It was a sad song that he played. He knew it by heart and played it often. It’s funny how we find joy playing a sad song and sometimes it’s not the words. It is the tender notes played with hands that have seen the world, yet for tonight just close your eyes and let the song heal your soul.
Often sad songs seem to be the soundtrack of our lives. We hear them in the back of our minds on a rainy day. What better pairing could you have than an open window, steady slow rain and a sad song in the background? Maybe we could mix in some hot coffee and a knock on the door, your loved one asking if you want to take a walk in the rain or sit by the window and embrace the melancholy of the day.
I find inspiration in the sad songs. They stir images in my mind and inspire stories of lost friends or maybe even a love found. I see images of a lonely café, two people sitting at empty tables staring out the window seeing nothing but hearing what is written in their hearts and yet there is sadness when you sit together after a long day, taking a moment to acknowledge the many years of love shared. It is a peaceful sadness mixed with contentment and a bit of joy. It is possible to feel both the sadness and the joy. The joy that we shared for so many years mixed with the sadness that there are fewer years left.
Many years ago, I was walking the backstreets of Charleston just off the Battery. I always loved the cobblestone streets, the history and stories they hold. I had just been in a house that had a string quartet playing and the music was so touching that I decided to walk alone for a while. In the distance from an open upstairs window, I could hear Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues playing.
The song touched me so powerfully that I sat down on the sidewalk and listened. When the song ended there was a moment of silence then it played again. I was unable to get up and I wondered why they were playing this song over and over. Who was that person and what was happening to them? Were they sad and embracing the music or was it just a pretty song playing from an open window on a beautiful Spring morning?
It was a sad song that he played. He knew it by heart and played it often. It’s funny how we find joy playing a sad song and sometimes it’s not the words. It is the tender notes played with hands that have seen the world. For tonight just close your eyes and let the song heal your soul and just for tonight embrace the sad songs played in the last hours of the night.
Point Of View
I think we often turn to sad songs because they push some internal button that makes us reflect upon our day or life. It is always good to look inside and take an inventory of ourselves.
Sad songs are powerful triggers that touch many of our closely guarded emotions. Perhaps we should embrace the sad songs for a moment and listen to the tender notes knowing within them lays great beauty and maybe even joy.
In the end, we must step away from the piano and walk outside and rejoice in the new day. We will always feel sadness, yet sadness can point us toward joy for in life we need a balance of both.
I often wonder why we listen to sad music. It reaches deep into our soul and opens doors that we seem to keep locked. We seem to pause when we hear sad haunting music. We can’t turn away. It enchants us with its melody and can bring tears to our eyes, yet we still listen. Perhaps by allowing the music to reach our sadness and pain, we may be released from its hold on our spirit. We are set free to ride the rhythm of the music, it’s lows and highs, it’s joy and sorrow. Let us embrace the music and its sadness for in the end, we will know joy from having heard it.
Larry, you really hit on something when you talk about sad songs. Sad songs don’t always make you feel worse but instead, they can make you feel like they are being sung to you by somebody who understands you and what you are feeling. Sad songs seem to be more poetic with beautiful melodies. The late Leonard Cohen was a master of this as was Phil Ochs in the last years of his tragic life. “So turn ’em on, turn ’em on
Turn on those sad songs
When all hope is gone
Why don’t you tune in and turn them on”-Sad Songs-Elton John
Nights In White Satin is one of my favorite Moody Blues songs. Ray Thomas’s flute work was incredible.
Larry, you touched many “musical notes” with your message. Over the last 45 years of traveling across the world on humanitarian projects, I have learned to ‘understand & “like’ all music, though I do have my personal preferences. I am a guitarist and an accordionist. My music was influenced by the good old ‘radio’ –( oh yes, I am ancient aren’t I?, the Oldies & Goldies, BUT, I have observed that for most people, listening to music – even music expressing negative emotions like sadness or anger – can be an effective way to deal with their emotions. Sadness is, after all, a healthy emotion to experience in response to sad events in our lives. Pharrell Williams might be the last thing I feel like listening to when I am feeling low, but finding music that connects me with happy times in my life or that emphasizes positive messages could be just what I need to renew my energy & help me cope better. Wonderful to realize that there are different music to any and all of our “moods’
Thank you my friend
There is a particular musician I love that is renowned for sad music … commenting on this during one of his performances recently he said that he is naturally a very happy person … probably because he manages to pour all his sadness out through his music.
Great add on thank you
As I read your article, Larry, I remember a time in my life in my late teens when I thought my heart was broken forever. I played all the saddest country love songs I had in my collection. Of course, I’d start out feeling sad and within minutes I was sobbing as if the world would never be right again.
Now, looking back, I ask the question, Why do we play sad songs when we’re already sad? Is it some unacknowledged desire to torture ourselves? Or does it make us feel good to know that even in a song someone else experienced the pain and anguish we’re going through?
Well put my friend. At one point in my life I listen to Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton. Not that I was sad but that the song was so sad yet so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes. It reached deep within my heart and made me feel. Sometimes feeling that deep even sad beauty made me feel alive.
I will now have to find that song by Eric Clapton. Sounds beautiful because it had that effect on you. Thanks for sharing, Larry.
My pleasure let me know how you like it.