Devastatingly sad and tragic music

[Undesired Walrus]

I know of Barbers Adagio, and Adagio in G minor, but I am looking for other epic, devastating music that can top the sadness of adagio for strings.

Help me!

[Piscivore]

Are you only interested in classical?

[Lord Muck oGentry]

I know of Barbers Adagio, and Adagio in G minor, but I am looking for other epic, devastating music that can top the sadness of adagio for strings.

Help me!

Do you mean the " Albinoni"/ Giazzotto? As far as I remember, it became famous as the theme to the film The Trial, but wasn't widely thought to be very sad music at the time.

As to the Barber: didn't it get its reputation as funereal music because it was played on TV at the time of JFK's assassination? (Of course, the usual urban legend warnings apply!)

Not that my questions make any difference if you find these pieces devastatingly sad. But if you want some weighty funereal music, try Siegfried's Funeral March. Or rummage about the Baroque/ Classical tradition for funeral Masses.

Regards

[this charming man]

Cold Song by Henry Purcell

This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hGpjsgquqw) version sung by Klaus Nomi is particularly sad when you take into account that he died shortly after the performance. He was very sick and fell victim to AIDS. I love this version. Google the lyrics if you cannot make out what he is singing. (It is sung in English.)

[this charming man]

On the rock side, Joy Division and The Smiths have many sad and tragic songs; however, they are fantastic.

[Lord Muck oGentry]

UW,

It has just struck me that my post might have seemed rude or offhand. It certainly wasn't meant to be. Good luck with your search.

[HistoryGal]

I know of Barbers Adagio, and Adagio in G minor, but I am looking for other epic, devastating music that can top the sadness of adagio for strings.

Help me!


Here's a discussion of exactly what you wanted:

http://www.violinist.com/discussion/response.cfm?ID=6832

HG

[Pipirr]

I know of Barbers Adagio, and Adagio in G minor, but I am looking for other epic, devastating music that can top the sadness of adagio for strings.

Help me!


Dude, sounds to me like you might be EMO, in which case nobody can help you. You just have to embrace the misery. Really, it's a beautiful thing.

Here's Arvo Part's "Spiegel im Spiegel" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtFPdBUl7XQ&mode=related&search=).

[Evolver]

Anything in D minor. It's the saddest key of all.

[Pipirr]

Here's something I find sublime, sad and beautiful: Jacqueline du Pré performing the first movement of Elgar's Cello Concerto. Four years after this recording, she had to stop playing due to multiple sclerosis.

I can't watch it without tearing up. Yeah, I'm a little EMO too. :(

Elgar's Cello Concerto (1st movement) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5C99JyP2ns&mode=related&search=)

[parrotslave]

Lately, I've been captivated by Romi music coming out of the Balkans. It is deeply mournful and sad and yet joyous and hopeful all at the same time.

[Foolmewunz]

Do you mean the " Albinoni"/ Giazzotto? As far as I remember, it became famous as the theme to the film The Trial, but wasn't widely thought to be very sad music at the time.

As to the Barber: didn't it get its reputation as funereal music because it was played on TV at the time of JFK's assassination? (Of course, the usual urban legend warnings apply!)

Not that my questions make any difference if you find these pieces devastatingly sad. But if you want some weighty funereal music, try Siegfried's Funeral March. Or rummage about the Baroque/ Classical tradition for funeral Masses.

Regards


http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Funeral+Music.htm

No Barber.

I think sadness, though, is not always inherent in the music. E.G. they played Hail to the Chief at about a quarter of the normal tempo quite a few times in JFKs funeral. I remember that almost as vividly as the bugler not being able to hit that note in Taps. It was terribly sad, but then again, I was a 13 year old kid who'd just lost my President.

Had the Adaggio been played at JFK's funeral, I can see people making the association. I'm not sure which funeral, but in the 70s, someone used a bagpipe version of Amazing Grace, in dirge tempo, and because I associate it with a funeral, it reduces me to tears every time I hear it. (And prior to that, it was always a rather pleasant-sounding hymn to me.)

[Undesired Walrus]

Thanks all for thoughtful suggestions. However, I'm still looking for something more devastating than Barbers Adagio. Is it possible?

[Hapexamendios]

If I may put my patriotic Welshman hat on for a moment, I've always found the traditional Welsh love song 'Myfanwy' to be intensely moving when performed by a full male voice choir.

Lyrics here (http://www.celticartscenter.com/Songs/Welsh/Myfanwy.html) with English translation if you don't speak Welsh

Short clip (first 30 seconds) here (http://www.dublinwelsh.com/samples.html)

[Pyrrho]

Second movement of Beethoven's Eroica.

[H3LL]

The Birdie Song.

Nothing could be more devastating, sad and tragic.

-UzDpoYisn8

.

[Damien Evans]

The Birdie Song.

Nothing could be more devastating, sad and tragic.

-UzDpoYisn8

.

:D That's gold

This one's from way out in left field, but I'm gonna go for Comfortably Numb and Wish You Were Here, both by Pink Floyd

[malbui]

Anything in D minor. It's the saddest key of all.


Heh heh heh heh. Tap rules.


On the classical front, how about another bit of Purcell - "When I Am Laid In Earth" from Dido & Aeneas. It's one of Mme Malbui's favourite pieces to play and sing and it just screws me up inside.

On a (perhaps surprisingly) rock front, how about Rammstein's "Dalai Lama"? An updated retelling of the Erlkönig story, it builds to what for me is an unbearably tragic climax:

"Der Vater hält das Kind jetzt fest
Hat es sehr an sich gepresst
Bemerkt nicht dessen Atemnot
Doch die Angst kennt kein Erbarmen
So der Vater mit den Armen
Drückt die Seele aus dem Kind
Diese setzt sich auf den Wind und singt..."

The idea of a father unwittingly suffocating his child in an attempt to protect him absolutely horrifies me. Most of Rammstein's schlock horror schtick has me in hysterics but this particular song... I usually skip it.

[alfaniner]

... I'm not sure which funeral, but in the 70s, someone used a bagpipe version of Amazing Grace, in dirge tempo, and because I associate it with a funeral, it reduces me to tears every time I hear it. (And prior to that, it was always a rather pleasant-sounding hymn to me.)

