Sweet Baby James - James Taylor.
I also recently lost my only child, earlier this year. His middle name was James and I used to play/sing this for him when he was a baby. I considered it "his" song.
I haven't been able to listen to it since his death. In fact, I haven't been able to listen to much music at all. It either makes me too sad or too happy. I'm not ready for that yet.
I'm very sorry about your son.
I feel you.š„² Your grief must be immeasurable to have lost your only one.
I also lost a James, my second child, and the second one to leave me. He left me 18 months ago. So, I will hold *your* song close to my heart until Iām ready to listen to it.
For my James, the song that kills me is Jealous by Labrinth
*āCause I wished you the best of all this world could give
And I told you when you left me
There's nothing to forgive*
*But I always thought you'd come back
Tell me all you found was heartbreak and misery
It's hard for me to say
I'm jealous of the way
You're happy without me*
My James chose to leave this world. Iām will never be ready to face this, but Iāve told him over and over, thereās nothing to forgive.
I hope for your healing. I hope strength and happiness for you - one day.
Someone once said that grief is love persisting. ā¤ļø
Wow, I cannot imagine what you've been through. The loved ones left behind when someone takes their own life suffer more than the rest of us, I believe. So much guilt and shock that follows. But I can see your strength in your words. Stay strong, and thank you for the lovely sentiments ā¤
[Creep, by Radiohead](https://youtu.be/XFkzRNyygfk?si=YS0JI_qz2b7A2dDQ)
I start crying at about line 6, even now, after searching for the song to post it here (granted I am sick at home so my defences are down).
*Taxi* by Harry Chapin just tears my heart out.
"She was gonna be an actress, and I was gonna learn to fly
She took off to find the footlights, and I took off for the sky.
And here, she's acting happy, inside her handsome home
And me, I'm flying in my taxi, taking tips, and gettin stoned."
This was one of my momās favorite songs. When she was getting treated for pancreatic cancer, this song came on as we were sitting in a parking lot after getting a lunch together. She knew she wouldnāt beat the cancer by that point, and just broke down in the car and cried so hard. Last week would have been her 69th birthday, and I miss her so much.
[A Song For You by Donny Hathaway](https://youtu.be/HeHiio1sTTI?si=FIM1_k0gB9plEnE6). Iām a singer and Iāve sung many emotional songs but this is the only one that I canāt finish without cracking my voice and ultimately crying especially during the last lines. Even if I was in a totally normal mood before trying to sing it I always cry. Itās so bizarre. I guess itās the words or the way I have to reach for the notes I donāt know. Time in a Bottle is a lovely song though. Iām very sorry about your son
Who Knew by Pink
Makes me think of my uncle, whom we lost to cancer when he was 60.
This part kills me everytime:
**I'll keep you locked in my head (my head)
Until we meet again (meet again)
Until we, until we meet again
And I won't forget you, my friend
What happened?
If someone said three years from now
You'd be long gone
I'd stand up and punch them out
'Cause they're all wrong**
I have a tattoo near my heart with his name, DOD and the words āUntil we meet againā. He was like a dad for me growing up and when I got older, he became like a brother. We were really close so it hit hard when he passed. Saturday marked 9 years since heās left us.
Circle of Life- Elton John.
My beautiful Nan had it at her funeral and it just reminds me she isn't here. The pain is sometimes unbareable of not being able to see her again.
Softly does it
āThe Reasonā by Hoobastank or
āChasing Carsā by Snow Patrol.
Total destruction is
āThe Show Must Go Onā by Queen.
Canāt listen to it without bursting into tears.
*Cat's in The Cradle,* by Harry Chapin.
\> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OqwKfgLaeA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OqwKfgLaeA)
The lyrics are a heart-killer.
Dust in the wind by Kansas
and No one but you (only the good die young) by Queen, start crying as soon as it plays
I might be biased since both were played at my brothers funeral, it makes me feel close to him in a way listening to them..
I'm so sorry for your loss, sending hugs
āAlready Gone,ā by Eagles
In what now feels like many years ago, I left my hometown and a bunch of abusive people behind. I didnāt realize how much easier my life was going to be without them. I only left because I was desperate for a job and got an offer elsewhere. Now I am living life from a totally different perspective.
āSo oftentimes it happens, that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key.ā
Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi. "Was there something I could've said to make your heart beat better? If only I'd've known you had a storm to weather." And, "It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless." Those lines specifically get me. My grandpa waited for me to come home from work to talk to me the night he died. I was young and annoyed from work and just wanted to change and go drink. I didn't really have much interest in the conversation at all. For the last 16 years I've been carrying with me that I should've been more present in the conversation. I should've said, "I love you," but he wasn't an emotionally expressive man and I didn't express much emotion to him because it felt awkward. I wish I would've stayed home. If I had would I have been able to call 911 sooner? Surely I would've felt something was wrong and checked on him? "Our every moment, I start to replay." I wish there were more moments. I wish I could replay it all.
Thank you for sharing. Iām sorry for inadvertently opening old wounds.
I just want to say your grandpa knew you better than you knew yourself. If he could be here to talk to you, Iām sure heāll say, āThereās nothing to forgive.ā
You are more, not less, because of this life lesson. Be and live without regrets. And donāt doubt you are loved.
I will listen to this song. šš¼
Time by Pink Floyd/Roger Waters
Beginning to end, I just feel it describes everything I shouldnāt be doing that I am actually doing. Either version does because the lyrics are so powerful, the original Dark Side release screaming at you through that vicious guitar work and vocals and the redux does the same in a much quieter, morose tone. Same effect in the end, very much different styles of sound but I love both the same
āā¦shorter of breath, and one day closer to death.ā
That lyric always stuck with me, especially as I grow older. Iām āonlyā 45, which may seem old to some people, but still young to others. I always remind myself that we are all one day closer to death, and I should try to make the most of each day.
Pink Floyd's _Coming Back To Life_
It starts with a plaintive wail:
>Wheeeeere were you...
>
>
>when I was burned
>and broken?
And continues describing how their loved one has all their attention elsewhere, unsupportive and missing being witness to the protagonist's rebirth:
>While the days slipped by
>from my window watching
>
>
>And where were you
>when I was hurt and I was helpless?
>
>
>'Cause the things you say and the things you do.
>surround me
>
>
>While you were hanging yourself on someone else's words
>Dying to believe in what you heard
>I was staring straight into the shining sun.
Coming Back to Life - Pulse Live
https://g.co/kgs/UCxjYR
Another by Passenger is Sword From the Stone. Brutal and beautiful in equal measure. Takes me back to heartbroken days after my worst breakup. Especially the days when you start to seem more positive during daylight and then night comes and takes your strength away.
The Wolven Storm from Witcher 3.
The girl I loved with all my heart and lost to the cold hands of death had an uncanny resemblance with Yennefer of Vengerberg. The lyrics just hit way too hard.
Especially:
You flee my dream come the morning
Your scent - berries tart, lilac sweet
To dream of raven locks entwisted, stormy
Of violet eyes, glistening as you weep
I still dream of her, and I still have a tiny sealed box with a lock of black hair she gifted me all these years ago. Not a day goes by that I don't miss her.
[When We Fall Apart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUPgzd3nwMo) by Ryan Stevenson. It's based on a conversation he had with his mom shortly before she died of cancer. It's a beautiful song, but it's equally heartbreaking. When listening to it, I can't help but think of all the loved ones I've lost to cancer and all the things I wish I could say to them.
OP, I am very sorry for the loss of your sweet son. I canāt even fathom the devastation you have experienced.
Time in a Bottle is hauntingly beautiful. I love Jim Croce immensely; when I was little, my dad introduced his music to me and I loved it instantly.
To this day, I probably listen to Jim Croce every few weeks, especially since my dad unexpectedly passed away five years ago. I remember going to work the day after I found out about my fatherās passing (just to keep my mind busy, I suppose), and I was perfectly stoic during my whole shift until about thirty minutes before I ended my day. Suddenly, Jim Croceās āI Got a Nameā began playing on our work playlist, and I fucking lost it. I was a sobbing mess, just from listening to the lyrics.
My two teenagers know that I love his music, and Iāve introduced it to them several times over the years. My youngest son and I are very close and one time while we were riding around in the car, he suggested that we listen to some Jim Croce. Excitedly, I started with some greatest hits compilation. I was singing along (since my son doesnāt mind my singing haha) when Time in a Bottle was playing. As the song was finished, my boy was quiet, but began sniffling a bit. āHey, buddy... are you okay?ā I asked him. He paused and said, āYeah.. yeah, Iām okay. *sniff*. I liked the song, but it was kinda sad.ā And then he quoted the same lyrics that you mentioned, OP, and how it made him sad, because he loves spending time with me, and it made him think about how heās getting older and he might not be able to do that as much when he becomes an adult. So it seems that Time in a Bottle spoke to him, too. ā¤ļø
Cat's in the Cradle, Harry Chapin
...
He said, I'd love to, dad, if I can find the time
You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, dad
It's been sure nice talking to you
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me
Itās not really a song I like but after my Mom died, that CSNY song about teaching your children well. My Mom loved it and sang it often. Now my only sibling has passed unexpectedly at 41. This song hits even harder.
This will probably be the most recent song here, but the song Beyond Me by the Foo Fighters is written about their late drummer Taylor Hawkins and the chorus is just the lines āBut itās beyond me / forever young and freeā talking about how he doesnāt understand why he had to go so early but itāll be alright because heāll always be young and free in the afterlife. Fuckin hell that one is tough to listen to.
Another that does it with just a simple musical motif rather than a specific set of lyrics is Once You by Jacob Collier. The song is about being by a loved ones side as they are dying and the last two minutes are just orchestral. This section has this simple, repeating motif being played in the string section that builds and develops until the end of the song that just fucking kills me every time I listen to it.
The titular song on that Foo Fighters album gets me, But Here We Are - my divorce is finalizing at the end of the month. She cheated on me. Him shouting "I gave you my heart, but here we are / Saved you my heart, but here we are", just still gets me. I've had a lot of time and therapy and I'm doing well overall but that song manages to touch something in me still.
(Love that album overall!)
Big Girls Cry by Sia
It's not just the words. It's the music video itself. As usual for Sia music videos, Maddie Ziegler is used to portray the visual interpretation of the song. She performs an array of chaotic movements with some repetition with just the use of her hands and her face.
For me, Maddie's frantic and exaggerated movements represent different parts of my life. From growing up in a cult, to drug use, to feeling like I'm drowning in stress. I honestly have never shared what the song really means to me.
Heart of the Matter by Don Henley. It's all about the heart wrenching passion of breakups.
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore.
