Sometimes, the song can give us goosebumps,
but then it can go one step further!
♫ Who can say where the road goes ♫
♫ Where the day flows ♫
Welcome to WatchMojo.com
and today we're counting down our picks
for the "Top 10 Songs That Will Make You Cry".
♫ Now hush little baby, don't you cry Everything's gonna be alright ♫
For this list,
we've chosen our entries based on their success on the charts,
their individual context,
and their resonance with the listener.
♫ All by myself ♫
It can be happy or sad songs, as long as they're tearjerkers.
♫ When I have so much to say but you're so far away ♫
♫ Childhood living ♫
♫ Is easy to do ♫
Exactly who our first entry was written for remains a mystery.
♫ Graceless lady ♫
♫ You know who I am ♫
Marianne Faithfull's the most likely,
though it has also been linked to Bianca Jagger,
and Keith Richards' son Marlon.
♫ Wild horses ♫
♫ Couldn't drag me away ♫
What is clear is that with one quite simple hook,
the Stones produced an ageless piece of music
that has stood hairs on end for generations.
♫ Tears must be cried ♫
♫ So let's do some living ♫
Mick's distinctive voice finds a perfect match,
as this brooding, crooning, subdued song
leaves the listener as lonely as the frontman.
♫ Wild horses ♫
♫ Couldn't drag me away ♫
♫ Hello darkness, my old friend ♫
♫ I've come to talk with you again ♫
The opening lines to our next track
are among the most recognizable in all of modern music.
♫ Left its seeds while I was sleeping ♫
Written shortly after the JFK assassination,
this song also became an accompaniment to the Vietnam War.
♫ And the vision ♫
♫ That was planted in my brain ♫
It welcomes darkness and is perhaps most effective
when it's played within it.
♫ Within the sound
of silence ♫
The combination of vocals and the high tones
are as haunting today as they were half a century ago.
♫ The prophets are written on the subway walls ♫
♫ And tenement halls ♫
It's "our old friend," and it tingles from start to finish!
♫ In the sound...
of silence ♫
♫ So ♫
♫ So you think you can tell ♫
♫ Heaven from hell ♫
♫ Blue skies from pain ♫
The title track to their 1975 album,
"Wish You Were Here" was written for Pink Floyd founder member Syd Barrett
in response to his alleged battle with schizophrenia.
♫ How I wish, how I wish you were here ♫
♫ We're just two lost souls Swimming in a fish bowl
Year after year ♫
The whole album explores the theme of detachment,
and David Gilmour's vocals retain a curiously absent quality
as he pines for his friend.
♫ Wish you were here ♫
The whole track comes across as an effortless piece of music...
a train of thought that's sad, and overwhelmingly simple.
♫ Sorry I never told you ♫
♫ All I wanted to say ♫
One of the most commercially successful tracks to make our list,
this collaboration reigned supreme on the U.S. Billboard charts
for colossal 16 weeks.
♫ Feeling and knowing you hear... ♫
Written and recorded in a matter of days,
pop diva Mariah Carey meets R&B quartet Boyz II Men,
and together they produce this tearful tune.
♫ And I know you're shining down on me from heaven ♫
♫ Like so many friends we've lost along the way ♫
Reminding us all of the impermanence of life,
it's an exercise in saying the things we wish we'd said,
and in giving thanks for the lives that we have.
♫ Sorry I never told you ♫
♫ All I wanted to say ♫
♫ Every generation ♫
♫ Blames the one before ♫
Continuation of Mariah's theme,
this 80's ballad once, again picks apart the question
of life and death...
♫ Come beating on your door ♫
and summarizes the conundrum in six short words:
"It's too late when we die."
♫ No, it's too late ♫
♫ (It's too late) when we die (oh when we die) ♫
Specifically about the bond between a boy and his father,
the idea is applicable to just about any relationship that we could have...
♫ So say it, say it, say it loud ♫
♫ Say it clear ♫
♫ (Come on say it clear) ♫
that's why it gets us singing along –
even if it's difficult to do that and not shed a tear!
♫ (It's too late) when we die (it's too late when we die) ♫
♫ To admit we don't see eye to eye ♫
♫ Goodbye Norma Jean ♫
♫ You had the grace to hold yourself ♫
♫ Those around you crawled ♫
Originally penned in memory of Marilyn Monroe,
"Candle in the Wind" is also famously linked to Diana, Princess of Wales,
after Elton played it at her funeral.
