Songs that make you feel sad in a good way

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Some of my favourites are:

Elton John: Nobody Wins
Elaine Paige: Memory
Queen: '39
Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
The Smiths: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
The Bee Gees: Massachusetts
Barclay James Harvest: Sea Of Tranquility
Donovan: Atlantis
R.E.M.: Nightswimming
Styx: Boat On The River
Art Garfunkel: Bright Eyes
Simon & Garfunkel: I Am A Rock
Simon & Garfunkel: The Boxer
Queen: Sail Away Sweet Sister
Peter, Paul & Mary: Puff The Magic Dragon
Shannon: Give Me Tonight
Ralph McTell: Streets Of London
Joan Baez: To Bobby
Terra Naomi: The Vicodin Song
Sting: Moon Over Bourbon Street

From your list:
Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Simon & Garfunkel: The Boxer
Peter, Paul & Mary: Puff The Magic Dragon

My list:
Elton John - Sacrifice
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven
Freedy Johnston - Bad Reputation
Garth Brooks - What She's Doing Now
The Beatles - Yesterday
R.E.M. - Everybody Hurts
Lonestar - I'm Already There
Michael Jackson - You Are Not Alone
Sarah McLachlan - Angel
Bruce Springsteen - Streets of Philadelphia

Some songs make me feel that way more due to material & style (inherent in song), others give me that reaction due to nostalgia & poignancy of time in my life when I heard these songs. First one I thought of was The Smiths ("I Won't Share You", "Unloveable", many more-and as you mention, "There is a Light...").
I'll mention some by artists you list, since I either don't know or don't have that feeling towards the specific tracks.
Elton John "Secret Garden", "Daniel"
Donovan "Colours"
R.E.M. "Untitled" (it's upbeat but reminds me of sad times) & "Hairshirt" (from "Green"), "Perfect Circle" (dunno' what album it's from)
Simon & Garfunkel "The Only Living Boy in New York" (Used to listen to the "The Boxer" over & over as a kid) "Most Peculiar Man" (about old guy living alone in apt. who dies & no one knew him). "El Condor Paso" (or "Pasa" ?) is tremulous, warbly & gets pretty intense.
Sting "Fragile" & "Little Wing"

There are oodles I could think of, which is why I tried to confine it to your suggested artists-for sake of getting this posted, rather than spending all day coming up with more.
In my mind am telling self to stop thinking of more & more... ! It's tough, now that my brain is in that associative place.
Mandalay "This Life", "Seventeen"
U2 "MLK", "The Unforgettable Fire"
The Waterboys "This is the Sea", "Sweet Thing" (cover of Van Morrison)
Aaargh ! Must think about another topic !
* Edited to fix spelling & correct a song title)

Last edited by Belfast on 08 Apr 2008, 3:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Sia - Breathe Me

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn2m3n_WXpg[/youtube]

The Last Farewell-Roger Whittaker
Bridge Over Troubled Waters-Simon and Garfunkel
Let It Be-The Beatles
The Long and Winding Road-The Beatles

No Quater Led Zepplin
Don't fear the Reaper Blue Oyster Cult.
2112 Rush
Fly by Night Rush

Jimi Hendrix - The Wind Cries Mary and All Along The Watchtower
Fishbone - Black Flowers, So Many Millions, They All Have Abandoned their Hopes
Curtis Mayfield - Freddies Dead
Parliament/Funkadelic - I'll Stay, Let Me Be, Cosmic Slop, Maggot Brain

Not in the most specific order but following at least something of a genre arc...

Alice In Chains - Down In A Hole, Shame In You, Rain When I Die (something about that central hook), Sludge Factory, at least a few others.
Faith No More - The Real Thing, Stipsearch, Last Cup Of Sorrow, Ashes To Ashes
Tool - Pushit, Eulogy, H, Stinkfist, Third Eye, various others
PWEI - Babylon, Cape Connection
Sublime - Work That We Do, Rucca, Jailhouse, Scarlet Begonias remake
Suicidal Tendencies - Nobody Hears
Dilated Peoples - Expanding Man
Pete Rock & Grand Agent - This Is What They Meant
Mobb Deep - Where's Your Heart At
Nas - Represent
Little Brother - We've Got Now (real epic beat), a few other Minstrel Show beats as well.
Fugees - Ready Or Not
Wu Tang - C.R.E.A.M.
Cypress Hill - Illusions
De La Sol - Break A Dawn
Faithless - Reverence,
Archive - almost anything Roya sings on in Londinium
Massive Attack - Group Four, Five Man Army, Teardrop, Protection
Goldie - Timeless, Angel (Loxy & Ink remix), The Calling
Grooverider - Rainbows of Colour
Jonny L - I Let U
Aphrodite & Micky Finn - Wishing On A Star
Tactile - The Mist (Klute remix)
Invaderz - You Bring Me
a few tracks on Roni Size's 98' cd, Only A Dream as well
Peshay - Piano Tune
Digital Blonde - Legato (JamX remix)

Also, I will give Dido and Sarah McLaughlin credit for what they've had on the radio in the last couple years - both definitely get it. As for anything more traditional, 70's and back - I'd have to think of it for a minute; sure there are a few.

Last edited by techstepgenr8tion on 07 Apr 2008, 10:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Almost forgot about that one, End The Reign as well.

Add to Faith No More - Chinese Arithmatic, Faster Disco, As The Worm Turns, Spirit, New Beginnings (a lot of people hated Chuck's singing but what can I say, he had good ideas).

Break Down Here - Julie Andrews
Had a Bad Day - Daniel Powter
Untitled - Simple Plan
Perfect - Simple Plan
The River - Garth Brooks
I am a Rock - Simon & Garfunkle
Don't Let Me Get Me - Pink
Family Portrait - Pink
Goodbye England's Rose (Candle in the Wind/Diana Version) - Elton John
That's Why They Call it the Blues - Elton John
My Immortal - Evanescence
Everybody's Fool - Evanescence
There You'll Be - Faith Hill

My list goes on and on. There's a lot of songs that fit this criteria, and I love music. Music is one of my main outlets.

Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Chameleons UK: paper tigers, pleasure and pain, PS: goodbye
The Church: field of mars, film, disenchanted
Dead can Dance: in power we trust the love advocated
Depeche Mode: nothing
U2: another time another place

"Now he sings, now he sobs" by Chick Corea

Most Nightwish songs, esp. Swanheart, Sleeping Sun, etc.

Icheb, I'm surprised you listed all those Queen songs, but didn't mention Bohemian Rhapsody!

Garth Brooks, the Dance

Las Palabras de Amor - Queen
For the Good Times - Perry Como
How Can I Be Sure - David Cassidy
Always on my Mind - Elvis

There are many more, but I can’t remember them all. To me, they are very poignant songs that reflected how I was feeling at that moment in time.