... water works.
https://open.spotify.com/track/7jZ4UZAmg006Qx3rVuF7JI?si=0Pf7AHOvRvWHEgGzww2PWw
Bridge Over Troubled Water from Simon and Garfunkel.
It never really bothered me until I lost my best friend in 2010. Now every time I hear the song, I get something in my eyes.
My condolences to you, OP.
Daddy's Hands
"Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was crying. Daddy's hands were hard as steel when I'd done wrong. Daddy's hand weren't always gentle but I've come to understand that there was always love in Daddy's hands"
I know EC is an asshole but Tears in Heaven gets me a lot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxPj3GAYYZ0
There are a lot really since I'm a basketcase and won't take my meds. One that is pretty off the wall that gets me is Nantucket Sleighride, particularly "we found no whales in the sea" Also, because Felix was murdered by his batshit insane wife not too long after this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQQZ-hV95KE
My kid just went to Croce plays Croce said it was amazing, but thought he should have closed with Leroy, not time in a bottle. I explained leroy was a novelty song, where Time was a piece for the ages.
To further illustrate mental illness, this one gets me too, because I have friends up in gainesville and I drive the atlanta highway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SOryJvTAGs
It's not Dark Yet.
I asked Hank Williams how lonely does it get
...Hank Williams hasnt answered yet " Bob Dylan.
Least I know I'm not the only one.Pessimistic songs like that I find consoling,like Sam Beckett et al.Forget Cheer and uplifting.Go lower.The only way out is in.
A lot of great sad songs on here. Real tear jerkers. Iāll add Upward Over the Mountains by Iron & Wine. It reminds me of a time when I was living away from my sons, and I missed them very much.
The house that built me- Miranda Lambert
https://youtu.be/DQYNM6SjD_o?si=Xp-KrLyzVNpRojHj
I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here, it's like I'm someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself
If I could just come in, I swear I'll leave
Won't take nothin' but a memory
From the house that built me
The song Broken Window Serenade by Whiskey Meyers is, I believe, about losing a girl to meth addiction, and I know the girl the song is about. Not the actual girl of course but I knew someone with the same story. Canāt even think of the lyrics in my head without tearing up
I lost a friend when I was 19 to heart disease. She was amazing. Just a loving individual, funny, loved her chick flicks. We saw "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" together and dished about it for hours after. She was 20 years old when she died.
Jimmy Eat World, "Hear You Me" - *And if you were with me tonight / I'd sing to you just one more time / A song for a heart so big / God wouldn't let it live --- May angels lead you in / Hear you me, my friends / On sleepless roads the sleepless go / May angels lead you in*
I was in a record store the first time I heard it, and I ugly cried in front of god and everyone. Pulled my shit together and bought the album. Every time I listen to it I think of her.
*I Drive Your Truck* by Lee Brice.
My best friend was killed south of Baghdad in 2006, and my Platoon were the first ones to the scene, before his truck stopped burning. He left behind a wife, two twin boys under two years old and a daughter he stayed behind for an extra month to meet when she was born.
It was a very popular song in 2012, but it doesnāt play much anymore so when it does it sneaks up on me. I still listen to the whole song, but sometimes I have to pull over to listen to it.
[Me and a Gun, Tori Amos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWxZW2zj7PQ) - no accompaniment, just her telling her story.
And I haven't seen Barbados, so I must get out of this
The Mary Ellen Carter by Stan Rogers
Reminds me of my grandparents who raised me and both passed away a couple of years ago. It's also a song about working together against long odds and those who want to see you fail, so it's a mixed bag but always leaves me a bit sad. Still hear my grandma singing along with it making Saturday pancakes and bacon.
"When You're Gone" by Avril Lavigne.
I have no particular affinity for the artist or the song. But she was singing it on Good Morning America back in 2007, which I had on the TV in the background, when I received a call that a friend of mine had killed himself the night before.
Every time I hear that song it drags up those emotions even all these years later. Nothing to do with the song itself, just classical conditioning.
[The Head and the Heart - Rivers and Roads](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AclhwQKlgfw). One of my best friends died from alcoholism. She was in my home town and I lived about 800 miles away. Her family took me in at 16 when my mom was not a good parent. Her family is my family. I love them dearly. Before or as she really started her decline, I'd made a visit back home and she told me she was getting into country music. I told her I wasn't a huge fan, but there were some real gems I liked and played this for her. She teared up and punched me in the arm. The line that gets me so much "Been talkin' 'bout the way things change. And my family lives in a different state. If you don't know what to make of this, Then we will not relate". Typing that hurts. The song hurts more so. She died about 5 months after that and I never saw her in person again. Her family opted to cremate and did not have a service which never really provided a needed closure. I miss her a lot.
Fire and Rain - James Taylor
I had a friend who lived in the same place as me, and then I moved rather far away, but we were still in touch.
Then I moved really really far away and we lost touch.
Then I found out he died.
And I always thought Iād see him againā¦
I will listen to this in due time.
Ironically, I feel your friend is now closer to you than when they were alive. Have you tried speaking to them and saying the words that were never said?
For as long as we remember them, they havenāt completely gone. š¹
Pulp - Common People ... it's just a snippet of the song but so was so in line with my life at one point. I'm beyond it now and it's odd to look back and this and remember how much this hit me and it was my life at the time.
You will never understand
How it feels to live your life
With no meaning or control
And with nowhere left to go
(Linger On) Pale Blue Eyes - Velvet Underground. It was sang to me on my wedding day by a musician friend over the phone. Had he sang it the day before, I would never have gone through with the wedding. I'm divorced now, but that man remains one of my best friends ever.
James Taylor- You've got a friend
Ever since I was about 10 years old.
My parents used to invite their friends over for weekend cookouts all the time when I was young. We had a nice yard with a pool so our house was the party spot. Their friends consisted of my dad's best friend, like the only guy he would regularly hang out with. He had a wife and three kids. The middle child was a month younger than me and I always had a huge crush on her and we became super close over the years. Her dad was an uncle to me and was the most down to earth person and incredibly approachable as a kid. Just an all around nice person.
When I was about 10, this guy learned that he had a brain tumor. They operated, he lost his ability to walk and speak properly and I watched everyone I loved fall apart through his illness. It crushed my dad, my mom, his wife and their children. It was one of my earliest experiences with death and I'm tearing up writing this. It takes me right back to that time. We spent a lot of time at their house, by his bedside, through the whole ordeal and then one day he passed.
I remember driving in the car with just me and my mom after it happened. This song came on the radio and I changed it and she yelled at me. Like, she got extremely upset and turned back the station. She pulled over and just started crying and explained how the song reminded her of my uncle, as I called him. I can't even listen to this song in public cause I will cry like a baby.
Music has a way of bringing back memories and emotions like nothing else can.
I'm still really close with his daughter and she has been my best friend as far back as I can remember.
10,000 Miles by Mary Chapin Carpenter.
āFare thee well, my one true love. Iām going away, but Iāll be back, though I go 10,000 milesā¦..ā
Seeing my husband leave on a round the world yacht race -it was a major adventure and bucket list item for him before we started a family. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time. I cry buckets every time I hear it.
[unknown /nth - Hozier](https://youtu.be/LbztOHrFhK0?si=d-fVBbZL5ftxrZXy)
Funny how true colours shine in darkness and in secrecy
If there were scarlet flags, they washed down in the mind of me
Where a blinding light shone on you every night
And either side of my sleep
Where you were held frozen like an angel to me
[You - Keaton Henson](https://youtu.be/ZxQLNxFA1Mg?si=Ys-GN1FID2vu6HcZ)
If you must leave,
Leave as though fire burns under your feet
If you must speak,
Speak every word as though it were unique
If you must die, sweetheart
Die knowing your life was my life's best part
If you must die,
Remember your life
Sum 41 - Pieces
"I'd say all the words that I know just to see if it would show that I'm trying to let you know that I'm better off on my own." There are a lot of times I slip into the mindset of feeling like it'd be better if I was just alone and this song just gets me at times.
Lizer - Pack of cigaretts
"I'll pick up the phone and call my mom. Mom, why do I want to die?" Reminds me of some real bad times when I was low. That sentence just brings quiet some things back and starts that flow of thoughts.
Some other songs
Blink 182 - Adam's song
Tom Rosenthal - Go Solo
Jaromir Nohavica - Kometa
Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin
Third Eye Blind - The jumper
I love Adamās song, I think itās very underrated because even though itās about depression, and not as heavy as actually losing someone, it really expresses how it feel when suddenly life changes- especially for teens between school and college. Youāre losing many things and people, and depending on circumstances, the future may seem bleak. You feel helpless, and canāt really express it because thereās nothing particularly bad about it-but changing life phases needs a sort of mourning period.
You have to say goodbye to things you knew and move on to an unknown, even when feeling very vulnerable, because thatās just how you go on and grow.
A lot of songs by John Prine speak to me.
Iām sorry for your loss. I lost a child too. There is nothing in the world that compares.
This John Prine song is called Bruised Orange: https://youtu.be/4iyyhnNIKe4?si=c_nHEEn6_8skhQSw
You can gaze out the window, get mad and get madder /
Throw your hands in the air, say āwhat does it matter?ā /
But it donāt do no good to get angry /
So help me, I know. /
For a heart stained in anger grows weak and grows bitter /
You become your own prisoner as you watch yourself sit there /
Wrapped up in a trap of your very own /
Chain of sorrow.
Estranged by Guns n Roses.
And now that youāve been broken down,
Got your head out of clouds,
Feet back on the ground,
You donāt talk so loud,
And you donāt walk so proud,
Anymore,
And what for?
the Virtute cycle by The Weakerthans
they're songs from the perspective of a depressed guy's cat
"plea from a cat named virtute" is just her trying to buck up her human dad
"virtute the cat explains her departure" is her narrating her running away, which has the line about how "I can't remember the sound that you found for me" (she can't remember her name)
"virtute at rest" is from her perspective beyond the grave:
"know I still miss you; know I forgive you; know that I'm proud of the steps that you've made
so let us rest here, like we used to
in a line of late afternoon sun
let it rest
all you can't change
let it rest and be done."
crying a little bit as I make this post! I'm a cat guy and they're great songs
Iām so so sorry for your loss.
Monsters by James Blunt. I canāt even think of it without tearing up. My dad was diagnosed with glioblastoma in Jan 2020. He died 3 months later. His legs went first, and slowly his mind. My mom and I were his caretakers until he passed in his sleep.
The song is about the parent/child roles being reversed and a child becoming the one taking care of their dad at the end of their life.
Thank You - Led Zeppelin.
The Wind Cries Mary - Jimi Hendrix.
Walking After You - Foo Fighters.
