people
he fiended for props like addicts with pipes and needles
so he felt he had to prove to everyone he was evil
a feeble minded young man with infinite potential
the product of a ghetto bred capitalistic mental
coincidentally dropped out of school to sell weed
dancing with the devil, smoked until his eyes would bleed
but he was sick of selling trees and gave in to his greed

[Hook]
Everyone trying to be trife never face the consequences
you propably only did a month for minor offences
ask a nigga doing life if he had another chance
but then again there's always the wicked that knew in advance
dance forever with the devil on a cold cell block
but thats what happens when you rape, murder and sell rock
devils used to be gods, angels that fell from the top
there's no diversity because we're burning in the melting pot

[Verse 2]
So Billy started robbing niggaz, anything he could do
to get his respect back, in the eyes of his crew
starting fights over little shit, up on the block
stepped up to selling mothers and brothers the crack rock
working overtime for making money for the crack spot
hit the jackpot and wanted to move up to cocaine
fulfilling the scarface fantasy stuck in his brain
tired of the block niggaz treating him the same
he wanted to be major like the cut throats and the thugs
but when he tried to step to 'em, niggaz showed him no love
they told him any motherfucking coward can sell drugs
any bitch nigga with a gun can bust slugs
any nigga with a red shirt can front like a blood
even Puffy smoked a motherfucker up in the club
but only a real thug can stab someone till they die
standing in front of them, staring straight into their eyes
Billy realized that these men were well guarded
and they wanted to test him, before business started
suggested raping a bitch to prove he was cold hearted
so now he had a choice between going back to his life
or making money with made men, up in the cife
his dreams about cars and ice, made him agree
a hardcore nigga is all he ever wanted to be
and so he met them friday night at a quarter to three

[Hook]

[Verse 3]
They drove around the projects slow while it was raining
smoking blunts, drinking and joking for entertainment
until they saw a woman on the street walking alone
three in the morning, coming back from work, on her way home
and so they quietly got out the car and followed her
walking through the projects, the darkness swallowed her
they wrapped her shirt around her head and knocked her onto the floor
"this is it kid, now you got your chance to be raw..."
so Billy yoked her up and grabbed the chick by the hair
and dragged her into a lobby that had nobody there
she struggled hard but they forced her to go up the stairs
they got to the roof and then held her down on the ground
screaming shut the fuck up and stop moving around
the shirt covered her face, but she screamed and clawed
so Billy stomped on the bitch, until he broken her jaw
the dirty bastards knew exactly what they were doing
they kicked her until they cracked her ribs and she stopped moving
blood leaking through the cloth, she cried silently
and then they all proceeded to rape her violently
Billy was meant to go first, but each of them took a turn
ripping her up, and choking her until her throat burned
her broken jaw mumbled for God but they weren't concerned
when they were done and she was lying bloody, broken and bruised
one of them niggaz pulled out a brand new .22
they told him that she was a witness of what she'd gone through
and if he killed her he was guaranteed a spot in the crew
he thought about it for a minute, she was practically dead
and so he leaned over and put the gun right to her head

(Sample from "Survival of the Fittest" by Mobb Deep)
I'm falling and I can't turn back
I'm falling and I can't turn back

[Verse 4]
Right before he pulled the trigger, and ended her life
he thought about the cocaine with the platinum and ice
and he felt strong standing along with his new brothers
cocked the gat to her head, and pulled back the shirt cover
but what he saw made him start to cringe and stutter
'cause he was staring into the eyes of his own mother
she looked back at him and cried, cause he had forsaken her
she cried more painfully, than when they were raping her
his whole world stopped, he couldn't even contemplate
his corruption had succesfully changed his fate
and he remembered how his mom used to come home late
working hard for nothing, cause now what was he worth
he turned away from the woman that had once given him birth
and crying out to the sky cause he was lonely and scared
but only the devil responded, cause God wasn't there
and right then he knew what it was to be empty and cold
and so he jumped off the roof and died with no soul
they say death take you to a better place but I doubt it
after that they killed his mother, and never spoke about it
and listen cause the story that I'm telling is true
'cause I was there when Billy Jacobs and I raped his mom too
and now the devil follows me everywhere that I go
in fact I'm sure he's standing among one of you at my shows
and every street cipher listening to little thugs flow
he could be standing right next to you, and you wouldn't know
the devil grows inside the hearts of the selfish and wicked
white, brown, yellow and black color is not restricted
you have a self destructive destiny when you're inflicted
and you'll be one of God's children that fell from the top
there's no diversity because we're burning in the melting pot
so when the devil wants to dance with you, you better say never
because a dance with the devil might last you forever

 

Sorry man, hardcore gangsta is not sad, it is fuckin' sick...

It seems to be another fad. The guise of a "cautionary tale" is a device that allows the author continual use of gangsta porn in the lyrics without being accused of glorifying gangsta life.... totally bogus.


ZW

 

that "hurt" song by trent reznor that johnny cash covered is pretty sad.

 

you havent read the lyrics. immortal technique isnt "gangsta rap"

 

as much as i don't particularly like most rap...i don't think what people are saying about rap isn't too different than what folks said when rock first came out.

 

Yeah maybe, but when "rock first came out" they sang about making out with girls, going to the sock-hop and driving around in Hot rods. they didn't sing about rape, gun violence and hardcore drug use. Big difference.

ZW

 

I think Charlie Daniel's Still in Saigon is a pretty sad song. Even though I didnt go to Vietnam, it gives me some sort of idea(maybe not) of what many went through after they got home.

