For admirers of classic pop song construction, production, and performance, Noah's Dove is jaw-dropping in its perfection. The subtle piano hook, deep and dark chord changes, and the warm, dry-eyed, heartbreakingly acute singing grab your ears, while the lyrics (an unhurried, unsparing epitaph to a relationship with a cheating scumbag) clench your heart. The best part may be that it introduces Our Time In Eden, a collection of finely-crafted folk-pop songs that served as a worthy finale for the Maniacs.

Whenever anyone asks for sad song recommendations, this is the first that comes to mind. It's a heartbreaking song. It's not really *depressing*, it just � heartbreaking.

Rediscovered this as I was uploading an audio clip for Belle Epoque (this is next alphabetically in my 45's).

I can't work out whether this is joyous or heartbreaking. It eats into the very soul of you when you hear it. My, that sounds dramatic - different from my usual carping. Tinkles on the piano break up the dense atmosphere herein and get you into the claustrophobic world of singer Drita.

Stands alone in 1984. Nothing else sounded anything like it.

A glorious and beautiful epic of a song, that swoops and soars from verse to chorus, sung in Boo's trademark bittersweet voice. If the world was a fair place, this song should have been a massive hit single and brought Boo the mass recognition that he deserves but that has always just elluded him.

An eighties incarnation of the epic sadness and yearning that the Walker Brothers did so well with the songs of Jaques Brel and Bob Gaudio(Sun aint gonna shine Anymore).This band was a rare thing at this point ,they had aspirations to write great timeless songs when drum machines ruled the world.On this ,they suceeded ,the songs heartbreaking climax could make a man cry,awash with brave brass and orchestral tears leaving a man broken in two and drowning in his own tears by the time the song fades into an eerie percussive silence .

A truly heartbreaking/hair-raising reading of the Timi Yuro classic.
Just Diamanda's spacey/ghostly piano and that apocalyptic voice, recorded live.
The lady sounds like a lovelorn Banshee, wandering some abandoned, seaside amusement pier...in the rain...in the middle of January...at 2 a.m.
Astonishing....

Dusty's intimate reading of this song is pin point perfect (no surprise!). Starting out in low quiet tones, the song crescendos as she promises anything to make her love stay with her for just a few minutes more. Heartbreakingly beautiful!!

Though this song may be described as a tear-jerker, it is perfect in its genre. The lyrics are heartbreaking, and the setup of the song is simple and effective. Three sad verses, about what would happen 'if you would go away', are followed by what wonderful things would happen if you wouldn't, accompanied by a melody of heavenly beauty...

Another of my favorite Morricone tracks. It's a long one at over 8 minutes. As is often the case (with Morricone especially), it's so hard for me to describe the mood of this song -- warm, sexy, yet heartbreakingly sad.

Maybe it's just me getting older, but I lap this kinda stuff up these days. I can't get enough of ol' style R&B, jump blues or a song like this: swingin', heartbreaking and outstandingly sung by a woman who is undeservedly just a footnote in musical history.

Ernestine (who sometimes recorded under the name Annisteen) works her smooth chords to a blues vocal with light jazzy backing. Almost Peggy Lee like in places, but with the benefit of King Curtis' sax and an amazing rhythm section that Ernestine obviously connects with.

The lyrics are beautiful, too: "You cry so hard, you cry like you never cried before; you moan and you groan so sad, you give the blues to your neighbour next door."

Probably the most chipper song of heartbreak I've ever heard. Young takes Willie Nelsons melancholy words, adds a bouncy beat, cheesy call and response chorus and that delightful early sixties country and western sound.

"Hello Walls"

"Hellooo, Helloo"
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Along with his very fruity delivery it just makes this song sheer genius. Yet another song I first heard on the late John Peels show. And an unexpected example of why he was such a great DJ.

The song really portrays the heartbreak of the character, and the murky, unforgiving sea which he has committed to. You can almost see and hear the ocean, and feel the main character as he reflects upon what he's become and what he's lost. The instrumentation is spot on. Like any good post-metal group, every instrument has its say, and everything's beautifully balanced.

There's movement in the song where the main character and his former lover exchange words, presumably over a distance, where the torment and pain of the situation is palpable. The song, and the album's concept in general, really hits my soft spot for stories of pain and failure, and the proverbial fall from grace. It also invokes great imagery.

A classic 60s girl pop vocal, produced by the legendary Joe Meek. It's a heartbreaking tale of infidelity with a typical 60s pop-orchestral backing. Apparently this song never even charted, which is astonishing in view of how catchy and generally wonderful it is.

heartbreaking early 60's country with a slight sophistication.

Close Up And Reak is a lovely album but this is my favourite track. It's a bittersweet tale of a person's (possibly Jane's), gradual loss in humankind. The song opens with a wailing violin which then introduces a soft, acoustic blanket of intsrumentation topped with Jane's wistful vocals.

Taken from a 13th or 14th century poem (Fairest between Lincoln and Lindsey) this song is quite heartbreaking in its simplicity.