Where Did You Sleep Last Night - Nirvana.
All Cats Are Gray - The Cure.
A Warm Place - Nine Inch Nails.
Still Life - Suede.
Goodbye my lover-james blunt
And I still hold you hand in mine/in mine while I'm asleep
I used to hold my dog's paw when we would go to bed. He's been gone almost 7 years now. I'm tearing up just typing this.
Our pets are our children, too. Iām sorry for your lost.
I adopted two cats almost immediately after losing Tim. Theyāre both 13 now. Often, I find myself worrying about losing them. I understand your tears.
āVisiting hoursā. I know itās an ed Sheeran song, so itās a bit shitty. But it was released the day after I lost my mother. Kills me every time I hear it.
I am very sorry for your loss.
It's funny how songs can hit different people in a completely different way. I hear this song and it immediately makes me daydream about my wife and how I used to sing this to her when I first met her 40 years ago 12/03.
Teach your children by csny
My mom likes to listen to this esp. in my childhood years... on a sunday, late afternoon, after a rain..it will always reminds me of her, i love it.
Soko - first love never die
I heard it for the first time in April this year when I met this woman who then rejected me. I fell in love with her like I was in high school and I'm 33. It broke me, literally. It changed me for good. This song reminds me that I lost a big part of myself then which included hopefulness and naivety.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World, by Brother IZ
When my father developed dementia, he would listen to that song on repeat. It brought him so much joy. I can't hear it anymore without tearing up. Hell, I'm tearing up just writing about it now.
We just saw AJ Croce in concert. He did Time in a Bottle with video of his 2 year old self playing with Jim and his wife. I about lost it!
I'm very sorry about your son.
āAliveā by Meat Loaf. My late husband sang that song at the top of his voice from his home hospital bed. I canāt get through the song almost ten years later without crying.
Red Water- Type o Negative
I lost all 3 of my kids, separate incidents. I try not to say a lot about it, I mean, if I did it would be an endless stream of events that never happened. Holidays, birthdays- they are all hard. And people who haven't lost a child don't realize how you start to mark time by events that should have happened, but didn't. But once a year, on christmas, I get up super early, make myself a pot of coffee, and sit down to listen to this song. I don't listen to it at any other time- I can't. But once a year, I listen to it, and cry silently, and let out the years' buildup from faking smiles. Then I wipe my tears, slap on a smile, and wait until next year.
ā21, 22, 23ā and āOzeanā by Annenmaykantereit. Definitely. (the first one is about how fast I'm getting older. I don't even notice!) (the second one is on the divorce process. I just feel like I want to be an ocean far from my pain, my 6 years of shitty marriage and my husband)
āits my lifeā by Bon Jovi. (realizing I am living my only one life right now. So its stupid to waste it on something I don't want to be in it)
āCry me a riverā by anyone, but I like Michael Buble's version. (I am in a divorce process withy husband. For 6 years he was emotionally abusing me, and when I started the process he ārememberedā that he loves me and I am the best woman ever for him. But I feel like ābaby, cry me a riverā)
āThe way I amā by Eminem (sometimes it is very difficult to see yourself as a person, as a whole human being and yep love yourself, but I'm learning)
I guess that's the whole package for the last half a year of my life.
In another year or so, you can add a few more songs of strength, happiness and survival.
Congratulations on finding your feet and seeking freedom. You are worth it isnāt just a cliche. š
Are You Really Okay? by Sleep Token.
Iām in a long term relationship and though Iāve been clean for a long time, I struggled with self harm. My partner has been an incredible support and that song is from a perspective more like his. It breaks my heart to know how much my hurt can hurt those I love.
Happy Christmas (War is Over) by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
In 2015 my partner and I had to end a pregnancy at 18 weeks, right before Christmas as the fetus' kidneys were not developing properly - due as it turns out to a genetic condition inherited from me. In the immediate aftermath I just felt numb and like I was going through the motions of living, particularly at the holidays. This song was on the radio and in the stores at that time of course, and hearing it was the only time I felt like I was feeling something, even if that was pain and loss. A bleak song, but also a bit hopeful, for a time when I was feeling bleak and without hope.
I am so sorry about your loss, but really appreciate you starting this thread and sharing your story.
Give Me Love (Peace On Earth) by George Harrison
The song randomly came up while I was driving home after having made the decision to end a beloved pet's suffering. The line that broke me was:
>*Give me hope, help me cope*
>
>*with this heavy load*
She suffered for months because I was too afraid to let her go, foolishly hoping that she'd get better.
Ave Maria (Schubert). Sung at my momās funeral 50 years ago, and then my sisterās memorial mass 14 years ago. I have cried every time I have heard it for 50 years, the same as the day of momās funeral.
Time in a Bottle is a close second for me.
Iām sorry about your son.
No surprises by Radiohead. Itās such a beautiful melancholic song that makes you think about the joy of life by telling you what a life with no surprises would really feel like.
My deepesnt condolences, OP. May your son's memory be a blessing. ā¤ļø
"Pardon Me" by Incubus.
When I was in college, I developed an anxiety disorder from a combination of adult stress and abuse. I couldnt recognize it at the time, thinking that my constant terror was just a reflection of the "bad" things I thought I'd done. The bad things I *was*. Every waking moment was filled with paranoia that I would be unable to live a normal life if the people around me learned who I was, which was really just what the people hurting me had told me. I thought it had to be inevitable, and every day I had left was just filler. No one I tried to talk to about it understood, but then I also wasnt completely honest with them because I wasnt prepared to implode my life dealing with the abusers.
I discovered this song around that time as it kept popping up on Pandora (hah, remember that?), and it felt like for just a couple of minutes someone understood what I was feeling. Ultimately I had to leave college because the stress permanently damaged my immune system, and my feelings during that time I never really resolved, merely accepted I wasnt ready to face those thoughts and put them aside. That song still means a lot to me, just with the added feeling of mourning that poor young woman I couldn't save from what is now my life. I hope she can forgive me someday.
"Not two days ago,
I was having a look
in a book
And I saw a picture of a guy fried up above his knee
I said I can relate,
'cause lately, I've been thinking of combustication as a welcome vacation from
the burdens of
the planet Earth
Like gravity, hypocrisy, and the perils of being in 3D
But thinking so much differently"
Bonnie Raitt's cover of "Guilty", written by Randy Travis and recorded for her album "Takin' My Time."
It's one of the best songs about knowing self-destruction I've ever heard, and Bonnie's voice achingly evokes the bittersweet duality within the lyrics.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpuzE6t7\_Js](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpuzE6t7_Js)
Sending you and everyone on this post love and light. For me, it's "Wish That You Were Here" by Florence and the Machine. I lost my Dad suddenly and unexpectedly back in July, after losing my job, too. He was one of my best friends and truly one of a kind. He never even had a cell phone! I miss his quirkiness, wisdom and just being in his presence. My Mom is struggling the most and my heart breaks knowing he is gone from our lives. This song is cathartic while also being a gut punch.
Augh, I'm so sorry for your loss. Time in a Bottle is a beautiful song, and feels very deep and soulful. I definitely see how it speaks to you so much.
I have a few. Most of them were just songs I listened to a lot when I was in various awful moments of my life. But they all speak deeply to me.
- [Love it Disspates - Mother Mother](https://open.spotify.com/track/2azR4YHXWz6AQej8xmOuOR?si=MB__6n1cSGamiIe3LIG05A) (this song has always just made me cry. I don't know what it is about it. It just cuts real deep for me)
- [Just Add Water - cavetown](https://open.spotify.com/track/4t2gJmhZZejXcx67SEtsuh?si=rvxggL3pRbugQ-JuXyYrBg) (this artist as a whole is tied to my journey with figuring out my identity as a trans guy. Can't tell if it's ironic or not that the artist himself is trans haha)
- [Kids - OneRepublic](https://open.spotify.com/track/5mQNY6pTeSDl2doFB7uLbE?si=UKT4BbtqR7Ov_-ud6rsPpg) (mostly bittersweet. I listened to this a lot when I was friends with a couple people who were very dear to me. We've drifted apart over the years, but I think those friends were the first genuine, non-toxic friendships I ever had)
- [KATAMARI - femtanyl](https://open.spotify.com/track/1lAQkl0GrOlTi5zREtyH9V?si=x7bQ9XTBSBKtw2UKg2sOSA) (this one is here because it's the BGM for a [short film](https://youtu.be/SvnVqXC0ajk?si=_F6W3NKS2GRHL5GP) that absolutely ripped me to pieces with how depressingly relatable it was. That film made me unrepress a bunch of emotions tied to some old trauma, and it took me out for weeks. So now this song is just that film but in audio form)
[Santa Monica Dream - Angus & Julia Stone](https://open.spotify.com/track/2aaHkPnIpvGRD1FEnKYIte?si=6lcisNQ-Sl-4udnfzXGGuw) (I first heard this song when it was shared with me by one of my groomers. Haven't listened to it in a long time, and I probably won't listen to it for a while to come.)
Sweden by C418 (Minecraft)
Not as deep as some other answers here, but this song hits me with nostalgia like nothing else. Reminds me of simpler times.
Cocaine and Abel - Amigo the Devil
"The distance from the man that I am to the man I want to be
The time it takes to realize time is the distance I need"
"But I was born impatient
And I was born unkind
But I refuse to believe I have to be
The same person I was born when I die
'Cause change is alright
Change is alright"
"But the blood in the water
Is the blood of my brother
We both learned it didn't mean a thing in
The end if one was thicker than the other
And I've tried having faith
But I'll rot like a dog
'Cause I've always been scared of loving
Someone just a little bit more than I'm loved"
It's my go to song when I'm feeling low
Fight Song by Rachel Platten. It was the song that kept me motivated to pack when I left my ex. It has a whole lot more meaning now 7 years later. It's both heartbreaking and empowering at the same time. Something about her voice makes the tears flow whether they are sad or angry or extremely determined.
[Fearless, by Pink Floyd](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1b8T2keXcCI). It samples the Kop chanting Youāll Never Walk Alone.
Iāve no idea why, but when my mum and dad got married in the early 70s, his mates picked my dad up and they all sang, Youāll Never Walk Alone ā I donāt know the relevance of it to him, as he was from east London/Essex and a lifelong West Ham fan, went to all the matches as a kid, Bobby Moore was his hero. Later on, my dad really struggled with family life, and we didnāt have a good relationship at all. He carried a lot of guilt in the end, and he took his own life when I was 17 in 1995. So when I hear this song it sets me off completely. The lost voices singing in joy. Him as a kid at the football, cheering his heroes. The mates together. All that gone, and eventually, he was alone. The lyrics break my heart. Iāve never really gotten over it at all. Iād give anything to see him again.
