Songs That Make You Laugh; Songs That Make You Cry

[roamyn]

Are there any songs that pull emotion from you?

For example, the following songs can make me sob terribly:

'Honey' by Bobby Goldsboro;

'Wildfire' by Michael Murphy;

'Last Kiss' by Pearl Jam (the version I prefer);

'Seasons in the Sun' by Terry Jacks.

And 'Funky Poodle' by Wild Horses always makes me happy. I can't help singing & bouncing along w/that one.

[ebk57]

"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is a song that will always make me smile, no matter what mood I'm in.

[Shannon L.]

The Christmas Shoes.  I can't listen to that song at all.

 

Sometimes something that is nostalgic will bring tears to my eyes, so:

Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot reminds me of my childhood when things were fun and simple.

Any song off of the Bon Jovi "New Jersey" album reminds me of a really confusing and difficult time in my life.  I can listen to the songs now and just tear up, but a couple of years after the tough ones, I had to turn the station when they came on.

 

Uptown Girl:  A few months ago, my favorite cousin died in his sleep at the age of 50.  It was a complete shock since his last physical was normal and he didn't even have so much as a cold.  Anyway, he's always, up until the day he died, had a crush on Christie Brinkley and I remember when he was 19 yrs old talking about how great she looked in that video, strutting around with her mile long legs.  He made us laugh.  So, Uptown Girl brings a smile to my face and tears to my eyes.

 

Do You Believe in Love by Huey Lewis and the News and Walkin' on Sunshine make me smile and put a bounce in my step.

 

Here's one that always makes me tear up because it's so beautiful and thought provoking.  It's loosely based on a true story.  I'm going to post the lyrics because not too many people know it. Belleau Wood by Garth Brooks:

 

Oh the snow flakes fell in silence
Over Belleau Wood that night
For a Christmas truce had been declared
By both sides of the fight
As we laid there in our trenches
The silence broke in two
By a German soldier singing
A song that we all knew

Though I did not know the language
The song was Silent Night
Then I heard my buddy whisper
"All is calm, all is bright"
Then the fear and doubt surrounded me
Cause I'd die if I was wrong
But I stood up in my trench
And I began to sing along

[roamyn]

Garth Brooks...man I forgot, because I don't listen to Country, but in 1995 when the Cleveland Indians won the Central Division by 30 games, on their way to their first pennant since 1954 they played The Dance.

I sobbed because it was my mother's favorite song, she loved her Indians, and she had died unexpectedly in weird circumstances just months before at only 53.

If I heard that song now I'd probably cry.

Edited July 17, 2014 by roamyn

[Jeebus Cripes]

Weird, but a few hours ago, I was thinking about how your feelings for a song can get all screwed up depending on the circumstances. Sara by Starship was on the radio when I found out both of my dogs were dying, and just recently, Heart and Soul by Huey Lewis and the News was ruined for me because my pet hamster died while the video was playing on TV. One minute I'm jamming to one of my favorite songs, the next I'm dealing with death. I also associate Until I Fall Away by Gin Blossoms with my Father passing, simply because it was on my iPod while I stayed with him at the hospital, and despite all the other songs on the playlist, that's the only one I remember. Kind of hard to hear those songs now without dredging up those memories.

 

One by U2 will make me cry.

Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-a-Lot is good for a laugh.

[CaughtOnTape]

Because I Got High from Afroman makes me cry laughing

 

The part where the choir comes in during Man In The Mirror will make me bawl like a 6 year old.

Sacrifice from Elton John makes me cry.

You Don't Bring Me Flowers doesn't make me cry but it sure as hell is the most depressing song ever.

[Babalu]

Weird, but a few hours ago, I was thinking about how your feelings for a song can get all screwed up depending on the circumstances.

You're so right. I saw Tarzan when my brother was dying and "You'll Be in My Heart" will always be associated with that and will always make me cry.

[Jeebus Cripes]

Because I Got High from Afroman makes me cry laughing

 

Yes! I love that song. Also, It Wasn't Me by Shaggy. 

 

Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper makes me feel weepy.

