Catharsis for babies, I guess??

August 11, 2012 8:22 PM

Sad songs for toddlers

My toddlers are in a phase in which they like sad songs. Their current favorite is the second verse of "You Are My Sunshine" (the other night, dear/while I lay sleeping/I dreamt I held you in my arms/when I awoke, dear/I was mistaken/and I hung my head down and cried), and now they want more songs like that. I'm not looking for anything too complex or super dark, but I would love to have a few more songs in the same vein. Any ideas?

posted by LittleMissCranky to media & arts (88 answers total)

I had to stop singing "Dream a Little Dream of Me" to our son when he was about three because it made him cry (not because of my singing!).
posted by Sweetie Darling at 8:26 PM on August 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

My girls have loved that song since toddlerhood too! They learned it from one of Elizabeth Mitchell's albums of folk songs for kids, and most of her stuff is quiet and sweet in a sort of plaintive way (she even manages to make "The Ladybugs' Picnic" sort of sad).

Another song that was a favorite at that time was the Beach Boys' "Sloop John B", which isn't necessarily sad, but has a certain tinge of bummer to it. And the Beatles' "She's Leaving Home" is another one they loved, and it's very funny to hear little kids sing it.
posted by padraigin at 8:27 PM on August 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

OMG, definitely the song from Follow That Bird when Big Bird is painted blue. My sisters and I used to bawl on command when that song came on. It still makes me sad, and it's definitely aimed at exactly their demographic. "I'd Like To Visit the Moon" is also a sort of saddish song. I don't think it's really sad, but it's poignant.

As a small child I thought the second movement of Beethoven's 7th symphony was almost unbearably sad. YMMV.
posted by town of cats at 8:27 PM on August 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, and I think "Rainbow Connection" is kind of sad, in a sort of optimistic way.
posted by padraigin at 8:29 PM on August 11, 2012 [7 favorites]

I remember my parents explaining the context of the end of "I'll be Home for Christmas" ("If only in my dreams") to me -- the concept of someone being away at war and not being able to come home -- to me when I was around that age.
posted by brainmouse at 8:31 PM on August 11, 2012

Puff, the magic dragon
posted by Cuspidx at 8:34 PM on August 11, 2012 [12 favorites]

"Ain't no sunshine when she's gone".
posted by Michele in California at 8:34 PM on August 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

My first thought was Rainbow Connection. Also, Adele's Someone Like You. There's a youtube out there of this adorable toddler singing the words.

As a toddler, I also LOVED Copacabana, which is dark and silly and dramatic but upbeat. ("Her name was woa-wuh. She was a shwoo-guwl... Wiff yeller feffers in her haih and a dwess-cuttown-to-dere!")
posted by mochapickle at 8:39 PM on August 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

We'll Meet Again.
posted by Lorin at 8:40 PM on August 11, 2012

Puff, the magic dragon
This made me cry so hard when I was a little girl. And maybe still as a grown-ass woman.

"Clementine" was another sad song I liked when I was little, though the other verses are straight up about Clementine dying. If I had a toddler, I'd let them listen to it, but YMMV.
posted by peacrow at 8:40 PM on August 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

My Darling Clementine
posted by otherwordlyglow at 8:40 PM on August 11, 2012

It is not exactly music for children, per se, but my daughter likes me to sing this song by Neutral Milk Hotel. She asks me for the Daddy Please song all the time.
posted by fancyoats at 8:41 PM on August 11, 2012 [5 favorites]

Another: My Grandfather's Clock. Another about death, I suppose, but I remember my younger brother really liking it as a toddler, because it was so sad.
posted by peacrow at 8:44 PM on August 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

Seconding and giving a kid-friendly video: Liza does Copa Cabana on The Muppet Show
posted by Michele in California at 8:47 PM on August 11, 2012 [5 favorites]

Rolf Harris made me cry repeatedly with this one.
posted by b33j at 8:52 PM on August 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

My three year old likes me to sing "Lullaby of Birdland" and "Love Me or Leave Me" partly, I think, because of the references to loneliness and crying.
posted by milk white peacock at 8:55 PM on August 11, 2012

Also, "Little Drummer Boy". I used to watch the movie every year at Christmas as a child and cry my eyes out. I looked forward to it. But it is also just a song.
posted by Michele in California at 9:07 PM on August 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

When I was little, maybe 7 or 8, I used to beg (BEG) my stepmom to sing this one, the lyrics of which you can find here. It is awfully dark, though, in a funny/satirical way.
posted by fancyoats at 9:07 PM on August 11, 2012

Oh my darlin' Clementine?
posted by TallulahBankhead at 9:11 PM on August 11, 2012

The version of "Blue Christmas" in "The Year without a Santa Claus" slayed me as a little kid.

Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World" made me sad, because of the "when one of us is gone, and one of us is left to carry on" line. But that death part might be too dark for you.

And Puff the Magic Dragon, still. Still..
posted by ladygypsy at 9:11 PM on August 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby
posted by Grandysaur at 9:13 PM on August 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

My kids (5 and under) like sad Johnny Cash songs. And Shady Grove is our family's all-time favorite (lyrics are not sad, but the tune is ancient sounding). Pancho and Lefty is another good one. We like Eddy Arnold's "Cattle Call" album, too.

You should start them on some poetry.
posted by katyh at 9:15 PM on August 11, 2012

Little Child was a song that used to make me bawl as a kid.

Tell me, please, Daddy dear
Is the world really round
Tell me where is the
Bluebird of happiness bound

Tell me why is the sky
Up above so blue
And when you were a child
Did you daddy tell you

What becomes of the sun
When it falls in the sea
And who lights it again
Bright as bright can be

Tell me why can't I fly
Without wings through the skies
Tell me why, daddy dear
Are there tears in your eyes

Little one, little one
Yes, the world's really round
And the bluebird you search for
Will surely be found

And the sky up above
Is so blue and clear
So that you see the bluebird
If it should come near

And the sun doesn't fall
When it slips out of sight
All it does is make way
For the moon's pretty light

And if children could fly
There'd be no need for birds
And I cry, little one
Cause I'm touched by your words

Don't be sad, daddy dear
If it's true the world's round
I will search round the world
Til the bluebird is found

Little one, there is no need
To wander too far
For what you really seek
Is right here where you are

Show me where, daddy dear
And here's what I'll do
I will take the dear bluebird
And give it to you

Dear, the bluebird's the love
In your heart, pure and true
And I found it the day
Heaven blessed me with you
posted by a humble nudibranch at 9:18 PM on August 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Kids don't need sadness, but they can safely encounter a little melancholy. All the media made for kids is completely happy, which is why it feels so cloying and saccharine to grown ups. Kids can safely experience feelings other than being thrilled out of their minds.

"[It's Not Easy] Bein' Green?"

I love this video of David Wechsler (from the essential, and occasionally melancholy Brooklyn band "Pinataland,") singing a lovely lullaby about some brutal killers to a pre-lingual niece. But probably not appropriate for a kid who understands English.
posted by Sunburnt at 9:19 PM on August 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

I think it's perfectly healthy for children to enjoy sad music, and luxuriate in the feeling of being sad. I know plenty of small children who are never exposed to anything sad or scary, because there's a cultural moment going on where all children's entertainment is just a little too even-keeled, and I think they're missing out. It's healthy to stretch your emotional muscles before you really need them to process real-life sadness or pain. This is part of why we tell children stories at all.
posted by town of cats at 9:39 PM on August 11, 2012 [12 favorites]

Exposing wee ones voluntarily to sadness at this stage is kinda unnecessary. Really.

I disagree, I think kids like to roleplay emotions and it's very healthy for them to learn how emotion is expressed in different media.
posted by padraigin at 9:41 PM on August 11, 2012 [10 favorites]

13. Horses. It's about some horses who drown in the ocean thinking that if they wait long enough they'll be rescued
posted by spunweb at 9:41 PM on August 11, 2012

Cats in the Cradle
posted by the twistinside at 9:54 PM on August 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Tom Dooley was one of my darker childhood favorites
John Brown's Body is sort of uplifting but about a dead body. Points for easy singability.
I'm so lonesome I could cry
posted by rmless at 10:09 PM on August 11, 2012

Peter Paul and Mary's "A Soalin", which I learned as a kid as "Hey Ho Nobody Home". This is the best version I could find on youtube. (Also, it'll teach them how to sing a round!)
posted by Angharad at 10:23 PM on August 11, 2012

Kermit The Frog sings "It's not easy bein green," and the (supposedly hopeful but sad-sounding) "Rainbow Connection."
posted by slidell at 10:35 PM on August 11, 2012

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean
posted by snorkmaiden at 10:40 PM on August 11, 2012

A lot of kids songs are sad! I was just thinking today about Go Tell Aunt Rhoda and how it made me cry when we sang it in preschool. Also Rockabye Baby, yipes!