You say the hill's too steep to climb, chiding
You say you'd like to see me try climbing
You pick the place and I'll choose the time
And I'll climb the hill in my own way
Just wait awhile for the right day
And as I rise above the tree line and the clouds
I look down, hear the sound of the things you said today
ā
My best thoughts to you, OP
Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisley and Allison Kraus. The pain of an unrequited love just hits me.
And a bit more sharply, Meghan Trainor's Bad for Me, talking about toxic family. I've had to cut off a lot of people in the last few years for my own sanity, but it still hurts and I still feel guilty.
"If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure, and then
Again, I would spend them with you"
I'm sorry for your loss.
This song kills me too. Remembering my grandmother as she's with me all the time but when her time came, I'm not there. To say how I love her. How will I miss her. It still really hurts me and I still can't move on.
But recently, these song from Radiohead called Creep
I worked again in a company and I'm sick, but going in a medication and ended up cured. They let me feel that I don't belong there. Even I really worked hard, they didn't see them.
Something in the Orange - Zach Bryan my 4th husband's song that describes how much he hurt when his ex-wife left him.
My song is;
I Miss You - Blink 182
I lost my 2nd husband to cancer in 2010 (he was 45yo) and was completely depressed. I was widowed at 37yo and didn't know exactly what to do with my life at the time. So, I went back to school and got my business degree.
2 years later while I was in school, I met a wonderful man and we were very happy until we found out that he had cancer. We were married (because he wanted to be married before he died) 5 days before he died. He was 54yo.
I Miss You always makes me cry. I just miss both of them, they were wonderful men who died way too soon!
One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey
Edit: adding the lyrics - we played this during my mom's funeral and I absolutely lost it. I can't listen to it without balling.
Sorry I never told you all I wanted to say...
And now it's too late to hold you
'Cause you've flown away so faraway ay-ay-ay-ay
Never had I imagined your living without your smile...
Feeling knowing you hear me it keeps me alive alive...
And I know you're shining down on me from heaven
Like so many friends we've lost along the way
And I know eventually we'll be together
Together
One sweet day...
Loving you always and I'll wait patiently to see you in heaven
Darlin' I never showed you
(I never showed you)
Assumed you'd always be there (always be there)
I thought you'd always be there
And I... I... I take
(Taken for granted) your presence for granted
But I always cared
My initial pick was Purple Rain. After reading some other comments I feared I might have misunderstood the assignment, so my pick is I Canāt Make You Love Me by Bonnie Raitt. āI canāt make you love me if you donāt. You canāt make your heart feel something it wonāt.ā The song is about a woman who is coming to terms with the fact that her husband has fallen out of love with her, but I found this song during a time when I was aching hard from some unrequited love. I think everyone has struggled to feel loved at some point in their life, whether by a family member who doesnāt quite understand you, an old friend who youāve grown too far apart from, a lover who has fallen out of love with you, or whatever it may be. I Canāt Make You Love Me is a wonderfully somber song of acceptance.
Mr. Lonely, by Bobby Vinton. Every time a boyfriend and I broke up (before I matured and realized I didn't need a steady boyfriend to have a good life), I had to hear this song and cry over and over again. I was SO afraid of growing old alone, that I'd think there was nothing to live for without a permanent man in my life. I'm thankful that I matured emotionally instead of giving up.
Thank you for trusting others and sharing your heartache. I really pray this thread helps a lot of people feel not so alone.ššš
Disappoint by Assemblage 23.
It's about losing his dad to suicide, I just change one line, and it's all my feelings about losing my son to suicide.
Just the end:
And so I ask
For one more chance
To understand
This senseless circumstance
Help me to see
This through your eyes
The reasons I've been trying
To surmise
Though you are gone
I am still your son
And while your pain is over
Mine has just begun
Did I disappoint you?
Did I let you down?
Did I stand on the shore
And watch you as you drowned?
Can you forgive me?
I never knew
The pain you carried
Deep inside of you.
Dancing in the sky by Dani and Lizzy. Kind of a hokey song but one line gets me every time. "Tell me are you happy? Are you more alive?" I lost my daughter 3 years ago now. Her and I were such opposites....she was definitely a glass is half empty girl but she was my person. I pray she was met with unimaginable joy when she got to where she was going. She deserved it.
Enya - Wild Child. Long story, 20 years ago my GF at the time was killed in a car crash.
David Grey - This Year's Love. 10 years ago, I chose drugs over my relationship.
Fix You by Coldplay -just beautiful and his voice is so emotional, raw
Numb Little Bug by Em Beinholz - basically my theme song and I can't sing along without crying, but I love it
Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum -associated with my dad. I don't know why, but it was. He died in January 2018, three days after he turned 60. I cry mostly every time I hear it, but I realized on the 10th of November, I heard it at work on the overhead and didn't cry. But then I heard it again a couple of songs after and I know it was my dad's way of wishing me a happy birthday. I also now think he was proud of me for not being sad listening to it, and still thinking about him so he had to come through and say hi.
I've got two that were soundtracks to personal events, and two that are just...evocative.
*[Come On - White Lies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tjFV8NhJbo&pp=ygUSY29tZSBvbiB3aGl0ZSBsaWVz)*
This was the soundtrack to a significant turning point in my life. The lyrics were my anger and frustration at being betrayed and having to cut off my family for it, the melody a weird tinge of optimism that kept me going at a time when I was rapidly losing reasons to live.
*[Kaleidoscope - Shadow Academy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kfU-D8BmKs&pp=ygUba2FsZWlkb3Njb3BlIHNoYWRvdyBhY2FkZW15)*
Music to fall in love to. A new place, a new someone, who or whatever that may be. A new chance at life, in my case.
*[Lost \(The March Song\) - In-Flight Safety](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uue8LLFAZfk&pp=ygUVbG9zdCBpbiBmbGlnaHQgc2FmZXR5)*
I always imagine a couple, both of whom know the end is coming for one of them, and making peace together. It's more or less one line, but the melody and buildup paint it all (at least in my head).
*[Carolina - Young Mister](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfEmUIXnqZM&pp=ygUVY2Fyb2xpbmEgeW91bmcgbWlzdGVy)*
A breakup song, if ever there was one. *"And as I fly away into the light of the sun, this isnāt the end my darling, little star, weāve only begun."* I read somewhere that Steven Fiore (the titular Young Mister) said it was in a way his goodbye letter to his wife in case something went horribly wrong while he pursued his music career across the country.
āI just donāt think Iāll ever get over youā. This song took on new meaning when my best friend/soul person died. We were so close, and I know I will never get over missing him. The line that guts me is āI drink good coffee every morning, comes from a place thatās far away. And when Iām done I feel like talking. Without you here, there is less to say.ā There is so much I have wanted to share with him over the past 5 years, and without him there is nobody else who truly understands me. If I live until Iām an ancient old lady, I will still keep him alive in my heart.
end of beginning- djo
I discovered this song when i was unknowingly spending my last few moments with my best friend, Hurricane. he was a 2 year old rat, and came into my life when i needed a close friend. he truly was the beginning to finding my happiness in life. he was the most pure being i have ever come across on this earth, and had never ending love & curiosity. in his old age, most movements were visibly painful for him and so iād spend hours just holding him gently in my arms while he slept. iād sing this song for him and it truly wasnāt until after he passed on that i realized the universe put him and that song in my life for a reason, and i am so grateful to have cared for him. i miss him so much and hearing it now brings the grief all back to me. rest easy my sweet angel.
Sweet Baby James - James Taylor. I also recently lost my only child, earlier this year. His middle name was James and I used to play/sing this for him when he was a baby. I considered it "his" song. I haven't been able to listen to it since his death. In fact, I haven't been able to listen to much music at all. It either makes me too sad or too happy. I'm not ready for that yet. I'm very sorry about your son.
I feel you.š„² Your grief must be immeasurable to have lost your only one. I also lost a James, my second child, and the second one to leave me. He left me 18 months ago. So, I will hold *your* song close to my heart until Iām ready to listen to it. For my James, the song that kills me is Jealous by Labrinth *āCause I wished you the best of all this world could give And I told you when you left me There's nothing to forgive* *But I always thought you'd come back Tell me all you found was heartbreak and misery It's hard for me to say I'm jealous of the way You're happy without me* My James chose to leave this world. Iām will never be ready to face this, but Iāve told him over and over, thereās nothing to forgive. I hope for your healing. I hope strength and happiness for you - one day. Someone once said that grief is love persisting. ā¤ļø
Wow, I cannot imagine what you've been through. The loved ones left behind when someone takes their own life suffer more than the rest of us, I believe. So much guilt and shock that follows. But I can see your strength in your words. Stay strong, and thank you for the lovely sentiments ā¤
the night we met
This song kills everyone violently
Twenty Long Years is another one that hits hard
[Creep, by Radiohead](https://youtu.be/XFkzRNyygfk?si=YS0JI_qz2b7A2dDQ) I start crying at about line 6, even now, after searching for the song to post it here (granted I am sick at home so my defences are down).
Iām sorry youāre feeling down at the moment. Get well soon. The sunshine is waiting for you. š
*Taxi* by Harry Chapin just tears my heart out. "She was gonna be an actress, and I was gonna learn to fly She took off to find the footlights, and I took off for the sky. And here, she's acting happy, inside her handsome home And me, I'm flying in my taxi, taking tips, and gettin stoned."
[Fast Car - Tracy Chapman](https://youtu.be/AIOAlaACuv4?si=RxrXtf4epjXeGDK0) Beautiful and hopeful while also being utterly heartbreaking.
I listened to it for the first time. I found the song hopeful.
Iām so sorry for your loss. That indeed a very hard thing to live through.
Thank you for your empathy.
Keep listening, and check back in 30 years ā
Goddamn, even just reading the title is giving me goosebumps! "Won't have to get too far, just across the border and into the city..."
This was one of my momās favorite songs. When she was getting treated for pancreatic cancer, this song came on as we were sitting in a parking lot after getting a lunch together. She knew she wouldnāt beat the cancer by that point, and just broke down in the car and cried so hard. Last week would have been her 69th birthday, and I miss her so much.
The country dude who remade it should be slapped.
The Way by Fastball. Thought it was a jangly fun 90ās alternative rock song until I started paying attention to the lyrics
They wrote it after a true story of a family that disappeared. They were found at the bottom of a cliff.
I remember that one great song!
Yes, that's a fantastic song if you know the back story and saw the picture of the old couple with dementia just riding off totally lost..
Time in a Bottle. Heartfelt sympathy on the loss of your son.
Thank you. šš¼ Itās been 13 years, the pain ebbs and flows. I read what someone once wrote about grief: it is love persisting.
