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Sad Songs (Say So Much)
I have to admit, I am a sucker for sad songs. I hope that doesn’t reflect badly on my personality, but when I think of all the songs I know, it’s the sadder songs that have moved me the deepest, and that has had the biggest impact on me. The latest new Beatles “Now And Then” remind me of that, hauntingly beautiful, and melancholic, but by the end it leaves me feeling better, hopeful.
I think Elton John was onto something when he wrote “Sad Songs (Say So Much)”, and indeed they do. I think a good sad song within the blues and sadness, has a deep beauty that leaves you with hope and resolution. Don’t get me wrong, I love upbeat happy songs too, heck the Beach Boys was my favourite band growing up, but even within the Beach Boys they had amazing sadder and melancholic songs like Surfer Girl, In My Room, Don’t Worry Baby, God Only Knows that made Paul McCartney cry, or the Beatles “She’s Leaving Home” that made Brian Wilson cry.
If you took away all the sad songs, music would be so much less than it is. Half of all of Beethoven and Bach’s music would be gone. Even the Beatles “Hey Jude” is a sad song – “Hey, Jude, don’t make it bad, Take a sad song and make it better….” In the Beatles repertoire alone there are these sad songs: Yesterday, Eleanor Rigby, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, In My Life, Let It Be, The Long and Winding Road, She’s Leaving Home, Hey Jude, A Day In The Life, Nowhere Man…etc….and now “Now and Then”.
Anyone else here like sad songs?
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64 Replies
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I think we talked about this somewhat on another thread, but there are certainly a lot of sad songs that draw me in. I’m especially fond of this ABBA song. Agnetha delivers a great visual performance here, probably inspired by the fact that she and Bjorn were getting a divorce at the time. The lyrics cover a fascinating mix of emotions: exhaustion and vulnerability, but also acceptance and empathy.
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Hi David, thanks yeah that was a great one by Abba, a huge hit for them. I also liked their “Fernando” which has a very longing feel to it. I think that is another aspect of sad songs, there is a strong longing, like longing for a time from the past, or someone you are missing that can be so powerful and shake your foundations.
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Hi Jung–little-known factoid about ‘Fernando’. It was written by the boys for Frida to sing in her solo career before they all became ABBA. It was in Swedish only and became enough of a success that it was rewritten for the new group to sing. The lyrics were entirely replaced: the original Swedish song was about love. And the English replacement lyrics were as Cher and Andy Garcia sang in the second Mamma Mia film, about a war long past. Bjorn is a master at lyric-writing! Here he composed brand new words, a new plot for a song, so that’s like doing two songs. But he could also translate lyrics into other languages, something which cannot be done literally word-for word because it can sound terrible, but using new words which retain the original meaning. Now, that is an art!
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Hi David and everyone. I’ve been away from the Forum for a bit. I hope everyone’s been well. David, since you mention “The Winner Takes It All,” I’d like to add a second ABBA song from late in their catalogue: https://youtu.be/AtjFLUx-a5M?si=r4r48hfGCxIqL-Ll
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Welcome back David. This is a calming and soothing song. I like the music box effect with a clock or metronome in the background. It’s an introspective song, beautiful.
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David,
Nice ABBA song choices! I got a great ABBA 4-CD set from my wife a while back. There’s a lot of great stuff on it that wasn’t in their top hits. I do love “Dancing Queen” and other hits of theirs, but the lesser-known songs are some of my favorites, the same as with the Beatles.
Here’s another sad ABBA tune, & a beautiful one at that! It’s very touching, & I believe it’s one of their best! (This song came out in 1980, when Agnetha was 30 years old, & Frida was 35. And they recently recorded new material!) — Bud
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David,
Agnetha had, & has a very powerful voice, similar to the power in Judy Garland’s voice, only with a much different style of course. Although ABBA’s Music is much different than Mona & Lisa’s, they remind me of each other in the following way. Both Mona & Lisa have wonderful solo voices, with personal differences in vocal quality, yet they blend so well together!
