song that makes you sad

[victor]

i remember asking this question before but since im on a better board i will ask it again.....do you have a song (or songs) that make you sad......the one that stands out in my mind for me is

IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS OF THE MORNING.....done either by tierney sutton or frank sinatra.....this song reminds me so much of my dad

[D.D.]

I remember answering before, but since I am on the other board...

1. Andrew Hill - 'Dedication' from 'Point of Departure'

2. Frank Zappa - Amnerika from 'Civilization part III'

3. Frank Zappa - Outrage at the Valdez from 'Yellow Shark'

4. Billie Holiday - I Cover the Waterfront from the Commodore box

5. Billie Holiday - Solitude from the Verve box

6. Duke Ellington / John Coltrane - In a Sentimental Mood from 'Duke Ellington and John Coltrane'

[OUT2LUNCH]

The one that usually does it for me is "Here's That Rainy Day".

[WestCoast Ghost]

"Ballad of the Blue Note Bulletin Board" and "Blue Note Blues."
Those always get me right here.

"Haunted Heart" and Charlie Parker's version of "April in Paris" (because of a scene from the movie Basquiat ).

[Soul Stream]

Right now it's Norah Jones' "Don't know why.";)

Cause I don't know why Blue Note did what it did!:D

[clandy44]

Mal Waldron's Songs of Love and Regret

[vibes]

Tamba 4 - The Dolphin
Bill Evans - What Are You Doing With The Rest Of Your Life?
Bobby Hutcherson - 'Til Then
Andrew Hill - Black Monday

[Matthew]

Mark Murphy: D.C. Farewell
Miles Davis: Loved Him Madly
Art Pepper: Good Bye
Bud Powell: I Remember Clifford (everyone of the 10,000 versions;) )

[PDEE]

Actually songs that have that effect for me come more from the RnR area. Mainly I guess, because they dredge up memories and lets face it, not too many girlfriends, pet dogs or parrakeets are into Jazz.

Maybe Sandy by the Hollies for my days at Hermosa Beach

I only Have Eyes For You.. Lester Bowies version.. lots of good memories with people who these days walk to a different drummer.. but at the time....

Jazz Wise.. ( not that Bowies not ) I think most of Peggy Lees Black Coffee albume .. when the world was young. the verse to I didn't know what time and the title track....

...hell pass the Koolaid right now

And if you've ever had an ole mutt dog you loved...Old Brown Dog from John koerner's Running,Jumping,Standing Still album

Damn this guy is weird:rolleyes:

[Joel]

any drum programming and electronic "squeaks and clicks".:p

its a plague in todays contemporary jazz.

[andyp]

In The Wee Small Hours - Ben Webster
What's New + Don't Explain - Helen Merrill
Kentucky Avenue - Tom Waits
Wise Up - Aimee Mann
I Remember Clifford - Jazz Messengers @ Paris Olympia
Wichita Lineman - Cassandra Wilson
The Prisoner - Art Pepper
Fairytale of New York - Kirsty Maccoll


That's probably enough sadness for one night .....

[orroonie]

Pres - These Foolish Things
Sarah - Your Blase
Sonny Rollins - Just Once
Frank Sinatra - Only The Lonely
Billie - I Don't Want To Cry Anymore

[Johnj]

Every song on Sinatra's 'In The Wee Small Hours'. A true masterpiece of melancholy.

[LeMo]

Any version of "The Man I love" by Billie Holyday.
Chet Baker singing "My Funny Valentine" in "Chet Baker Sings Again" on Timeless Records and recorded in 85.
Chet was back by a trio with Michel Graillier at the piano. This great balad player died few days ago, he was 56.

[Finger Poppin']

The first recording that Bird did of Lover Man on Dial. It was right before his break down when he was on the west coast. With all the flaws in his playing, it showed more feelings then almost anything ever put on vinyl.

[Joel]

Eva Cassidy

[gregk]

You're missing, by Springsteen. Actually most songs from The Rising

[Noj]

Ron Carter "Doom" ...sounds like its title--beautiful song, though.

[BruceH]

Art Pepper: Autumn Leaves

"Sad songs are nature's onions."

