“Kadie’s is my kind of joint. Country, and I don’t mean that touchy-feely “you put me on a natural high” garbage they’re passing off as country these days. No, at Kadie’s it’s the old stuff…. Songs to drink to and to cry to.”
-Frank Miller, Sin City

Not that that’s entirely true, there actually are some good, sad country songs out there today, but the spirit of what he says is true. I love the sad country songs. And it’s really hard to find good ones, you know that? I went on a mission, to see what other people thought the saddest country songs were, and for the most part, I couldn’t find one damn real opinion.

Nope. No lists. Just single songs, scattered here and there through out the internet. Now, what good is the internet if you can’t find bulk information? I want multiple titles people! Don’t give me one song that I have to track down, and then go on to some other person’s poorly designed website with pink borders and pictures of a poodle, just to get one more. I don’t have time for that crap.

As a result, I’ve only got a few titles of songs that I consider to be sad. And I’d say that the majority were songs I already knew about. But here they are, in no particular order, in case anyone else out there happens to want such a list.

The Baby – Blake Shelton
She Thinks I Still Care – Conway Twitty (sung by George Jones)
Travelin’ Soldier – The Dixie Chicks
Don’t Take The Girl – Tim McGraw
He Stopped Loving Her Today – George Jones
If Tomorrow Never Comes – Garth Brooks
All These Years – Sawyer Brown

True, most of those titles are what’s considered to be “new” country, but that’s really just because of the access that I have to music. There aren’t exactly a plethora of radio stations that play traditional country and western music out there, and I certainly don’t have that extensive of a music library.

From that list, there are two groups that I consider to actually be “great”. Brooks, and the Chicks. Both of them have done wonders, and I like the majority of their work. The Chicks especially. You can get rid of Reba, Hill, Twain, McBride, and all the others as long as those three are still around. They continue to impress me with their music, and I could listen to it all day.

Brooks takes a lot of risks, so much so, that some of his work probably doesn’t even qualify as country. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t good, especially since the stuff that does fall into that classification is really damn good. I’m a firm believer that he helped give the industry a big boost in the upward direction. I know that he’s the main reason I listen to country music today. He sort of broke the stereotype for me, which somehow allowed me to appreciate the stereotype more. Odd, that.

Anyway, there you have my brief “saddest country songs” list. Since I haven’t seen anything better, I’m convinced it’s the best one out there. If you want to prove me wrong, please do. I’d appreciate it.

I leave you now with some of the lyrics.

“One Friday night at a football game
The Lord’s Prayer said and the Anthem sang
A man said folks would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead
Crying all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read and nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair”
– Travelin’ Soldier

“She looked like she was sleepin’ and my family had been weepin’
By the time that I got to her side
And I knew that she’d been taken and my heart it was breakin’
I never got to say goodbye

I softly kissed that lady and cried just like a baby”
– The Baby

Replies:
14 comments

Oooh, Dolly Parton’s “My Blue Tears” is a GREAT ‘sad country song’. I have the version where she sings it with Linda Rondstat and Emmylou Harris – very pretty.

—

Fly away from my window little blue bird
Fly as far as you can away from here
And let not your song fall upon my ear
Go spread your blue wings and I’ll shed my blue tears
For the one that I have loved
He has left me and gone
And I’m in no mood for to hear your sad song

And bring not your light into my dark room, yellow sunshine
Waste not your warmth on the cold glisten here
Oh, trouble me not, go ye elsewhere
Go light your blue sky and I’ll shed my blue tears
For the only one that I have ever loved
He has gone away
And I am in no mood for the sunshine today

Cause I don’t know when or if ever again
I will see his sweet face, but I fear
It’s forever good-bye, though I can’t say why
But I’ll sit here and cry my lonely blue tears

Go spread your blue wings
Light your blue sky
I’ll shed my blue tears
My blue tears
My blue tears

Posted by Sundry @ 03/05/03 02:00 PM

 

“I’m so lonesome, I could cry” – Hank Williams (sung by Cowboy Junkies)
“Cold, Cold Heart” – Hank Williams
“Crazy” – Willie Nelson (sung by Patsy Cline)
“Crying” – Roy Orbison (sung by Rebekah del Rio)

Posted by John @ 03/06/03 02:51 AM

 

I cannot find that Dolly Parton song anywhere in mp3… I mean, on a used CD.

I almost put Roy on the list, as well as Patsy and Hank. I’m not sure why I didn’t, actually.

As for Cowboy Junkies… I really love that song, but I always have a hard time wrapping my head around it being a “country” version. I think I’ll listen to it again right now.

Are you kiddin’ me? We got ourselves a list here!