It’s the same with Agnetha & Frida; both are different, yet they have such a great blend together! While I doubt that our Twins would do any ABBA songs, I still appreciate both groups, & there’s no necessity for comparison.
And with the lack of quality in much of today’s Pop Music, I’m so glad we have the Mona Lisa Twins to enjoy, with the bonus of their feeling like a family with all of us fans who support their endeavors! — Bud
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I totally agree, Bud. Another similarity between ABBA and MLT is their ability to write and perform great songs in a language that isn’t native to them. I can’t imagine ever having that degree of facility with a foreign tongue.
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David,
Yes, & also, who would think that Sweden or Austria would turn out singers in this age that have been so popular! (Or Korea for that matter!) America & Britain don’t have to be the only countries with hit recordings.
Mona & Lisa might have a small Fan base now, but who knows what the future holds?! Well, I’m off to work soon! — Bud
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Hi Bud–in the discussion of ABBA songs I would add what I feel is one of their best. It’s just about their last song recorded until the present day and is called ‘The Day Before you Came’. Rare in that it’s Agnetha-only, with Frida adding a wordless chorus. Bjorn has weighed in and said that the song succeeds on several different levels as to what is actually about. Their best work was multi-layered like that. A music video was produced but I have found this live performance for German TV to be better. Lip synced, it is, but masterfully done by Agnetha!
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Hi David, & everyone who’s posted the ABBA songs here. These are some of my favorites of theirs
also! I do love “Dancing Queen” & others that get more airtime. But I think some of their later songs are the best & show some of the pain they went through.
Someone posted “Slipping Thru my Fingers,” which is maybe my all-time favorite song of many other favorites. I like this live from version from the Dick Cavett Show. Agnetha was & is a masterful singer of pop songs!
Believe it or not, but it’s true, I met Benny Anderson once when I was working at a Hilton Hotel. I saw Bjorn in the background but didn’t see the girls! That was disappointing! But my friend that I worked with DID see them! It’s a small world indeed! — Bud
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Hi Bud,
It was me that posted Slipping Through My Fingers and I too love their later work, particularly their last studio album The Visitors. Also The Day Before You Came and Under Attack are two of my favourite singles of theirs, even if they didn’t do well in the UK charts.
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Paul,
That’s right, it was you! Once I clicked on reply, everything else went away, so I couldn’t check back on names. Anyway yes, I like their later stuff even better, but I do love all of it! There are not many songs that are throwaways; maybe the “King Kong” song or something similar.
Here’s one from I think about 1976 that I really like! This is truly a sad song that foretells the future breakup of her marriage. There’s another version with an interview of Agnetha in Swedish, but I can’t find it right now. It’s a simple melody with pleasing harmonies, but the whole arrangement is superb! And it’s all Agnetha! — Bud
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Yes, Bud, I love all of Abba’s stuff too, but particularly their later work. My Love, My Life is indeed a gorgeous song.
Here’s another beautiful sad song from their 1977 album The Album, about a couple trying to save their marriage, One Man, One Woman, with Frida taking the lead on the track:
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Paul,
Thanks for posting that, Frida is awesome too! Like Mona & Lisa, they both have a different sound & vocal style, yet they blend so well together!
I know this last song you put up, but probably other folks in our club haven’t heard it.
Enjoy your Friday! I got part way thru M & L’s new video today, but I gotta run now.
CHEERS! — Bud
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To David, Jung, & Everyone who’s posted here.
I’m revisiting all these sad songs, & there’s a great collection here. Thanks everybody!
I started thinking about the saddest song I’ve ever heard, and this came to mind. If you can take it, watch both of these clips. (They had me sobbing again just now!) When I first saw this movie, there was stunned silence in the theatre at the finale! My connection to this is that I lived in New York City for 2 years, and I also played 1st trumpet in the Civic Light Opera stage production in Seattle several years later.
We musicians could watch the show when we weren’t playing, being in front of, & below the stage.