[bosawks]

Johnny Cash's version of Hurt makes me feel like I just got punched in the heart.

[photo fox]

"Songs that make you cry" immediately made me think of "The Little Girl" by John Michael Montgomery.  I remember the first time I heard it, I was driving and started crying so hard I nearly had to pull over.  It still makes me get sniffly, even though I've heard it a million times.  So many children live with this kind of horror.

 

[TheGreenKnight]

Yes, "The Little Girl" definitely gets to me. Another country song about a young girl that makes me cry is Jason Michael Carroll's "Alyssa Lies." Rascal Flatt's "Skin (Sarabeth)" almost gets me there. I tend to be an easy crier though, so maybe I don't count. I could probably come up with a few dozen more songs that make me cry.

Edited July 23, 2014 by TheGreenKnight

[spaceytraci1208]

Eric Clapton's Tears In Heaven, especially the "Unplugged" version always makes me sad. I always marvel at that performance because I don't know how he managed to sing it without breaking

[JayKay]

"A Song For Mama" by Boyz II Men from the Soul Food soundtrack used give me crazy anxiety as a kid because it reminded me of my grandmother and the grandmother died in that movie and I didn't want that to happen to my family. Now that my grandmother actually has passed, I think hearing it again would shatter me.

"Annie" by Vanessa Carlton is about a little girl dying of cancer and while it's a beautiful song, I wish I'd been warned beforehand of what it was about before I listened to it.

"The Freshmen" by The Verve Pipe. This song made me feel regret before I was even old enough to have regrets.

 

On the happy side, "2 Legit 2 Quit" by MC Hammer has so many good memories associated with it that just thinking about it makes me smile.

[ExplainItAgain]

Well, of course, thanks to the commercial, Angel by Sarah McLachlan makes me tear up. Fast Car from Tracy Chapman too. And The Last Song by Elton John.

 

Like a G6 makes me laugh. It's so dumb and so catchy.

Edited August 6, 2014 by ExplainItAgain

[BatmanBeatles]

Just A Friend - Biz Markie

 

 

It's so goofy.

 

"You! You got what I neeeed! But you say he's just a friend..."

Edited August 6, 2014 by BatmanBeatles

[roamyn]

Well, of course, thanks to the commercial, Angel by Sarah McLachlan makes me tear up.

You know that song's abt heroin, right?

She wrote it in memory of a friend who died of a heroin overdose. "Angel" is a street name for heroin.

[ExplainItAgain]

You know that song's abt heroin, right?

She wrote it in memory of a friend who died of a heroin overdose. "Angel" is a street name for heroin.

 

I read that somewhere. People would play it a lot at funerals not realizing...

[harrie]

Just A Friend - Biz Markie

 

It' so goofy.

 

That's funny, the other day the hubby and I were singing the chorus together/at each other for a good portion of the night.  We should probably send the neighbors a bottle of wine or something.  Anyway, love that song.

[Starfruit]

SafetySuit - Stay. The whole song has this melancholy vibe to it but it's near the end of the song where you hear the singer in the background belting out the lyrics and the pain is palpable. The first time I heard it, I had to pause the song because I started crying.

[beadgirl]

Playboy Mommy by Tori Amos never fails to choke me up; I'm usually fighting tears by the time I get to "I'll say it loud here by your grave / those angels can't ever take my place." Gah, even typing it makes me misty!

 

Unsurprisingly I associate Peter Gabriel's "I Grieve" with my father's death, and the time after as I slowly got over it.

 

I have a happy playlist for whenever I need a boost.  It's rather eclectic, but songs like C+C Music Factory's "Robi-Rob's Boriqua Anthem," Voice of the Beehive's "Monsters and Angels," TMBG's "Birdhouse in Your Soul," Yerba Buena's "La Vida La Life," Kermit's "Lydia the Tattooed Lady," and Rusted Root's "Send Me on My Way" always cheer me up.

[BizBuzz]

Honestly can't believe I haven't been in here yet!  These are all songs that will make the tears flow for me:

 

Perfect by Pink, the chorus gets me every time.  Every.Single.Time - I sing it to my daughter (not the bad word version) all the time.  You are perfect, to me.