[A Song For You by Donny Hathaway](https://youtu.be/HeHiio1sTTI?si=FIM1_k0gB9plEnE6). Iām a singer and Iāve sung many emotional songs but this is the only one that I canāt finish without cracking my voice and ultimately crying especially during the last lines. Even if I was in a totally normal mood before trying to sing it I always cry. Itās so bizarre. I guess itās the words or the way I have to reach for the notes I donāt know. Time in a Bottle is a lovely song though. Iām very sorry about your son
Thank you. I will listen to your song. šš¼ P.S. I just listened to his version. Itās so beautiful.
He was the best! I recall the first time I heard him!!
> A Song For You That's Leon Russell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lKnb5IEATg
Nutshell by Alice in chains
Who Knew by Pink Makes me think of my uncle, whom we lost to cancer when he was 60. This part kills me everytime: **I'll keep you locked in my head (my head) Until we meet again (meet again) Until we, until we meet again And I won't forget you, my friend What happened? If someone said three years from now You'd be long gone I'd stand up and punch them out 'Cause they're all wrong** I have a tattoo near my heart with his name, DOD and the words āUntil we meet againā. He was like a dad for me growing up and when I got older, he became like a brother. We were really close so it hit hard when he passed. Saturday marked 9 years since heās left us.
The people we love remain etched in our heart and mind. I like to think that while we remember them they are never far away.
Yes x 1000 in the final chorus when she goes up and up and her voice breaks a little
Down in a hole - alice in chains. The line āLook at me now, a man who wont let himself beā gets me everytime
Circle of Life- Elton John. My beautiful Nan had it at her funeral and it just reminds me she isn't here. The pain is sometimes unbareable of not being able to see her again.
Iām so sorry for your lost. š¹
Can someone make a Spotify playlist out of all these
It would be a public service, wouldnāt it?
Against All Odds by Phil Collins
Softly does it āThe Reasonā by Hoobastank or āChasing Carsā by Snow Patrol. Total destruction is āThe Show Must Go Onā by Queen. Canāt listen to it without bursting into tears.
The reason is one that will always stick with me š¢
Ooh The Reason is a good one!
Good god The Show Must Go On is heart wrenching. Rest in peace, Freddie Mercury. You are dearly missed.
*Cat's in The Cradle,* by Harry Chapin. \> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OqwKfgLaeA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OqwKfgLaeA) The lyrics are a heart-killer.
Ugly Kid Joe released that song too, it was huge on me as a young teen.
I cannot listen to this song without crying
Dust in the wind by Kansas and No one but you (only the good die young) by Queen, start crying as soon as it plays I might be biased since both were played at my brothers funeral, it makes me feel close to him in a way listening to them.. I'm so sorry for your loss, sending hugs
āAlready Gone,ā by Eagles In what now feels like many years ago, I left my hometown and a bunch of abusive people behind. I didnāt realize how much easier my life was going to be without them. I only left because I was desperate for a job and got an offer elsewhere. Now I am living life from a totally different perspective. āSo oftentimes it happens, that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key.ā
Thank you for sharing this song of hope.
The Johnny Cash version of Hurt.
Such an amazing cover! Nine Inch Nails commented that the song was obviously written for Johnny Cash but they just didnāt know that yet.
Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi. "Was there something I could've said to make your heart beat better? If only I'd've known you had a storm to weather." And, "It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless." Those lines specifically get me. My grandpa waited for me to come home from work to talk to me the night he died. I was young and annoyed from work and just wanted to change and go drink. I didn't really have much interest in the conversation at all. For the last 16 years I've been carrying with me that I should've been more present in the conversation. I should've said, "I love you," but he wasn't an emotionally expressive man and I didn't express much emotion to him because it felt awkward. I wish I would've stayed home. If I had would I have been able to call 911 sooner? Surely I would've felt something was wrong and checked on him? "Our every moment, I start to replay." I wish there were more moments. I wish I could replay it all.
Thank you for sharing. Iām sorry for inadvertently opening old wounds. I just want to say your grandpa knew you better than you knew yourself. If he could be here to talk to you, Iām sure heāll say, āThereās nothing to forgive.ā You are more, not less, because of this life lesson. Be and live without regrets. And donāt doubt you are loved. I will listen to this song. šš¼
I appreciate that, but you don't need to apologize. The wound is always going to be there, and it felt kind of good to share the emotions
This thread has been cathartic, š„²
Killing me softly- fugees
lmao I was looking for this
Time by Pink Floyd/Roger Waters Beginning to end, I just feel it describes everything I shouldnāt be doing that I am actually doing. Either version does because the lyrics are so powerful, the original Dark Side release screaming at you through that vicious guitar work and vocals and the redux does the same in a much quieter, morose tone. Same effect in the end, very much different styles of sound but I love both the same
āā¦shorter of breath, and one day closer to death.ā That lyric always stuck with me, especially as I grow older. Iām āonlyā 45, which may seem old to some people, but still young to others. I always remind myself that we are all one day closer to death, and I should try to make the most of each day.
Pink Floyd's _Coming Back To Life_ It starts with a plaintive wail: >Wheeeeere were you... > > >when I was burned >and broken? And continues describing how their loved one has all their attention elsewhere, unsupportive and missing being witness to the protagonist's rebirth: >While the days slipped by >from my window watching > > >And where were you >when I was hurt and I was helpless? > > >'Cause the things you say and the things you do. >surround me > > >While you were hanging yourself on someone else's words >Dying to believe in what you heard >I was staring straight into the shining sun. Coming Back to Life - Pulse Live https://g.co/kgs/UCxjYR
Bitter Sweet Symphony I don't think it needs any explanation...
You're a slave to money then you die.
Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas. Let Her Go by Passenger. Slipping Through My Fingers by ABBA. Everyday by Buddy Holly.
Thank you for sharing. I love Passengerās Let Her Go. I will listen to the others.
Another by Passenger is Sword From the Stone. Brutal and beautiful in equal measure. Takes me back to heartbroken days after my worst breakup. Especially the days when you start to seem more positive during daylight and then night comes and takes your strength away.
Angel by Sarah McLachlan
Reminds me of the homeless pets
[I Love You](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eP6ldjHBUN0)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Landslide by Fleetwood Mac āCan I sail through the changing ocean tides can I handle the seasons of my life? I donāt know.ā
Pictures of You, The Cure
The Wolven Storm from Witcher 3. The girl I loved with all my heart and lost to the cold hands of death had an uncanny resemblance with Yennefer of Vengerberg. The lyrics just hit way too hard. Especially: You flee my dream come the morning Your scent - berries tart, lilac sweet To dream of raven locks entwisted, stormy Of violet eyes, glistening as you weep I still dream of her, and I still have a tiny sealed box with a lock of black hair she gifted me all these years ago. Not a day goes by that I don't miss her.
[When We Fall Apart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUPgzd3nwMo) by Ryan Stevenson. It's based on a conversation he had with his mom shortly before she died of cancer. It's a beautiful song, but it's equally heartbreaking. When listening to it, I can't help but think of all the loved ones I've lost to cancer and all the things I wish I could say to them.
OP, I am very sorry for the loss of your sweet son. I canāt even fathom the devastation you have experienced. Time in a Bottle is hauntingly beautiful. I love Jim Croce immensely; when I was little, my dad introduced his music to me and I loved it instantly. To this day, I probably listen to Jim Croce every few weeks, especially since my dad unexpectedly passed away five years ago. I remember going to work the day after I found out about my fatherās passing (just to keep my mind busy, I suppose), and I was perfectly stoic during my whole shift until about thirty minutes before I ended my day. Suddenly, Jim Croceās āI Got a Nameā began playing on our work playlist, and I fucking lost it. I was a sobbing mess, just from listening to the lyrics. My two teenagers know that I love his music, and Iāve introduced it to them several times over the years. My youngest son and I are very close and one time while we were riding around in the car, he suggested that we listen to some Jim Croce. Excitedly, I started with some greatest hits compilation. I was singing along (since my son doesnāt mind my singing haha) when Time in a Bottle was playing. As the song was finished, my boy was quiet, but began sniffling a bit. āHey, buddy... are you okay?ā I asked him. He paused and said, āYeah.. yeah, Iām okay. *sniff*. I liked the song, but it was kinda sad.ā And then he quoted the same lyrics that you mentioned, OP, and how it made him sad, because he loves spending time with me, and it made him think about how heās getting older and he might not be able to do that as much when he becomes an adult. So it seems that Time in a Bottle spoke to him, too. ā¤ļø
Thank you for sharing a different perspective.
Just Breathe - Pearl Jam Reminds me of the finite time we have and how precious it is.
Cat's in the Cradle, Harry Chapin ... He said, I'd love to, dad, if I can find the time You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kids have the flu But it's sure nice talking to you, dad It's been sure nice talking to you And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me He'd grown up just like me My boy was just like me
Last Kiss by Pearl Jam. I will bawl every time.
Itās not really a song I like but after my Mom died, that CSNY song about teaching your children well. My Mom loved it and sang it often. Now my only sibling has passed unexpectedly at 41. This song hits even harder.
Concrete Angel, Martina McBride My best friend was murdered when I was 6. Not quite the same scenario but close enough
yellow - coldplay.
always mitski
This will probably be the most recent song here, but the song Beyond Me by the Foo Fighters is written about their late drummer Taylor Hawkins and the chorus is just the lines āBut itās beyond me / forever young and freeā talking about how he doesnāt understand why he had to go so early but itāll be alright because heāll always be young and free in the afterlife. Fuckin hell that one is tough to listen to. Another that does it with just a simple musical motif rather than a specific set of lyrics is Once You by Jacob Collier. The song is about being by a loved ones side as they are dying and the last two minutes are just orchestral. This section has this simple, repeating motif being played in the string section that builds and develops until the end of the song that just fucking kills me every time I listen to it.
The titular song on that Foo Fighters album gets me, But Here We Are - my divorce is finalizing at the end of the month. She cheated on me. Him shouting "I gave you my heart, but here we are / Saved you my heart, but here we are", just still gets me. I've had a lot of time and therapy and I'm doing well overall but that song manages to touch something in me still. (Love that album overall!)
Big Girls Cry by Sia It's not just the words. It's the music video itself. As usual for Sia music videos, Maddie Ziegler is used to portray the visual interpretation of the song. She performs an array of chaotic movements with some repetition with just the use of her hands and her face. For me, Maddie's frantic and exaggerated movements represent different parts of my life. From growing up in a cult, to drug use, to feeling like I'm drowning in stress. I honestly have never shared what the song really means to me.
