Thoughts from the mountains of my mind. Sit back and relax for awhile.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Sad Songs Say So Much

I like sad songs. I don't know why...actually, I think I do but am embarrassed to admit it: they make me feel sad for myself. I'm sure it's some sort of self-destructive behavior, but I just never breached the subject when I was in therapy.



I remember one day living in Las Vegas and an on-line friend of mine from Australia was visiting me. We had the apartment to ourselves and were going through my CD collection. We played our favorite sad songs, and by the end we were holding each other and crying our eyes out.



So here's my current list of sad songs. Some of them you may not consider a sad song, but I'll give an explanation on each one.



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Sad Songs



*The Rose - Bette Midler - This one is just so powerful. The lyrics themselves are not really sad, but you think about the story-line of the movie The Rose, and it just gets to you.



*Life In A Northern Town - Dream Academy - The lyrics are some-what cryptic, but this song makes me sad. I think it's the sound of the lead singer. He sings it in a very soft voice which makes you think of an isolated town snowed in for winter.



*How Do I Live Without You - LeAnn Rimes - Only the LeAnn rimes version of this song, and the words are just so powerful. I remember hearing this song for the first time and thinking about a boyfriend I broke up with. It just ripped my heart out.



*Constant Craving - k.d. Lang - You can just hear the emotion in Ms. Lang's voice as she sings the words. To me, it's about a love that two people can't deny, though they can't be together. Now, that is something to be sad over.



*I Can't Make You Love Me - Bonnie Raitt - Oh my god! This song's words are so sad. Someone telling the person who no longer loves them to give them one more night because in the morning it's all over. I think the acceptance of the relationship ending is far sadder than someone pretending their relationship is still valid.



*Same Old Lang Syne - Dan Fogelberg - I've written about this one on my 12 Songs of Christmas post. A man who runs into his old crush on Christmas Eve, and doesn't make his move for her, even though her love life is non-existence with her husband.



*Officium - Jan Garbarek - Performed by the Hilliard Ensemble - Most of my readers are not Disney nuts who go to the Parks all the time or even live near enough to do that often. But for those few who are, this may sound familiar. This selection (Track #1 Parce mihi domine) is the music they used to play in the Stave Church exhibit in Norway at Epcot Center (sadly, the exhibit was changed this past December, and so was the music). There are no words to this symphony, but the use of a saxaphone and the choral voices make it incredibly mournful. When I met Mark, I was thrilled to find out he actually had a copy of this music. I would never have found out what it was on my own.



So there you have it. My list of sad songs. Please let me know any of your favorite sad songs, too. I can always use some more.