Spock's, perhaps?

[Tricky]

Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Evita, Ragtime... I cry my stupid eyes out any time I listen to these musicals.

Oh yeah. Jill Sobule's Vrbana Bridge (http://www.uppercutmusic.com/artist_j/jill_sobule_lyrics/vrbana_bridge_lyrics.html)too.

[MelBrooksfan]

"And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" and "No Man's Land" by Eric Bogle are guaranteed tear-jerkers.

[fachverwirrt]

The Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde might be described as devastating, although perhaps devastatingly tragic and beautiful, rather than sad.

Of course, for the full effect, it helps to listen to the whole opera, which'll take you upwards of three and a half hours. (I'd recommend the Karajan recording with Vickers and Dernesch.)

[Damien Evans]

"And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" and "No Man's Land" by Eric Bogle are guaranteed tear-jerkers.

I've only ever heard the John Williamson version of "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda", and i think your estimation is absolutely spot on, that song brings tears to my eyes every time i hear it

[Professor Yaffle]

"And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" and "No Man's Land" by Eric Bogle are guaranteed tear-jerkers.

I have only heard the June Tabor version of "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", but it has the same effect on me.

Others that spring to mind are "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley and "Stange Fruit" by Billie Holliday.

[calebprime]

Slow mvt. of Eroica--Beethoven

Berg Violin Concerto

Shostakovitch--String Quartet #13 in B flat minor.

maybe The Unanswered Question of Charles Ives

[Ysidro]

Are you only listing orchestral arrangements?

For my money, the saddest modern songs are Simon and Garfunkle's "Silent Night/7 o'clock news" and Tori Amos' "Me and a Gun."

Then again, there is a difference between sad and depressed (as I know all too well.)

[Damien Evans]

Another one I just thought of: "Starry Starry Night" by Don Mclean

I also agree with Silent Night/7 o'clock news

[bruto]

It might depend on mood, but you might consider Shostakovich's second piano trio.

If you're feeling particularly lonely and forsaken, Schubert's "Der Leiermann" could do it for you.

You should also check out the song "Sur les Lagunes" from Berlioz's Nuits d'Eté.

For the dyed-in-the-wool classical geek, a song not usually considered sad can do the trick: try the solo piano rendition of Schubert's "An die Musik" with which Gerald Moore closed his farewell concert.

[roger]

Górecki Symphony #3 - "Sorrowful Songs"

Get the David Zinman recording.

[typondis]

Slow mvt. of Eroica--Beethoven

Berg Violin Concerto

Shostakovitch--String Quartet #13 in B flat minor.

maybe The Unanswered Question of Charles Ives

Ah! Someone finally mentions someone of {some} 'modern' nature. Berg, in particular. Ives: I don't see how anything of Ives' can be seen as sad. Which brings my main question: why are you wanting to indulge in that emotion?

[Damien Evans]

Another one I just thought of: "Starry Starry Night" by Don Mclean

I also agree with Silent Night/7 o'clock news

Got the title of the Don Mclean one wrong, the song is actually called "Vincent"

[Mercutio]

Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Evita, Ragtime... I cry my stupid eyes out any time I listen to these musicals.

Never ever listen to "a little fall of rain" while... never mind.


Most of Tom Waits's early stuff.

[clerihew80]

Ennio Morricone's soundtrack to "Once Upon A Time In America" - very elegiac.

[calebprime]

Ah! Someone finally mentions someone of {some} 'modern' nature. Berg, in particular. Ives: I don't see how anything of Ives' can be seen as sad. Which brings my main question: why are you wanting to indulge in that emotion?

The Unanswered Question by Ives was used to great effect at the end of Wit, the movie version. Emma Thompson plays a crusty academic who gets cancer and dies. (I know that's a spoiler review.)

The sadness--if it is that--is expressed by the independence of the the three elements, the atonal trumpet 'question', and the slow-moving strings.

Always a favorite, that piece.

[typondis]

caleb: do you mean in that incidental instance with regard to that movie, or in general? If the former, I'd say that's an artificial circumstance - as all incidental music is to some degree; if the latter, then I'd say not at all.

Ya all might sit down for a spell with some Milton Babbitt and Elliot Carter (later stuff!) and try some sincere self-DEprogramming.

[calebprime]

caleb: do you mean in that incidental instance with regard to that movie, or in general? If the former, I'd say that's an artificial circumstance - as all incidental music is to some degree; if the latter, then I'd say not at all.

Ya all might sit down for a spell with some Milton Babbitt and Elliot Carter (later stuff!) and try some sincere self-DEprogramming.

I concede that UQ isn't exactly sad. Would you settle for 'questioning'? 'Not incompatible with a somewhat searching, unsettled emotion'?

For Carter, I prefer the earlier stuff, tho' I like A Symphony of Three Orchestras--now that I check it, it's 1976. So it's middle-period. Who know Carter would live to be 135 years old?

I've been reprogrammed many times...

What late Carter and Babbitt would you recommend? I don't know their most recent stuff... (Not nec. sad)

[Redtail]

Had the Adaggio been played at JFK's funeral, I can see people making the association. I'm not sure which funeral, but in the 70s, someone used a bagpipe version of Amazing Grace, in dirge tempo, and because I associate it with a funeral, it reduces me to tears every time I hear it. (And prior to that, it was always a rather pleasant-sounding hymn to me.)

I does the same thing to me. When I was 5 my great granddad died and they played it at his funeral. I fear going to a funeral where they play that song as fighters flyover in the missing wingman formation. I would be a mess.

A couple songs that effect me are The Green Hills of Tyrol and Hallelujah (Jeff Buckley version)

[typondis]

caleb: I tried to indicate later Carter (anything from at least the 70s, but 80s on is more mature), and ANY Babbitt. My point being that sadness is something one doesn't need. I'm sure that both of them would disagree with me, and for them, there are various emotional themes that parallel older, more conventional instances...BUT, I'm saying their music (and similar others' is so distant from most of what people can attach something they're used to feeling, it is good material to use in psychologically, emotionally, evolving.

[Checkmite]

I've always been partial to Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2 (2nd Movement) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llveGVApdz4).

[Tumblehome]

Two suggestions:

A movement from one of Mahler's symphonies (sorry, don't remember which symphony, but it's on the soundtrack of the movie Death in Venice).

