Saddest line in rock?

I know a woman, became a wife;

These are the very words she uses to describe her life;

She says a good day ain't got no rain;

She says a bad day is when I lie in bed and think of things that might have been.

I heard Elvis call Hank Williams' song "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" the saddest song he ever heard. One stanza:

Have you ever hear a robin weep

When leaves begin to die

That means he's lost the will to live

I'm so lonesome I could cry

A sad Dylan song is "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine". The last stanza:

I dreamed I saw St. Augustine alive with fiery breath.

And I dreamed I was amongst the ones who put him out to death.

Oh, I awoke in anger, so alone and terrified.

I put my fingers against the glass and bowed my head and cried.

"My Father's House," from Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska, is pretty sad, but I can't isolate one line. (The last couple stanzas have the sadness, but they lose their power out of context.)

Last night I dreamed that I was a child

Out where the pines grow wild and tall

I was trying to make it home through the forest

Before the darkness falls

I heard the wind rustling through the trees

And ghostly voices rose from the fields

I ran with my heart pounding down that broken path

With the devil snappin' at my heels

I broke through the trees, and there in the night

My father's house stood shining hard and bright

The branches and brambles tore my clothes and scratched my arms

But I ran till I fell, shaking in his arms

I awoke and I imagined the hard things that pulled us apart

Will never again, sir, tear us from each other's hearts

I got dressed, and to that house I did ride

From out on the road, I could see its windows shining in light

I walked up the steps and stood on the porch

A woman I didn't recognize came and spoke to me through a chained door

I told her my story, and who I'd come for

She said "I'm sorry, son, but no one by that name lives here anymore"

My father's house shines hard and bright

It stands like a beacon calling me in the night

Calling and calling, so cold and alone

Shining `cross this dark highway where our sins lie unatoned

Oh, I forgot a more obvious one.

"Now those memories come back to haunt me --

They haunt me like a curse.

Is a dream a lie if it don't come true --

Or is it something worse?" --Bruce Springsteen, "The River"

Here's a classic:

Sometimes I sleep, sometimes it’s not for days

And the people I meet always go their separate ways

Sometimes you tell the day

By the bottle that you drink

And times when you’re all alone all you do is think

-- Bon Jovi

How I wish you were here.

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl

Year after year.

Running over the same old ground,

And have we found,

the same old fears?

Wish you were here.

And when we hung up the phone, it occurred to me

he'd grown up just like me, yeah,

my boy was just like me

I lifted her head, she looked at me and said

hold me darling, just a little while.

I held her close, I kissed her our last kiss.

I found the love that I knew I had missed.

Well now she’s gone, even though I hold her tight.

I lost my love, my life, that night.

I agree that "Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin has to be one of the saddest song ever recorded.

Dr. Blackjack wrote:

I agree that "Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin has to be one of the saddest song ever recorded.

Quoted for truth. It's been a while since I heard that one.

I went down to the crossroads

Fell down on my knees

Down to the crossroads

Fell down on my knees

Asked the Lord above for mercy

Take me if you please

Any number of lines from Elliott Smiths last Album "From a Basement on the Hill" that came out after his suicide.

Fond Farewell (his supposed suicide note) - "This is not my life, it’s just a fond farewell to a friend, It’s not what I'm like, just a fond farewell to a friend, who couldn't get things right, a fond farewell to a friend." -talking about how he had to create a different persona to fit into this world and so by killing himself he's just killing that persona, not who he really his, but he's become attached to who he pretended to be.

Last Hour - "Talking it out the last hour, I'm through trying now, it’s a big relief, I'll be staying down, where no one else gonna give me grief, mess me around, just make it over."

"I've been thinking of the things that I'll miss, situations that I've passed up for this, one, a love where we talked for hours."

Lets Get Lost - "Burning every bridge that I cross, to find some beautiful place to get lost."

"I had true love, made it die, I pushed it away, she said please stay."

"I don't know where I'll go now"

to wear a black armband when they shot the man who said peace could last forever

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.

Let's Go Crazy, from Purple Reign (sp) album of Prince

"But I'm here 2 tell u

There's something else

The afterworld

A world of never ending happiness

U can always see the sun, day or night"

Now, that's sad.

Dr. Blackjack wrote:

I agree that "Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin has to be one of the saddest song ever recorded.

More Harry Chapin:

t was raining hard in 'Frisco

I needed one more fare to make my night

A lady up ahead waved to flag me down

She got in at the light

Oh, where you going to, my lady blue

It's a shame you ruined your gown in the rain

She just looked out the window

She said, Sixteen Parkside Lane

Something about her was familiar

I could swear I'd seen her face before

But she said, I'm sure you're mistaken

And she didn't say anything more

It took a while, but she looked in the mirror

And she glanced at the license for my name

A smile seemed to come to her slowly

It was a sad smile, just the same

And she said, How are you Harry

I said, How are you Sue

Through the too many miles

And the too little smiles

I still remember you

It was somewhere in a fairy tale

I used to take her home in my car

We learned about love in the back of a Dodge

The lesson hadn't gone too far

You see, she was gonna be an actress

And I was gonna learn to fly

She took off to find the footlights

And I took off to find the sky

Oh, I've got something inside me

To drive a princess blind

There's a wild man, wizard

He's hiding in me, illuminating my mind

Oh, I've got something inside me

Not what my life's about

'Cause I've been letting my outside tide me

Over 'til my time, runs out

(Yes, she's flying, afraid to fall)

(I'll tell you why baby's crying)

('Cause she's dying, aren't we all)

There was not much more for us to talk about

Whatever we had once was gone

So I turned my cab into the driveway

Past the gate and the fine trimmed lawns

And she said, we must get together

But I knew it'd never be arranged

And she handed me twenty dollars

For a two fifty fare

She said, Harry, keep the change

Well, another man might have been angry

And another man might have been hurt

But another man never would've let her go

I stashed the bill in my shirt

And she walked away in silence

It's strange, how you never know

But we'd both gotten what we'd asked for

Such a long, long time ago

You see, 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 getting stoned

I go flying so high, when I'm stoned

Don't Take the Girl by Tim McGraw

Johnny's daddy was taking him fishin'

When he was eight years old

A little girl came through the front gate holdin' a fishing pole

His dad looked down and smiled, said we can't leave her behind

Son I know you don't want her to go but someday you'll change your mind

And Johnny said take Jimmy Johnson, take Tommy Thompson, take my best friend Bo

Take anybody that you want as long as she don't go

Take any boy in the world

Daddy please don't take the girl

Same old boy

Same sweet girl

Ten years down the road

He held her tight and kissed her lips

In front of the picture show

Stranger came and pulled a gun

Grabbed her by the arm said if you do what I tell you to, there won't be any harm

And Johnny said take my money, take my wallet, take my credit cards

Here's the watch that my grandpa gave me

Here's the key to my car

Mister give it a whirl

But please don't take the girl

Same old boy

Same sweet girl

Five years down the road

There's going to be a little one and she says it's time to go

Doctor says the baby's fine but you'll have to leave

'cause his momma's fading fast and Johnny hit his knees and there he prayed

Take the very breath you gave me

Take the heart from my chest

I'll gladly take her place if you'll let me

Make this my last request

Take me out of this world

God, please don't take the girl

Johnny's daddy

Was taking him fishin'

When he was eight years old

i just heard this cover of i hung my head. it was done by johnny cash but im not sure who wrote it. thats a depressing one. check it out

"I Hung My Head" is by Sting, I do believe.