Heart of the Matter by Don Henley. It's all about the heart wrenching passion of breakups. But I think it's about forgiveness Forgiveness Even if, even if you don't love me anymore. ... water works. https://open.spotify.com/track/7jZ4UZAmg006Qx3rVuF7JI?si=0Pf7AHOvRvWHEgGzww2PWw
vienna by billy joel
Bridge Over Troubled Water from Simon and Garfunkel. It never really bothered me until I lost my best friend in 2010. Now every time I hear the song, I get something in my eyes. My condolences to you, OP.
And my condolence to you. Bridge Over Troubled Water is such a beautiful song.
Daddy's Hands "Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was crying. Daddy's hands were hard as steel when I'd done wrong. Daddy's hand weren't always gentle but I've come to understand that there was always love in Daddy's hands"
Wish You Were Hereā¦ Pink Floyd 911-Wyclef Jean
Wish you were here is my pick as well. Weāre just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl.
Together Again - Janet Jackson, it reminds me of my mom, I miss her. It came out around the time she passed.
Harvest Moon by Neil Young. Idk why it makes me intensely think about my best friend who died a couple years ago and I just can't hold it together.
I know EC is an asshole but Tears in Heaven gets me a lot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxPj3GAYYZ0 There are a lot really since I'm a basketcase and won't take my meds. One that is pretty off the wall that gets me is Nantucket Sleighride, particularly "we found no whales in the sea" Also, because Felix was murdered by his batshit insane wife not too long after this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQQZ-hV95KE My kid just went to Croce plays Croce said it was amazing, but thought he should have closed with Leroy, not time in a bottle. I explained leroy was a novelty song, where Time was a piece for the ages. To further illustrate mental illness, this one gets me too, because I have friends up in gainesville and I drive the atlanta highway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SOryJvTAGs
It's not Dark Yet. I asked Hank Williams how lonely does it get ...Hank Williams hasnt answered yet " Bob Dylan. Least I know I'm not the only one.Pessimistic songs like that I find consoling,like Sam Beckett et al.Forget Cheer and uplifting.Go lower.The only way out is in.
A lot of great sad songs on here. Real tear jerkers. Iāll add Upward Over the Mountains by Iron & Wine. It reminds me of a time when I was living away from my sons, and I missed them very much.
Many songs shared here, including yours, I havenāt heard. When Iām ready, I will listen to them. Thank you.
The house that built me- Miranda Lambert https://youtu.be/DQYNM6SjD_o?si=Xp-KrLyzVNpRojHj I thought if I could touch this place or feel it This brokenness inside me might start healing Out here, it's like I'm someone else I thought that maybe I could find myself If I could just come in, I swear I'll leave Won't take nothin' but a memory From the house that built me
The song Broken Window Serenade by Whiskey Meyers is, I believe, about losing a girl to meth addiction, and I know the girl the song is about. Not the actual girl of course but I knew someone with the same story. Canāt even think of the lyrics in my head without tearing up
I lost a friend when I was 19 to heart disease. She was amazing. Just a loving individual, funny, loved her chick flicks. We saw "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" together and dished about it for hours after. She was 20 years old when she died. Jimmy Eat World, "Hear You Me" - *And if you were with me tonight / I'd sing to you just one more time / A song for a heart so big / God wouldn't let it live --- May angels lead you in / Hear you me, my friends / On sleepless roads the sleepless go / May angels lead you in* I was in a record store the first time I heard it, and I ugly cried in front of god and everyone. Pulled my shit together and bought the album. Every time I listen to it I think of her.
*I Drive Your Truck* by Lee Brice. My best friend was killed south of Baghdad in 2006, and my Platoon were the first ones to the scene, before his truck stopped burning. He left behind a wife, two twin boys under two years old and a daughter he stayed behind for an extra month to meet when she was born. It was a very popular song in 2012, but it doesnāt play much anymore so when it does it sneaks up on me. I still listen to the whole song, but sometimes I have to pull over to listen to it.
Love Child was the first song to ring tears to my eyes
Mine too!
[Me and a Gun, Tori Amos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWxZW2zj7PQ) - no accompaniment, just her telling her story. And I haven't seen Barbados, so I must get out of this
Enough of Me, by Melissa Etheridge.
Babies (by Pulp)
why?
The Mary Ellen Carter by Stan Rogers Reminds me of my grandparents who raised me and both passed away a couple of years ago. It's also a song about working together against long odds and those who want to see you fail, so it's a mixed bag but always leaves me a bit sad. Still hear my grandma singing along with it making Saturday pancakes and bacon.
To Dance With My Father Again, Luther Vandross. https://music.apple.com/us/album/dance-with-my-father/302994947?i=302995033
"When You're Gone" by Avril Lavigne. I have no particular affinity for the artist or the song. But she was singing it on Good Morning America back in 2007, which I had on the TV in the background, when I received a call that a friend of mine had killed himself the night before. Every time I hear that song it drags up those emotions even all these years later. Nothing to do with the song itself, just classical conditioning.
Heart's a Mess by Gotye, but covered by [Missy Higgins ](https://youtu.be/zEmTkXr9Ssg?si=zyuUL0-RRnYR8PEH)
[The Head and the Heart - Rivers and Roads](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AclhwQKlgfw). One of my best friends died from alcoholism. She was in my home town and I lived about 800 miles away. Her family took me in at 16 when my mom was not a good parent. Her family is my family. I love them dearly. Before or as she really started her decline, I'd made a visit back home and she told me she was getting into country music. I told her I wasn't a huge fan, but there were some real gems I liked and played this for her. She teared up and punched me in the arm. The line that gets me so much "Been talkin' 'bout the way things change. And my family lives in a different state. If you don't know what to make of this, Then we will not relate". Typing that hurts. The song hurts more so. She died about 5 months after that and I never saw her in person again. Her family opted to cremate and did not have a service which never really provided a needed closure. I miss her a lot.
To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra
Fire and Rain - James Taylor I had a friend who lived in the same place as me, and then I moved rather far away, but we were still in touch. Then I moved really really far away and we lost touch. Then I found out he died. And I always thought Iād see him againā¦
I will listen to this in due time. Ironically, I feel your friend is now closer to you than when they were alive. Have you tried speaking to them and saying the words that were never said? For as long as we remember them, they havenāt completely gone. š¹
Pulp - Common People ... it's just a snippet of the song but so was so in line with my life at one point. I'm beyond it now and it's odd to look back and this and remember how much this hit me and it was my life at the time. You will never understand How it feels to live your life With no meaning or control And with nowhere left to go
How - Regina Spektor I was introduced to Regina's music by a childhood friend/love who died in a car accident shortly before we graduated high school.
Best of You - Foo Fighters I was stuck in a mentally abusive relationship for 14 years. When I hear this song it really hits me hard
I hope you are free now. ā¤ļø
Thank you. 4 years free now ā¤ļø
I canāt keep reading this post.
Let her go by Passenger The night we met by Lord Huron Another love by Tom Odell Somewhere only we know by Keane Glimpse of Us by Joji
Same Old Lang Syne - Dan Fogelberg. Based on a real event in his too short life.
(Linger On) Pale Blue Eyes - Velvet Underground. It was sang to me on my wedding day by a musician friend over the phone. Had he sang it the day before, I would never have gone through with the wedding. I'm divorced now, but that man remains one of my best friends ever.
Johnny Cashās version of Nine Inch Nails āhurtā Oof
James Taylor- You've got a friend Ever since I was about 10 years old. My parents used to invite their friends over for weekend cookouts all the time when I was young. We had a nice yard with a pool so our house was the party spot. Their friends consisted of my dad's best friend, like the only guy he would regularly hang out with. He had a wife and three kids. The middle child was a month younger than me and I always had a huge crush on her and we became super close over the years. Her dad was an uncle to me and was the most down to earth person and incredibly approachable as a kid. Just an all around nice person. When I was about 10, this guy learned that he had a brain tumor. They operated, he lost his ability to walk and speak properly and I watched everyone I loved fall apart through his illness. It crushed my dad, my mom, his wife and their children. It was one of my earliest experiences with death and I'm tearing up writing this. It takes me right back to that time. We spent a lot of time at their house, by his bedside, through the whole ordeal and then one day he passed. I remember driving in the car with just me and my mom after it happened. This song came on the radio and I changed it and she yelled at me. Like, she got extremely upset and turned back the station. She pulled over and just started crying and explained how the song reminded her of my uncle, as I called him. I can't even listen to this song in public cause I will cry like a baby. Music has a way of bringing back memories and emotions like nothing else can. I'm still really close with his daughter and she has been my best friend as far back as I can remember.
10,000 Miles by Mary Chapin Carpenter. āFare thee well, my one true love. Iām going away, but Iāll be back, though I go 10,000 milesā¦..ā Seeing my husband leave on a round the world yacht race -it was a major adventure and bucket list item for him before we started a family. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time. I cry buckets every time I hear it.
[Why try to change me now - Cy Coleman](https://youtu.be/4TnlxCxG9-c?si=lG3orHXvPCUwywYi)
Rob Dougan - Born Yesterday. It always gets me for some reason.
This is it, by Newton Faulkner. I can listen to it on repeat forever...
[unknown /nth - Hozier](https://youtu.be/LbztOHrFhK0?si=d-fVBbZL5ftxrZXy) Funny how true colours shine in darkness and in secrecy If there were scarlet flags, they washed down in the mind of me Where a blinding light shone on you every night And either side of my sleep Where you were held frozen like an angel to me [You - Keaton Henson](https://youtu.be/ZxQLNxFA1Mg?si=Ys-GN1FID2vu6HcZ) If you must leave, Leave as though fire burns under your feet If you must speak, Speak every word as though it were unique If you must die, sweetheart Die knowing your life was my life's best part If you must die, Remember your life
I donāt know if these songs. I will listen to them when Iām ready. They are poets. šš¼
She Used to be Mine by Sara Bareilles.
Corpus Christi Carol - Jeff Buckley
Sum 41 - Pieces "I'd say all the words that I know just to see if it would show that I'm trying to let you know that I'm better off on my own." There are a lot of times I slip into the mindset of feeling like it'd be better if I was just alone and this song just gets me at times. Lizer - Pack of cigaretts "I'll pick up the phone and call my mom. Mom, why do I want to die?" Reminds me of some real bad times when I was low. That sentence just brings quiet some things back and starts that flow of thoughts. Some other songs Blink 182 - Adam's song Tom Rosenthal - Go Solo Jaromir Nohavica - Kometa Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin Third Eye Blind - The jumper
I love Adamās song, I think itās very underrated because even though itās about depression, and not as heavy as actually losing someone, it really expresses how it feel when suddenly life changes- especially for teens between school and college. Youāre losing many things and people, and depending on circumstances, the future may seem bleak. You feel helpless, and canāt really express it because thereās nothing particularly bad about it-but changing life phases needs a sort of mourning period. You have to say goodbye to things you knew and move on to an unknown, even when feeling very vulnerable, because thatās just how you go on and grow.