Also from the movies, Gayane Ballet Suite (Adagio) by Khachaturian emphasized the deep loneliness and separation of space travel in 2001.

[Boo]

Mozart's Requiem

Amazing Grace on Bagpipes

Sgt MacKenzie from We Were Soldiers soundtrack





Boo

[RebeccaBradley]

The Mauthausen Cycle, by Mikis Theodorakis; especially Asma Asmaton (Song of Songs): Young girls of Auschwitz, young girls of Belsen, have you seen my love?

[bruto]

I guess we ought not to forget "Strange Fruit." Try the Sidney Bechet version.

[JoeTheJuggler]

This sounds sort of like the premise to the movie The Saddest Music in the World--which did have some very sad music in it. (Plus it's a great movie.)

[JoeTheJuggler]

Oh yeah--my submission is the epilogue to Jesus Christ Superstar--it's called John 19:41. Especially the version done in Madrid. I'm not sure how or why, but that version just sounds heartbreaking to me.

[Lothian]

Sad or uplifting, I am not sure but try Dead can dance (Lisa Gerrards voice) is very moving.

If you haven’t heard them find a clip on you tube perhaps The Host of Seraphim might give you the idea.

[TX50]

That Basque (?) song sung at the end of the film "Black Hawk Down". "Gortoz a ran" I think it's called.

[dogjones]

Both Mozart's and Brahms' Requiems are pretty amazing.

The Faure Pavanne is a goodun, reminds me of the Albinioni.

[David Swidler]

See whether you can get your hands on a recording of Louis Lewandowski's (pronounced "Levandovski") arrangement for SATB choir of a traditional Jewish hymn called "Eli Tzion." Fabulously haunting.

My rough translation of the Hebrew:

On Zion and her cities:
As a woman in labor
And as a maiden in sackcloth
Over the husband of her youth

It's said on the ninth of Av, the anniversary of the destruction of both temples (among many other momentous tragedies through the ages), a day set aside for mourning and longing.

[brettDbass]

I'm not a big fan of Mozart, but I have to agree that the Requiem is rather splendid.

However, you should check out his Mass in C Minor for a real experience.


Add to that pretty much anything by Sibelius. Nobody ever matched his capacity for expression of emotion through music, IMO. If you want a recommendation, try Symphony No. 5.

[aggle-rithm]

No one's mentioned the fourth movement of Tchaikovsky's "Pathetique" symphony? Of course, that's more depressing than sad.

Some of the songs from Schubert's "Die Schoene Muellerin" are very, very sad.

[aggle-rithm]

Both Mozart's and Brahms' Requiems are pretty amazing.


Amazing, yes. But sad? Mozart is really too formal to be sad (although the "Lacrimosa" comes close), and the Brahms requiem is more uplifting than sad.

[dogjones]

Amazing, yes. But sad? Mozart is really too formal to be sad (although the "Lacrimosa" comes close), and the Brahms requiem is more uplifting than sad.

Interesting. What do you mean by 'too formal'?

On the Brahms, I was thinking of the first movement which I find very dark (but I guess you're right, it's not sad per se.)

Aha! The adagio from Rodrigo's Concertio de Aranjuez is rather sad.

[Mr. Scott]

This tune from the film Mondo Cane does it for me:

c7RA4UnEuQ0

PS: Ignore the dumb anti-Semitic editorial the youtube poster added to the end of this clip.

PPS: Guy Maddin's film "The Saddest Music in the World" really puts this topic into perspective.

[The Darkest One]

Solitude, by Black Sabbath (go figure!)

[patrick767]

I'll place another vote for 'Amazing Grace' on bagpipes. It's just beautiful though.

And from out in left field... numerous albums by a band called 'Over the Rhine'. The female lead's vocals are hauntingly beautiful. Most of their albums could be described as bleak with a thread of hope.

[Anthem]

'Hurt' by Johnny Cash, chills me to the bones...

ooo.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go
(Change ooo into www)

[Spiro]

I'm with Bruto for the 2nd Shostakovich piano trio - saddest piece I know. I'm also surprised no-ones mentioned the finale of the Tchaikovsky Pathetique (symphony 6)

[Ove]

John Williams's most haunting piece: "The theme from Schindlers List"
My orchestra played a concert with a very fine violin player as solo performer and he played that piece. When he finished i was one huge goosebump...

[brettDbass]

'Hurt' by Johnny Cash, chills me to the bones...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go
(Change ooo into www)Link fixed.

Seconded. It's very rare for a piece of music to bring me to tears.

[Cello Man]

From J.S. Bach: The Sarabande from the 2nd Cello Suite in D Minor. I love playing this, but it takes a lot of focus and stamina to make it "flow" right.
3WxnXerG4cM

Also check out the 8th String Quartet in C minor from Shostakovich. You want devastatingly sad and tragic, here it is. It's basically a suicide note set to music. There isn't a clip of it in Youtube that I really like, otherwise I'd post a link. Get the recording by the Emerson String Quartet.

[rustypouch]

'Hurt' by Johnny Cash, chills me to the bones...

ooo.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go
(Change ooo into www)


As much as I adore the Man in Black, I prefer the original version. But then, I have seen it performed live several times.

[blobru]

I've been trying to put a name to this excerpt but can't and it's making me, so frikkin' SAD!!! :mad:

[rough + basic approx. -- by my unreliable ear]

4/4 time; key = F major (??):

<c bass [1/8 note]> ||: chord Dm [3/8] c [1/8] Gm(b bass) [3/8] c [1/8] || chord Dm [3/8] c [1/8] Gm(b bass) [3/8] c [1/8] || A2(b bass) [1/4] Am [1/4] A2 [1/2] || Am [1/2] A2 [1/4] Am(a_c bass) [1/4] :||

If the above mess makes sense and sounds familiar to anyone, please let me know asap!
I thought it was Bach's Goldberg Variation No. 25 but it's not. It may be a piece already mentioned; I just can't put a name to it myself.
It's unaccompanied piano I think. I've always found solo instrumentals much sadder than orchestral works.

As soon as I say that, I remember the saddest vocal I've ever heard is from Don McLean's "American Pie" -- 'Babylon' -- biblical Psalm 137 arranged in rounds with crowd joining in.

