Country music is an amazing art form. Country music is the true poetry of the working class. Whether it be boot stomping drinkin' songs, or teary eyed weepers, the medium is vast and almost never ending. Its such a massive genre, it has dozens and dozens of subdivisions and classifications. But down in the marrow of almost all country genres, is the sad song.
We enjoy sad songs for the same reason we enjoy the happier ones. We can relate. We've all been hurt. We've all lost someone or something precious to us. We've all felt that guttural sensation deep inside that can only come from personal tragedy and loss. These ballads strike a nerve in us and for those three or four minutes, we're in a different time and place. And if the artists does his or her job, we're left feeling devastated, but comforted in knowing we're not alone.
Top 5 Saddest Country Songs.
This is by no means an end all be all list. The beauty of music is, there are always things you've never heard.
5) How Can I Help You - Patty Loveless
Written by Karen Taylor-Good and Burton Banks Collins
From the album Only What I Feel - 1993
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As proof that this country loves us a sad ol' song, this track went up to number 3 on the country charts in 1994. Through the song, Ms. Loveless speaks of three separate occasions where her mother is a voice of hope and solace through her hardest times in life. First, she deals with the loss of moving away from her best friend as a child. In the second verse, she talks of the break up of a marriage. In this verse, the divorce or separation is spoke of in an approach that country songs don't always take.
"His hands were trembling, we both were crying
He kissed me gently and then he quickly walked away"
Sometimes divorce isn't good versus bad. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. And sometimes the latter is harder then the prior.
The final verse comes in the hardest as she tackles the loss of her rock; her mother. The tears may come when its revealed that her mother uses her last words to reclaim as she has so many times before:
"How can I help you to say goodbye
It's OK to hurt, and it's OK to cry
Come, let me hold you and I will try
How can I help you to say goodbye"
I'll give you a minute.
4) Travelin' Soldier - Dixie Chicks
Written by Bruce Robinson
From the album Home - 2002
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Written by the great Bruce Robinson, this song has to be a contender for one of the greatest story songs of all time. In it, we hear the tale of a young girl who meets a lonely soldier headed off to Vietnam. He's terrified of what's the come and has no one to write back home to. With the imagery of the song, you are taken to that cafe. You can feel the ocean breeze as they chat on the pier. Later in the song, his letters become less frequent and then seem to stop. The over arching theme of the song states:
"Never more to be alone when the letter says
A soldier's coming home"
In each letter, he's telling her that he will come home to her and they can start their life proper. She receives one more letter and yes her solider is coming home, but not as she had hoped. The next time you listen to this, listen to it like its the first time you've heard it. Its simply heartbreaking
3) Whiskey Lullaby - Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss
From the album Mud On The Tires - 2003
This one has been talked about excessively since it's release, and for good reason. It's probably the saddest country song of the modern era. It's harrowing story tells of a man who can't handle to love of his life leaving him. He becomes dependent on the bottle to numb the pain and keep her memory at bay. But the hurt is too strong, so ends up drinking himself to death. Feeling that she is the blame for all this, she too embarks on a similar journey. She can't handle the guilt and after years of drinking and trying, she meets the same fate.
"Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees
We found her with her face down in the pillow
Clinging to his picture for dear life
We laid her next to him beneath the willow
While the Angels sang a whiskey lullaby"
The last chorus wraps the story up in a bittersweet fashion. They couldn't live without each other in life, but now in death, are forever together.
2) He Stopped Loving Her Today - George Jones
Written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman
From the album I Am What I Am - 1980
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"Nobody'll buy that morbid son of a bitch" - George Jones
What can be said about what is considered by many to be the greatest country song of all time? It's very possible that THIS is the saddest country song of all time. It may have a claim to saddest song ever as well. The story says that George Jones had to be convinced to record the track, stating it was too long and depressing. It may have surprised him when the song became a huge hit and jump started his then stagnant career. The lyrics are simple and straight forward. Its those qualities that seem to make the words hit as hard and real as possible. For instance:
"I went to see him just today
Oh, but I didn't see no tears
All dressed up to go away
First time I'd seen him smile in years"
His smile, while laying the casket seems out of place according to the singer. His friend had been completely miserable ever since she walked out of his life. And the subject of the song wore his heart on his sleeve. Its only in death that he might find some relief of his misery.
1) I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams
Written by Hank Williams
Released as a single - 1949
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Father to Hank Jr. Grandfather to Hank III and Holly Williams. King of country music.
If Jimmie Rodgers was the "creator" of country music, then certainly Hank Williams was the one to unleash it on the world. His craft was something supernatural, and this song is a testament to that talent. Recorded in 1949, it still sounds as fresh and haunting in 2016. It's not the story of a sad man. It's the story of an absolutely broken man who has lost all will to live.
"Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die?
Like me, he's lost the will to live
I'm so lonesome I could cry"
Originally intended as a spoken word piece, the song is pure poetry. Its houses the feeling of hopelessness. On this night he can't sleep because he is entranced with the thought of where his love has gone.
"The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky
And as I wonder where you are
I'm so lonesome I could cry"
You can hear the stillness of the night. You can see the star fall. It's stark. It's sad. And it's one of the best songs ever written.