This theme is not techno, which is something I always associated with the Doctor, and so amazing. It is a heartbreaking theme for the last Billie Tyler appearance. Although Rose and the Tenth Doctor had a romantic relationship, this theme could have been applied to other intense relationships that had been ended, such as the death of a child. You definitely do not have to have seen the episode to know that the parting was not voluntary. Another great Doctor Who track, beyond the theme, is 'Bad Wolf Theme'.

Ms. Simone sings almost with a sense of agony knowing that the object of her affection is untamed and unavailable even as she begs for his love. This track is heartbreakingly beautiful and is great listening in the late hours with the lights dimmed.

From that much maligned genre, eurodisco, comes an amazing story of a young girl moving to the city. She has dreams of dancing and making it under the bright lights, but is confronted only by people who see sexuality in her dancing, not freedom. She is exploited; her ideals ruined.

People think I make too much of the genius of Penny. I can often be heard espousing, at length, her brilliance and analysing her songs (I tend to do the latter in my head - there's only so much friends can take). Penny was pretty famous in Germany and only vaguely so everywhere else, primarily for the disco classic Lady Bump. She is now a sci-fi/fantasy novelist but unfortunately her books have not been translated into English else I'd doubtless find social comment in those as well...

Trumpet, strings & a subtle jangly sound begin this song in a way that suggests a tale of heartbreak, as Burt Bacharach can do it. Then piano and wordless female vocals join, in a chorus that seems to say love or redemption is going to come. And this is done in a Todd Rundgren way, as on his Something/Anything album. Then it repeats, and you're redeemed again. Two winsome influences are combined in this sound library recording for a real slice of heaven.

This track is heartbreaking and incredible. Radiohead are great at creating flowing melodies that shift and bend.

You can hear this one over the closing credits of Francois Truffaut's "Une Belle Fille Comme Moi". My French is not good enough to understand the story behind who or what she is waiting for but it is heartbreaking nevertheless. CD song listings describes it as "Slow-fox-chante".

the perfect teen heartbreak country ballad. the arrangement on this just BLOWS me away. check out the dissonant strings and the gentle steel guitar! not to mention skeeters vocals.. she never sounded better in my opinion, it just comes across as so goddamn heartfelt. marvel at the heavy, deadpan spoken word section at the end!
A desert island break-up song if there ever was one:)

Why does my heart go on beating
Why do these eyes of mine cry
Don't they know it's the end of the world
It ended when you said goodbye

As well as being a lovely slow, dreamy romantic song it is one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful tunes I've ever heard.

I love the organ used in this song's intro, and Tyson Ritter has really yummy vocals. :D Okay, well, besides that, it's a soppy, lovey-dovey song about loneliness and heartbreak and losing your girlfriend (I guess). The lyrics may seem a bit tacky but it's still a cool melodic song with lots of catchy hooks and a great sing-along!

This track is on one of those New Wave compilations that I tend to hoard but never really listen to. Well, yesterday I listened to it and found this precious jewel that's been on constant repeat ever since. I've always known about The Go-Betweens, people always told me "The Go-Betweens this", "The Go-Betweens that" and "Why don't you listen to The Go-Betweens?" but, honestly, I never really bothered to. They didn't sound that exciting to me. But this here! Like most ingenious and overwhelming things, at 3 minutes running time it is much too short and yet it is just long enough. It is 3 minutes of concentrated beauty, drama, new-wavy-angst and poetry. It feels like a heartbreak after a night of heavy boozing with its swaying, jerky melody and Forster's manic-depressive vocal performance. Actually, I should try listening to it after a night of heavy boozing and see if it can get any better than it already is.

Pat Fish of Northhampton, England, is not a rock star for reasons which might include his naturally reticent and embarassed nature, excessive amounts of Oxford education, and the vagueries of the marketplace, but would not include his songwriting talent, which is massive, if perhaps a wee bit limited in scope (no weird chords, all songs about heartbreak, drunkenness, or cannibalistic fantasies about the Prime Minister). "Big Saturday" is a rousing near-rock number in Pat's heartbreak mode. His singing is liquid, soulful (but not shouty), tender, and helpless in the face of love...a love that MUST remain unrequited for the good of other friendships and sundry considerations of duty and fidelity. At least, I think that is what is going on in this simple, yet devastating tune. For more info, see http://www.jazzbutcher.com/htdb/albums/sex.html

Vulnerable, moving and heartbreaking. Karen O reigns in her vocals, and the band cuts out the noise leaving behind an incredible post-punk love song that will blow your mind. The best and most understated track on an amazing debut album.

Great brooding mid-60s melodrama from this obscure British girl singer. A terrific stomping number dealing with the age-old teenage theme of heartbreak. "Burning in the background of my mind/are memories/and they seem to haunt me."

newer song by Tom Petty but it sounds just like his classic hits with the heartbreakers. more of a blues/rock feel

Absolutely heartbreaking.