 

Don't Give Up by Peter Gabriel, every chorus is different in this song, but towards the end, it's just gorgeous:

 

don't give up
'cause you have friends
don't give up
you're not the only one
don't give up
no reason to be ashamed
don't give up
you still have us
don't give up now
we're proud of who you are
don't give up
you know it's never been easy
don't give up
'cause I believe there's a place
there's a place where we belong

 

^pretty darn good video with Kate Bush for this one.

 

Let Her Down Easy by George Michael:

 

She still remembers you
The first boy that she gave it to
And she laughs at how little then she knew

 

Wasted Time by the Eagles

 

I remember what you told me before you went out on your own:
"Sometimes to keep it together, we got to leave it alone."

 

Will come back another time with the ones that make me happy!

[spaceytraci1208]

I was having an especially shitty day at work. My final act of the day, I'm getting some stuff ready for mailing and gave myself a papercut; I was about to lose it. Then, "Mmmm-Bop!" by Hanson comes on...I could not stop smiling! It was one of those songs I'd downloaded strictly for nostalgia's sake, and since that day it has become one of my go-to happy songs :)

[GHScorpiosRule]

Maybe this should be in the Country thread, but it was popular enough to be played on Top 40 I think. It doesn't make me laugh or cry, but it does give me chills and when I hear it, it stays stuck in my head for the rest of the day!

Oh what song, you ask?

Kenny Rogers's The Gambler.

And to demonstrate my utter ignorance, I really did think the Gambler had fallen asleep, and it wasn't until I saw Kenny on The Muppet Show performing the song with them that I discovered the Gambler DIED!!!

Edited August 11, 2014 by GHScorpiosRule

[spaceytraci1208]

The death of Robin Williams has brought 2 songs to mind:

 

"Tears of a Clown" - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

"Everybody Hurts" - REM

 

RIP Mr. Williams :(

[AntiBeeSpray]

The death of Robin Williams has brought 2 songs to mind:

 

"Tears of a Clown" - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

"Everybody Hurts" - REM

 

RIP Mr. Williams :(

Those fit. So sad :(.

Posted this in the tribute thread originally:

I just came across a song by Seals and Crofts that kind of fits (imo):

 

So I wanna laugh while the laughin' is easy

I wanna cry it makes it worthwhile

I may never pass this way again

That's why I want it with you

'Cause you make me feel like I'm more than a friend

Like I'm the journey and you're the journey's end

I may never pass this way again

That's why I want it with you

 

Source: We May Never Pass This Way Again -- Seals and Crofts

 

Especially the above quote from it. I know it's a kind of a break up love song kind of thing, but something about it drew me in and made me think of Robin.

As for songs that make me laugh, almost anything by Weird Al Yankovic. Man's talented.

[Mini-Mart]

King Of Medicine by Placebo always makes me cry.  I don't know if that was the intent but i read it as pleading to an addict to stop.  Just heartbreaking.

 

On the tip of my tongue
Were words that always came out wrong
'Cause they were drowned in southern comfort
Left to dry out in the sun, the noon day sun

[Sharpie66]

Another vote for Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car." I just saw a great cover of it by Sam Smith for BBC Radio:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA4FtHUKVPE

[spaceytraci1208]

Billy Joel's "She's Got A Way" makes me feel all mushy inside...the man knows how to write a love song

 

[Mrsjumbo]

I agree with tears= Tarzan's You'll be in my heart, MJ's Man in the Mirror, Peter Gabriel's Don't Give Up, also Peter Gabriel's Here Comes the Flood.

Because this was "our" song with an ex-BF, Todd Rundgren's Mated:

"I see things far ahead

Maybe light, maybe beautiful children

I don't have words I'm thinking of

But it's way beyond what they call love"

And for sheer goofiness (but terribly non-PC), I always laugh at the Police's On Any Other Day:

"My wife just burned the scrambled eggs

The dog just bit my leg

My teenage daughter ran away

My fine young son has turned out gay"

[Rick Kitchen]

Ed Sheeran's "The A Team" about a girl whose heroin addiction leads her to prostitution and death.  Sigh.  And he was 20 when he wrote it, and got a Grammy nomination for it.  Damn.