Posted by haze @ 03/06/03 06:58 AM

 

“The Dance” by garth brooks os one of the saddest songs out there. I have heard it played at funerals before and I always cry. You’ve probably heard it before but, if you really listen to thge lyrics and those opening cords its extremely sad:

Lookin back, on the memory of you
the dance we shared beneath the stars alone
For a moment I thought the world was right
How could I have known that you’d ever say goodbye

And now i’m glad I didn’t know
the way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance, I could have missed the pain,
but i’d have to miss the dance….

Posted by Emily @ 08/20/03 06:43 PM

 

I think that Gary Allan’s “Tough Little Boys” is sad because it reminds me of my uncle when my cousin had surgery and “How DO i Live” from Trisha Yearwood is so sad but “Traveling Soldier” and “The Baby” are really sad and I cry when I hear either one.

Posted by Hannah Hawkins @ 09/24/03 05:19 PM

 

How about these:

The Little Girl – John Michael Montgomery
He would be 16 – Michelle Wright

Posted by Marty Michaels @ 10/20/03 07:37 PM

 

How can I help- Patty Lovelace
A Few Questions- Clay Walker
All these Years- Sawyer Brown
I can’t GO There- Kenny Chesney
I’m Moving On- Rascal Flatts
Love Me- Collin Raye

i cry at these all the time

Posted by Jamie @ 10/26/03 11:15 PM

 

If you like “Travelin’ Soldier” you should buy some Bruce Robison. He wrote the song,and is extremely talented. His “First Thing About Mary” is very sad. Patty Loveless’ “Here I Am” is a great sad song. “I Still Miss Someone” by Johnny Cash. I agree with “All These Years” and have to add Sawyer Brown’s “The Walk” Is that what it’s called? The song about the boy growing up,his dad putting him on the bus to school, his dad telling him goodbye when he’s 18, and it ends with the son having to take his dad to a nursing home, and the dad’s like I understand, be brave. God, that song chokes me up every time. There’s a ton, I just can’t think right now. It’s funny, cause I was looking for a list of sad country songs, too.

Posted by Melanie @ 12/12/03 12:05 AM

 

I cried the first time i heard this song because I have a guy that is going home to Hawaii next saturday and it made me think that it could happen but I HOPE IT DOES NOT! The song is By Mark Wills Called WISH YOU WHERE HERE!!! VERY VERY GOOD/SAD country SONG!

Posted by Alisha @ 01/08/04 06:18 PM

 

You should listen to “Whiskey Lullaby” by Brad Paisley featuring Allison Kraus. Not only is it beautiful its so sad.

Posted by Meghann @ 04/18/04 07:50 PM

 

The way I see it, there are several basic types of sad songs. There are a lot of sad songs about lost love (or sometimes lost opportunity). Some not already mentioned are Please Remember Me by Tim McGraw, I Would’ve Loved You Anyway by Tricia Yearwood, Nobody in His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her by George Strait, A Lot of Things Different by Kenny Chesney, Not a Day Goes By by Lonestar, There You’ll Be by Faith Hill, and I Will Always Love You – Dolly Parton’s tune turned monster pop hit by Whitney Houston. Then there are the songs that move your heart, like He Didn’t Have to Be by Brad Paisley, I’m Already There by Lonestar, The Good Stuff by Kenny Chesney. THEN there are the ones (like The Baby) that just rip your heart out. Not yet mentioned are She Was by Mark Chestnutt, and 2 great tear-jerkers from the 60’s, With Pen in Hand by Dottie West (also a pop hit by Bobby Goldsboro), and Green Green Grass of Home done by several different country artists including Porter Wagoner, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash (Tom Jones also had a pop hit with this in 1967). I would have to say my personal vote for the songs that never fail to make me cry would be split between With Pen in Hand and the Baby.

Posted by Nancy @ 05/28/04 03:21 AM

 

One of my favorite sad country songs is “One Last Time”. I dont know who it’s by, but it is about September 11th. A man calls his wife and tells her that they wont see eachother again. Another song is “Whiskey Lullaby” by Allison Krauss and Brad Paisley. It’s a really great song, and its very sad.

Posted by Rachael @ 07/12/04 06:48 PM

 

I have heard..atleast 95% of all the songs mentioned on here so far…and I think they are ALL sad sad songs…one song that is sad is by Reba Macintyre(sp?) called “She thinks his name was Jon” and it’s about a girl who had a one night stand with a guy, and she got aids from him…and she can’t even remember his naem…an she’s going to die. It’s a very very sad song…

Posted by Trevor @ 08/11/04 01:47 PM

 

You may or may not agree with this 100 list but go here:

http://iam4iu420.tripod.com/id8.html

It’s 1/2 way or so down this page.

Also, I consider “Sad Songs” ones without a hint of a happy ending.

Example: “Kill Myself” from Tim McGraw;s latest CD “Live like you were dying”.

Posted by Rob @ 09/11/04 02:21 PM