♫ You're like, like a candle in the wind ♫
♫ Never knowing ♫
Though though the lives of its subjects have been tragically short-lived,
the song itself has endured for generations.
♫ And I would have liked to have known you But I was just a kid ♫
♫ Your candle burned out long before ♫
♫ Your legend ever did ♫
It's emotional enough without context,
but it's a fitting tribute to two iconic women,
and to celebrities in general that died too young...
♫ And I would have liked to have known you ♫
♫ About you ♫
an elegy of the highest order!
♫ Your candle burned out long before ♫
♫ Your legend ever did ♫
♫ Well I heard there was a secret chord ♫
♫ That David played and it pleased the Lord ♫
♫ But you don't really care for music, do you? ♫
This song was powerful when Leonard Cohen sang it originally...
but when Jeff Buckley caressed his vocals around the lyrics,
hair stood on end and lumps formed in throats.
♫ She tied you to her kitchen chair ♫
♫ She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah ♫
It's love that's gone stale – so it's relatable for many of us.
There's also anguish in his voice, that is impossible to fake...
♫ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♫
he isn't just singing the words, he understands them.
♫ But remember when I moved in you ♫
♫ And the holy dove was moving too ♫
♫ And every breath we drew was Hallelujah ♫
A talent that was lost too soon, this song is his legacy.
♫ Hallelujah x3 ♫
We defy anyone not to be moved by our first podium entry!
♫ When you're sure you've had enough ♫
♫ Of this life ♫
"Everybody Hurts" has become a staple soundtrack to modern day life.
Adopted by the Samaritans charity,
it was originally written by the band for anyone who contemplates suicide.
This song not only prompts tears, it saves lives!
♫ Everybody hurts ♫
According to the lyrics, "We all cry,"
and most of us do when we sing them.
"Everybody hurts," and after this song everybody's reaching for the tissues!
♫ So hold on ♫
♫ Hold on ♫
♫ I hurt myself today ♫
♫ To see if I still feel ♫
Originally penned by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails,
"Hurt" was taken on by the legendary Johnny Cash
several years later.
♫ What have I become ♫
♫ My sweetest friend ♫
It brings the memories of his past under the cold, harsh spotlight of his present.
♫ And you could have it all ♫
♫ My empire of dirt ♫
Cash was very frail when recording the song,
and he died seven months after its release.
♫ Everyone I know goes away ♫
♫ In the end ♫
Laying the unstoppable passing of time,
its accompanying video is a memorial to one man,
but something that we'll all experience.
♫ If I could start again ♫
♫ A million miles away ♫
It's about as powerful as music can be.
♫ I would keep myself ♫
♫ I would find a way ♫
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
♫ Ooh, my own was banished long ago It took the death of hope to let you go ♫
♫ How do I live without the ones I love? ♫
♫ Time still turns the pages of the book it's burned ♫
♫ Hailie I know you miss your mom and I know you miss your dad
When I'm gone but I'm trying to give you the life that I never had ♫
♫ I can see you're sad, even when you smile, even when you laugh
I can see it in your eyes, deep inside you want to cry ♫
♫ I will remember you ♫
♫ Will you remember me? ♫
♫ Yesterday ♫
♫ All my troubles seemed so far away ♫
♫ All we are is dust in the wind... ♫
♫ Oh, ho, ho ♫
♫ Would you know my name ♫
♫ If I saw you in heaven? ♫
Clapten has taken the top spot
of this deeply emotional list with an incredibly moving piece of music...
♫ If I saw you in heaven? ♫
inspired by great personal tragedy.
♫ I must be strong ♫
♫ And carry on ♫
♫ 'Cause I know ♫
♫ I don't belong ♫
♫ Here in heaven ♫
When his 4-year-old son passed away,
we'd have understood if Clapton never picked up a guitar again.
But he did, and was able to produce a record
that's as terrific as it is teary!
♫ Beyond the door ♫
Reminding us all of anyone who has passed,
"Tears In Heaven" verbalizes what everyone else would like to say.
♫ And I know ♫
♫ There'll be no more ♫
♫ Tears in heaven ♫
It's a tear-jerking tune that gets us every time!
♫ Would you know my name ♫
♫ If I saw you in heaven? ♫
Do you agree with our list? What's your favorite song to cry over?
♫ It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right ♫
♫ I hope you had the time of your life ♫
For more tear-jerking Top 10's published every day,
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