 

[Shannon L.]

Fire and Rain came on the radio this morning.  I can get through that song without tearing up.  Not for anything personal, but, and this is an embarrassing confession, because of River Phoenix's performance in Running on Empty. 

[JayKay]

Kind of a long anecdote but about 10 years ago, before they got stupid famous, the band Maroon 5 appeared on an MTV reality show where the band members allowed some strange girl to rifle through their belongings to decide which one to date without knowing who they were.

When she found one of lead singer Adam Levigne's notebooks with song lyrics, she read it out loud to the camera. He was so embarrassed that he became visibly upset.

That song is called "Animal" and it's apparently on their latest album. I heard it on a commercial the other day and it took me forever to place where I recognized the lyrics from.

Anyway, it's amusing to me that the guy is so thin-skinned that it took him over a decade to record a song that some random MTV Springbreaker humiliated him with on some crappy reality television show. Every time I hear that song, it makes me laugh inside. Mean-spiritedly.

[AimingforYoko]

And for sheer goofiness (but terribly non-PC), I always laugh at the Police's On Any Other Day:

"My wife just burned the scrambled eggs

The dog just bit my leg

My teenage daughter ran away

My fine young son has turned out gay"

Penned by Stewart Copeland. He was the funny one, you know.

[PrincessLuceval]

Split Enz Stuff And Nonsense.  It's a sad, honest song about a man telling his girlfriend that he loves her now, can't say if he'll love her for always, and he knows she loves him more. It's really sweet without being douchey, like it could be (probably because Tim Finn sounds so honest singing it), and just about always makes me cry: 

 

And Crowded House's Better Be Home Soon, because Neil Finn sang it at the ARIA awards not long after band member Paul Hester killed himself. Neil's grief is evident: 

Edited September 19, 2014 by PrincessLuceval

[Jac]

And Crowded House's Better Be Home Soon, because Neil Finn sang it at the ARIA awards not long after band member Paul Hester killed himself. Neil's grief is evident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dif1wKZUygU

I was just coming here to post about this. I was there that night and I started sobbing about 30 seconds into the tribute and continued to sob for the next 15 minutes. I was in the nosebleeds and the effect of Neil looking very small and very broken was amplified by my position in the audience. It completely changed the meaning of the song for me.

Four Seasons In One Day tend to have the same effect because when I saw the Finn Brothers the July after Paul's death at the Sydney Opera House they led the audience in an acapella rendition of it. Again, much sobbing.

[PrincessLuceval]

Aw, JacquelineLHope, I'm sure being there just made it even more emotional. I'm sure there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

 

And yay, a fellow Frenz/Crowdie!

[briochetwist]

I second (and third) Fast Car and Better Be Home Soon.  I like Sam Smith and all, but wish he hadn't done a cover of Fast Car.  For me, that's just one of those songs that has been done to perfection and shouldn't be messed with.  Same goes for the kd lang version of Hallelujah.  No need for anyone else to try it, it's done.  And it makes me cry too.

[spaceytraci1208]

The Circle of Life from The Lion King (the Broadway version, not so much the film version). The harmonies are just gorgeous, and something about the way they sing the lyric "Till we find our place on the path unwinding" always hits me in my feelings. I love this one when the cast sang on a flight:

 

[cpcathy]

Yay! Crowded House fans!

 

Together Alone gets to me. Great song.

[juneday]

Gravity by John Mayer (the version I prefer) on the right day can make me tear up. I'm not really sure why though, as it's not a particularly sad song. It just gets to me.

The A Team by:Ed Sheeran always makes me more serious every time I hear it.

Free Fallin' by Tom Petty makes me happy. I love that song & have good memories associated with it.

[KnoxForPres]

The Heart of the Matter by Don Henley gets me going. It's always "I'm learning to live without you now" that gets me. The whole damn song is good and like therapy when going through heartbreak.

