Friday, March 30, 2012

Sad Songs Blogfest

(this pic reminds me of Ode to Billy Joe - another great sad song!)

"Sad songs say so much..."
Did anyone else hear this as soon as they saw Diane's announcement about her blogfest? I adore Elton John and this one popped right into my head! He's had a lot of great sad songs: Your Song, Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word, Candle in the Wind...
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
So, what other sad songs are my favourites?

Hallelujah -
KD Lang's version at the Olympics tore at my heart. Her voice is such pure beauty!
Maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It’s not a cry you can hear at night
It’s not somebody who has seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Mandy - Barry Manilow. Yup, I'm a Manilow fan :) I think this song was my first favourite of his! Love it.
I'm standing on the edge of time
Walked away when love was mine
Caught up in a world of uphill climbing
The tears are in my eyes
And nothing is rhyming, oh Mandy
Angel - Sarah McLachlan. Such a glorious voice. She can make you feel all kinds of emotions :)
There's always some reason
To feel not good enough,
And it's hard, at the end of the day
The Rose - Bette Midler. This was one of my dad's favourite songs. He loved Bette and this song touched him. I will never, ever be able to hear it without having such strong memories of my dad.
It's the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
That never takes the chance.
It's the one who won't be taken,
Who cannot seem to give,
And the soul afraid of dyin'
That never learns to live.
My only quibble would be the That in the last line should be Who... My dad laughed when I pointed that out. He probably wouldn't be surprised I'm wearing an aspiring author hat these days! :)
 
I could go on ... and on... and on. I have so many favourites!! But I won't put you through that!
 
So, tell me, what's your favourite sad song?

43 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

excellent choice especially Candle In The Wind.

Yvonne.

Anonymous said...

Fallen by Sarah McLachlan, Breathe by Sia, and Natalie Merchant's My Skin make me emotional.

I'm most familiar with your last three.

Great blogfest. I'm sorry I missed it.

Jemi Fraser said...

Yvonne - thanks - that's one of my favourites!

Medeia - anything by Sarah M is amazing. I don't know your other 2 well - I'll have to check them out :)

Beth said...

I love Hallelujah too.
Other sad songs I love are Sorrow and Start a War by The National; The Scientist by Coldplay; and With or Without You by U2. I'm sad (and happy) just thinking of these great songs.

Jemi Fraser said...

Beth - I know - it's that push/pull tug of emotions that makes them so strong! I love With or Without You too! Great choice :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Elton John's had his fair share. The one he sang for Princess Diana was so appropriate.
My list is up!

J.L. Campbell said...

Mandy and the Rose also make me sad and yes, Elton John's Sad Songs did come to mind. :)

vic caswell said...

great list! i'm with alex, elton john at princess diana's funeral- the vid of that makes me bawl like a baby every time!

Tamara Narayan said...

Hey, this is the second list I've seen with Angel. Nice choices.

Unknown said...

Oh, I love Angel. I just sang that at Karaoke. Nice list.

Jeremy [Retro] said...

the rose - bette midler is still a strong and sad song... it takes me to the end of the movie.

Please Check out My Sad Song List...
Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]
Visit The Madness:
iZOMBIE

Kyra Lennon said...

I get chills just reading the lyrics to Candle In The Wind! Great picks!

Arlee Bird said...

Excellent choices. I was looking for a k.d. lang song but didn't find one that I felt worked. I ended up with four song lists. There are so many great sad songs to choose from.


Lee
Sad Songs Blogfests—Places I Remember
Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog

L. Diane Wolfe said...

There's a couple Manilow songs I like. (I'm also a closet Abba fan.)

I think I wore out my 45 record of The Rose.

Emily R. King said...

Ah, Hallelujah! How did I not think of that one???

LOVE Angel. *sigh*

Gossip_Grl said...

Browsing the Sad Song Blogfest list, nice song choices and expressions to them

Julie Dao said...

That Angel song ... every time I hear it come on with the beaten puppies commercial or whatever it is (I don't even know what it is because I can't watch more than 2 seconds of it) I want to bawl. Great choices!

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I love The Rose, too! Nice picks here. :)

M Pax said...

Elton sang a lot of sad songs. I almost included him and Hallelujah. Great selections :)

JeffO said...