[marvin g]

Billie Holiday: End of a Love Affair :(

Nat King Cole: The Christmas Song - All that money spent on presents!;)

Has anybody wrote a song referring to the IRS and paying taxes? I guess it would be a blues song. :D

[jlhoots]

Sonny Rollins: You Don't Know What Love Is on Saxophone Colossus.
John Coltrane: Alabama
Art Pepper: Everything Happens To Me (heard him play it live, not sure if it's on CD anyplace).

[BruceH]

Originally posted by jlhoots
Sonny Rollins: You Don't Know What Love Is on Saxophone Colossus.


That's a good one! One of my favorite Rollins tracks.

[victor]

i just thought of two more that really make me sad....sarah vaughan did "poor butterfly" and ella who normally does not sing sad songs did "miss otis regrets"

[Dr. J.]

Something about the lyric/melody combination on "You Must Remember Spring" always does it for me (unless the singer is really bad...) :p

[jazzdude]

"Song For My Father" The vocal version by Leon Thomas on his "Anthology" CD.
My father passed away 4 yrs. ago this week and to this day I've only played that version of the classic only once. I barely was able to get through it.
The lyrics fit him to a "t."

[Anyella29]

-Deacon Blues by Steely Dan (I remember crying my eyes out over that line...They got a name for the winners in the world...well, I want a name when I lose...)

-Lush Life

Oh, and Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" DONE BY JONI. NOT JANE, DIANA OR CASSANDRA. Actually, the entire "Blue" album by Joni is a wonderful demonstration in melancholy.

Joni's version of "Sweet Sucker Dance" off the Mingus album. Sad.

Oh dear, there are too many to list here...

[kh1958]

Sadness by Ornette Coleman.

[lazy bird]

Billie Holiday / most of her Decca stuff
Keith Jarrett / Köln concert
Alban Berg / violin concerto
Maurice Ravel / piano concerto for the left hand

[hoochmonkey9]

"Ah George, We Hardly Knew Ya" Don Pullen's tribute to George Adams.

[Abruzzo2@gmail.com]

Hey, A lot of these songs have very sad lyrics, though the music is rather up tempo and not very sad sounding. I do not mean to insult what other people find to be sad, but I am looking for songs that are very sad sounding, like night and day (though not sung by FrankSinatra, he makes it sound like he is happily in love, not the desperate sitting alone apart from you desire-ful way). I am looking for sad jazz songs to put in my wedding video, and want these more moournful sounding songs.

For reference check out the night and day sung on the De-lovely sound track from the motion picture about Cole Porter. Another good one is "What is this thing called love?" from the same sound track, though that one the lyrics are not a good fit seeing as it is about love having left him, where as night and day is just the absence of such a person, though it isunspecified if they are not there, out of reach, or if they have left.

If you guys know anything more along these lines please let me know!


[Edit: I forgot to mention that songs like Billie Holliday are too happy sounding because of her voice. He voice is actually too high pitched and bubbly to make her sad songs sound truely melancholic]

[Tenorman]

[Edit: I forgot to mention that songs like Billie Holliday are too happy sounding because of her voice. He voice is actually too high pitched and bubbly to make her sad songs sound truely melancholic]



I don't know who you have been listening to, but it certainly was not Billie Holiday if you consider her voice "bubbly"

Billie could screw tears out of a fossil T-Rex. Try Strange Fruit by Billie

In Scotland a wedding is cause for great celebration, not sadness, so I really can't make any suggestions to assist

[Abruzzo2@gmail.com]

Yes, I know weddings are generally not themed with sadness. And I understand that it seems really odd to pair the two, but if you knew us and what our relation ship went though, (and still goes through) you would understand.

I guess bubbly is not the right word, but many female singers have a voice, and I cannot come up with the best word, but it is somewhere around, bubbly, or childlike that makes it much more difficult for me to feel the sadness. Oftentimes it is paired with a higher pitched voice, which Billie has. I generally look for more somber, lower smoother voices than hers.

[Tenorman]

Go through Julie London's repertoire -- she has a lovely Contralto and does quite a few Torch songs in a very melancholic way

A friend of mine does a song "I'd Rather Have the Blues Than What I've Got"

Check her site here http://noiresque.com/sandrasite/frame.htm

Also listen to

Letter from A lady in love
Laura
The Long Goodbye

also by Sandra

[BarnPass]

" Shadow Of Your Smile."