& here's the saddest fade-out music to a Simpsons ever, from the episode "Mother Simpson":

DiKI6SiEk24
Barely a half-minute long, but gets me to dabbing every time... :czcry:

[Warge]

Lovely topic! I agree many of the classical hits are wonderful as sad/depressing parts, but I'd like to add a couple of modern ones: "Ich vermisse dich" by the neo-nazi group Sleipnir (!) and Bloody Kisses album by Type O Negative.

[TellyKNeasuss]

A complete work that's downright cathartic: Shostakovich's 13th (Babi Yar) symphony. I usually can't listen to it straight through because it's too emotionally taxing. A more contemplative work is Hindemith's Funeral Music for Viola and String Orchestra.

Some individual songs/movements that always get me choked up:
The Pie Jesu from Faure's Requiem
Field of the Dead from Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky
John Tavener's Song for Athene
The 3rd movement of Rouse's flute concerto

[Alice Shortcake]

The second movement of Gerald Finzi's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra usually has me in tears.

[Checkmite]

'Hurt' by Johnny Cash, chills me to the bones...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go

Wow.

[Marquis de Carabas]

Cohen's "Hallelujah" as performed by Pakistani vocalist Arooj Aftab, which can be found (along with numerous other versions) here (http://myoldkyhome.blogspot.com/2006/05/hallelujah.html). At least the equal of Cale's cover, especially since she includes the usually neglected "name in vain" verse, which has always been my favourite.

[blobru]

Cohen's "Hallelujah" as performed by Pakistani vocalist Arooj Aftab...

Great link, thanks! Jeff Buckley's rendition is my favorite (its .mp3's been removed) but Arooj Aftab's is simpler and sadder. :cry1
It's an incredible piece: how Cohen can cram a poetic meditation on the frail sordid human sources of religion into a catchy "pop song" is beyond me (Nirvana's "Lithium" is the only similar I can think of); then again it would hardly be worth listening to if it wasn't.

[Doc Daneeka]

For me, the saddest sounding piece is probably Beethoven's Op. 131 (in C# minor). Do listen to it.

[Boo]

I was discussing this with a friend today and he mentioned Bach's Ave Maria as performed by Jewel. Not only does the purity of her voice and the expressed yearning lend to it's poignancy but listening to someone plead for succor and mercy that you know is futile, transcends the simple plea into something devastatingly tragic.




Boo

[orphia nay]

:( I'm worried, Undesired Walrus. Are you trying to make your depression worse? :(

[Quakeulf]

Thread topic made me laugh. :)

[orphia nay]

Sorry, UW. I was jumping to conclusions. It really is a great thread. Now, if you'd asked for "depressing" music... :)

[Corpse Cruncher]

I know of Barbers Adagio, and Adagio in G minor, but I am looking for other epic, devastating music that can top the sadness of adagio for strings.

Help me!
I have never found this piece to be sad. I find it moving but not in saddening way.

One piece I do find brings out the melancholy is one involving Gregorian monks chanting. I forget who or the title of the piece but I find that very remorseful but equally calming.

Again I do not know of the title or composer but The four seasons- winter has a influece of sadness.

Another good piece is called Nana or Nono. It is piano and I believe accompanied by either cello or violin. I find that combination of cello and piano or violin and piano to echo sadness very well.


A song in the film Gladiator is another one of my favourites. It might be the theme song.
This link (http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Classical-Music/lm/2P1IBZ5BVOPIC) has some others that may be of interest. Braveheart too has a song that is tinged with sadness.

I have another, it is on my mobile, it may suit your needs for melacholic songs. That I 'll have to wade through them all to find it.

[rebecca]

Speaking of Jeff Buckley, I think his saddest song is Morning Theft. I really need to take it off my iPod because I can't bear to hear it on the train to work in the morning.

Then there's Regina Spektor's Ode to Divorce, which kills me every time.

PhLnPifHqQU


edited to add Samson, too.

p62rfWxs6a8

[fachverwirrt]

I was discussing this with a friend today and he mentioned Bach's Ave Maria as performed by Jewel. Not only does the purity of her voice and the expressed yearning lend to it's poignancy but listening to someone plead for succor and mercy that you know is futile, transcends the simple plea into something devastatingly tragic.
Boo
I assume you mean the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria. To my knowledge, Bach never wrote an Ave Maria.

ETA: I found the following, which is indeed the Bach/Gounod, and seems to be Jewel singing.
MWQLR9XYUv0

[christie malry]

Die Kindertotenlieder by Mahler, Atmosphere by Joy Division, bits of Carmina Burana by Carl Orff if you're into your melodrama, You Are My Sunshine is incredibly depressing, Devil Got My Woman by Skip James and parts of the New Orleans suite by Duke Ellington for your wistful melancholy.

Top it off with a bit of How Soon is Now? by The Smiths or Levi Stubbs' Tears by Billy Bragg and you're about ready to slit your wrists at a children's birthday party I reckon, lavverley jabberly.

[fachverwirrt]

Die Kindertotenlieder by Mahler...
Ooh, that's good; it should have been mine.

[christie malry]

Yeah, if you're talking sad you can't get much better than a piece called 'songs on the death of children' (how do the Germans get that into one word? It's incredible!)

[blobru]

Speaking of Jeff Buckley...


The only other pop singer I've heard with his vocal control is Eva Cassidy.
The way she breaks down "Over the Rainbow" -- a song that can turn to goo in an insincere breath -- into single note phrases, and riffs sadness into each -- breaks my heart every time I hear it (live version not as clear as in studio but still...):

eUwTdqPkluY
Like Buckley, she died much too young. :(

[Childlike Empress]

L'Affiche Rouge by Léo Ferré (translation (http://www.eurotrib.com/?op=displaystory;sid=2006/2/21/11725/2996)):

n4v_1kLIMf4
Please ignore the unworthy video.

[calebprime]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j_TDoOPnIA

John Coltrane--Alabama

[Just thinking]

I don't think anyone has yet mentioned Ase's Death from Peer Gynt.

Or the final movement from Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony.

Or the 2nd movement from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

[fachverwirrt]

"The Trees on the Mountain" from Carlisle Floyd's Susannah has quite a bit of pathos. It's another one that works particularly well in context (if you know what her character's just been through).