The song, “Somewhere” from “West Side Story” has to do with “Tony,” the previous leader of the white gang, the “Jets” who is the boyfriend of “Maria,” whose brother was the leader of the Puerto Rican gang, the “Sharks.” Tony had just stabbed Maria’s brother “Bernardo,” not really meaning to. He was in a fit of rage because Bernardo had just killed Tony’s best friend “Riff.”Tony & Maria plan to get away from everyone & start a new life. Then in the final scene, “Chino” from the Sharks shoots Tony. The final scene is very gripping, to say the least! Tony originally tried to stop the gang fight until he got sucked into it. At the very end, members from both gangs see the pointlessness of all the violence. It’s tragic because it’s so real in America today!
West Side Story 1961 – Somewhere (youtube.com)
WEST SIDE STORY TONY DIES Final Scene 1961 (youtube.com)
This is one of the greatest Broadway shows & movies of all time! — Bud
(I hope I don’t bum anyone out, but these are great scenes, which frame the song perfectly!)
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Yes, that final scene leaves me weeping every time, Bud. It never loses its power.
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David,
I feel the same, & even more so as I get older, with more life experience. I had hope for a long while that violence in our world would fade away, but lately it seems that some people will never learn the lessons of the past. I try to have hope for the future, & that the right people will find global solutions for common problems. It will just take more of us to push for peace, equality & justice for all! — Thanks!
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I mentioned this one before but have to include it here. The MLT song that made me cry, in fact the only song I can remember that made me break down and cry. The heartstring pulling longing in the song is so powerful, and Lisa and Mona sing it with so much feeling, every guitar note tugs at the heartstrings too. It’s beauty made me feel so good, it consoles and soothes the soul.
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Jung, there are a few of the Twins songs that bring a tear to my eye Vincent, Imagine and Wish You Were Here are a few. The guitar playing on Wish You Were Here gets to me, it’s not sad though, it’s just that beautiful. The song that really floored me was Alone. I listened to it four or five times the day they released it in the club and then I suddenly remembered a young girl I knew from work who took her own life because she had been hit with depression from many angles at the same time. She was betrayed by her boyfriend, her boss and her union steward and stabbed in the back by co workers and so called friends. I didn’t realize she was so depressed. I only knew her a short time but considered her a friend and even now wonder if there was something I could have said or done to help her. I can’t imagine how alone she must have felt. I love this song so much but still tear up from it. I’m having a hard time even writing this while the song is playing but I guess that is what a great song is suppose to do, bring out your feelings.
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Hi Tim
Yeah, “Alone” is so tender and beautiful, it is the highlight of the new Duo Sessions II album for me, but not to lessen any of the other beautiful gems on the album. The song just underscores the amazing song writing prowess of Mona and Lisa.
Thanks for sharing about your friend, that is sad to hear. Perhaps your enduring kind thoughts and regard for her would make her happy knowing that where she is. With sad songs, it’s a mysterious thing, in the darkness it evokes an amazing beauty that give hope and insight, and healing.
I’ve posted this one before, but it’s one of the most consoling songs out there.
https://youtu.be/wXT7X_bf9lU?si=lAJhLjwfpbW_ipKd
Sometimes just knowing you are not alone, and others have felt the pain or anguish you are feeling is amazingly consoling. When I discovered MLTs “The Wide, Wide Land” after losing my mom to dementia the year before, the song was so beautiful and moving, and knowing that beauty was being expressed by artists who went through what I went through was amazingly consoling, knowing I was not alone with the pain I was feeling.
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That’s a beautiful song Jung, I never heard it before. It’s amazing how those simple lyrics can be presented in a way that anyone can understand and that everyone can relate to. It’s funny that when we go through sad times we feel like we go through them alone but the truth is that everyone will go through these same feelings at sometime in their life. I guess that’s why sad songs are so popular, they speak to everyone.
Here’s another song that works the same way, just simple lyrics but words anyone can understand especially if you’ve had your heart broken deeply. I’ve always liked the line ” I’m gonna find a hole in the wall, gonna crawl inside and die” it doesn’t get more real than that.