[jamdanaur]

Cassandra Wilson's version of "You Don't Know What Love Is"

Karryn Allyson "Everything Must Change"

Johnny Adams "Wish I'd Never Loved You At All"

Shirley Eikhard "Emily Remembers" a poignant tale of Alzheimer's on her criminally overlooked Blue Note album "Going Home"

[straight-up-and-down]

Andrew Hill's "Dedication", no doubt.
"Goodbye Porkpie Hat" by Mingus.
I get many different feelings from a Don Byron/Jason Moran/Jack DeJohnette reading of "I Want to Be Happy", it makes me want to scream, cry, run around in circles ;)
Dolphy's "Something Sweet, Something Tender" from "Out To Lunch".
Keith Jarrett's "Eyes Of The Heart", Track 2.
Archie Shepp's rendition of "Lady Sings the Blues" on "Live In San Francisco".
There's more of those, but I don't remember all of them. Kind of leaves some space for surprise ;)

[thedwork]

Wise Up - Aimee Mann

River - Joni Mitchell

I've Seen It All - Bjork

God Give Me Strength - Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach

Adagio For Strings - Samuel Barber (Slatkin Conducting...)

Suicide Alley - Shawn Colvin

Shawshank Redemption Theme - Thomas Newman

Two Of Us - Lennon & McCartney (personal reasons make this song a sad one for me...)

Between Two Worlds - David Baerwald, Gerry & Louise Goffin. Performed by Shawn Colvin. One of the great pop songs of the 90s nobody ever heard. perfect.



Nick Drake - pretty much everything...

[captain adventure]

Three that immediately spring to mind:

Sonny Criss: Brother, Can You Spare A Dime
Art Pepper: Ballad For The Sad Young Men
Jimmy McGriff-Hank Crawford: Daddy's Home

(The last one dedicated to my late lamented moggy - see avatar)

[rdavenport]

"Django" by the MJQ
"It Could Happen To You", on "The Eminent J J Johnson vol 1"

[Hi-Lo]

Off the top of my head:

Ray Price - For the Good Times
Hank Williams - I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Patsy Cline - Faded Love
Judy Garland - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Sarah Vaughn - The Man I Love
Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
George Jones - The Grand Tour
Buddy Blue - Missing You

& gosh, lots more...

[ptah]

Actually more soul than jazz...

Carmen Lundy: Now That He's Gone
Sandra St. Victor: Winter In My Heart
Stevie Wonder: They Won't Go When I Go
Angela Bofill: I Try
Donny Hathaway: Giving Up
Juliet Kelly: Alone Again
Lois Deloatch: A Good Cry
Marvin Gaye: When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You
N'Dambi: Bitter Bitter Blue
Ruth Brown: Always On My Mind (live)
Chantel Mapp: Sunday Morning Blue
Vesta: Congratulations
Nina Simone: Why (The King Of Love Is Dead)

[thedwork]

not sure that these two necessarily make me sad, but they consistently get a very strong emotional response from me. every time. powerful band when they're on:


U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name

U2 - All I Want Is You

[Vic J]

Remember any of these?
1. The Summer of 42
2. Theme from Midnight Cowboy
3. Stranger on The Shore
4. Everything Must Change
5. For All We Know

[Jay Norem]

The song that will never get played or heard. That's the one that makes me sad.

[Moreno]

-Deacon Blues by Steely Dan (I remember crying my eyes out over that line...They got a name for the winners in the world...well, I want a name when I lose...)



That´s a good one. Never considered the Dan really sad. IMO too slick althought I´ve been one of the greatest admirers of their music in the mid-seventies. But you´re right: These lyrics a r e sad.

- Rory Gallagher: Can´t believe it´s true (his solo debut is an underrated jewel) and Million miles away (Irish tour)

- as for Jazz, MR B: "Thrill is gone" (early Chet) and "Almost Blue" (late Chet, "Tokyo Concert") and for strictly instrumental Chet: Every time we say goodbye (duo with Paul Bley on "Diane" , 1985, steeplechase records) and "Leaving" where he beautifully plays muted trumpet (on "Leaving", 1980, Telarc)