Great Songs To Cry To
If there's a better way to spend my time other than forcefully making myself cry via tearjerking musical marathons, I don't want to know what it is. (JK - send help.) Everyone should cry once in a while. It's cathartic and fun, even! Here's a brief guide to listening to my favorite cry jams, in…
“Only Living Boy in New York” – Simon and Garfunkel
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGDt2skie84&w=575&h=390%5D
The lyrics that make you lose it: Hey, I’ve got nothing today to do today but smile
When to listen: When feeling terminally lonely
“With or Without You” – U2
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmSdTa9kaiQ&w=575&h=390%5D
The lyrics that make you lose it: My hands are tied/She’s got me with/Nothing to win and/Nothing left to lose
When to listen: When you know that thing with that person you love is over
“Without You” – Harry Nilsson
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKqenACEPa8&w=575&h=390%5D
The lyrics that make you lose it: No I can’t forget this evening/Or your face as you were leaving/But I guess that’s just the way the story goes
When to listen: When you’re already in the middle of a sobfest and feel like amping up the waterworks
“Hallelujah” – Rufus Wainwright
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQK4YfiPj1Q&w=575&h=390%5D
The lyrics that make you lose it: Maybe I’ve been here before/I know this room, I’ve walked this floor/I used to live alone before I knew you/I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch/love is not a victory march/It’s a cold and it’s a broken hallelujah
When to listen: The first time there’s no question that your heart is broken
“All Cried Out” – Allure & 112
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WJdo-zUoeQ&w=575&h=390%5D
The lyrics that make you lose it: Apology not accepted/add me to the broken hearts you’ve collected
When to listen: When you’re kind of just joking about being upset but secretly hope that you’ll shed a few tears
“The Reason Why” – Rachel Yamagata
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuQvja_t1FY&w=575&h=390%5D
The lyrics that make you lose it: So, steal the show, and do your best/To cover the tracks that I have left/I wish you well and hope you find/Whatever you’re looking for
When to listen: When ambition has torn something apart
“The Greatest Love of All” – Whitney Houston
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYzlVDlE72w&w=575&h=390%5D
The lyrics that make you lose it: I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone’s shadows/If I fail, if I succeed/At least I live as I believe/No matter what they take from me/They can’t take away my dignity
When to listen: LOL. I’m sorry for including this song, but I think it’s great for crying when you’re down on yourself and feel like whatever you’re doing isn’t enough and you just need Momma Whitney to be like, “You can do it, girl!” Uh… maybe that’s just me.
“Year of the Cat” – Al Stewart
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM7LR46zrQU&w=575&h=390%5D
The lyrics that make you lose it: But the drum-beat strains of the night remain/In the rhythm of the new-born day/You know sometime you’re bound to leave her/But for now you’re going to stay/In the year of the cat
When to listen: When you’ve lost control and think that something beautiful can fix it
“Graceland” – Paul Simon
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvliMzAFWHM&w=575&h=390%5D
The lyrics that make you lose it: She comes back to tell me she’s gone/As if I didn’t know that, as if I didn’t know my own bed/As if I’d never noticed the way she brushed her hair from her forehead/She said, “Losing love is like a window in your heart/Everybody sees you’re blown apart/Everybody feels the wind blow.”
When to listen: When you realize that heartbreak can be carried around in the daylight 
