Songs that deliver a gut punch

[IntelligentInputDarling]

Sorry for weird title.
Just wondering if there are any songs, when heard unexpectedly, has the power to hit you in the gut and render you an emotional wreck.
I heard Separate Lives (Phil Collins/Marilyn Martin) earlier today and the emotions it brought up are still with me now.

Songs eh. Powerful stuff.

There’s loads but the ones off the top of my head are:

Chlorine - Trophy Eyes
23 - MC Lars
Sonny - New Found Glory
Believe - Yellowcard

Some of these I can’t sing out loud without choking up. And they are all years old now.

The Scientist by Coldplay was the last song I heard on the radio as I was getting ready to attend my boyfriend's funeral. I still can't listen to any iteration of it.

Clean by Taylor Swift.

Becky Hills version of forever Young gets to me. Reminds of late dh

i find it very hard to listen Ben E Kings stand by me. It was our wedding song and 3 weeks later it was played at his funeral.

Music when the lights go out - The Libertines

If I need a cathartic cry I put on "Run" by Snow Patrol to prime, followed by "What Sarah Said" by Death Cab for Cutie- which destroys and then "Fix You" by Colplay that rebuilds.

Good Luck by Basement Jaxx 'you'll always have a sneer in your smile' gets me every time 🥹

There are two songs by the Divine Comedy that absolutely floor me. One is called Our Mutal Friend , and the other is called Sunrise . Neil Hannon is a lyrical genius with a supernatural talent for storytelling. The first one has a twist at the end that made me gasp the first time I heard it, and the second is about the Good Friday Agreement and growing up during the Troubles in Northern Ireland which sounds very dry but it is incredibly moving. If you get a chance to listen and read the lyrics, give them a spin as they really draw you in.

Another song which is a bit obscure is called Into the Night by a Swedish band called The Motorhomes. It's about Laika, the dog that was sent into space in the 1950s and subsequently died of stress and overheating. It's a beautiful song with a beautiful melody and is just devastating.

Another curve ball is a 20-minute opus by Prefab Sprout, or really just Paddy McAloon, the lynchpin of the band, and it's called I Trawl the Megahertz . It's a completely mesmerising, haunting, spoken word masterpiece that sounds really pretentious when I describe it but is mysterious and melancholic and full of loss and heartbreak. Just wonderful.

Finally, Donny Hathaway's version of John Lennon's Jealous Guy . Simply the best cover version ever made. It's a one-take, live recording. Unsurpassed.

All in my humble opinion, of course.

Slipping through my fingers ….
my DD is the absolute joy of my life !
The Mamma Mia version of My love my life also has me reaching for the tissues !!

Into my arms for me too
very mixed emotions for me that one, always loved it but a friend had a beautiful rendition of it at his wedding during which time I was going through a horrible time personally in secret. But now the horrible time is over and not so raw it reminds me more of my friend's beautiful wedding so it's a happier memory.

In my life by the Beatles - my dad's favourite song and played at his funeral per his request. Gets me every time and currently it's on a bloody Christmas advert so I keep being sprung on with the sads! Lovely song though for my lovely dad.

Moments of Pleasure by Kate Bush.
The Circle Game by Joni Mitchell.
In the Ghetto by Elvis.

Bright Eyes, Slipping Through my Fingers definitely. I heard that for the first time in the Mamma Mia film in the cinema, DD1 was only three and I was pregnant with DD2 and I had to hold back huge sobs.

Wintersong - Sarah McLachlan.

And this is how I see you, in the snow on Christmas morning. Love and happiness surround you. You throw your arms up to the sky, I'll keep this moment by and by. Oh how I miss you now, Merry Christmas my love.

Doves - Kingdom of Rust
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Have you ever seen the rain (played at my dads funeral, makes be blub)
Mark Knopfler - Brothers in Arms
The Cranberries - No need to argue
Neil Young - Harvest Moon
Lord Huron - The night we met
Lauryn Hill - Ex factor
Katy Perry - Thinking of you

Lots more I am sure…

Oh yes!!! The goosebumps when the choir kicks in 😞

I am SO sorry 😔 xx

Missing You by John Waite
Always On My Mind by Pet Shop Boys
Streets of London by Ralph McTell

Runaway train
round here counting crows
tori Amos winter

Hey Jupiter tori amos
how did it end Taylor swift

Stay Another Day makes me cry since I learned it wasn't some sappy break up song, it's about losing his brother to suicide. Similar with Pink's Who Knew.

My niche one is All Dead, All Dead by Queen. I couldn't listen to it after my childhood cat died. Years later, I found out Brian May wrote about his own childhood cat!

Honestly I am sat in tears about to leave for work at this- so sorry for your loss, what a brave thing your family did and what an apt song

Neil Young Harvest Moon

I Believe in Father Christmas by Greg Lake

"I woke with a yawn at the first light of dawn - I saw him and through his disguise" the shattering of a childhood belief.

Snow patrol set the fire to the third bar
bette midler wind beneath my wings (largely because of beaches)
my girl (again the film)

End of the Summer and Wake me Up when September ends. Remind me of a very happy period in my life that's gone forever. Bittersweet.

Somewhere Only We Know
Keeping The Dream Alive
Wouldn’t It Be Good
Wild World