This is the only YouTube I could find of it. It's fairly well sung, although rather boring in presentation.

o9GdtoaPz3U

[alfaniner]

OK, as long as vocals are being included, I'll mention Keaili'i Reichel's Wanting Memories.

[Polaris]

"Llorando" sung acapela by Rebekah del Rio in Mulholland Drive. (Spanish version of Roy Orbison's "Crying").

[Childlike Empress]

Ladies and Gentlemen, Bohren & der Club of Gore (check out their albums) - "Midnight Black Earth":

5_1-zwBsvjw

[Morwen]

Arvo Part's Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e348n660zrA) fits the bill for me. The first time I heard it, it absolutely floored me. There are lots of other things too, but this one is most recent in my mind.

[TellyKNeasuss]

I couple that I heard for the first time this weekend:
Krzysztof Penderecki's Agnus Dei, which expresseses the agony that the Polish people experienced under NAZI and Communist rule.
Folksinger Eliza Gilkyson's simple but overwhelming Requiem, written after the 2004 Asian Tsunami.

[EvilSmurf]

Anything Leonard Cohen. I am almost convinced the man has never experienced any sort of happiness in his life. As one friend described him "The glass isn't just half empty, the water in it will give you cholera."

[gumboot]

I have to say the version of Mad World that appears in the film Donnie Darko always gets me.

DR91Rj1ZN1M

-Gumboot

[Jaggy Bunnet]

"And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" and "No Man's Land" by Eric Bogle are guaranteed tear-jerkers.

Another vote for these two. An Eric Bogle concert is a bizarre experience. From incredibly sad and moving songs like those ones or "The Gift of Years" to funny, silly nonsense songs and the stories that he tells between them.

His best tale is about "No Man's Land" - a young girl in Northern Ireland sent Tony Blair a letter thanking him for his efforts in bringing peace to Northern Ireland as she had never known peace before. Blair got her down to London and presented her with the framed lyrics from the song, describing it as his favourite anti-war poem “written by Eric Bogle, who died in World War I.”

[Morrigan]

Sol Invictus (http://media.putfile.com/02-Believe-Me)

Fire + Ice (http://media.putfile.com/Fire--Ice---Birdking)

Elend (http://media.putfile.com/Elend---Nocturne) (very dark)

Liholesie (http://media.putfile.com/Liholesie---The-Sacrament)

Candlemass (http://media.putfile.com/Candlemass---Solitude) (depressing and haunting)

[BWV 1080]

The Shostakovich Viola Sonata

[lordofwaffles]

I can't listen to "Man of the Hour" by Pearl Jam without getting all twisted up on the inside. Same with "The Freshmen" by the Verve Pipe.

Both of which have been associated with my major graduations in life (Freshmen with high school, Man of the Hour with college). I just had incredible emotional drops after both of them, and a huge feeling of emptiness/isolation. Both songs captured my feelings very well at the time.

Oddly enough though, I really like Sgt. Mackenzie, I don't find it depressing as much as, I lack the correct verbage, but it gives me chills.

[TX50]

His best tale is about "No Man's Land" ... “written by Eric Bogle, who died in World War I.”


Although a soldier of the same name, age, regimental affiliation and time
and place of death as the [fictional] one addressed in the song actually
did exist. I guess poetic invention is no match for 420,000 [allied] casualties
in one 5-month "battle" (how's that for "devastatingly sad and tragic"!?).

Bogle's "No Man's Land" song is certainly poignant but sadly now a bit cliched
in folksy music circles, to the point that parodies of it have been written and
performed.

[Jaggy Bunnet]

Although a soldier of the same name, age, regimental affiliation and time
and place of death as the [fictional] one addressed in the song actually
did exist.

Really? Got a source for that. Should be interesting as no regimental affiliation is mentioned, nor is a specific time (a year is) or place of death.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission says that there were four W McBrides killed in 1916, only one of whose age is known and he was 19. Three were Williams, one of whom along with a "W" were privates

Private William McBride (21 when he died) and Private W McBride (age unknown) are buried in Authuile cemetery and one of those is probably the inspiration for the song based on further information in his follow up to it (Hallowed Ground) about going back to visit the grave again "Through Amiens, then turn east of the highway".

It was one of the many that I visited this summer when I went to the Somme.

I guess poetic invention is no match for 420,000 [allied] casualties
in one 5-month "battle" (how's that for "devastatingly sad and tragic"!?).

Assuming that you are talking about the Somme, then the figure of 420,000 is the total for the British Empire, not the allies. There were a further 200,000+ French casualties as well.

Not clear on what your point is meant to be anyway - comparing the casualties of battle to a song to try and show which is more sad and tragic seems totally and utterly pointless.

Well done, you win. War is sadder than music.

Bogle's "No Man's Land" song is certainly poignant but sadly now a bit cliched
in folksy music circles, to the point that parodies of it have been written and
performed.

So what? Does someone writing a parody make it less sad?

[OldTigerCub]

In terms of modern music (1960's or later) and sad lyrical pieces, I always think of The Carpenters "Crescent Noon" and "Goodbye to Love" as well as Billy Joel's "Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel).
Any of those can bring a tear to my eye in the right mood.

Carpenters: Crescent Noon:
CQ5522SfoKA

Carpenters: Goodbye to Love:
nooeMrCws-A
Appologies for the karaoke appearance of the video

Billy Joel: Lullaby:
(youtube linking does not work-not available. Direct link below.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LraZEoRnkPc

[Jaggy Bunnet]

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission says that there were four W McBrides killed in 1916, only one of whose age is known and he was 19.

Sorry, should read was 21, not 19.

[TheAnachronism]

Brahm's Piano Quartet No. 3, Op. 60:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/music/wma-pop-up/B00004YC3F001008/ref=mu_sam_wma_001_008/104-3854404-2524700

I heard it live once, and for some reason it always gets to me.

[Skiltch]

"In the year 2525." I forget who it's by, but that song always both depresses and scares me.

[Aurelian]

Anyone have an ear for fado? I don't know the genre well enough to recommend any particular vocalist, but am aware that "sad and tragic" are required elements.

[Homemade psycho]

Were I not in presence of skeptics, I'd say Gloomy Sunday just for kicks...
But since I am...