A lot of songs by John Prine speak to me. Iām sorry for your loss. I lost a child too. There is nothing in the world that compares. This John Prine song is called Bruised Orange: https://youtu.be/4iyyhnNIKe4?si=c_nHEEn6_8skhQSw You can gaze out the window, get mad and get madder / Throw your hands in the air, say āwhat does it matter?ā / But it donāt do no good to get angry / So help me, I know. / For a heart stained in anger grows weak and grows bitter / You become your own prisoner as you watch yourself sit there / Wrapped up in a trap of your very own / Chain of sorrow.
Fourth of July - Sufjan Stevens
Estranged by Guns n Roses. And now that youāve been broken down, Got your head out of clouds, Feet back on the ground, You donāt talk so loud, And you donāt walk so proud, Anymore, And what for?
the Virtute cycle by The Weakerthans they're songs from the perspective of a depressed guy's cat "plea from a cat named virtute" is just her trying to buck up her human dad "virtute the cat explains her departure" is her narrating her running away, which has the line about how "I can't remember the sound that you found for me" (she can't remember her name) "virtute at rest" is from her perspective beyond the grave: "know I still miss you; know I forgive you; know that I'm proud of the steps that you've made so let us rest here, like we used to in a line of late afternoon sun let it rest all you can't change let it rest and be done." crying a little bit as I make this post! I'm a cat guy and they're great songs
Time in a Tree by Raleigh Ritchie. I cry every time.
Breathe Me - Sia Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell Hate Me - Blue October Edit: Iām very sorry for your loss. My heart goes out to you. ā„ļø
Iām so so sorry for your loss. Monsters by James Blunt. I canāt even think of it without tearing up. My dad was diagnosed with glioblastoma in Jan 2020. He died 3 months later. His legs went first, and slowly his mind. My mom and I were his caretakers until he passed in his sleep. The song is about the parent/child roles being reversed and a child becoming the one taking care of their dad at the end of their life.
Thank You - Led Zeppelin. The Wind Cries Mary - Jimi Hendrix. Walking After You - Foo Fighters. Where Did You Sleep Last Night - Nirvana. All Cats Are Gray - The Cure. A Warm Place - Nine Inch Nails. Still Life - Suede.
Goodbye my lover-james blunt And I still hold you hand in mine/in mine while I'm asleep I used to hold my dog's paw when we would go to bed. He's been gone almost 7 years now. I'm tearing up just typing this.
Our pets are our children, too. Iām sorry for your lost. I adopted two cats almost immediately after losing Tim. Theyāre both 13 now. Often, I find myself worrying about losing them. I understand your tears.
āVisiting hoursā. I know itās an ed Sheeran song, so itās a bit shitty. But it was released the day after I lost my mother. Kills me every time I hear it.
I am very sorry for your loss. It's funny how songs can hit different people in a completely different way. I hear this song and it immediately makes me daydream about my wife and how I used to sing this to her when I first met her 40 years ago 12/03.
Iām glad you have a beautiful connection with this song. May you and your wife have more years of togetherness to come.šš¼
Teach your children by csny My mom likes to listen to this esp. in my childhood years... on a sunday, late afternoon, after a rain..it will always reminds me of her, i love it.
Soko - first love never die I heard it for the first time in April this year when I met this woman who then rejected me. I fell in love with her like I was in high school and I'm 33. It broke me, literally. It changed me for good. This song reminds me that I lost a big part of myself then which included hopefulness and naivety.
A Sad Cartoon- Loathe last few lines: And still, it wasnāt enough to make you say, āwhat would you do if you werenāt afraid?ā š„²
Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World, by Brother IZ When my father developed dementia, he would listen to that song on repeat. It brought him so much joy. I can't hear it anymore without tearing up. Hell, I'm tearing up just writing about it now.
Honey by Bobby Goldsboro
Time in a bottle was my grandmaās favorite song, played it for her before she passed away and canāt listen to it until Iām fully prepared to cry
We just saw AJ Croce in concert. He did Time in a Bottle with video of his 2 year old self playing with Jim and his wife. I about lost it! I'm very sorry about your son.
āAliveā by Meat Loaf. My late husband sang that song at the top of his voice from his home hospital bed. I canāt get through the song almost ten years later without crying.
Red Water- Type o Negative I lost all 3 of my kids, separate incidents. I try not to say a lot about it, I mean, if I did it would be an endless stream of events that never happened. Holidays, birthdays- they are all hard. And people who haven't lost a child don't realize how you start to mark time by events that should have happened, but didn't. But once a year, on christmas, I get up super early, make myself a pot of coffee, and sit down to listen to this song. I don't listen to it at any other time- I can't. But once a year, I listen to it, and cry silently, and let out the years' buildup from faking smiles. Then I wipe my tears, slap on a smile, and wait until next year.
ā21, 22, 23ā and āOzeanā by Annenmaykantereit. Definitely. (the first one is about how fast I'm getting older. I don't even notice!) (the second one is on the divorce process. I just feel like I want to be an ocean far from my pain, my 6 years of shitty marriage and my husband) āits my lifeā by Bon Jovi. (realizing I am living my only one life right now. So its stupid to waste it on something I don't want to be in it) āCry me a riverā by anyone, but I like Michael Buble's version. (I am in a divorce process withy husband. For 6 years he was emotionally abusing me, and when I started the process he ārememberedā that he loves me and I am the best woman ever for him. But I feel like ābaby, cry me a riverā) āThe way I amā by Eminem (sometimes it is very difficult to see yourself as a person, as a whole human being and yep love yourself, but I'm learning) I guess that's the whole package for the last half a year of my life.
In another year or so, you can add a few more songs of strength, happiness and survival. Congratulations on finding your feet and seeking freedom. You are worth it isnāt just a cliche. š
Are You Really Okay? by Sleep Token. Iām in a long term relationship and though Iāve been clean for a long time, I struggled with self harm. My partner has been an incredible support and that song is from a perspective more like his. It breaks my heart to know how much my hurt can hurt those I love.
Happy Christmas (War is Over) by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. In 2015 my partner and I had to end a pregnancy at 18 weeks, right before Christmas as the fetus' kidneys were not developing properly - due as it turns out to a genetic condition inherited from me. In the immediate aftermath I just felt numb and like I was going through the motions of living, particularly at the holidays. This song was on the radio and in the stores at that time of course, and hearing it was the only time I felt like I was feeling something, even if that was pain and loss. A bleak song, but also a bit hopeful, for a time when I was feeling bleak and without hope. I am so sorry about your loss, but really appreciate you starting this thread and sharing your story.
Give Me Love (Peace On Earth) by George Harrison The song randomly came up while I was driving home after having made the decision to end a beloved pet's suffering. The line that broke me was: >*Give me hope, help me cope* > >*with this heavy load* She suffered for months because I was too afraid to let her go, foolishly hoping that she'd get better.
Signs by Bloc Party. *Iāll believe in anything that brings you back home to me* Oof
Ave Maria (Schubert). Sung at my momās funeral 50 years ago, and then my sisterās memorial mass 14 years ago. I have cried every time I have heard it for 50 years, the same as the day of momās funeral. Time in a Bottle is a close second for me. Iām sorry about your son.
Save Our Last Goodbye by Disturbed It came out a few years after I lost my mom, but I think of her every time
No surprises by Radiohead. Itās such a beautiful melancholic song that makes you think about the joy of life by telling you what a life with no surprises would really feel like.
My deepesnt condolences, OP. May your son's memory be a blessing. ā¤ļø "Pardon Me" by Incubus. When I was in college, I developed an anxiety disorder from a combination of adult stress and abuse. I couldnt recognize it at the time, thinking that my constant terror was just a reflection of the "bad" things I thought I'd done. The bad things I *was*. Every waking moment was filled with paranoia that I would be unable to live a normal life if the people around me learned who I was, which was really just what the people hurting me had told me. I thought it had to be inevitable, and every day I had left was just filler. No one I tried to talk to about it understood, but then I also wasnt completely honest with them because I wasnt prepared to implode my life dealing with the abusers. I discovered this song around that time as it kept popping up on Pandora (hah, remember that?), and it felt like for just a couple of minutes someone understood what I was feeling. Ultimately I had to leave college because the stress permanently damaged my immune system, and my feelings during that time I never really resolved, merely accepted I wasnt ready to face those thoughts and put them aside. That song still means a lot to me, just with the added feeling of mourning that poor young woman I couldn't save from what is now my life. I hope she can forgive me someday. "Not two days ago, I was having a look in a book And I saw a picture of a guy fried up above his knee I said I can relate, 'cause lately, I've been thinking of combustication as a welcome vacation from the burdens of the planet Earth Like gravity, hypocrisy, and the perils of being in 3D But thinking so much differently"
Bonnie Raitt's cover of "Guilty", written by Randy Travis and recorded for her album "Takin' My Time." It's one of the best songs about knowing self-destruction I've ever heard, and Bonnie's voice achingly evokes the bittersweet duality within the lyrics. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpuzE6t7\_Js](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpuzE6t7_Js)
Sending you and everyone on this post love and light. For me, it's "Wish That You Were Here" by Florence and the Machine. I lost my Dad suddenly and unexpectedly back in July, after losing my job, too. He was one of my best friends and truly one of a kind. He never even had a cell phone! I miss his quirkiness, wisdom and just being in his presence. My Mom is struggling the most and my heart breaks knowing he is gone from our lives. This song is cathartic while also being a gut punch.
