I mentioned this in a recent Music Friday post, but after reading Ander Monson's "The Sadnesses of March" in his collection I Will Take the Answer, I thought about the two-person committee's selection of "Here Comes a Regular" from The Replacements.
I noted another sad song from The Replacements that is an opus of sadness: "Answering Machine."
I also like sad songs. They make us empathize with the precarious, pathos-laden nature of the human condition.
So I'm featuring some other sad songs that the committee might want to check out if they ever revive the tournament with songs from different eras. I will note that most of them are about death in some way, so I'm thinking about doing another post of this ilk to focus on sad songs not necessarily related to death.
"Elephant" by Jason Isbell
Nothing like a song about cancer to make people cry when he performs this in concert. As is typical of Isbell's fine work, he's a master storyteller. The song's persona is the husband of a woman who has cancer.
Lyrics of Note: "We burn these joints in effigy and cry about what we used to be/ and try to ignore the elephant somehow."
"Puttin' People on the Moon" by the Drive-By Truckers
I thought about a number of songs by DBT to put here, especially from their last few albums that are strongly political, but this is a classic DBT sad song that features healthy smidges of anger and despair. And I like this live version better than the one on The Dirty South.
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Lyrics of Note: "Another joker in the White House said a change is coming 'round./ But I'm still working at the Wal-Mart and Mary Alice in the ground."
"Ballad of the Dying Man" by Father John Misty
Mr. Tillman is adept at social commentary. I wouldn't call this a traditional sad song, but it's one that makes us think about one's addiction to technology, which harnesses a certain kind of Black Mirror kind of sadness.
Lyrics of Note: "What he'd give for one more day to rate and analyze/ the world in his image as of yet/ to realize what a mess to leave behind."
"Holiday" by James McMurtry
This song is so fitting for the holiday season. McMurtry is one of the finest lyricists alive right now. For me, this tune explicates a regret for people like me who no longer have their parents in this world. Some of my fondest memories are when my large family would get together for Xmas eve. Aside from my personal reaction, the lyrics expose the dread some people have for the holidays and presents images of loneliness.
Lyrics of Note: "Silent and shattered and numb to the core,/ they count themselves lucky/ they got through one more holiday."
"Speed Trap Town" by Jason Isbell
Here we go with Isbell again. Like "Elephant," it's a tightly constructed narrative about visiting a father for the last time in an ICU and the persona's decision to leave.