I don't remember the Follow That Bird song in particular, but that movie freaked me out so the song is probably sad!
posted by radioamy at 10:56 PM on August 11, 2012

Blackbird by The Beatles has a nice melancholic feeling to it.
posted by h00py at 10:58 PM on August 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Peter Paul and Mommy is full of mournful toddler goodness.
posted by Wordwoman at 11:00 PM on August 11, 2012

Cat's in the Cradle.

Careful though, it's a powerful one that can really click with a kid. Sing at your own discretion.
posted by Saydur at 11:07 PM on August 11, 2012

Go Tell Aunt Rhody and the Skye Boat Song.
posted by expialidocious at 11:14 PM on August 11, 2012

When I was preschool age a family friend made me a tape of folk music - side A was upbeat and side B was slower and more melancholy. I loved that B side to bits. My stand-out favorite was Lemon Tree to throw another one on the Peter Paul and Mary pile.

Also: Leaving on a Jet Plane
posted by Atalanta at 11:40 PM on August 11, 2012

My favorite melancholy song for kids is What Falls in the Fall? by Laurie Berkner.
posted by haykinson at 12:03 AM on August 12, 2012

The Streets Of Laredo
posted by various at 12:13 AM on August 12, 2012

Our Dog Is Getting Older Now Jonathan Richman
posted by Trivia Newton John at 12:18 AM on August 12, 2012

I loved Shenandoah as 3-4 year old. I sang the "Skye Boat Song" and "Wild Mountain Thyme" to my own sons as babies.
posted by angiep at 12:24 AM on August 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

The saddest, most depressing Beatles songs for me are "For No One" and "Yes It Is." Musically, they're pleasant and delicate, but the vocals and lyrics... oof.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 12:34 AM on August 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

When I was very small my mother used to sing me "Have you ever been lonely" -

Have you ever been lonely
Have you ever been blue
Have you ever loved someone
Who didn't love you

(Weirdly, I just googled the lyrics and they seem to be slightly different: "Have you ever loved someone / the way I love you". Which means my mother's version was... even sadder.)
posted by meronym at 12:34 AM on August 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

Morning Dew
About half of all the Richard Thompson songs I ever heard.
Tomorrow Wendy by Concrete Blonde
Twinstar by Veruca Salt
Benjamin by Veruca Salt
posted by Bruce H. at 1:17 AM on August 12, 2012

Goodnight, Irene - some verses might be a bit heavy, so choose your version accordingly.
posted by knile at 1:28 AM on August 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I remember thinking "You Are My Sunshine" was terribly sad when I was a kid. For Disney songs (that might be too sad but your kid will probably see the movies if they haven't already) "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story and "Baby Mine" from Dumbo.
posted by GadgetryOwl at 2:28 AM on August 12, 2012

The Sherman Brothers' Feed the Birds (from Mary Poppins.)
posted by usonian at 4:09 AM on August 12, 2012

Nthing Puff. It always bothered me when Puff mourned Jackie Paper.

My son as a toddler always reacted strongly to Somebody Come and Play.
posted by plinth at 4:10 AM on August 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Tennessee Waltz? The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze?
posted by mskyle at 4:30 AM on August 12, 2012

My boys ask for Okkervil River's Black Sheep Boy all the time. They love the "here's to Cheshire, here's to cheese" version of Froggy Went A Courtin' that Pete Seeger sings that ends with the bloody deaths of Miss Mousie and Uncle Rat. Also seconding My Grandfather's Clock and Shenandoah.
posted by weezetr at 4:52 AM on August 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

OMG. "Baby Mine" from Dumbo cannot be watched by me to this day. Just can't handle it.

Funny how some songs get inside you and their effect never diminishes after decades and decades. Is the trigger the music? what brings those strong emotions back to the surface with such immediacy? I would love to learn more about exactly what goes in the ol' noggin when these buttons get pushed.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:58 AM on August 12, 2012

Five Little Ducks - lyrics/song. Rock-a-bye baby also creeps me out. My husband has a version of Five Little Ducks he is now forbidden to play which has a sad acoustic guitar setting and by the end, the Mama Duck is left alone and It Is Very Sad. You can see a similar youtube video here which I am assured is hilarious but leaves me in tears. The baby just ignores them.
posted by viggorlijah at 5:00 AM on August 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nthing those early Sesame Street songs Like Somebody Come and Play that had that plaintive quality. Old school Sesame Street didn't feel the need to oversweeten everything and as a kid I looked forward to the occasional cloud in the sky, musically speaking.

