Saddest line in rock?

obelisk wrote:It was just before dawn one miserable

Morning in black 'forty four.

When the forward commander was told to sit tight

When he asked that his men be withdrawn.

And the Generals gave thanks as the other ranks

Held back the enemy tanks for a while.

And the Anzio bridgehead was held for the price

Of a few hundred ordinary lives.

[...]

It was dark all around, there was frost in the ground

When the Tigers broke free.

And no one survived

From the Royal Fusiliers Company C.

They were all left behind,

Most of them dead, the rest of them dying.

And that's how the High Command

Took my daddy from me.

That's a pretty obscure one from Pink Floyd. Good call.

I also like the other dude's suggestion from The Final Cut. I would counter with (from the same album):

in my rear view mirror the sun is going down

sinking behind bridges in the road

and i think of all the good things

that we have left undone

and i suffer premonitions

confirm suspicions

of the holocaust to come

the wire that holds the cork

that keeps the anger in

gives way

and suddenly it's day again

the sun is in the east

even though the day is done

two suns in the sunset

hmmmmmmmmm

could be the human race is run

like the moment when your brakes lock

and you slide toward the big truck

and stretch the frozen moments with your fear

and you'll never hear their voices

and you'll never see their faces

you have no recourse to the law anymore

and as the windshield melts

my tears evaporate

leaving only charcoal to defend

finally i understand

the feelings of the few

ashes and diamonds

foe and friend

we were all equal in the end

And here's bob's saddest song, the Ballad of Hollis Brown:

Hollis Brown

He lived on the outside of town

Hollis Brown

He lived on the outside of town

With his wife and five children

And his cabin fallin' down

You looked for work and money

And you walked a rugged mile

You looked for work and money

And you walked a rugged mile

Your children are so hungry

That they don't know how to smile

Your baby's eyes look crazy

They're a-tuggin' at your sleeve

Your baby's eyes look crazy

They're a-tuggin' at your sleeve

You walk the floor and wonder why

With every breath you breathe

The rats have got your flour

Bad blood it got your mare

The rats have got your flour

Bad blood it got your mare

If there's anyone that knows

Is there anyone that cares?

You prayed to the Lord above

Oh please send you a friend

You prayed to the Lord above

Oh please send you a friend

Your empty pockets tell yuh

That you ain't a-got no friend

Your babies are crying louder

It's pounding on your brain

Your babies are crying louder now

It's pounding on your brain

Your wife's screams are stabbin' you

Like the dirty drivin' rain

Your grass it is turning black

There's no water in your well

Your grass is turning black

There's no water in your well

You spent your last lone dollar

On seven shotgun shells

Way out in the wilderness

A cold coyote calls

Way out in the wilderness

A cold coyote calls

Your eyes fix on the shotgun

That's hangin' on the wall

Your brain is a-bleedin'

And your legs can't seem to stand

Your brain is a-bleedin'

And your legs can't seem to stand

Your eyes fix on the shotgun

That you're holdin' in your hand

There's seven breezes a-blowin'

All around the cabin door

There's seven breezes a-blowin'

All around the cabin door

Seven shots ring out

Like the ocean's pounding roar

There's seven people dead

On a South Dakota farm

There's seven people dead

On a South Dakota farm

Somewhere in the distance

There's seven new people born

Wearing out my worried mind

Lying uneasy in bed

Trying to fight off those nagging doubts

Pounding at my head

But it's always a losing battle

and I'm the one who'le lose

Chalk up another victim

to those Brokenheart Blues

Just when I thought I'd find

a love to outlast all time

I found myself on a one way street

and I realize I was blind

I was taken for a long ride

the wreck bruised more than my pride

Having been so badly used

makes me sing those Brokenheart Blues

john prine - sam stone

Sam Stone was alone

When he popped his last balloon

Climbing walls while sitting in a chair

Well, he played his last request

While the room smelled just like death

With an overdose hovering in the air

But life had lost its fun

And there was nothing to be done

But trade his house that he bought on the G. I. Bill

For a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill.

The register stood open as the smoke cleared the room

And one man was lying over blood and a broom

The store door was swingin' in a midnight breeze

And another man ran through the dark and the trees

He ran past the motel threw his gun in the trash

Looked down through the darkness and counted the cash

The man at the store was trying to stand

Looked up through the white light and reached out his hand

The ambulance arrived but it was too late

In the spin of the red lights they covered his face

He had a wife who was waiting watching TV in bed

Wondering why he wasn't home yet

Their baby was sleeping until the telephone rang

He woke and he cried out but nobody came

She doesn't know what they'll do now now that he's gone

Try to get over and try to get on

Alone in the backyard a cool afternoon

The tree they planted has started to bloom

She wanted him to see this she wanted him there

She wanted to kiss him and brush back his hair

Kudos to you Floydians, especially when the tigers broke free from obelisk. That one has always blown me away. My entry would be \"Here comes a regular\" from the Mats\' \"here comes a regular....call out your name...I said here comes a regular...am I the only one who feels ashamed.\" I saw Westerberg last year in Detroit and he musata played 25-30 songs including some Replacements gems. he strode out with just his guitar and went into the opening strains of \"regular\" and i swear my body started to shake it has meant so much to me over the years and it was damn near a religious experience.

Long ago, it must be

I have a photograph

Preserve your memories

They're all that's left you

We had an apartment in the city,

Me and Loretta liked living there.

