"I Want To Know What Love Is"-Foreigner

And did that R.E.M. song "This one goes out to the one I love" come out in the 80s, or early 90s?

Love Bites - Def Leppard~1987

'White Lightening'-Def Leppard Because it was writen about Steve.  :\'(
'Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad'-Def Leppard

They've been on VH1 Classic for the last few hours!!

Never Surrender-Corey Hart. He seems so alone in the video

pretty much all of the cure's songs. especially just like heaven... sob.
and 99 luftballoons is pretty sad too, if you think about it.

;D don't worry be happy ;D

pretty much all of the cure's songs. especially just like heaven... sob.
and 99 luftballoons is pretty sad too, if you think about it.

;D don't worry be happy ;D



hows is 99 luftballoons sad to you?

"I Want To Know What Love Is"-Foreigner

And did that R.E.M. song "This one goes out to the one I love" come out in the 80s, or early 90s?


I think it's 80's.

The Flame - Cheap Trick

Roam - B52's and Enjoy The Silence - Depeche Mode ... because they're the last songs that are truly eighties, imo.  "Take on Me" by a-ha brings me to tears too, well the video.  It's just so beautiful.  :\'(  :D

Sad songs of the 1980s?

This is all I could come up with for now...

Lonesome Loser -- Little River Band
If Only You Knew -- Patti LaBelle
A Broken Heart Can Mend -- Alexander O'Neal
You Will Know -- Stevie Wonder
Taken In -- Mike & The Mechanics
Living Inside Myself -- Gino Vannelli
Fast Car -- Tracy Chapman
If Your Heart Isn't in It -- Atlantic Starr

I definelty agree def leppard-love bites its one of my fav tunes ever but when u listen to it,it gets you down so i turn it up way loud

The Living Years by Mike and The Mechanics

Bon jovi-Hardest part is the night
Bon jovi-Only lonely
Bon jovi-Wild is the wind
Ultravox-Dancin with tears in my eyes
Scorpions-Still loving love
Scorpions-No one like you
Whitesnake-Is this love
Whitesnake-Love ain`t no stranger
Whitesnake-Now you`re gone
Alice cooper-Hell is living witout you
Heart-Alone
Heart-Nobody home

Careless Whisper - Wham (the saxophone/soap opera one); there's another one.
Who Wants to Live Forever? - Queen
Died In Your Arms - Cutting Crew

I think 10cc's I'm Not In Love was from 1975, also remade by Will 2 Power in 1991.

And Nothing Compares 2 U is generally thought of as a 1990 single, though it was written and performed by Prince in the 80s(?)before(but like Whitney's I Will Always Love You, and Elvis' Hound Dog, they've all become more suited for them than their previous performers).

What about me- Moving Pictures
I'll be Over You-Toto
All This I should have known-Breathe
Make it Real-The Jets
Can You Stop the Rain

Last Unbroken Heart-Patti LaBelle

How do you talk to an angle-Breathe

Poison-Every rose has it thorn
Cinderella-Nobody fool
Cinderella-Don`t know what you (till it`s gone)
Lita ford/Ozzy osborne-Close my eyes

The living years--definetly!!
Man in the mirror-Michael Jackson--I think of the video, plus my grandpa died the year that song was out, reminds me of that.
It must have been love-Roxette (maybe thi is early 90's)
Listen to your heart-Roxette

Boy George -To Be Reborn
Gets me every time! :\'( 

both. i really love gary jules stark cover, it's even better than the original.

I disagree. I like both versions, but I think the original is better. The newer one is sadder. It's almost like they are two different songs even though they are the same.

"Drive" by The Cars is pretty sad.

"Ocean Rain" - Echo and the Bunnymen
"Life in a Northern Town" - (Band name fails me at the moment).
"In My Room" - Yazoo
"Hounds of Love" - Kate Bush
"Girlfriend in a Coma" - Smiths
"Theme from Harry's Game" - Clannad
"Never Tear Us Apart" - INXS

"Never Tear Us Apart" - INXS

I know it wasn't released until the 90s, but the INXs song that makes me very sad, much as I love it, is "Not Enough Time", for obvious reasons. :(

"Drive" by The Cars is pretty sad.

"Ocean Rain" - Echo and the Bunnymen
"Life in a Northern Town" - (Band name fails me at the moment).
"In My Room" - Yazoo
"Hounds of Love" - Kate Bush
"Girlfriend in a Coma" - Smiths
"Theme from Harry's Game" - Clannad
"Never Tear Us Apart" - INXS



Dream Academy did Life In An Northern Town, and it is a very depressing song.

Elton John, "Empty Garden" No one can dispute that this might be the saddest song of the decade  :\'(!

But might I add Don Henley's "The End Of The Innocence", which to me often sounded like a requiem for the 80's  :(.

Your Pal,
Doc
8)

Hi guys ~ This is my first post but I love this site.   

The songs that come to mind right now I see are already covered:
Careless Whisper -Wham
I wanna know what love is -Foreigner
Sara Smile -Hall and Oates (80's)?

There are so many, though.  This is a thinker. :-\\ 

(i just) died in your arms- cutting crew  this is my favorite song. 
fastcar- tracy chapman

Hi guys ~ This is my first post but I love this site.   

The songs that come to mind right now I see are already covered:
Careless Whisper -Wham
I wanna know what love is -Foreigner
Sara Smile -Hall and Oates (80's)?