Kids want to experience those feelings in a safe way. It's like coming home to a warm, well-lit house when you've stayed outside playing too long and it's getting dark and you're cold and starting to get just a bit worried.The reaffirmation of comfort and security.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 5:03 AM on August 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I used to love singing Where Have All The Flowers Gone.
posted by heatherann at 5:26 AM on August 12, 2012

My kids love Me and little Andy by Dolly Parton, Scarlet Ribbons (actually, grab any bloody Irish folk album, they are all depressing but lilting) and The Last Farewell (also sung by Elvis, if that is your thing). Surprisingly, I am Stretched on your grave is considered by them too be a little too morbid.
posted by saucysault at 5:27 AM on August 12, 2012

Seasons in the Sun.
posted by Tanizaki at 5:29 AM on August 12, 2012

Nthing Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks!

My sisters told me two lies about that song: that he really died, and that it was Mack Davis.
posted by vitabellosi at 5:40 AM on August 12, 2012

Almost any song by the Carpenters.

Rainy Days and Mondays
Goodbye to Love
Superstar

We used to listen and sing to these songs all the time as kids - I knew all the words by the time I was like 6 (though I didn't really realize how depressing the songs were until much later!).
posted by raztaj at 5:58 AM on August 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ready the Kleenex: the Cat Carol.
posted by Cuke at 6:04 AM on August 12, 2012

Inchworm, as sung by Jonathan Lithgow.
posted by tilde at 6:12 AM on August 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I never loved you - Willy Nelson
Counting flowers on the wall - Statler brothers
Blue skies - Willy Nelson
California Dreamin
Everyone knows its windy
posted by tilde at 6:16 AM on August 12, 2012

When I sing "500 miles" in the car, my 4-year-old tells me "That's a sad song, mommy!"
posted by belladonna at 6:29 AM on August 12, 2012

Already mentioned, but here is the music - "My Grandfather's Clock".
posted by procrastination at 6:29 AM on August 12, 2012

Bad Day by Barenaked Ladies off their children's album 'Snacktime'. The best part is it is written for kids with lyrics they can relate to.
posted by pixlboi at 6:40 AM on August 12, 2012

My dad used to sing Sweet Baby James to me. I still get choked up when I hear it.
posted by coppermoss at 6:56 AM on August 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bye Bye Love by the Everly Brothers is one of the earliest songs I remember hearing/singing. You'd think it'd be happy from the tempo, but no not at all.
posted by ActionPopulated at 6:58 AM on August 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Some of John Denver's songs.
"Imagine"
Some of Simon and Garfunkle's songs.
"Fire and Rain"
posted by a robot made out of meat at 7:41 AM on August 12, 2012

Billy Joel - Lullabye Goodnight, My Angel.
posted by humph at 8:23 AM on August 12, 2012

Poor Little Fool or Lonesome Town-- Ricky Nelson
posted by luckynerd at 8:35 AM on August 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

My mom sang a number of very sad songs to me, and it made me very sad and happy at the same time. Now that I look over it, it's a pretty country list.

"Jolene," Dolly Parton (no, I had no idea what this could mean -- I remember wondering -- but I always had to hear it)
"I Never Will Marry"
"Ghost Riders in the Sky"
"Cool Water" (more unsettling than sad)

Also "The Minstrel Boy," in a version I can't find right now, probably Planxty.
posted by Countess Elena at 9:04 AM on August 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

If the religious content isn't a problem, The Unicorn (Unicorns were too busy playing to get on Noah's ark so they all drowned, which is why there are no unicorns anymore...)
posted by platypus of the universe at 9:22 AM on August 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sugar Mountain by Neil Young
posted by Alison at 9:34 AM on August 12, 2012

"In the Pines," "I'll Fly Away," "I Never Will Marry" -- pretty much anything the Kossoy Sisters recorded (but, you know, murder ballads may too dark)

"Lavender's Blue," which isn't actually too sad, but may still work

"Maybe," from Annie

"Castle on a Cloud," from Les Mis

"Talkin' Like You," by Connie Converse
posted by inging at 9:57 AM on August 12, 2012

Gonzo's campfire song, "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday" from The Muppet Movie.

(I watched this with a roomful of folks in college and was getting verklempt when this very flamboyant gay guy said, "Well, that's just the saddest fucking song I ever heard!" Started laughing as well as crying, but I still can't quite get through that song.)
posted by dlugoczaj at 10:32 AM on August 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

Luka Bloom's version of Sunny Sailor Boy (originally by Mike Scott) always makes me weepy.

