MUSIC PROMPT
My Tearjerker Playlist — Mike Butler
Grab gobs of tissues and leave the man card at the door
You had to do it didn’t ya, P.J. Kaplan!
Might I suggest a song for you! How about “Don’t Bring me Down” by ELO.
Yeah, you got me. I’m a sucker for these darn playlist prompts. So, I’m, of course, all in on your latest sinister scheme, The Best Playlist for Crying Outloud.
Even if it does mean removing my man card from my wallet, grabbing a box of Kleenex, curling up in the fetal position, and having a good cry. Did I really just type that!
Hell, I might as well cue up Brian’s Song or Beaches as I construct this emotionally-driven tearjerker and empty my eye ducts.
So, let it rain…
“Angels On the Moon” by Thriving Ivory
And don’t tell me if I’m dying ’Cause I don’t want to know If I can’t see the sun Maybe I should go Don’t wake me ’cause I’m dreaming Of angels on the moon
Initially, I had this song listed lower. Then, I stuck my earbuds in, and tears instantly gushed out. This melancholy tune has been interpreted in different ways: 9/11, cancer treatment, or people dying unexpectedly. For me, it makes me think of a loved one and their personal struggle with chemical dependency.
Tears flow for this person as I wish for these demons — and potentially early death — to be defeated. The struggle is real and hard. I yearn for them to experience life’s true joys and not the unhealthy, fake, temporary highs — or dark places drugs take them. It hurts to be unable to help them.
“In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel
(Your eyes) The light the heat
(Your eyes) I am complete
(Your eyes) I see the doorway
(In your eyes) To a thousand churches.
Most visualize Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) holding up his boombox in Say Anything to win his love back.
Not me. For me, it’s my college sweetheart, Melissa Yancey. Together two years. Convinced she was the one. Until she wasn’t. The hidden note — I stumbled across — a scribbled stick figure labeled “Mike” as a hangman, symbolizing her intent to dump me. Still aimlessly chasing her around campus as she pursued other interests — this song constantly in my ear, giving me false hope.
To this day, every time I hear this song I think back to Melissa’s beautiful blue eyes, cute giggly laugh, and all the memories — good and bad.
“King of Pain” by Police
I have stood here before inside the pouring rain With the world turning circles running ‘round my brain I guess I’m always hoping that you’ll end this reign But it’s my destiny to be the king of pain
Damn you, Sting. This one always gets the tear ducts damp. During all my deepest, darkest, most depressing moments, I turn to this tear-jerking tune with its beautiful metaphors and symbolism.
Divorce. Numerous girlfriend breakups. Moves to new cities. Fights. More breakups. My father’s death. This song is bizarre in the sense the melody is upbeat yet the lyrics and message couldn’t be bleaker: I will always be the king of pain.
It’s true. There are pains in life that we will truly never be able to conquer or let go of.
“The Living Years” by Mike + The Mechanics
I wasn’t there that morning When my Father passed away I didn’t get to tell him All the things I had to say
Wow. Literally, a tear is rolling down my right cheek as I type. Take out the word “morning” and insert “night” and these above lyrics are how I felt when my loving dad passed away on February 18, 1987. Regret. Unable to be there and tell him how much I love him.
This song was there throughout my grieving process. I love this line: I think I caught his spirit/later that same year. I believe we carry on our parents’ spirit to our children — or loved ones — as a sorta living sacrifice to the love we weren’t able to express during their living years.
“Don’t Let it End” by Styx
End of my sophomore year. Tracy Jenson somehow — someway — convinced my parents into letting me escape for a couple hours from my two-month grounding from drinking and smashing our family station wagon to “hang out” with her.
Yeah, we did much more than hang out. Later, she talked my parents into allowing me to go to prom. We once talked all night on the phone. She thought I would break up with her when the new school year started because she didn’t think my friends liked her. I promised her I wouldn’t. I broke up. It wasn’t because of my friends. The magic had ended.
Don’t let it end Baby, we could have so much more Don’t let it end Honey, please don’t walk out that door
Sorry, Tracy. This song makes me feel guilty about how it ended. Trust me, every time I hear this song it makes me sad about my broken promise.
“If This Is It” by Huey Lewis & The News
Summer of 1984. My girlfriend Joni Stanley thought I was hotter than an Atomic Fireball. We’d hang out every night. Movies. Cruising Main Street. Going to my baseball game. Listening to Van Halen, Billy Joel, or Huey Lewis as we partied at the river.
Then my dad broke the news we were moving from Vermillion, South Dakota to Torrance, California.
Girl don’t lie, and tell me that you need me Girl don’t cry, and tell me nothing’s wrong I’ll be alright one way or another So let me go, or make we want to stay
She had to let me go. And that had to be it. We had a final fabulous, romantic evening. Sure, we wrote to each other and made occasional phone calls. I visited the following summer, but she had moved on to Mike Vagerson, the star quarterback.
“Human” by Christina Perri
And I crash and I break down Your words in my head, knives in my heart You build me up and then I fall apart ’Cause I’m only human
This is the only song on my list that isn’t related to a particular memory. It’s the universal message about how all of us make horrible choices that impact our lives and others. This song is saying it’s okay. We all make mistakes. It’s about getting back up. Being resilient. For me, it shouts: God forgives you, will you forgive yourself? Will we learn from our mistakes or keep making the same ones?
After all, we’re only human.
Well, there you have it. There’s my go-to sad songs bound to make cry my eyes out.
Hope you enjoyed or even shed a tear with my tearjerker playlist.
I want to see your crying, sad songs list: Scot Butwell, Belcairn, Ginger Cook, Sreese, Gerald Sturgill, Klara Jane Holloway, Christopher Robin, Daniella Montage, Kirby Workes, Lu Skerdoo, The Sober Vegan Yogi, Evon, Linda Ng, MarkfromBoston 🌻Ukraine, Ira Robinson.
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Music, kissing, rain, sports and lots of humor! Michael L Butler’s writing about stuff from the heart. You can read thousands of stories and earn money writing your own stories by joining Medium for $5 a month. If you use my link I receive a small commission and can enjoy a warm cup of joe with my Western New York buddy Steve Reese.