Hurt by johnny Cash always chills me to the bone
Soldier's Things by Tom Waits
Jeux interdit by Classical composer Fernado Sor can be a tear-jerker when put in the hands of a skilled 6 string player (like john williams or julian bream...especially bream)

[bigred]

Are you only interested in classical?

Since this was never responded to, it seems a safe bet. Otherwise I'd say try any Pink Floyd or Neil Young - not exactly the cheeriest guys in the world.

[Slothrop]

The fourth movement. It does indeed sound quite rousing and spectacular, but the story behind it and the way it builds just makes me feel it's an anthem for destroying souls. Ironic in a way we don't really have a word for any more. My favorite recording is the one with Rostropovich conducting.

[orpheus]

The Adagietto from Mahler's 5th symphony is the music featured in Death in Venice (someone here mentioned it). It's gorgeous, but I don't find it particularly sad.

Last movement of Mahler 9, on the other hand is devastating.

others:

Schubert: Winterreise (particularly the last few songs, but best to listen to all 24 in order.)
Richard Strauss: Metamorphosen (for 23 solo strings)
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (particularly the first 10 minutes or so of Act 3)
Sibelius: 4th Symphony
Alban Berg: Lyric Suite
Harrison Birtwistle: Ritual Fragment

[AK-Dave]

"I Will Wait For You" from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg as sung by Connie Francis, played at the end of the Futurama episode "Jurassic Bark."

-David

[Redtail]

Oh man someone mentioned "Strange Fruit". I actually can't listen to that song. It both saddens me and enrages me to such an irrational level.

Another I remembered this past month was "O Danny Boy" One of my friends from high school sang it at her father's funeral.

[bruto]

found another: "I Will Always Remember You" from Natalie McMaster's Fit as a Fiddle album. McMaster is a very good fiddler indeed.

Reference above to Jeff Buckley reminds me that back in the 60's I heard Tim Buckley live (unamplified) at Gerde's Folk City. Good pipes definitely ran in the family. Jeff's old man had a tremendous voice.

[plumjam]

The 2nd movement (andante) of Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante in E flat for violin and viola (K 364) wins hands down IMO. He wrote it on learning of the death of his mother. It's also really beautiful.

But please don't top yourself to it ;).

[bruto]

The 2nd movement (andante) of Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante in E flat for violin and viola (K 364) wins hands down IMO. He wrote it on learning of the death of his mother. It's also really beautiful.

But please don't top yourself to it ;).funny, I never thought of that one as sad, though I can see that too. To me it's always seemed more romantic (in the amorous or even erotic sense), in the way they interact and blend, joining, then separating, then joining again. Either way you look at it, it's certainly beautiful.

[plumjam]

funny, I never thought of that one as sad, though I can see that too. To me it's always seemed more romantic (in the amorous or even erotic sense), in the way they interact and blend, joining, then separating, then joining again. Either way you look at it, it's certainly beautiful.

Yes, I get your drift.. the romantic interaction.
Respect. :)

[plumjam]

ok, this is only slightly sad music, but I had to post it as it's such a nice vid

(Salif Keita, Folon)

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=CAgQsUnVE1g

[orpheus]

Oh, I forgot (and someone probably already mentioned it):

Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), for tenor, alto and orchestra. (The two singers alternate songs.) Wonderful late period Mahler. He wrote it after his 8th symphony, and hesitated to call it a "symphony" because he was superstitious about writing 9 symphonies (Beethoven and Bruckner both died after writing 9). So he called it Das Lied von der Erde. Then after he wrote his (named) "9th symphony", he said the danger had passed, since Das Lied was really his 9th and his 9th was really his 10th.

Then he began writing what he would call his "10th symphony" and died before he could finish it.

Aaaaaaaanyway....

Das Lied von der Erde sets German translations of Chinese poetry to music. The poems are all about youth, the passing of the seasons, wine, sorrow, the brevity of life...

In particular, the last movement, Der Abschied (The Farewell) is searingly intense. There are many good recordings, but there is one old one with Julius Patzak and Kathleen Ferrier singing, and Bruno Walter conducting the Vienna Philharmonic:

http://www.amazon.com/Mahler-Lied-Erde-Bruno-Walter/dp/B00004XQ8E/ref=sr_1_1/105-9731878-0969263?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1193540793&sr=8-1

It's an old recording, so there are better ones in terms of sound quality. But: Patzak is good, the Vienna Phil. and Walter are great, and the jewel here is Ferrier: she had had a glorious career and during this performance she knew she was dying of cancer. I don't think this is just in the ear of the beholder - I think there really is a very special quality in the way she sings Der Abschied.

I can never get through it without tears.

[orpheus]

Oh, and this:

Schubert: String quintet (the one with two cellos). the slow movement.

Also his 15th (last) string quartet.

[Miss Whiplash]

Probably mentioned before, but my two favorite songs for a good mope are:

Cold Song by Klaus Nomi;
3hGpjsgquqw&rel=1

The Last Beat of My Heart by Siouxsie and the Banshees
0Ul7bqFguPg&rel=1

[Polaris]

Anything Leonard Cohen. I am almost convinced the man has never experienced any sort of happiness in his life. As one friend described him "The glass isn't just half empty, the water in it will give you cholera."

Baby I been waitin' for someone to mention Cohen.

[Madalch]

Anything Leonard Cohen. I am almost convinced the man has never experienced any sort of happiness in his life. As one friend described him "The glass isn't just half empty, the water in it will give you cholera."

The Air Farce (a Canadian sketch comedy troupe) had a skit in which Cohen sings (to the tune of "Suzanne"):

"TD takes your money
And they put it in the vault
And they give you lots of interest
That comes all the way from China..."

Announcer: Toronto Dominion. Banking for the chronically depressive.

Other than Cohen, I find Pink Floyd's The Final Cut to be sad (I held the blade/ with trembling hands/ prepared to make it, but/ Just then the phone rang/ I never had the nerve to make the final cut..."

And Jr. Gone Wild's "Requiem for a Fugitive", and Moxy Fruvous' song about drinking through the night (I can't recall the name of the song).