Christy Moore - Black is the Color
and with Shane MacGowan - A Pair of Brown Eyes (might want to change the "so, drunk to hell, I left the place" line when you sing it)
posted by Lexica at 10:46 AM on August 12, 2012

Oh god, "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday" never fails. Adding Ernie's weepy masterpiece "I Don't Want To Live On The Moon."

Why are the Muppets so good at this?
posted by troublewithwolves at 3:44 PM on August 12, 2012

Wooden Soldier by Hank Locklin was one of my favorites as a kid (it was in a stack of my Mom's 45s that I used to play). The rhythm was catchy and the lyrics about a toy soldier being separated from his "girlfriend", a clay doll, used to make me tear up.

In the same vein, Kaw-Liga also used to make me cry as a kid, but I loved it and played it over and over.
posted by Oriole Adams at 5:24 PM on August 12, 2012

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
"Danny Boy"
"Tonight You Belong to Me" (the version from The Jerk is very sweet and melancholy)
and for the winter, The Pretenders' "2000 Miles"

And oh, yes, "Puff the Magic Dragon." I remember crying when I listened to this song as a kid.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 5:28 PM on August 12, 2012

Gordon Lightfoot is your man for sad
"The Way I Feel Is Like A Robin" (whose babes have flown, to come no more)

and to return them to glad
"The Pony Man"
posted by Scurvy Little Spider at 7:48 PM on August 12, 2012

The Ballad of Chicken Soup
posted by SisterHavana at 9:39 PM on August 12, 2012

amazing grace?
posted by pyro979 at 6:13 AM on August 13, 2012

My toddler daughter is a great fan of "Stand By Me", which isn't unalloyed sadness but which is certainly coming from a dark place.
posted by roystgnr at 9:55 AM on August 13, 2012

Here's a Spotify playlist I put together for my daughter which may have a number of tracks that fit the bill:

http://open.spotify.com/user/chillster76/playlist/3JKE6UXK1yfwpZl149rKIs

Tracklisting:

Mara Carlyle – All Will Be Well
Abigail Washburn – Bring Me My Queen
Lucas Santtana – Hold Me in
Abigail Washburn – Bright Morning Stars
Emmylou Harris – Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby - Soundtrack Version (O Brother, Where Art Thou?)
James Yorkston – Woozy With Cider - Jon Hopkins Remix
Steve Moore – Feel The Difference
Diving – The Waltz
Shigeru Umebayashi – Yumeji's theme
Kate & Anna McGarrigle – Over the Hill
David Sylvian – Orpheus
Laura Marling – What He Wrote
John Martyn – Solid Air
Claude Debussy – Suite Bergamasque
The National Duduk Ensemble of Armenia – Mah Qaj Vordun (Death of a Brave Son)
Fay Hield – Little Yellow Roses
Raymond Scott – Sleepy Time
Devendra Banhart – Inaniel
Eliza Carthy – The Nightingale / For Kate
Joni Mitchell – A Case Of You
Ewan McLennan – A Man's A Man
Pat Metheny – Cherish
Caetano Veloso – Get Out Of Town
Boulanger, Lili [Composer] – Boulanger: Nocturne
Fionn Regan – Dogwood Blossom
Bon Iver – Holocene
Jono McCleery – The Gymnopedist
Bella Hardy – The Herring Girl
Martin Simpson – Bold General Wolfe
Nina Simone – Don't Smoke In Bed
Kidnap Alice – Mother May Be
Charlie Parr – Midnight Has Come & Gone
The Unthanks – Starless
Yo La Tengo – Green Arrow
Jon Brion – Theme - Score
Air – Highschool Lover
posted by chill at 10:15 AM on August 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think this thread will help me put together "Music for Eleanor Vol.2"!
posted by chill at 10:23 AM on August 13, 2012

Not all of the songs on it are super sad, but Melancholy Baby Me loved the compilation Stay Awake.
posted by quatsch at 12:03 PM on August 14, 2012

Just feel the need to jump in and add the Ingrid Michaelson cover of Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread). (I think is the original title of the song when it was given to Elvis, don't recall what title he used) It's very calm and sweet and mellow.
posted by orumi at 11:58 PM on August 14, 2012

I put about 90%) of these into a Spotify platlist for my own pleasure, it's here: http://open.spotify.com/user/chillster76/playlist/5uGCWaDgiEgd2UkdzdpIoY

I'm now in a very maudlin mood as a result.
posted by chill at 3:01 AM on August 18, 2012 [1 favorite]