re: Saddest Song

I offer three submissions:


From Les Miserable, Jean Valjean, after a life of struggle, sits alone by the fire one night after his adopted daughter Cosette's wedding and sings...

Alone, I wait in the shadows
I count the hours till I can sleep
I dreamed a dream Cosette stood by
It made her weep to know I die

Alone at the end of the day
Upon this wedding night, I pray
Take these children, my Lord, to thy embrace
And show them grace

God on high, hear my prayer
Take me now to thy care
Where You are, let me be
Take me now, take me there

Bring me home
Bring me home


Mama's Hungry Eyes written and performed by Merle Haggard, as well as by Emmylou Harris

A canvas-covered cabin in a crowded labour camp
Stand out in this memory I revive
'Cause my daddy raised a family there, with two hard-working hands
And tried to feed my mama's hungry eyes

He dreamed of something better, and my mama's faith was strong
And us kids were just to young to realize
That another class of people put us somewhere just below
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes

Mama never had the luxuries she wanted
But it wasn't 'cause my daddy didn't try
She only wanted things she really needed
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes

I remember daddy praying for a better way of life
But I don't recall a change of any size
Just a little loss of courage, as their age began to show
And more sadness in my mama's hungry eyes

Mama never had the luxuries she wanted
But it wasn't 'cause my daddy didn't try
She only wanted things she really needed
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes

Oh, I still recall my mama's hungry eyes


Ghost In This House, written by Hugh Prestwood, performed by many; I like Alison Krauss' performance best.

I don't pick up the mail
I don't pick up the phone
I don't answer the door
I'd just soon be alone
I don't keep this place up
I just keep the lights down
I don't live in these rooms
I just rattle around

I'm just a ghost in this house
I'm just a shadow upon these walls
As quietly as a mouse I haunt these halls
I'm just a whisper of smoke
I'm all that's left of two hearts on fire
That once burned out of control
It took my body and soul
I'm just a ghost in this house

I don't care if it rains
I don't care if it's clear
I don't mind staying in
There's another ghost here
She sits down in your chair
And she shines with your light
And she lays down her head
On your pillow at night


I'm just a ghost in this house
I'm just a shadow upon these walls
I'm living proof of the damage
Heartbreak does
I'm just a whisper of smoke
I'm all that's left of two hearts on fire
That once burned out of control
And took my body and soul
I'm just a ghost in this house

That once burned out of control
And took my body and soul
I'm just a ghost in this house

No Hard Feelings - Avett Bros.
Jesus, Etc. - Wilco
Jacksonville Skyline - Ryan Adams

Fast Car has to be in the mix.

The Blizzard-Chris LeDoux

The Blizzard

Whiskey Lullaby. No question. End thread.

The Green Green Grass of Home

It always brings a tear to my eye.

Cash’s cover of Hurt. Lots of experience with addiction.

Same Sorrow - Luke Starkiller

It's a song about a mother dealing with the grief of losing her teenage son to a car crash on the Pontchartrain Causeway with some of the best harmonizing guitar solo work I've ever heard.

When I'm Gone from Joey and Rory!

Especially once you know that shortly after they did the song.....she actually got cancer and has now passed away.

Sorry...........it doesnt get any sadder!

Blind Melon - New Life

A song about Shannon wanting to get clean for his newborn daughter, only to die before she was 5 months old.

quote:

---

Suddenly everyting is fainting
Falling from a broken ladder's rung
There's a jolt exhilarating from the phone I'm holding
I hear the words of what I'll become
How eager the hands that reach for love

'Cause now there's a new life to behold
And its the biggest part of my life to unfold
'Cause now she's telling me she'll have my baby
And a faithful father I am to be
When I'm looking into the eyes of our own baby
Will it bring new life into me?

Deep inside must defy arrangement
I've been a stumblin' from the startin' blocks 'til now
And I'll always try to justify the way I've been behaving
Should I teach one not to know how?
How to live in a world we live in now

'Cause there's a beautiful life to behold
And its the biggest part of my life to unfold
'Cause now she's telling me she'll have my baby
And a father figure I am to be
When I'm looking into the eyes of our own baby
Will it bring new life into me?

Oh please
Oh please
Oh please
Bring new life
Bring new life
Bring new life into me

---

Miner's Lullaby - Clandestine, a song by Utah Phillips

An Irish immigrant with a family to provide for works in a coal mine. One item always carried to work is a tin of morphine, just in case one day the unthinkable happens and there's a cave-in.

Just devastating.