Picking favorites is tough. One of my daughter's classmates sang "Hallelujah" at the school's Cabaret Night in January and was absolutely incredible. That's a great song.

Old Kitty said...

You picked my bestest sad songs too!! The Rose, Manilow, Angel.. sigh!!!

Take care
x

N. R. Williams said...

Oh how could I forget The Rose? Elton's song has forever changed for me after Princess Diana's death. I did select, Angel. Love them all.
Nancy

~Sia McKye~ said...

I've always loved Hallelujah, and I've heard many sing it but not KD. I think she has such a gorgeous torch style voice. It's beautifully done and I can see why you chose it.

An yes, Billy Joel and Elton John do some great sad songs. :-)

I enjoyed listening to your music list.

Sia McKye OVER COFFEE

Jemi Fraser said...

Alex - Elton John did such a great job with that one! I didn't know anything on your list.

JL - Sad Songs has been stuck in my head since I saw the blogfest!!

Vic - completely agree! I'm a total mess whenever I see that one.

Karen - lol!! There are a lot of Manilow fans out there who live without telling a soul! Not me :)

Tamara - thanks! Angel is such a beautiful, haunting song!

Clarissa - that's a tough one to sing! Good for you :)

Jeremy - it really is a powerful song!!

Kyra - Candle really does do that to me too!

Lee - thanks! I agree - there are SO many great sad songs!

Diane - yay - another Manilow song! Those 45s were awesome!

Emily - Hallelujah is such a haunting, beautiful piece! :)

Gossip - thanks - it's a great blofest to cruise!

Julie - thanks! And I have to turn off that commercial too. I turn into a blubbering mess!

Elizabeth - it really is such a glorious song! :)

M Pax - Elton is the master! One of my all time favourite artists!

Jeff - wow! It's such a challenging song - I'm impressed!

Old Kitty - yay! Those really are impressive artists - such powerful songs!

Nancy - I've been thinking those kinds of thoughts with every post I visit!

Jemi Fraser said...

Sia - KD's version is incredible! I had goosebumps for hours!

baygirl32 said...

I didn't even think of Mandy - wish I had- great choices

Jemi Fraser said...

Bay Girl - yay! Another Manilow fan! :)

Heather M. Gardner said...

Oh! Love The Rose!
Such a good list.
Thanks for sharing.
HMG

Jemi Fraser said...

Heather - thank you! I love pretty much anything by Bette Midler! :)

Connie Arnold said...

Those are some good ones! The Rose is one I haven't heard in a long while but certainly is sad. Memories can really add to the poignancy of songs.

Jemi Fraser said...

Connie - so true. The memories often make or break the songs for me. This one will always touch my heart.

kate n said...

Great list!

Jennie Bailey said...

I'm really kicking myself for leaving Angel off. It completely slipped my mind and it's such a heartbreaking song. Great list!

Jemi Fraser said...

Katie - thanks!

Jennie - I love Sarah McLachlin - such a powerful voice! :)

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh. I haven't heard THE ROSE in I don't know how long. A couple that make me cry are; BUTTERFLY KISSES and DON"T TAKE THE GIRL. Hope I got the titles right. I've been in the car when they come on and I've had to actually pull over because I tear up.

Susanne
PUTTING WORDS DOWN ON PAPER

Jemi Fraser said...

Susanne - oooooh! Butterfuly kisses absolutely demolishes me every single time I hear it! I don't know Don't Take the Girl - I'll have to check it out!

Helen Ginger said...

Candle in the Wind is a sad song. Another blog asked about sad songs -- Karen's, I think. I couldn't think of the name of the song (it's rather old), but it went something like: We were out on a date in her daddy's car. We hadn't driven very far when there on the road, straight ahead, a car was stalled, the engine was dead. I couldn't start, so I swerved to the right. I'll never forget the sounds that night.....

Jemi Fraser said...

Helen - I know that one -- Tell Laura I Love Her - I think... I loved that song too! Definitely full of heart breatk!

dolorah said...

Love them all, but The Rose is probably one of my favorites.

.......dhole

Jemi Fraser said...

Donna - me too! Especially with the memories connected to it :)

TerryLynnJohnson said...

anything, really, by Sarah McLaughlin.

Jemi Fraser said...

Terry - totally agree! Her voice is truly angelic! :)

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