5 songs that may make you cry for whatever reason

Have you ever been so genuinely moved by a piece of music that moisture vacates your tear ducts and you suddenly come down with a temporary case of the sniffles? No? Really?! Then you must be made of stone.

Definitely not drawing from personal experience on this one, I have dug through the archives to find songs that have driven… others to tears. Whether this is down to the music being so beautiful/bad/melodic/perfect, it doesn’t matter. It may even be down to a song that takes you back to a time when all you ever did was cry – it may not even be a depressing song.

Oh, and I refuse to choose ‘Hero’ by Enrique Iglesias, purely because it would be too obvious. Other songs that didn’t quite make the cut are ‘Exogenesis Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)’ by Muse, ‘One Blood’ by Terence Jay, ‘Hoppipolla’ by Sigur Ros, 'Now We Are Free' from Gladiator, and the ending to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen, yes, the “Oooh yeah, oooh yeah” part and after.

1) Hard-Fi – Move On Now

I have always had a fond taste for the piano ballad, but that was not an area of music that indie-lads Hard-Fi were particularly known for spearheading. Their Clash-inspired post-punk-indie anthems were accustomed to big stages during their heydays of 2006-2008, when they had festival crowds in the palm of their hand. This song though, while not played live on a piano (due to lack of one onstage), should just be saved for record. A beautiful, moving piece that talks of a clichéd romance that once was, and no longer shall be.

Album: Stars of CCTV

You may also like: Aqualung – Strange & Beautiful

2) Thomas Newman – Any Other Name

Taken from the soundtrack to the hugely successful American Beauty film, the incredibly talented Newman wrote this specifically for it, but it has since been whored out to many other television programmes and movies to use in montages, and it is among the most recognised pieces of film music to this date. Why will it make you cry? Stick this on your iPod, go outside alone, and listen to this on a clear autumn day with the leaves blowing in the wind. It made me reminisce, and made me realise the simple beauties in life (no, really…).

Album: American Beauty: Original Motion Picture Score

You may also like: Adele – Hometown Glory

3) Feeder – Suffocate

Emerging from the backbone of American grunge music, Feeder started off as a hard-rock trio with a vengeance. Dubbed by critics as “Britain’s answer to The Smashing Pumpkins”, it was clear that on songs like ‘Tangerine’ and ‘High’ that they weren’t kidding. ‘Suffocate’ however, takes it down a notch with heartfelt falsetto vocals and clear acoustic melodies. It takes me back to when I bought their greatest hits album (still, in my opinion, the best compilation album I own), and would listen endlessly to these songs in the summer during and after my GCSE’s.

Album: Polythene

You may also like: The Courteeners – Cameo Brooch

4) Jeff Buckley – Corpus Christi Carol (For Roy)

A pioneer for high-voiced singing men worldwide, Buckley’s premature death left a saddening stain on the music industry. Grace was without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest albums of the 90’s; written with such emotion that Buckley conveys perfectly. This song sticks out for me though due to the way his voice works with the guitar chords; it’s brilliant. It may be a cover, but that other cover that he did (do you really need me to tell you it’s ‘Hallelujah’, the greatest cover of all time?) could easily be included on this list too. Buy this album NOW if you don’t own a copy.

Album: Grace

You may also like: Muse – Soldier’s Poem

5) Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees

It’s a shame that Radiohead couldn’t stick to what they do best: alternative Brit-rock. Nowadays I’m not too keen on the In Rainbows/The King of Limbs stuff, but good luck to them and all that, and I guess Thom Yorke is the type who wants to always change what he does. The lyrics, a product of Yorke’s thoughts at the current time, were mostly gibberish. He performed three takes of the song, and then cried afterwards, according to Jonny Greenwood. I chose this because of how atmospheric it is, and the way it showcases how this band can swerve away from their earlier grunge work and play an acoustic song so well. Oh, it can make you take out your Kleenexes too (take that comment as you wish…).

Album: The Bends

You may also like: The Verve – The Drugs Don’t Work