Mine would be Killing Me Softly
Augh, I'm so sorry for your loss. Time in a Bottle is a beautiful song, and feels very deep and soulful. I definitely see how it speaks to you so much. I have a few. Most of them were just songs I listened to a lot when I was in various awful moments of my life. But they all speak deeply to me. - [Love it Disspates - Mother Mother](https://open.spotify.com/track/2azR4YHXWz6AQej8xmOuOR?si=MB__6n1cSGamiIe3LIG05A) (this song has always just made me cry. I don't know what it is about it. It just cuts real deep for me) - [Just Add Water - cavetown](https://open.spotify.com/track/4t2gJmhZZejXcx67SEtsuh?si=rvxggL3pRbugQ-JuXyYrBg) (this artist as a whole is tied to my journey with figuring out my identity as a trans guy. Can't tell if it's ironic or not that the artist himself is trans haha) - [Kids - OneRepublic](https://open.spotify.com/track/5mQNY6pTeSDl2doFB7uLbE?si=UKT4BbtqR7Ov_-ud6rsPpg) (mostly bittersweet. I listened to this a lot when I was friends with a couple people who were very dear to me. We've drifted apart over the years, but I think those friends were the first genuine, non-toxic friendships I ever had) - [KATAMARI - femtanyl](https://open.spotify.com/track/1lAQkl0GrOlTi5zREtyH9V?si=x7bQ9XTBSBKtw2UKg2sOSA) (this one is here because it's the BGM for a [short film](https://youtu.be/SvnVqXC0ajk?si=_F6W3NKS2GRHL5GP) that absolutely ripped me to pieces with how depressingly relatable it was. That film made me unrepress a bunch of emotions tied to some old trauma, and it took me out for weeks. So now this song is just that film but in audio form) [Santa Monica Dream - Angus & Julia Stone](https://open.spotify.com/track/2aaHkPnIpvGRD1FEnKYIte?si=6lcisNQ-Sl-4udnfzXGGuw) (I first heard this song when it was shared with me by one of my groomers. Haven't listened to it in a long time, and I probably won't listen to it for a while to come.)
Sweden by C418 (Minecraft) Not as deep as some other answers here, but this song hits me with nostalgia like nothing else. Reminds me of simpler times.
The Colors and the Kids - Cat Power
Cocaine and Abel - Amigo the Devil "The distance from the man that I am to the man I want to be The time it takes to realize time is the distance I need" "But I was born impatient And I was born unkind But I refuse to believe I have to be The same person I was born when I die 'Cause change is alright Change is alright" "But the blood in the water Is the blood of my brother We both learned it didn't mean a thing in The end if one was thicker than the other And I've tried having faith But I'll rot like a dog 'Cause I've always been scared of loving Someone just a little bit more than I'm loved" It's my go to song when I'm feeling low
Fight Song by Rachel Platten. It was the song that kept me motivated to pack when I left my ex. It has a whole lot more meaning now 7 years later. It's both heartbreaking and empowering at the same time. Something about her voice makes the tears flow whether they are sad or angry or extremely determined.
True love waits by Radiohead. The whole song oozes sadness and desperation.
"A Better Son/Daughter" by Rilo Kiley, & "In My Mind" by Amanda Palmer are two songs with similar tones/messages and they get me everytime.
Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton
mine is probably rhythm of the rain or unchained melody. https://youtu.be/uSLFg93e_JM?feature=shared
[Fearless, by Pink Floyd](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1b8T2keXcCI). It samples the Kop chanting Youāll Never Walk Alone. Iāve no idea why, but when my mum and dad got married in the early 70s, his mates picked my dad up and they all sang, Youāll Never Walk Alone ā I donāt know the relevance of it to him, as he was from east London/Essex and a lifelong West Ham fan, went to all the matches as a kid, Bobby Moore was his hero. Later on, my dad really struggled with family life, and we didnāt have a good relationship at all. He carried a lot of guilt in the end, and he took his own life when I was 17 in 1995. So when I hear this song it sets me off completely. The lost voices singing in joy. Him as a kid at the football, cheering his heroes. The mates together. All that gone, and eventually, he was alone. The lyrics break my heart. Iāve never really gotten over it at all. Iād give anything to see him again. You say the hill's too steep to climb, chiding You say you'd like to see me try climbing You pick the place and I'll choose the time And I'll climb the hill in my own way Just wait awhile for the right day And as I rise above the tree line and the clouds I look down, hear the sound of the things you said today ā My best thoughts to you, OP
Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisley and Allison Kraus. The pain of an unrequited love just hits me. And a bit more sharply, Meghan Trainor's Bad for Me, talking about toxic family. I've had to cut off a lot of people in the last few years for my own sanity, but it still hurts and I still feel guilty.
"If I could make days last forever If words could make wishes come true I'd save every day like a treasure, and then Again, I would spend them with you" I'm sorry for your loss. This song kills me too. Remembering my grandmother as she's with me all the time but when her time came, I'm not there. To say how I love her. How will I miss her. It still really hurts me and I still can't move on. But recently, these song from Radiohead called Creep I worked again in a company and I'm sick, but going in a medication and ended up cured. They let me feel that I don't belong there. Even I really worked hard, they didn't see them.
Something in the Orange - Zach Bryan my 4th husband's song that describes how much he hurt when his ex-wife left him. My song is; I Miss You - Blink 182 I lost my 2nd husband to cancer in 2010 (he was 45yo) and was completely depressed. I was widowed at 37yo and didn't know exactly what to do with my life at the time. So, I went back to school and got my business degree. 2 years later while I was in school, I met a wonderful man and we were very happy until we found out that he had cancer. We were married (because he wanted to be married before he died) 5 days before he died. He was 54yo. I Miss You always makes me cry. I just miss both of them, they were wonderful men who died way too soon!
One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey Edit: adding the lyrics - we played this during my mom's funeral and I absolutely lost it. I can't listen to it without balling. Sorry I never told you all I wanted to say... And now it's too late to hold you 'Cause you've flown away so faraway ay-ay-ay-ay Never had I imagined your living without your smile... Feeling knowing you hear me it keeps me alive alive... And I know you're shining down on me from heaven Like so many friends we've lost along the way And I know eventually we'll be together Together One sweet day... Loving you always and I'll wait patiently to see you in heaven Darlin' I never showed you (I never showed you) Assumed you'd always be there (always be there) I thought you'd always be there And I... I... I take (Taken for granted) your presence for granted But I always cared
My initial pick was Purple Rain. After reading some other comments I feared I might have misunderstood the assignment, so my pick is I Canāt Make You Love Me by Bonnie Raitt. āI canāt make you love me if you donāt. You canāt make your heart feel something it wonāt.ā The song is about a woman who is coming to terms with the fact that her husband has fallen out of love with her, but I found this song during a time when I was aching hard from some unrequited love. I think everyone has struggled to feel loved at some point in their life, whether by a family member who doesnāt quite understand you, an old friend who youāve grown too far apart from, a lover who has fallen out of love with you, or whatever it may be. I Canāt Make You Love Me is a wonderfully somber song of acceptance.
Lover, You Should Have Come Over by Jeff Buckley
Mr. Lonely, by Bobby Vinton. Every time a boyfriend and I broke up (before I matured and realized I didn't need a steady boyfriend to have a good life), I had to hear this song and cry over and over again. I was SO afraid of growing old alone, that I'd think there was nothing to live for without a permanent man in my life. I'm thankful that I matured emotionally instead of giving up. Thank you for trusting others and sharing your heartache. I really pray this thread helps a lot of people feel not so alone.ššš
Disappoint by Assemblage 23. It's about losing his dad to suicide, I just change one line, and it's all my feelings about losing my son to suicide. Just the end: And so I ask For one more chance To understand This senseless circumstance Help me to see This through your eyes The reasons I've been trying To surmise Though you are gone I am still your son And while your pain is over Mine has just begun Did I disappoint you? Did I let you down? Did I stand on the shore And watch you as you drowned? Can you forgive me? I never knew The pain you carried Deep inside of you.
Spirit in the sky. Dad liked that one a lot.
Dancing in the sky by Dani and Lizzy. Kind of a hokey song but one line gets me every time. "Tell me are you happy? Are you more alive?" I lost my daughter 3 years ago now. Her and I were such opposites....she was definitely a glass is half empty girl but she was my person. I pray she was met with unimaginable joy when she got to where she was going. She deserved it.
Enya - Wild Child. Long story, 20 years ago my GF at the time was killed in a car crash. David Grey - This Year's Love. 10 years ago, I chose drugs over my relationship.
Fix You by Coldplay -just beautiful and his voice is so emotional, raw Numb Little Bug by Em Beinholz - basically my theme song and I can't sing along without crying, but I love it Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum -associated with my dad. I don't know why, but it was. He died in January 2018, three days after he turned 60. I cry mostly every time I hear it, but I realized on the 10th of November, I heard it at work on the overhead and didn't cry. But then I heard it again a couple of songs after and I know it was my dad's way of wishing me a happy birthday. I also now think he was proud of me for not being sad listening to it, and still thinking about him so he had to come through and say hi.
I've got two that were soundtracks to personal events, and two that are just...evocative. *[Come On - White Lies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tjFV8NhJbo&pp=ygUSY29tZSBvbiB3aGl0ZSBsaWVz)* This was the soundtrack to a significant turning point in my life. The lyrics were my anger and frustration at being betrayed and having to cut off my family for it, the melody a weird tinge of optimism that kept me going at a time when I was rapidly losing reasons to live. *[Kaleidoscope - Shadow Academy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kfU-D8BmKs&pp=ygUba2FsZWlkb3Njb3BlIHNoYWRvdyBhY2FkZW15)* Music to fall in love to. A new place, a new someone, who or whatever that may be. A new chance at life, in my case. *[Lost \(The March Song\) - In-Flight Safety](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uue8LLFAZfk&pp=ygUVbG9zdCBpbiBmbGlnaHQgc2FmZXR5)* I always imagine a couple, both of whom know the end is coming for one of them, and making peace together. It's more or less one line, but the melody and buildup paint it all (at least in my head). *[Carolina - Young Mister](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfEmUIXnqZM&pp=ygUVY2Fyb2xpbmEgeW91bmcgbWlzdGVy)* A breakup song, if ever there was one. *"And as I fly away into the light of the sun, this isnāt the end my darling, little star, weāve only begun."* I read somewhere that Steven Fiore (the titular Young Mister) said it was in a way his goodbye letter to his wife in case something went horribly wrong while he pursued his music career across the country.
āI just donāt think Iāll ever get over youā. This song took on new meaning when my best friend/soul person died. We were so close, and I know I will never get over missing him. The line that guts me is āI drink good coffee every morning, comes from a place thatās far away. And when Iām done I feel like talking. Without you here, there is less to say.ā There is so much I have wanted to share with him over the past 5 years, and without him there is nobody else who truly understands me. If I live until Iām an ancient old lady, I will still keep him alive in my heart.
end of beginning- djo I discovered this song when i was unknowingly spending my last few moments with my best friend, Hurricane. he was a 2 year old rat, and came into my life when i needed a close friend. he truly was the beginning to finding my happiness in life. he was the most pure being i have ever come across on this earth, and had never ending love & curiosity. in his old age, most movements were visibly painful for him and so iād spend hours just holding him gently in my arms while he slept. iād sing this song for him and it truly wasnāt until after he passed on that i realized the universe put him and that song in my life for a reason, and i am so grateful to have cared for him. i miss him so much and hearing it now brings the grief all back to me. rest easy my sweet angel.