Well, it'd been years since the kids had grown,

A life of their own left us alone.

John and Linda live in Omaha,

And Joe is somewhere on the road.

We lost Davy in the Korean war,

And I still don't know what for, don't matter anymore.

Chorus:

Ya' know that old trees just grow stronger,

And old rivers grow wilder ev'ry day.

Old people just grow lonesome

Waiting for someone to say, "Hello in there, hello."

Me and Loretta, we don't talk much more,

She sits and stares through the back door screen.

And all the news just repeats itself

Like some forgotten dream that we've both seen.

Someday I'll go and call up Rudy,

We worked together at the factory.

But what could I say if asks "What's new?"

"Nothing, what's with you? Nothing much to do."

Repeat Chorus:

So if you're walking down the street sometime

And spot some hollow ancient eyes,

Please don't just pass 'em by and stare

As if you didn't care, say, "Hello in there, hello."

Epitaph by King Crimson.

The combination of the lyrics and the mournful tone of the music is unusually dark. I remember that I had gotten the album it was on just as I was going through a break-up; upon listening I found it so disturbing that I didn't listen to it again for 25 years.

Richard Thompson

Said Molly to James, "That's a fine motorbike.

A girl could feel special on any such like".

Said James to Molly, "It's hats off to you,

it's a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952.

And I've seen you on the corners, and the cafes, it seems.

Red hair and black leather, my favorite colour schemes."

And he pulled around behind, and off to Box Hill

They did ride.

Said James to Molly, "Here's a ring for your right hand,

but I tell you in earnest I'm a dangerous man.

See, I fought with the law since I was seventeen,

I robbed many a man to get my Vincent machine.

And now I'm 21 years, I might make 22,

but I don't mind dying, but for the love of you.

But if fate should break my stride,

I'll give you my Vincent

to ride".

"Come down, come down Red Molly", yelled Sergeant McRae,

"They've taken young James Adie for armed robbery.

Shotgun blast hit his chest, left nothing inside.

Hurry down Red Molly to his dying bedside".

When they came to the hospital, there wasn't much left.

He was running out of road, he was running out of breath.

But he smiled to see her cry,

and gave her his Vincent

to ride.

Said James "in my opinion, there's nothing in this world,

beats a '52 Vincent and a red-headed girl.

See, Hondas and Enfields and Harleys and Greaves won't do.

They don't have a soul like a Vincent '52".

He reached out his hands, and he slipped her the keys,

said "I've got no further use for these.

I see angels and aerials in leather and chrome,

swooping down from heaven to carry me home".

And he gave her one last kiss and died,

and gave her his Vincent

to ride.

Man, the whole Nebraska album is pretty sad. Reason to Believe is the only song that isn't dark.

"Caught a bolt of lightning/Cursed the day he let it go."

- Pearl Jam, "Nothingman"

Keep Me In Your Heart

(Warren Zevon & Jorge Calderon) [Release right before his death]

Shadows are falling and I'm running out of breath

Keep me in your heart for awhile

If I leave you it doesn't mean I love you any less

Keep me in your heart for awhile

When you get up in the morning and you see that crazy sun

Keep me in your heart for awhile

There's a train leaving nightly called when all is said and done

Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo

Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo

Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sometimes when you're doing simple things

around the house

Maybe you'll think of me and smile

You know I'm tied to you like the buttons on

your blouse

Keep me in your heart for awhile

Hold me in your thoughts, take me to your dreams

Touch me as I fall into view

When the winter comes keep the fires lit

And I will be right next to you

Engine driver's headed north to Pleasant Stream

Keep me in your heart for awhile

These wheels keep turning but they're running out

of steam

Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo

Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo

Keep me in your heart for awhile

Keep me in your heart for awhile

I've heard nothing more sad than "Cat's in the Cradle."

A few others that I can't listen to anymore:

"But lovers always come and lovers always go and no one's really sure who's lettin' go today"

November Rain - GnR

"So this is love...standing in the pouring rain"

Second Chance - .38 Special

"And ain't it bittersweet...you're only just getting by"

Where Did It All Go Wrong? - Oasis

STRANGE FRUIT

Sung by Billie Holiday

Southern trees bear a strange fruit,

Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,

Black body swinging in the Southern breeze,

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant South,

The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,

Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh,

And the sudden smell of burning flesh!

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck,

For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,

For the sun to rot, for a tree to drop,

Here is a strange and bitter crop.

keith Stone wrote:

Keep Me In Your Heart

(Warren Zevon & Jorge Calderon) [Release right before his death]

As I recall, it's the final cut of Zevon's final CD.

For any Warren Zevon fan who understood what was going on at the time, the whole CD was especially sad. Although only Zevon could come with ditties like "My Ride's Here" and "Party Through the Rest of the Night" as he was literally wasting away.

You're beautiful

You're beautiful

You're beautiful it's true

I saw your face

In a crowded place

and I don't know what to do

'Cause I'll never be with you.

I think I'm gonna go hang myself over that one

I'm surprised no one has said every Smiths or Cure song, nonetheless, here's one of my favorites:

"Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me.

No hope, no heart, just another false alarm."

Morrissey wrote:

I'm surprised no one has said every Smiths or Cure song, nonetheless, here's one of my favorites:

"Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me.

No hope, no heart, just another false alarm."

Good song, except it's "no hope, no harm"