 

Yep. Over 20 million views on youtube!

Further On Up the Road is sad too.

Johnny is the king of sad.

 

i don't really know alot of songs, so i'm gonna say Whiskey Lullaby by brad paisley feat. allison krauss.


She put him out like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette
She broke his heart he spent his whole life tryin' to forget
We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time
But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind
Until the night

He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away her memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees
We found him with his face down in the pillow
With a note that said I'll love her till I die
And when we buried him beneath the willow
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby

The rumors flew but nobody knew how much she blamed herself
For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath
She finally drank her pain away a little at a time
But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind
Until the night

She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away his memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees
We found her with her face down in the pillow
Clinging to his picture for dear life
We laid her next to him beneath the willow
While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby

 

Great stuff people!
Interesting that country music seems to get the most votes for saddest.

If the Hardcore rap defenders knew a little more about the history of American music they would use "old time country" (the stuff that would later become bluegrass) as an early example of "hardcore".
Many early old-time country tunes had topics including rape, incest, child abuse, murder and even hardcore drug abuse! (Alcohol)

Sidenote: Isn't it cool Robert Plant and Allison Krauss performing together!?


BTW There is plenty of good Hip-Hop out there with musical value.
Almost none of it is American... The best modern Hip-Hop and Rap is currently coming out of South America and Africa.:cheers2:


ZW eace:

 

immortal technique may have grown up in the ghetto (as reflected in his music) but he doesnt glorify gangsta culture. he denounces it. its pretty obvious if you just read the lyrics that he doesnt glorify it by any means. anyway most of his songs are about revolutionary topics, politics and such.

and anyway there is plenty of excellent american hip hop that is conscious and complex, it just doesnt get any radio play and you have to dig for it. like this song, its by illogic, from ohio

the love floods that drips from her eyes as they meet his
while inside she holds a gift, the virus of new life
their hearts overflow with oceans of emotions mixed
happiness, confusion, love, hate, all simultaneous
holding her close as she drenches his chest with rivers of fear
a single tear sprints down his cheek, his knees become weak
he thinks, "here I sit, a child embracing a child with child that's probably
more scared of this than I am
it's too late to question if I'm ready for the responsibility
'cause I knew the consequences of lust, but I took part willingly."
just then, her left hand graces his face
the love in her touch encourages tears to race
she wipes the rain from his cloudy eyes
shaken and scared she takes his hand, smiles, and places it on her belly
his hand trembles, heart pounds, mouth returns to smile
as inside, she frowns, knowing she can't handle this right now
"I'm stuck in this spot between love and my culture
my cousin had a baby out of wedlock and they disowned her
should I risk losing one family to start my own?
or if I don't have it, will he hate me, and make me stand alone
leaving me to hold this bag of bricks and carry it for a lifetime
while he can relieve the pain by just going home and writing a rhyme?
at that point he pulls her close, whispers "I love you" to her lobes
unbeknownst to the dichotomy in the beauty that he beholds



I love her now, and even after death
she's my breath
the only other close to my heart? my mother
I'm scared, but prepared to give my child what I was never given, a life
with its father and its mother, its wife
I know realize my eyes see the horizon
I'm no longer looking for a kaleidoscope to climb in
accepting my scenery, my fate parallel to grace
I know I'm in love every time my eyes touch her face


I love him, but I'm not ready to spring a life into this world
I'm only 17, myself still a little girl
I need my family too much to lose them for him
but I need him by my side also, I'll have his baby someday
he's the only one I see in my future, but now's not the time
we still have things to experience and live out our lives
I can't do it, I've decided. I'm only two months now
but how can I tell the love of my life that I've murdered his child?


alone she sits, with oceans of regret soaking optics
heart ripped to shreds with visions of a dead sea
no words can emerge from voice box to explain
the understood hate that seemed to fuel his pain
his vital organ pounds till his chest starts to vibrate
emotions unusual trapped in delusional mind state
he knows not what to feel, or what to say
how to react to the fact of, should he leave or should he stay?
a cloud of sorrow hovers above the two broken spirits
without a clue
gloom so thick that love can't shine through
he's thinkin, "here I stand, face to face with my angel
as the blood of our child soaks her hands
the hate I hold is a product of the love she evokes
so in an obscure way, I understand"
with arms outstretched, she lies his head upon her chest
and she cries and continues to apologize
"you know that I love you (I love you)
and you won't be to blame if after this action, you never utter my name
but I need time to mature before I give birth
we need time to explore and find what we're worth
one day I'll have your seed
even if the sun rays burn out and the starlight bleeds"
their eyes meet, and lips touch
I love yous are exchanged
and eyes lock till tear ducts flood with rivers of pain
love won't let them leave, there was a hold on his heart
as much as my death hurt, it couldn't tear them apart
so now I rest on clouds with other aborted missions
I forgive you and understand the purpose of your decision
I hope this story of my life hits the depth of many souls
and when you want to tell me you love me, you don't have to
cause I know

 

Dude, you don't have to defend Immortal Tech. I understand most of his stuff is considered political rap.
And I did read the lyrics.
Did You understand what I meant when I said he was using the "cautionary tale" as a device?
It's like M&M's new album. Instead of sounding like the cautionary tale, the way it's told, with all the over-the-top gory detail, it starts to sound like the dude's just wallowing in his own psychotic drug laced porno-violence fantasys. ya dig?


ZW