Songs too sad to even listen to

Eraserhead

"Famous Blue Raincoat" - Leonard Cohen

Smoke In A Tree

The obvious one is Black, especially the live versions where Eddie tags the end, some of those tags are gut wrenching. For personal reasons I have to also add Untitled

Aki Tendo

A not so obvious one perhaps is "Porch" - but that may have more to do with how I placed it in the play I'm working on. In that play it is sung by a mother when she finds out her son has killed himself. In that context the end of the song "not ever touch you, Hold you, Feel you, Ever hold, Never again..." takes on a new dimension and devastating power. The last time my play work group did a cold read of the thing that's when most of them couldn't take it anymore and the waterworks turned on. The writing of that scene was also one of the few times I've teared up while writing something because of what I was writing.

tem721

My old, old "breakup" song was Staind's Excess Baggage.. Yeah, Yeah, I know it's "Staind" but back in the 2001 it was good, lol. and perfect for a horrible break up when you want to be lower than you already are..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_BexzBEwX4

sven82

EmBleve wrote:

Angel, Sarah Mclachlan--I will never be able to hear or listen to that song again since it has been associated with those animal abuse infomercials.

Similar to Natalie Merchants My Skin

Brain of Dave

There was a time, late 2009, when they were still new, "Just Breathe" and "The End" were right on par with what was going on with me and they made me break down a few times.

Back when I saw the Body of War documentary, every time I'd play "Long Nights" and "No More" would bring me back to when I was crying by myself watching it on a rainy day in a rundown Berkeley theatre.

More recently, watching "Pearl Jam Twenty" and they're all talking about Andy Wood's death and Chris Cornell's "Seasons" is playing in the background. Also, the Roskilde tragedy with "Inside Job."

"Black Gives Way to Blue" by Alice In Chains

NothingBetterThanLeatherman

Hero of war- rise against
Nutshell- Alice in chains
Adam's song- blink182
The boy who Blocked his own shot- brand new
Fix you- Coldplay
Something in the way- nirvana

That's all I can think of right now. A guy I work with and I are really into music and we just had a discussion about the most depressing music we could think of. These were on the list

jamesaldridgemusic

It's a tie between:
Don't Say You Love Me - Free
Jetlag - Frank Turner
Grace - Jeff Buckley

If it's a PJ song though, it has to be "The End", I just sat there stunned after the first time heard it, so full of honesty and pain. Really hard to get through, but so worth it if you do.

wishlisa76

Indifference...

Gerald Richey

Mad Season Wake Up Just Wish he could have taken his own advice we all miss him so much

big mick

Gerald Richey wrote:

Mad Season Wake Up Just Wish he could have taken his own advice we all miss him so much

+1 Also try River of Deceit. Another corker is Brad - Some Never Come Home.

Meg8686

for me - Parting ways, black, the end, man of the hour, off he goes, immortality ... hum a bit of every song and you'll know what i mean although they're all theraputic in thier own way ... i bet I've missed a few... Oh Release, that always ends in tears.

Meg8686

.... Thumbing my way

morgannspicer

Say Hello 2 Heaven
Seasons
Thumbing My Way
The End
Come Back

Others...my apologies for the long list of non-Pearl Jam songs but went through a rough patch in my life for about six years where all I felt like I had in the world was music and nothing beyond that . Music was my release and how I dealt with pain. These songs spoke to me on many levels.

Here Today - Paul McCartney
Razor, Let It Die - Foo Fighters
Guess I'm Doing Fine - Beck
The Rapture - The Quiet
Angel - Sarah McLachlan
Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - Green Day
Helplessly Hoping - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Take It All - Adele
Somewhere I Belong, Faint - Linkin Park
Jar Of Hearts - Christina Perri

noellio

I will follow you into the dark - Death Cab for Cutie

nothing_man_92

nothingman always gets me going i get goosebumps everytime i hear " She once believed"

your move now

recently Andrew Woods This Time
"Don't have to use even if that's how I feel" just so sad

christo1980

man of the hour and the end really hit a nerve for me. but i still listen to them.
and from other bands, for martha by the pumpkins is pretty damn sad too.

pjamaholic

For me, the most obvious is "The End". I'm also thinking Other Side is pretty sad too.

bennett13

For me, this one's easy..."Waiting Around to Die" by the late great Townes Van Zandt is the saddest song ever written. Unfortunately, Townes' life was not too far from the lyrics of the song. He struggled with mental illness and addiction for most of his life. Also had a huge gambling problem, which usually left him destitute. He's not as well-known as he should be, though he did write "Pancho and Lefty" which was a huge hit for Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard and has even been covered by Bob Dylan in recent years. Steve Earle was once quoted as saying "Townes Van Zandt is the greatest songwriter ever, and I'd stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table and tell him that." When Townes heard that quote, his response was classic: "Well, I've met Bob's bodyguard, and if Steve thinks he can stand on his coffee table, I'm afraid he's mistaken." I'd encourage all who haven't heard of the guy to look into him...listen to his songs...help keep his legacy alive.
Anyway, here's the lyrics to "Waitin' Around to Die"...if anyone knows a sadder song, I'd love to hear it (or maybe not)

Sometimes I don't know where this dirty road is taking me
Sometimes I can't even see the reason why
I guess I keep on gamblin', lots of booze and lots of ramblin'
It's easier than just a-waitin' 'round to die

One-time friends I had a ma, I even had a pa
He beat her with a belt once cause she cried
She told him to take care of me, she headed down to Tennessee
It's easier than just a-waitin' 'round to die

I came of age and found a girl in a Tuscaloosa bar
She cleaned me out and hit it on the sly
I tried to kill the pain, I bought some wine and hopped a train
Seemed easier than just a-waitin' 'round to die

A friend said he knew where some easy money was
We robbed a man and brother did we fly
The posse caught up with me, drug me back to Muskogee
It's two long years, just a-waitin' 'round to die

Now I'm out of prison, I got me a friend at last
He don't steal or cheat or drink or lie
His name's codeine, he's the nicest thing I've seen
Together we're gonna wait around and die