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Hi Jung–you posted R.E.M.’s ‘Everybody Hurts’ and I just wanted to add that the <video> which goes with that song is just magnificent, one of the all time best out there, in my opinion.
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Tim,
Sorry to hear that sad story! My heart goes out to that poor girl! If positive thoughts can have a physical affect, perhaps your compassion for her desperate actions can send healing to her even now! And don’t blame yourself, because often we can’t know how troubled someone truly is until it’s too late.
I also had a friend at work that took his own life. It was so unexpected because he always seemed so up, & full of humor. Sometimes the best we can do is treat each other with respect as much as possible & lend an ear when someone seems to be having a problem. Even small acts of kindness can be powerful!
Take care! — Bud
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Tim,
Also, Lisa & Mona’s song “Alone” proves just how musically mature beyond their years they were at age 13! — Bud
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Right on Jung! — Bud
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Hello again Jung, & everyone who’s posted here.
I would like to add that it’s obvious that many of us long for those times when ABBA, Karen Carpenter, the Beatles & many of our favorite groups were around, showing how good the best of Rock & Pop Music could be! (I won’t go into all the great Jazz musicians here, as that’s another Universe to explore!)
Thanks to technology, we can go back & still listen & watch them perform! But also, it is so Wonderful that we have two current singers, our Mona & Lisa — (Lisa & Mona) who prove that great Rock, Pop & Folk Music still lives on in a new generation!
Mona & Lisa are the Masterful new Singers/Songwriters of today! I am so happy that we can be here to enjoy & communicate with them! In the current wasteland of popular Music, we have two of the best & brightest, I believe of all time!
Thank you again Mona, Lisa, Rudi & Michaela for all your tremendous work & creative output! You bring new hope to a troubled World! We all need to spread the Love, to extinguish the darkness, because Love & Music are the most powerful forces in the Universe!
Sorry to gush, but I think you’re BOTH wonderful, & you deserve all the Love back from us that you give out! And with that little thought of the moment, Have a Lovely Day! — Bud
Here’s just ONE little gem to hear again!
Count On Me – MonaLisa Twins (Original) // MLT Club Duo Session (youtube.com)
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Bud, I totally agree with everything you said.
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Tim,
Yeah, right on! (I’m leaving for work in a few minutes.) Have a great day! — Bud
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You too Bud, thanks!!
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I’ve been a huge Elton John fan since the mid 70’s when he and the band first really started to rattle the music world. The Too Low For Zero album and Breaking Hearts album signified a resurgence in his music collaborations with Bernie Taupin after a brief hiatus on more or less his own due to some other issues in Sir Elton’s life. I did enjoy his Single Man album during that time, it was different and had a melancholy tone that likely told some stories of his broken relationships and personal troubles.
But the two early/mid 80’s albums and resulting tours offered up Sad Songs (Breaking Hearts) and the previous I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues (Too Low For Zero) that were more in the bluesy “tear jerker” genre, especially with Stevie Wonder playing the harp on I Guess That’s Why. I consider Nikita (Ice On Fire ’85) a sad song as well, but with a positive/hopeful dreamlike undertone. Something that I think we have all felt with an unrequited love experience in our lives; bitter but sweet. If you want to go way back to the Don’t Shoot Me days, High Flying Bird is definitely a song of sorrow.
And of course, Empty Garden (Jump Up ’82) is a sad but loving tribute to John Lennon. A very heartfelt song that he decided could only be performed live in NYC. I can attest to that, his tour in ’97 played all over the world, but he only played it in NYC. I was at that show/tour a couple months before my 50th birthday in Edmonton, and it was noticeably missing from the songlist….everything else was the same. But it was part of the show in MSG, when he announced the reasoning why. Doesn’t get much more poignant and sad than that.
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Hi Daryl
Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) is so heartwarming and what a great tribute to John Lennon. The lyrics “I’ve been knocking but no one answers” really express the feeling of loss. Elton John is the king of ballads, and back in the 70s I recall his music was everywhere, so many beautiful melodies. He was like a Mozart, and for a while was cranking out the hits like the Beatles did. In my early teens had a good friend who really loved Elton John and so got to listen to a lot of Elton John albums he bought. Songs like Daniel were so sad but beautiful. Even his love songs had a melancholic feel that could reach deep inside and move you and make you teary eyed. He certainly had a magic with his songs like this one. He had great rockers too.