[Ove]

1. Listen for a moment to Eric here saying goodbye to his friend George, particularily the last solo, i swear his gitar IS crying. (and yes it IS George's son in the background.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=FC1EZcrZEIs


2.Then watch how simple it can be done. This performance has me in tears every time it is SO moving:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1Mu8D69uxA0

[Almo]

Hurt by johnny Cash always chills me to the bone

Yeah. Was a great idea for JC to play a NIN song. Very nice rendition of it, though I wouldn't have done the lyric change, I can understand why he did.

I'd suggest Magnasushi by Bola (from the album Fyuti) and Deep by The Moody Blues (from the album Sur La Mer).

[Cainkane1]

I doubt if you are interested but many American country and western songs have caused some people to commit suicide.

[Ron_Tomkins]

I know of Barbers Adagio, and Adagio in G minor, but I am looking for other epic, devastating music that can top the sadness of adagio for strings.

Help me!



Well, the "sad factor" is a very subjetive one. What's sad for you mght not be sad for me. Also, personally, one same piece might not be as sad everytime I hear it. Sometimes it might actually be the opposite.

This happened to me a lot with this Bach piece... I can't remember the name, dang it.... it's a very famous piece. Anyway, it's played in the movie Minority Report in organ (the cellkeeper plays it). Obviously, that's not the version that you wanna hear. Try finding the original version for chorale. What's magical about it (and most of Bach's music) is that sometimes it can be deeply dramatic and sad and other times it can be incredibly enlightening and evoking some sense of hope.... the SAME piece. That's to me the greatness of Bach.

[Buckaroo]

Clint Mansell, The Kronos Quartet, and Mogwai's soundtrack to The Fountain just kills me. I can't speak during certain tracks.

Al Stewart's Roads to Moscow is a close second. The sense of betrayal and hopelessless in this song is palpable. Plus, it's beautiful as all getout.

[mikedunn]

There's always the Funeral Music for Queen Mary, by Purcell - the March and Canzona, and the ethereal sentences - particularly "Thou knowest Lord the secrets of our hearts."

There are also some achingly sad moments in Monteverdi's "Ill Ballo delle Ingrate."

[stup_id]

Well, this is not an entire piece, but the piece of Pagliacci "Viste la giubba", sung by Placido Domingo, has an instant so sad that makes me feel goosebumps all over...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R0iaRcUqDI

enjoy :)

[TellyKNeasuss]

John Corigliano's Of Rage And Remembrance, which includes a section in which members of the chorus call out the names of people who have died from AIDS.

[BPSCG]

Or the 2nd movement from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.Huh?

That's a sprightly, cheerful little dance in (I think) 3/4 time, major key.

You want an overwhelmingly sad Beethoven sonata, go for the Appasionata, in F minor. Massive, dark, oppressive first movement, a set of variations on a major key theme in the second, then a crushing, overwhelming final movement that evokes a headlong descent into Hell.

The aforementioned funeral march second movement from Beethoven's 3rd (Eroica) symphony is one of the greatest pieces of the genre. The day the shuttle Challenger blew up, I was driving home when Reagan come over the radio and gave his eulogy to the dead astronauts. The announcer then played the Eroica's second movement, and my eyes started tearing up right there in traffic.

Someone mentioned the adagietto from Mahler's 5th symphony, used in Death in Venice. That's also in a major key, and bittersweet, but not particularly sad. Mahler's 9th symphony, OTOH... He wrote it just after his doctor told him that, at age 50, he had an incurable heart condition and would be dead within a year or two. It's music of, by, and about a man who's staring into the abyss, "a heartbroken farwell to life," as one critic has described it. The Georg Solti/Chicago Symphony Orchestra recording is a very good performance with great sound and excellent program notes that help make sense of this vast work - believe me when I say you'll need the program notes if you're not familiar with the piece. But the best performance out there is the one by Leonard Bernstein and the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam - a harrowing experience not for the faint of heart.

[hgc]

Did anyone mention Seasons in the Sun?

:(

[NeilC]

Rodriguez: Concierto de Aranjuez. I'm not a big classical fan or particularly sentimental but this can make me cry quite easily. It's so plaintiff and tragic sounding to me.

[Ove]

Rodriguez: Concierto de Aranjuez. I'm not a big classical fan or particularly sentimental but this can make me cry quite easily. It's so plaintiff and tragic sounding to me.

I agree and the Brass Band version from "Brassed Off" is one of the best i have heard, despite the fact that they refer to it as "orange juice" :) It is played by Grimethorpe Colliery Band.

[CptColumbo]

Does anyone know of a good studio recording of La Traviata? I keep coming across great live recordings, but the sound quality is usually uneven.

[Ove]

A lot of what is called "sad" comes from context. I have allways found "Nights in White Satin" by Moody Blues a good if somewhat melancolic pop song but then the producers of the British police series "Heartbeat" used it in an episode about Foot and Mouse Disease and it frankly still gives me shivers thinking about it. A good example of how to use music to set the mood.

[Cainkane1]

Well suicide is common among enthusiasts of American country music fans.

[Damien Evans]

I doubt if you are interested but many American country and western songs have caused some people to commit suicide.

We're talking about sad music, not music so bad it makes you kill yourself

[Damien Evans]

'39 by Queen is a very sad song IMO.

[CptColumbo]

'39 by Queen is a very sad song IMO.I prefer "Who Wants to Live Forever" and "Too Much Love Will Kill You."

[Ove]

I prefer "Who Wants to Live Forever" and "Too Much Love Will Kill You."

"Who wants to live forever" and the video with the pictures of Freddie in the final stages of his disease allways gives me shivers. To be able to sing those lyrics at that time is .... well i don't know WHAT it is but i don't think i could. The same with "The show must go on".

It is sorta the same with ABBA's "The winner takes it all". If you watch the video to that song and know that they were getting divorced at the same time it is unbelievable that they could sing those lyrics.

[chocolatepossum]

I think Casimir Pulaski Day by Sufjan Stevens is one of the saddest songs I've ever heard.

Christianity + bone cancer = :(

[Damien Evans]

I think Casimir Pulaski Day by Sufjan Stevens is one of the saddest songs I've ever heard.

Christianity + bone cancer = :(

or: bone cancer = :(

[SirPhilip]

I know of Barbers Adagio, and Adagio in G minor, but I am looking for other epic, devastating music that can top the sadness of adagio for strings. Help me! "Gimmie More" by Britney Spears.