There are so many, though.  This is a thinker. :-\\ 


Oh yeah. "careless whisper"...that is really a saddo. :\'(

The End Of The Innocence is also on my list too.

Elton John, "Empty Garden" No one can dispute that this might be the saddest song of the decade  :\'(!

Your Pal,
Doc
8)


I agree Doc.  Elton John's tribute to John Lennon is definitely the saddest song in the 80s.

Major Tom (Coming Home) is an upbeat song in the beginning, but when it gets to the middle and the end of the song, it gets to be sad because when you watch the video in the end, the ending scene shows what appears to be either a piece of space wreckage or a person falling out of the sky and it's in flames. But I think the song also somewhat gave off the message is that "sometimes when you go up into space, you might never come back". But then, he had another song called "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht" that was kinda sad as well as the song was somewhat dealing with what goes on in other sides of the world...

Congratulations - Vesta

The Beautiful Ones - Prince

It's already mentioned earlier, but mine would be Chicago's Look Away.

Hands to Heaven -Breathe

"Alone"  by  "Heart"    :\'(

The Living Years by Mike and The Mechanics

Yep i'll totally agree with that one. The words could probably bring tears to even a total hard ass & were some of the sadest lyrics i remember from a chart song in the 80s. Also Mad World by Tears For Fears although the one in the Donnie Darko Sountrack had a sader vibe to it for some reason.

Faithfully-Journey. I can't listen to that without crying. (But that has to do with personal reasons, too)
This Used to be my Playground-Madonna
I'll Remember-Madonna
Memory-from Cats (I think that came out in the 80s)


Actually, I can't listen to any of these songs without crying.




Cat

Boy George -To Be Reborn
Gets me every time! :\'( 


Me too.  ;D

A few of Dreamers I will go along with (Dancing with tears in my eyes - Ultravox, Take on me - A-ha)

Together in electric Dreams - Oakey/Moroder gets to me too.

I Can't tell You why-Eagles
Holding Back the Years -Simply Red
If You dont know Me By Now-Simply Red

Good topic! Another one I thought I'd responded to but didn't. ;)

Interesting to see the replies here. I think there's a difference between sad lyrics and a sad sound - alot of lyrically depressing songs sounded happy in the 80's. Even ballads or power ballads with a "rock" or "pop" sound tended to seem more happy to me - Look Away, Missing You, etc.

Anyway, here's some of mine, mostly based on sound but lyrics too:

Suddenly - Billy Ocean
How am I Supposed to Live Without You - Laura Branigan
Didn't We Almost Have it all - Whitney Houston
Separate Lives, and "Another Day in Paradise" - Phil Collins
I Won't Hold You Back - Toto
Think of Laura - Christopher Cross
Waiting for a Girl Like You - Foreigner
True - Spandau Ballet
Can't We Try - Dan Hill (forget who he does the duet with)
Living Years - Mike & the Mechanics

I can only think of 2 that really made me sad:

Luka - Suzanne Vega (about domestic violence)
Dear Mr. Jesus - Sharon Batts (about child abuse)

These are 2 songs taht really affected me strongly.  I remember crying the first time I heard each of them.

Can't We Try - Dan Hill (forget who he does the duet with)


Vonda Sheppard :)

Songbird - Kenny G


Wait, you mean sad as in blue.......nevermind. :P

Here's one that sort of makes me sad sometimes:

Lonely in Love - Dan Fogelberg

Alphaville - Forever Young
Luba - Everytime I See Your Picture I Cry
Depeche Mode - The Things You Said, A Question Of Lust
Bangles - Following, Something To Believe In, I'll Set You Free
Cinderella - Heartbreak Station
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat, Silence Speaks A Thousand Words
Tiffany - Danny, Promises Made Promises Broken
Go-Go's - Mercenary, Worlds Away
Heart - Alone
Husker Du - Hardly Getting Over It
Jane Wiedlin - The End Of Love
Pretenders - Lovers Of Today
Prince - Sometimes It Snows In April
R.E.M. - Wendell Gee, Camera
Replacements - Here Comes A Regular, Sixteen Blue, Unsatisfied
A number of Smiths songs

I can only think of 2 that really made me sad:

Luka - Suzanne Vega (about domestic violence)


I don't know the other one you mentioned, but I concur about "Luka."  I experienced child abuse myself, and I've known other children who were abused.  It's like the narrative in the song, you know the kid's getting knocked around, but you can't do anything about it.

"Drive" by The Cars is pretty sad.

"Ocean Rain" - Echo and the Bunnymen
"Life in a Northern Town" - (Band name fails me at the moment).
"In My Room" - Yazoo
"Hounds of Love" - Kate Bush
"Girlfriend in a Coma" - Smiths
"Theme from Harry's Game" - Clannad
"Never Tear Us Apart" - INXS


"In My Room" was a teen theme for me, but "Winter Kills" is much sadder...and very haunting with just Alison Moyet's voice and piano.
"Hounds of Love" holds a lot of personal significance for me, in re: emotional brittleness and heartbreak.
For INXS, I prefer "Don't Change."  I'm not an INXS fan, but that's a great song.
I never thought "Girlfriend In A Coma" was a "sad" song, so much as a perverse song.  "Unhappy Birthday" is the saddest song on the "Strangeways" album for me, because I would bitterly remember certain ex-girlfriends on their birthdays!