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Jung, I just started a forum thread on live performances and started with an Elton John performance and then I seen this one of yours started with an Elton John song, Lol. I guess we were both on the same cosmic wave length today. Anyways I do love sad songs, especially the ones that could make your heart cry. It’s because of these songs that I love Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show. They were more known for their novelty songs like The Cover of the Rolling Stone but their best music was the gut wrenching tear jerkers that were mostly album cuts. They played mostly country music but would never get played on country radio because they had long hair and didn’t conform to the Nashville standards. They did clean up their act and had quite a few pop hits later in their career but to me their best stuff was their early gut wrenching country stuff. This was their first major hit and I bought their first album because of it. I’ve been a life long fan ever since. That lap steel guitar in this song is so hauntingly beautiful.
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Wow Tim, “Sylvia’s Mother” is so touching and moving. I’ve never heard this one. I can feel that gut wrenching pull of it. I’ve heard of Dr Hook, they had a number of big hits I recall. When You’re In Love with A Beautiful Woman, Sharing the Night Together, Only Sixteen….
The Rolling Stones had some great melancholic ballads like Wild Horses, Angie, and this one:
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Jung,
I remember this song from WAY back, but I hadn’t seen this video before. It is a very nice song, and to me so different from their Rock ‘n’ Roll tunes! I’m glad to see that Mick and Keith, like Paul and Ringo are still going strong! Maybe it doesn’t make up for John Lennon being gone, and many other great musicians who are no longer with us; but it does ease the pain!
I feel so lucky to be alive in this era, having seen so many great musicians & singers “live” in concert! I love to see the many who are still around after so many years! Sometimes it feels like the rest of the World sucks, with all the tragic events that are going on now. But we still have great Music! To me, Music really does help make people feel better, & hopeful about our collective future!
For whoever is reading these posts, I hope you all have a great Holiday Season, and that we all have a Happier New Year! CHEERS! — Bud
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Tim, some of us had the good fortune to meet with Ray Sawyer at a local gig here in town some years ago. A bunch of us just happened to be outside the venue between sets (reasons not important or why I was out there, merely friend associations) when this fellow just walked up and started talking to the crew. Never introduced himself, but myself and a couple others that were long time fans recognized him (but didn’t say anything) just let him be himself and enjoy some small conversation. Really cool personable dude.
Their music style changed in the 80’s, and really gave the group a new fan base from those of us that were a tad, em, “older”. Us more senior types identified more with Cover Of The Rolling Stone, Queen Of The Silver Dollar, Sylvia’s Mother era, but came to enjoy the smoother mellower songs of the early 80’s too. -
Thanks Daryl, Dr. Hook is one of my all-time favorites and I like their 80’s pop records too. They even had a disco hit with Sexy Eyes. But there first 3 or 4 albums were the best, I still go back and listen to them now. Ray Sawyer was a cool dude and toured on his own up until he passed away a few years ago. My younger brother has a copy of The Rolling Stone magazine with their picture on the cover that Ray signed for him and dedicated it to my mother who also loved their music. The majority of the songs on those first 3 albums were written by Shel Silverstein who has quite a biography in his own right. There’s some great videos on YouTube of a time the group spent relaxing on Shel’s houseboat. Having a good time and playing some great music. No matter how influenced they were by controlled substances, when they started playing, they were as tight and dedicated as any band I’ve heard or seen. Here’s a sad song from those houseboat sessions that demonstrates their commitment to a song, incredibly done by lead vovalist Dennis Locorriere.
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Dennis had a vocal style that was unique and instantly recognizable. So much of that whole album was so characteristic of the way they put themselves into their music. And yeah, their lifestyle habits never detracted from the end product. I never saw them live until finally the mid 80’s when they had cooled their jets a tad, like so many groups had to as time caught up with the haywire activities and the long term abuse took its toll.
