Songs for wine and regret

I was surfing around and came across a blog that listed the top 25 saddest songs "in the world." I'm a huge fan of lists. There's nothing better than reading a "best of" list and nodding your head in approval or shaking your head in disgust. It satisfies the mini-critic in all of us.

One would assume in creating a list that not only purported to claim the "top" anything but also claimed to include "the world" would be from someone with a vast knowledge of the subject or at least the time and energy to research all music written...ever...anywhere. This person obviously did not have the time. My assumption is that the list was culled from a personal CD collection within the writer's reach. Well, anyone can do that.

And I have. Enjoy!

Without a doubt, one of the saddest songs, nay, albums ever created is Tori Amos' Little Earthquakes. The album is an intimate and painful diary filled with tales of abuse, rape, miscarriages, and other cheery fare. Possibly the saddest (and one of the best) songs on the album is "Silent all these years." With lyrics like You think there's a heaven where the screams have gone/I got twenty-five bucks and a cracker/do you think it's enough to get us there?, you can safely assume tissues are in order.



This next tune is pretty sad on its own, but throw in a great cast (and Tom Cruise) all singing along, and you've got a recipe for tears. Aimee Mann's "Wise Up" is a gloomy little tale of taking a bad situation and doing something about it...or not. The last line pretty much sums up how we all feel sometimes. (And if you haven't seen Magnolia, you should. This clip is much more powerful in its original context.)



Here's a lil' ditty that always makes me sad, especially in the summer. Stevie Wonder could probably make a song about filing taxes riveting. (Forgive the video clip. It's from a silly movie featuring Janet Jackson. Just close your eyes and listen...)



Sheryl Crow has put out some heartbreakers (and some stinky cheese), but the tune from her debut album Tuesday Night Music Club, remains a favorite on my bluest of blue days.



This next song is actually a cover of a Leonard Cohen number (and it was actually on that other site's list), but honestly, no one does it better than Jeff Buckley. The lyrics will break your heart. The fact that such a talented guy died so tragically (accidental drowning), really brings on the hurt.


This next one goes out to anyone who felt inadequate in high school. (I suspect that was all of us.) I find it hard to listen to.



Okay, so this is a horribly incomplete list but I never promised "the saddest songs in the known universe!" These are just some of my favorites. Let me know if I missed an important tear-jerker!