7/29/2011

Tonight I'm Gonna Cry Playlist: Songs That Make Me Cry

What is it about some songs that make us bawl like a baby?  

Is it regret? (Cats in the Cradle, Wasted Time, The Living Years, Yesterday)  

Death? (Amazing Grace, Tears in Heaven)  

Doomed Love? (Somewhere) 

Lost Love? (Against the Odds, Weekends in New England) 

Lost youth? (Growin' Up, It Was a Very Good Year, I Loved These Days) 

The glory/horror of war? (Brothers in Arms, Some Gave All, Goodnight Saigon, Taps) 

Patriotism? (The Battle Hymn of the Republic, America) 

Songs that fill you with hope that, no matter how bad things get, there's something better Over the Rainbow? (What a Wonderful World, Imagine, Rainbow Connection).  

Sometimes the words don't even matter - all it takes is a heart-breaking chord change or crescendo to tear at our hearts, like Samuel Barber's haunting Adajio for Strings or Jeff Buckley's wrenching version of Hallelujah.

Then again, does it really matter? The point is that whenever I feel the need for a good, purging cry, these songs are guaranteed to deliver the tears.
  1. 100 Years, Five for Fighting
  2. Adagio for Strings, Samuel Barber
  3. Afterglow, Genesis
  4. Against All Odds, Phil Collins
  5. All By Myself, Eric Carmen
  6. All I Ask of You, Phantom of the Opera
  7. Allegretto, Symphony No. 7, Beethoven
  8. Amazing Grace, any version
  9. America, Ray Charles
  10. American Pie, Don McLean
  11. Angel, Sarah McLachlan
  12. Are You Lonesome Tonight, Elvis Presley
  13. At 17, Carly Simon
  14. Ave Maria, any version
  15. Auld Lang Syne, any version
  16. Battle Hymn of the Republic, any version
  17. Big John, Tennessee Ernie Ford
  18. Bird on the Wire, Leonard Cohen
  19. Blue in Green, Miles Davis
  20. Both Sides Now, Joni Mitchell
  21. The Boxer, Simon and Garfunkle
  22. Brandy, Looking Glass
  23. Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon & Garfunkel
  24. Bring Him Home, from Les Miserables
  25. Brothers in Arms, Dire Straits
  26. Candle in the Wind, Elton John
  27. Canon in D, Pacelbel
  28. Cat's in the Cradle, Harry Chapin
  29. Crazy Love, Van Morrison
  30. The Crying Game, Boy George
  31. The Dance, Garth Brooks
  32. Dang Me, Roger Miller
  33. Danny Boy, any version
  34. Dante's Prayer, Loreena McKennitt
  35. Days, Elvis Costello
  36. The Death of Falstaff, from Henry V
  37. Desperado, Eagles
  38. Don't Cry for Me Argentina, from Evita
  39. Don't Take the Girl, Tim McGraw
  40. Dream, Bob Dylan
  41. Dust in the Wind, Kansas
  42. Eleanor Rigby, Beatles
  43. Empty Chairs and Empty Tables, from Les Miserables
  44. Empty Garden, Elton John
  45. Evergreen, Barbra Streisand
  46. Everybody Hurts, REM
  47. Fanfare for the Common Man, Aaron Copeland
  48. Fields of Gold, Eva Cassidy
  49. Fire and Rain, James Taylor
  50. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack
  51. Fix You, Cold Play
  52. Forget Her, Jeff Buckley
  53. The Gambler, Kenny Rogers
  54. Georgia on my Mind, Ray Charles
  55. The Ghost of Tom Joad, Bruce Springsteen
  56. Good Riddance, Green Day
  57. Goodnight Saigon, Billy Joel
  58. Greatest Love of All, Whitney Houston
  59. Growin' Up, Bruce Springsteen
  60. Hallelujah, Jeff Buckley
  61. Hurt, Johnny Cash
  62. Hushabye Mountain, from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
  63. I Can't Make You Love Me, Bonnie Raitt
  64. I Don't Want to Miss a Thing, Aerosmith
  65. I Grieve, Peter Gabriel
  66. I Have Nothing, Whitney Houston
  67. I Dreamed a Dream, from Les Miserables
  68. I Was a Fool to Let You Go, Barry Manilow
  69. I Won't Let Go, Rascal Flatts
  70. If, Bread
  71. If I Die Young, The Band Perry
  72. If You're Reading This, Tim McGraw
  73. I'll Stand By You, Glee
  74. I'm A Fool To Want You, Carly Simon
  75. I'm Moving On, Rascal Flatts
  76. Imagine, John LennonIn Your Eyes, Peter Gabriel
  77. The Impossible Dream, Man of LaMancha
  78. In a New York Minute, Don Henley
  79. In a Sentimental Mood, Duke Ellington
  80. In the Ghetto, Elvis Presley
  81. In the Wee Small Hours, Carly Simon
  82. Iris, Goo Goo Dolls
  83. It Was Very Good Year, Frank Sinatra
  84. It's Not Easy Being Green, Ray Charles
  85. It's Too Late, Carole King
  86. I've Loved These Days, Billy Joel
  87. Keep Holding On, Avril Lavigne
  88. Landslide, Fleetwood Mac
  89. Last Goodbye, Jeff Buckley
  90. The Last Song, Elton John
  91. The Leader of the Band, Dan Fogleberg
  92. Let It Be, Beatles
  93. Lilac Wine, Jeff Buckley
  94. The Living Years, Mike and the Mechanics
  95. The Long and Winding Road, Beatles
  96. A Long December, Counting Crows
  97. Lover, You Should Have Come Over, Jeff Buckley
  98. The Luckiest, Ben Folds
  99. Mad World, Michael Andrews
  100. Make You Feel My Love, Adele
  101. Memories, Barbra Streisand
  102. A Million Fireflies, Midway State
  103. Moon River, Louis Armstrong
  104. Mother's Pride, George Michael
  105. More than Words, Extreme
  106. Mr. Bojangles, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
  107. Music of the Night, from Phantom of the Opera
  108. My Eyes Adored You, Frankie Valli
  109. My Funny Valentine, Sarah Vaughn
  110. My Immortal, Evanescence
  111. My Way, Frank Sinatra
  112. Nessun Dorma, Turnadot
  113. Nightswimming, REM
  114. On My Own, from Les Miserables
  115. One Day More, from Les Miserables
  116. One Hand/One Heart, from West Side Story
  117. One Moment in Time, Whitney Houston
  118. Operator, Jim Croce
  119. Philadelphia, Bruce Springstein
  120. Promentary, from Last of the Mohicans
  121. Proud to be An American, Lee Greenwood
  122. Puff the Magic Dragon, Peter, Paul and Mary
  123. Rainbow Connection, Kermit the Frog
  124. Rainy Days and Mondays, The Carpenters
  125. Redemption Song, Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash
  126. Romeo & Juliet, Dire Straits
  127. Say Something, Great Big World & Christina Aguilera
  128. Seasons in the Sun, Terry Jacks
  129. See You Again, Charlie Puth w/Wiz Khalifa
  130. Send in the Clowns, Judy Collins
  131. Set Fire to the Rain, Adele
  132. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Nat King Cole
  133. Solsbury Hill, Peter Gabriel
  134. Some Gave All, Billy Ray Cyrus
  135. Someone You Loved, Lewis Capaldi
  136. Sometimes When We Touch, Dan Hill
  137. Somewhere (A Place for Us), from West Side Story
  138. Somewhere Out There, Linda Rondstadt
  139. Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
  140. Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word, Elton John
  141. Sound of Silence, Simon and Garfunkle
  142. Stand By Me, BB King
  143. Stardust, Glen Miller
  144. Strange Fruit, Billie Holliday
  145. Streets of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen
  146. Summertime, Louis Armstrong
  147. Sunrise/Sunset, from Fiddler on the Roof
  148. Superman, Five for Fighting
  149. Taps, any version
  150. Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton
  151. There's a Place For Us, from West Side Story
  152. These Three Words, Stevie Wonder
  153. This Woman's Work, Maxwell (or Kate Bush)
  154. Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper
  155. Time in a Bottle, Jim Croce
  156. Time to Say Goodbye, Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli
  157. Times of Your Life, Paul Anka
  158. To Sir With Love, Lulu
  159. Tonight I'm Gonna Cry, Keith Urban
  160. True Colors, Cindi Lauper
  161. Unchained Melody, Righteous Brothers
  162. You Were Always on My Mind, Willie Nelson
  163. Walking in Memphis, Marc Cohn
  164. Wasted Time, Eagles
  165. Weekends in New England, Barry Manilow
  166. Weight of Lies, Avett Brothers
  167. We're Just Friends, Wilco
  168. What a Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong
  169. What I Did For Love, Barbra Streisand
  170. When I Was Your Man, Bruno Mars
  171. When Somebody Loved Me, Sara McLachlan
  172. Who Wants to Live Forever, Queen
  173. Wildfire, Michael Martin
  174. The Wind, Cat Stevens
  175. Wishing You Were Here, Chicago
  176. Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Gorden Lightfoot
  177. Yesterday, Beatles
  178. You Are So Beautiful, Joe Crocker
  179. You Don't Know Me, Ray Charles
  180. You Raise Me Up, Josh Groban

No comments:

Post a Comment