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Yeah, I am real glad they cleaned up their act before that lifestyle destroyed them. I never seen the band with Dennis. I seen Ray twice, once touring under the Dr. Hook name and once just as Ray Sawyer. Ray was a great singer in his own right as well as Bill Francis who was the tall keyboard player. They really had some great harmonies too.
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There are many sad songs, and songs that make you cry, but with Mona and Lisa, some of those can just be beautiful songs, like Tim said. There are so many of each kind.
Great to listen to all of these songs, some of which I don’t recall hearing before. I like all these songs.
The song below is beautiful and has gotten me to tear up. I loved that song before they were born. When I first checked last winter, jonimitchell.com said they knew of 1607 covers of it. A few months later, 1634 covers. And this week, it’s up to 1650. But of course, nobody does it like Mona and Lisa do. If this was the only song Mona and Lisa ever did, they’d still be my favourite band.
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Now I’ll give you a song that’s only just sad.
Another one that I’ve loved since the ’70s.
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Chris,
Yes definitely, I think this is one of M&L’s best & most moving performances! It’s perfect, as is their version of “God Only Knows.” They have done so MANY great versions of an amazing variety of covers! And of course, their originals are all wonderful too!
— Bud
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Hi Chris,
Both Sides Now is a great example of Lisa and Mona’s beautiful vocal abilities. There is something about Mona’s dizzy dancing harmonies that really got me the first time I heard it. I also love how Mona fades her blues harp to accent Lisa’s voice. I guess their somber tone does bring a sense of loneliness to it. Listen to this while in traffic. As it instantly relieves your road rage, try not to make eye contact with the driver next to you. Your tear swollen face might frighten them. Not that that ever happened to me.
TGIF!
JP
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Elton John is my #1 influence as a keyboard player. There was a time, back in the ’70s when I played lots of his songs from his early albums.
Elton John, Tumbleweed, Madman, Honky Chateau, Don’t Shoot Me, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Caribou and Captain Fantastic. I did hear songs off the later albums, but the early ones are what I focused on.
My fave Elton album is Tumbleweed Connection. One time we actually played the song below, which is from Tumbleweed, in public. People came up to us after we were done and asked if we were okay. It’s that sad. We were 19 years old when we were playing it. Imagine doing it now, when I actually am old.
Talking Old Soldiers
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Chris, I love the Tumbleweed Connection album as well as Honky Chateau. Here’s my favorite from Tumbleweed called Country Comfort. I actually first heard the song on a Rod Stewart album but Rod’s version was missing the last verse. Maybe he didn’t want to sound too “country”. My brother’s band used to play it a lot. Who knew a song by a British rocker would go over so good in the bars in cow country.
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Tim, you found it. Country Comfort is my all time favourite Elton John song.
It’s just a peaceful, wonderful song, about living with family in the country. With some nice steel guitar licks. I’m guessing Elton and Bernie thought it could get played in country bars. There are a number of MLT originals that I think could definitely cross over to country fans too.
I like Rod Stewart. I knew about his cover of Country Comfort, but I guess I didn’t notice he forgot the last verse. I discovered him with The Faces – Stay With Me is one of my favourite rock tunes ever. If you aren’t familiar with his Great American Songbook albums, they’re different, it’s that old Songbook music, but he is great on those too. I love those old songs.
The only time I ever saw Elton live was October of 1972, on the Honky Chateau tour. I was too young to drive, so it’s a good thing my older sisters liked him too. That’s a great album.
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Chris, from the old into one of the more recent of Elton’s songs that have that melancholy yet somehow uplifting quality he is so good at. It has become one of my favorite cuts he’s ever done. Which is pretty hard given I love just about everything he does. I have struggled a bit with trying to make it work on a guitar, but it’s getting there. I have managed a couple of his other songs (Your Song is relatively easy) but I’ll get there eventually. This one is from The Diving Board, clearly one of his most piano driven albums in a very long time.