[aggle-rithm]

A lot of what is called "sad" comes from context. I have allways found "Nights in White Satin" by Moody Blues a good if somewhat melancolic pop song but then the producers of the British police series "Heartbeat" used it in an episode about Foot and Mouse Disease and it frankly still gives me shivers thinking about it. A good example of how to use music to set the mood.

The context is pretty important. Consider the aforementioned "Adagio for Strings" by Barber. When he first wrote it, he described it to a friend as a "knockout"; in other words, a proverbial "home run" in terms of its quality. Nothing was mentioned about what sort of mood it was supposed to inspire.

My high school music teacher said that it was considered the best "make-out" music back in the 50's.

Then, in the eighties, it was used in the movie "Platoon", and ever since it's been considered a woefully sad piece. (although some may have found it sad before then -- it's all relative.)

[aggle-rithm]

Yeah, if you're talking sad you can't get much better than a piece called 'songs on the death of children' (how do the Germans get that into one word? It's incredible!)

jamz4deadkidz

[Rrose Selavy]

Just picked up this thread.
I would agree with Cash and "hurt", but thank you those who mentioned Klaus Nomi, I knew of his vocal range but show him from my limited experience of his videos in the 80s , almost as a kind of joke, from "total eclipse" albeit a technically able one lost to AIDs but what a remarkable performance of the Cold Song indeed. Never seen that before.

For mostly personal reasons I would put forward This Mortal Coil's version of Tim Buckley's Song to the Siren.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFAHVIyhtb0

[President Bush]

Fort Worth Blues (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vq4MgDwmIs) ... tribute to Townes Van Zandt

[Rrose Selavy]

The context is pretty important. Consider the aforementioned "Adagio for Strings" by Barber. When he first wrote it, he described it to a friend as a "knockout"; in other words, a proverbial "home run" in terms of its quality. Nothing was mentioned about what sort of mood it was supposed to inspire.

My high school music teacher said that it was considered the best "make-out" music back in the 50's.

Then, in the eighties, it was used in the movie "Platoon", and ever since it's been considered a woefully sad piece. (although some may have found it sad before then -- it's all relative.)


Earlier than that, I first came across it in David Lynch's 1980 Elephant Man- it's played at the bit where he lies down and tries to sleep like other people do - resting his head in a way that is going to affect his breathing and kill him.

[President Bush]

North Country Blues (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ushmq4ZyaUE)

[Mark A. Siefert]

The Future Aint What It Used To Be
by Jim Steinman.

l9O7ZGN5QVY

Were there ever any stars in the sky
Did the sun ever shine so bright?
Do you have any dreams I could borrow
Just to get me through the lonely nights
Is there anything left to hold onto
When the rivers wash it all away
Is there anyone left to hold onto
Is there anything left I can save

Say a prayer for the fallen angels
Send the tide on the rising waters
Toll a bell for the broken hearted
Burn a torch for your sons and daughters
The endless night has got a hold of me
Dark days are pulling me forward
And all these years are washing over me-
And I'm crying I'm lost forever-
In a future that ain't what it used to be
A future that ain't what it used to be
In a future that aint what it used to be
No more

[Rrose Selavy]

Antony & The Johnsons - Hope There's Someone - Hear it and weep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loNU4fVpO8E

[President Bush]

Songs unsung now with the passing of the last one up to the sorrow...

Blind Willie McTell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8-eo_Czyhw)


Seen the arrow on the doorpost
Saying "This land is condemned
All the way from New Orleans
To Jerusalem."
I traveled through East Texas
Where many martyrs fell
And I know no one can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell

Well, I heard the hoot owl singing
As they were taking down the tents
The stars above the barren trees
Were his only audience
Them charcoal gypsy maidens
Can strut their feathers well
But nobody can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell

See them big plantations burning
Hear the cracking of the whips
Smell that sweet magnolia blooming
See the ghosts of slavery ships
I can hear them tribes a-moaning
Hear the undertaker's bell
Nobody can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell

There's a woman by the river
With some fine young handsome man
He's dressed up like a squire
Bootlegged whiskey in his hand
There's a chain gang on the highway
I can hear them rebels yell
And I know no one can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell

Well, God is in his heaven
And we all want what's his
But power and greed and corruptible seed
Seem to be all that there is
I'm gazing out the window
Of the St. James Hotel
And I know no one can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell

Bob Dylan

[bigred]

A lot of what is called "sad" comes from context. I have allways found "Nights in White Satin" by Moody Blues a good if somewhat melancolic pop song (snip)

This reminds me of how they used that Sarah McGlaughin (sp) song for the SPCA commercial. Always hated the song but it was sadly poignant for the commercial, esp w/those pitiful animal pics. I can't even watch it anymore.

[President Bush]

A lot of what is called "sad" comes from context.
Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was a country-folk music singer-songwriter, performer, and poet. Throughout his career he was widely admired by fellow songwriters, particularly in the folk and country genres, but greater fame eluded him, in part because of his unconventional vocal style and in part because of his erratic personal behavior.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Townes_Van_Zandt


Pancho and Lefty (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ_xWynQMGo)

[Mark A. Siefert]

Then there's "The Unforgiven" by Metallica"

aS1W-eHH8L4

[bigred]

On average, Dylan - like Pink Floyd and Neil Young - is usually a safe bet to be depressing as hell.

[Damien Evans]

That depends on whether it's pre or post DSOTM Pink Floyd.

[Thanz]

Harry Chapin seemed to have a lot of sad, sad songs. A couple of examples:

A Better Place To Be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QavHBDIoWy8

Mr. Tanner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea6cgfU8bC4

This one is pretty sad too:

The Freshmen by The Verve Pipe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVNAp1C8LIw

But this is the saddest song ever recorded:

Brick by Ben Folds Five http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axpuVLQ_m4w

[tripi]

"Journey to the Line" from The Thin Red Line composed by Hans Zimmer and also featured in the teaser trailer for Pearl Harbor. I dunno how to insert a YouTube video but the climax of this moving track can be heard here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY0QdJsjdnY

[Ravenwood]

I'm surprised that no one has brought up Phil Ochs' "No more songs" or his setting of "The Highwayman" to music...