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.
- 100 Years, Five for Fighting
- Adagio for Strings, Samuel Barber
- Afterglow, Genesis
- Against All Odds, Phil Collins
- All By Myself, Eric Carmen
- All I Ask of You, Phantom of the Opera
- Allegretto, Symphony No. 7, Beethoven
- Amazing Grace, any version
- America, Ray Charles
- American Pie, Don McLean
- Angel, Sarah McLachlan
- Are You Lonesome Tonight, Elvis Presley
- At 17, Carly Simon
- Ave Maria, any version
- Auld Lang Syne, any version
- Battle Hymn of the Republic, any version
- Big John, Tennessee Ernie Ford
- Bird on the Wire, Leonard Cohen
- Blue in Green, Miles Davis
- Both Sides Now, Joni Mitchell
- The Boxer, Simon and Garfunkle
- Brandy, Looking Glass
- Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon & Garfunkel
- Bring Him Home, from Les Miserables
- Brothers in Arms, Dire Straits
- Candle in the Wind, Elton John
- Canon in D, Pacelbel
- Cat's in the Cradle, Harry Chapin
- Crazy Love, Van Morrison
- The Crying Game, Boy George
- The Dance, Garth Brooks
- Dang Me, Roger Miller
- Danny Boy, any version
- Dante's Prayer, Loreena McKennitt
- Days, Elvis Costello
- The Death of Falstaff, from Henry V
- Desperado, Eagles
- Don't Cry for Me Argentina, from Evita
- Don't Take the Girl, Tim McGraw
- Dream, Bob Dylan
- Dust in the Wind, Kansas
- Eleanor Rigby, Beatles
- Empty Chairs and Empty Tables, from Les Miserables
- Empty Garden, Elton John
- Evergreen, Barbra Streisand
- Everybody Hurts, REM
- Fanfare for the Common Man, Aaron Copeland
- Fields of Gold, Eva Cassidy
- Fire and Rain, James Taylor
- The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack
- Fix You, Cold Play
- Forget Her, Jeff Buckley
- The Gambler, Kenny Rogers
- Georgia on my Mind, Ray Charles
- The Ghost of Tom Joad, Bruce Springsteen
- Good Riddance, Green Day
- Goodnight Saigon, Billy Joel
- Greatest Love of All, Whitney Houston
- Growin' Up, Bruce Springsteen
- Hallelujah, Jeff Buckley
- Hurt, Johnny Cash
- Hushabye Mountain, from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
- I Can't Make You Love Me, Bonnie Raitt
- I Don't Want to Miss a Thing, Aerosmith
- I Grieve, Peter Gabriel
- I Have Nothing, Whitney Houston
- I Dreamed a Dream, from Les Miserables
- I Was a Fool to Let You Go, Barry Manilow
- I Won't Let Go, Rascal Flatts
- If, Bread
- If I Die Young, The Band Perry
- If You're Reading This, Tim McGraw
- I'll Stand By You, Glee
- I'm A Fool To Want You, Carly Simon
- I'm Moving On, Rascal Flatts
- Imagine, John LennonIn Your Eyes, Peter Gabriel
- The Impossible Dream, Man of LaMancha
- In a New York Minute, Don Henley
- In a Sentimental Mood, Duke Ellington
- In the Ghetto, Elvis Presley
- In the Wee Small Hours, Carly Simon
- Iris, Goo Goo Dolls
- It Was Very Good Year, Frank Sinatra
- It's Not Easy Being Green, Ray Charles
- It's Too Late, Carole King
- I've Loved These Days, Billy Joel
- Keep Holding On, Avril Lavigne
- Landslide, Fleetwood Mac
- Last Goodbye, Jeff Buckley
- The Last Song, Elton John
- The Leader of the Band, Dan Fogleberg
- Let It Be, Beatles
- Lilac Wine, Jeff Buckley
- The Living Years, Mike and the Mechanics
- The Long and Winding Road, Beatles
- A Long December, Counting Crows
- Lover, You Should Have Come Over, Jeff Buckley
- The Luckiest, Ben Folds
- Mad World, Michael Andrews
- Make You Feel My Love, Adele
- Memories, Barbra Streisand
- A Million Fireflies, Midway State
- Moon River, Louis Armstrong
- Mother's Pride, George Michael
- More than Words, Extreme
- Mr. Bojangles, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
- Music of the Night, from Phantom of the Opera
- My Eyes Adored You, Frankie Valli
- My Funny Valentine, Sarah Vaughn
- My Immortal, Evanescence
- My Way, Frank Sinatra
- Nessun Dorma, Turnadot
- Nightswimming, REM
- On My Own, from Les Miserables
- One Day More, from Les Miserables
- One Hand/One Heart, from West Side Story
- One Moment in Time, Whitney Houston
- Operator, Jim Croce
- Philadelphia, Bruce Springstein
- Promentary, from Last of the Mohicans
- Proud to be An American, Lee Greenwood
- Puff the Magic Dragon, Peter, Paul and Mary
- Rainbow Connection, Kermit the Frog
- Rainy Days and Mondays, The Carpenters
- Redemption Song, Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash
- Romeo & Juliet, Dire Straits
- Say Something, Great Big World & Christina Aguilera
- Seasons in the Sun, Terry Jacks
- See You Again, Charlie Puth w/Wiz Khalifa
- Send in the Clowns, Judy Collins
- Set Fire to the Rain, Adele
- Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Nat King Cole
- Solsbury Hill, Peter Gabriel
- Some Gave All, Billy Ray Cyrus
- Someone You Loved, Lewis Capaldi
- Sometimes When We Touch, Dan Hill
- Somewhere (A Place for Us), from West Side Story
- Somewhere Out There, Linda Rondstadt
- Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
- Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word, Elton John
- Sound of Silence, Simon and Garfunkle
- Stand By Me, BB King
- Stardust, Glen Miller
- Strange Fruit, Billie Holliday
- Streets of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen
- Summertime, Louis Armstrong
- Sunrise/Sunset, from Fiddler on the Roof
- Superman, Five for Fighting
- Taps, any version
- Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton
- There's a Place For Us, from West Side Story
- These Three Words, Stevie Wonder
- This Woman's Work, Maxwell (or Kate Bush)
- Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper
- Time in a Bottle, Jim Croce
- Time to Say Goodbye, Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli
- Times of Your Life, Paul Anka
- To Sir With Love, Lulu
- Tonight I'm Gonna Cry, Keith Urban
- True Colors, Cindi Lauper
- Unchained Melody, Righteous Brothers
- You Were Always on My Mind, Willie Nelson
- Walking in Memphis, Marc Cohn
- Wasted Time, Eagles
- Weekends in New England, Barry Manilow
- Weight of Lies, Avett Brothers
- We're Just Friends, Wilco
- What a Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong
- What I Did For Love, Barbra Streisand
- When I Was Your Man, Bruno Mars
- When Somebody Loved Me, Sara McLachlan
- Who Wants to Live Forever, Queen
- Wildfire, Michael Martin
- The Wind, Cat Stevens
- Wishing You Were Here, Chicago
- Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Gorden Lightfoot
- Yesterday, Beatles
- You Are So Beautiful, Joe Crocker
- You Don't Know Me, Ray Charles
- You Raise Me Up, Josh Groban
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