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Daryl,
Thanks for posting this song. I put a list of Elton’s first 8 US studio albums above ^^, and after those, I really stopped paying much attention. I should go back and listen to the other 23 studio albums he did. And the other live albums, etc. I never heard of this album. I like this song. I looked this song up to see who wrote the lyrics and was glad to find it was Bernie Taupin again. And I found a short interview with him about it. Maybe you’ll find it interesting.
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That list wasn’t lost on me. The early releases were great, it was easy to see the progression of Elton and Bernie’s collaborations gaining momentum and maturity with time. I remember a documentary where they both talked about the creative processes they used. Often, Bernie would write lyrics at home (by himself) and give them to Elton to put music to. I forget which song it was, but he told Elton that he “might have trouble with this one” as Bernie thought it was deep and difficult. Elton called him up during the drive (somehow) on his way back home only 10 or 15 minutes after getting the lyrics from Bernie and said ” I have it!” Amazing how two musically creative genius’s can work so well. I was dumfounded and crushed when the two of them had their falling out and went separate ways in those difficult middle years. But thankfully they got it back together and wrote some of the best songs ever afterwards.
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It must be very sad if it resulted in 96 Tears.
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Thank you for posting. I also love sad songs. Among those you mention, the MLT version of God Only Knows is a great example. Others that spring to mind are Supertramp’s “Lord is it Mine”, Barclay James Harvest’s “The world goes on” (I think it safest to pass “Suicide” by) and, of course, Paul McCartney’s ballad to his dear departed friend John in “Here Today”
Here’s the link to the BJH track:
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In remembrance of the recently departed Mary Weiss, here’s a super-sad Shangri-Las song. Lyrically it’s sort of a precursor of the Beatles’ She’s Leaving Home, but in my opinion it packs an even greater dramatic punch:
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Wow David, this is a pretty dramatic and emotionally gripping song for sure. It is like a musical play/drama in a song. I’m not very familiar with Mary Weiss, though I know of Shangri-La’s iconic “Leader of the Pack”, but it’s sad the world lost a big music talent.
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That Shangri-La song as I listened to it, reminded me of another sad song about tragedy, and is very much like a musical play with operatic elements. Perhaps Queen took some inspiration from Shangri-La’s “I Can Never Go Home”, and “She’s Going Home”.
On another note, I was never into opera, but Bohemian Rhapsody gives you a feeling for the passion opera fans feel for opera.
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Hey Jung
I have always been a big fan of Sir Elton, way back to the early 70s. He and Bernie made some really great songs over the years
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Hey Mike
Yeah Elton John is great, and growing up when I was in high school in the 70s, Elton John dominated the charts for years, hit after hit. I had a friend who had all his records, so I got a lot of exposure to Elton John in my teens. I think for while in the 70s, he was like the Beatles. I had a quick look at his stats, and 27 US top 10 songs, with 9 of them reaching #1 in a span of a decade or so. The Rolling Stones in comparison in a longer span had 23 top 10 songs and 8 of them reaching #1.
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We had joy, we had fun…..
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Just remembered another great one with great harmonies:
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I love this song! It was originally the B-side of the Four Seasons’ “Rag Doll” single.
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Nice ones Thomas. I’ve always really liked Seasons In the Sun, and Silence is Golden is a wonderful gem too. Great harmonies indeed!
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This one is a real tearjerker if you put yourself in a teenage mindset:
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Wow David, I haven’t thought of that song in years!
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I’ve always like the Skeeter Davis song, David.
Getting back to Abba songs, here is another sad one of theirs where Agnetha is mourning the fact that her young daughter is growing up without them having spent much time together:
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Well…there are just way to many oodles of sad songs that I could just …. but there’s one with a “LISA” mention in it …. ” I’m Not “LISA ” by Jessi Coulter ( Waylon Jennings ‘ wife ) that I recall growing up as a kid the 70s , that always made me feel sad upon listening to it but yet at same time , Jessi’s voice is beautiful on this …one of those Catch 22’s things …. 🙃😉🤘🏻
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