Listen to my shuffle on Pandora while at work. The other day "Sample in a Jar" by Phish came on and I stopped typing and just closed my eyes. My God I was 18 again. It was the weirdest sensation. But it made me sad for a time that had passed.

My grandmother died on Christmas Day in 1997. I got Simon and Garfunkels greatest hits CD that day. Sound of Silence. That was almost hard to type.

Whew. Some feel good songs now!

Long Hair/Short Jacket by Cake

Down with Disease by Phish

Lonely Boy by The Black Keys

Get Low- various rappers (lil Jon!)

Blaze of Glory by Bon Jovi

Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard

Porch Song by Widespread Panic

China Cat Sunflower by Grateful Dead

Ok, I'm boring myself now bc it appears I could never stop!

[cpcathy]

OK, so anything by Patsy Cline is sad and makes me cry. I can't even narrow it down to one.

There are are few songs by Barry Manilow (don't judge!) that get to me, my late mother and I used to listen to his greatest hits on eight track.

[harrie]

My grandmother died on Christmas Day in 1997. I got Simon and Garfunkels greatest hits CD that day. Sound of Silence. That was almost hard to type.

 

 

Not quite the same, but many years ago we had to take a dog to the hospital to be put down - she had cancer, and she had become paralyzed.   On the ride home, Bridge Over Troubled Water came on the radio; my husband and I raced each other to change the station.  Still can't listen to it (and yes, I'm crying right now).

[KnoxForPres]

Not quite the same, but many years ago we had to take a dog to the hospital to be put down - she had cancer, and she had become paralyzed. On the ride home, Bridge Over Troubled Water came on the radio; my husband and I raced each other to change the station. Still can't listen to it (and yes, I'm crying right now).

Oh yes, indeed. That one gets me as well. It was the next song on my CD. Chills.

Another one I've damn near wailed at post breakup is Crying by Roy Orbison.

Since this is all rather anonymous, I will admit to something. In The Golden Girls theme (stop laughing) the part that says "and the card attached would say Thank You for Being a Friend" has choked me up more than once.

[harrie]

Deleted because man, were emotions running close the surface yesterday.   As you were.

Edited October 16, 2014 by harrie

[Bastet]

Not quite the same, but many years ago we had to take a dog to the hospital to be put down - she had cancer, and she had become paralyzed.   On the ride home, Bridge Over Troubled Water came on the radio; my husband and I raced each other to change the station.  Still can't listen to it (and yes, I'm crying right now).

 

I can relate.  When I started up the car after having a cat put to sleep, Macy Gray was singing, "I try to say good-bye and I choke, try to walk away and I stumble."  The song was forever ruined for me.

 

It doesn't make me cry, but Against the Wind always hits me hard.  All of it, but especially, "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then."

 

What does make me cry, without fail, is Conway Twitty's That's My Job.  George Jones gets me every time, too, with He Stopped Loving Her Today.  Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt, because I see the video in my mind whenever I hear the song.

 

Other songs that can really get to me:

 

REM, Everybody Hurts

U2, One

Michael Jackson, Man in the Mirror

Pink, Perfect

Simon and Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water

Billie Holiday, Strange Fruit

Miranda Lambert, The House That Built Me

Sarah McLachlan, Hold On

Tori Amos, Carry

Bruce Springsteen, Streets of Philadelphia

The Verve, The Drugs Don't Work

Brad Paisley and Allison Krauss, Whiskey Lullaby

Hank Williams, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

Harry Chapin, Cat's in the Cradle

[cpcathy]

Speaking of Tori Amos, China and 1000 Oceans. Listen at your own risk.

[beadgirl]

1000 Oceans is gorgeous.  That's the thing -- sometimes songs move me to tears simply because they are so beautiful and achy.  The one I can't get out of my head right now is Radical Face's "The Crooked Kind." 

[garnet]

 A couple of country songs that get me choked up are The Dance by Garth Brooks and Go Rest High On That Mountain by Vince Gill.

Edited October 29, 2014 by garnet

[DeLurker]

Walk the Dinosaur by Was (Not Was) always made me laugh.  It is a total goofball song with a catchy beat and started with Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom.