Tearjerkers

• Spicey Riche +3 — 💰
• fionmul +1 — Nice strings I do love sappy country Poetry This is the type of thing that would make my mom cry and I understand every year even more
• ared56 +1
• Brad Stalcup +1 — Beautiful. Tales of enduring love always get me.
• Claire +1 — I suspected Sammy might submit this. I really do like the read where the tears are poignant but not sad
• Edward James 0 — Good Sammy pick. Didn’t get the tears, but I enjoyed it.

fionmul: “You were my best 4 years”

• Edward James +2 — This is actually the only song that made me tear up (other than my own) therefore I award 2 upvotes on principle. Anything with kids and/or the passage of time gets me good.
• Joseph Harvey +1 — Dang this got me pretty close once I read the lyrics. That’s beautiful and very sad, artfully done Taylor
• Claire +1 — Devastating
• shea nowicki +1
• fionmul 0 — This mother wrote the song with Taylor about a real little boy who passed away. Since it was mentioned - I chose the Taylor’s version because think she sounds older, and dare I say more motherly, and understands this better the older she gets.
• Regina Scime 0 — Yeah this hurt

• Brad Stalcup +2 — My dad made a playlist for me not too long before he died. Many of the songs he put on there I'd heard hundreds of times. I'd only heard this song's title used as an expression, but never the actual song. When I first heard this song on that playlist, i just about broke down. I miss my dad. None of you could have known this, but I'm grateful for whoever submitted this song.
• Edward James +1 — I’m not gonna lie, I think this is kind of a mediocre song. But, and this is subjective of course, it didn’t get me closest to crying. Reflecting on life with my own brother. Therefore, the category demands it.
• shea nowicki +1
• fionmul 0 — Beautiful. Samewise Gamgee core
• Claire 0 — The sentiment of this song is lovely but I’m just not feeling the tears. Idk, maybe that’s a me problem

• Regina Scime +3 — This one brought me the closest to tears…. Probably just where I’m at spiritually right now. St Augustine describes the ache just SO WELL
• fionmul 0 — I liked this idea a lot but the “called and shouted” part and the voice in general isn’t doing it for me But a good shout nonetheless. This prayer is always so beautiful and relatable.
• Edward James 0 — Don’t like this guy’s voice, sorry.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — I loved Gungor in high school. A shame they become eastern synchrotists

Peter Seeley: Notably NOT about the Edmund Fitzgerald.

• fionmul +1 — This is making me wish I had submitted an Irish or Scottish song sorta (I know this isn’t Irish but it’s folky) This is something like the songs my brothers play in the living room and just break your heart
• Joseph Harvey +1 — Stan is very good at this
• SamRobertsND +1
• Edward James 0 — Hadn’t heard this and it’s so good. I don’t think this is something that would make me cry, but did make me deeply reflective.
• Brad Stalcup 0 — I should probably be more moved at the sinking of a ship, but It really didn't jerk any tears from my eyes.
• Regina Scime -1 — Sorry, maybe it’s because I’m a woman but I don’t really get it

shea nowicki: Sandy Hook survivors 💔

• fionmul +1 — Ok like 🥲🥲🥲 My desire to homeschool my kids just escalated I hope I never listen to this again
• ared56 +1
• SamRobertsND +1
• Edward James 0 — If I need the context to understand why this version should be sadder, I don’t think it works. Would’ve probably gotten me if it was the Israel Kamakawiwoʻole version.
• Brad Stalcup 0 — This song gets its emotional power from the backstory, and not really the song itself.
• Claire -1 — I feel like a terrible person downvoting this but I had planned to do so before I realized who was singing it. It just feels very twee to me

Regina Scime: 🇺🇸🫡🥺

• ared56 +1
• SamRobertsND +1
• fionmul 0 — If you had written a scenario in the comments I may have considered (Military coming home videos are one thing that makes me cry without fail)
• Peter Seeley 0 — 🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡😭
• Edward James -1 — I see the vision, but didn’t work for me. Strikes me as low effort.

• Peter Seeley +3
• Claire +1 — Not sure if anyone here knows the extent to which this musical and book formed young Claire. Still gets me. (Of course my immediate thought was “oooh I wonder why this person decided to submit the Patti lupone version” bc naturally I have many takes about various casts and recordings. But I recognize that it’s probably not that deep.)
• fionmul 0 — Good pull. The Anne Hathaway one might have been better for me personally.
• Edward James 0 — This is a great example of the subjective element. Over the last few years, I don’t think I’ve ever made it through the Anne Hathaway version from the movie without crying. But this did nothing for me.
• Brad Stalcup 0 — I played in the pit orchestra for my high school's performance of Les Mis. Because they're laced with nostalgia and the general distress of moving from high school to college and the reflection that produces, these songs always have a disproportionate emotional effect on me. But objectively, this is one of the saddest songs ever written.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Just can’t get behind this performance
• Regina Scime 0 — This one gave me, Peter, Paul, and Mary vibes
• ared56 -1 — Not even a top 5 crying song in Les Mis 1. Finale 2. A little fall of rain 3. Empty Chairs at Empty Tables 4. Javert’s Suicide 5. What have I done
• Spicey Riche -1
• shea nowicki -1

Edward James: Also my runner-up for songs Regina would love

• Joseph Harvey +1 — This was hard to get through
• fionmul 0 — My high school voice teacher would play this 🥹
• Edward James 0 — The passage of time always gets me. Lord, what is man that you take notice of him; the son of man, that you think of him? Man is but a breath, his days are like a passing shadow.
• Brad Stalcup 0 — I wrote this song off when I first started listening, but man it's a beautiful carpe diem song. Plus these days anything that mentions the meaningfulness of being a father is gonna get me.
• Claire 0 — Corny as hell but I do still have a soft spot in my heart for this. At my Catholic school in the early 2000s they often had the eighth graders sing this at graduation, along with Seasons of Love from Rent

• fionmul 0 — I see the vision but idk if this would ever make me choke up
• Edward James 0 — Doesn’t do it for me, sorry.
• Claire 0 — Even if it’s not a song that’s been submitted before, Sufjan feels obvious and a bit tired for this round, sorry (and to be clear I LOVE him and this song and album)
• Brad Stalcup -1 — Too hard to decipher. Sorry.

judd.baker: This song is the backing track to my parent’s divorce in my musical imaginary, so it might not have the same effect on everybody, but something about the just-faintly-hopeful instrumentation and the sad lyrics really does it to me

• fionmul 0 — Not gonna do it for me but I didn’t dislike
• Edward James 0 — Extremely Judd coded. Again, I see the vision, but this seems like a song that would have to be dripping in subjective meaning/association. I liked it a lot though!
• Brad Stalcup 0 — kinda had a hard time deciphering the meaning of this one. Tear-jerkery was sorely hindered as a result.
• Claire 0 — As the token diy/emo enjoyer in this chat I feel like I ought to vote for this, and to be clear I do enjoy this song, but it just didn’t get me nearly as much as many other emo songs I wish I could have submitted (but which would not have been well received)
• Peter Seeley -1 — The lyrics were too mumbly too understand

• shea nowicki +1
• Edward James 0 — Richard, I respect you. One of my potential choices was Indian Sunset by Elton John. Would’ve been great if we had two songs about Native Americans written by Europeans.
• Brad Stalcup 0 — Tells an awful tale, but doesn't really jerk any tears for me.
• Peter Seeley 0 — I like this. Some what.
• fionmul -1 — The sound needs to match the lyrics for me this round
• Joseph Harvey -1
• SamRobertsND -1