Cry, Cry, Cry

Do any songs make you cry?

I'm not talking about sad songs, though many labeled as such certainly can be tear-inducing; they're designed that way. But for every "Tell Laura I Love Her," it seems like there are a gajillion songs that make me cry for NO GOOD REASON.

And it's often not the song -- it's one line in the song.

I was listening to A Way With Words on my iPod the other day and a caller talked about an abrupt emotional reaction -- bursting into tears -- she had to seeing a painting in France. Turns out, there's a term for this emotional response to art that manifests itself physically: the Stendhal syndrome.

I've got a mini-version of the Stendhal syndrome going on here. Lines of songs that are in no way sad just get me, and I am powerless to prevent the catch in my throat or the tears welling in my eyes. This would be poignant if the songs weren't so ... not sad.

Some examples of lines that make me involuntarily tear up:

"In a big country, dreams stay with you." (In a Big Country, Big Country)

"And if I tread upon your feet, you just say so." (The Captain, Kasey Chambers)

"For the life of me, I cannot remember what made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise." (The Freshmen, the Verve Pipe)

"I don't know where my home is; I don't know where my soul is." (I'm Like A Bird, Nelly Furtado)

"'Steada treated we get tricked; 'steada kisses we get kicked." (It's a Hard Knock Life, "Annie" soundtrack)

"Where you lead I will follow anywhere that you tell me to." (Gilmore Girls theme song, Carole King)

"Cowboy take me away." Actually, this whole song brought me to tears the first time I heard it six years ago, in (har-har) Cowboy's pickup on a vacation with him to New Mexico and Colorado before I moved to Kansas and married him. I actually like the Dixie Chicks -- they're way more authentic and talented than typical top 40 country -- but seriously, how cliche can you get?

"It's been one week since you looked at me." (One Week, Barenaked Ladies) Again, pretty much the whole song. What's up with THAT?

"I feel so broke up, I wanna go home." (Sloop John B, Beach Boys) This song has been making me teary since I was four.

"Well go on down to Jackson, go ahead and wreck your health." (Jackson, Johnny Cash and June Carter) The significance of this line is that it's where June comes in for the first time. Her voice, so strong and animated. Tears.

"I'll share them all for a cup of coffee, and to wear your ring." (Anniversary Song, Cowboy Junkies) I guess this one makes sense, huh?

"Look around you, look up here." (Lady, Little River Band)

"I loved you, and then I lost you, and I will never be the same." (I Will Never Be the Same, Melissa Etheridge) What's interesting about this entry on the list is that A) I'm not a fan of Melissa Etheridge, and B) at the time I first heard this song circa 1991, I had hardly loved nor lost anyone, and certainly not to the point where I was irrevocably changed. The song was in the mediocre Winona Ryder movie "Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael" and I searched high and low for a copy of it for quite a while. I ended up having to wait four years until she released it -- a different version, sadly -- on "Yes I Am."

"All I ever wanted to do was lie around in bed with you ... I was only nineteen." (Nineteen, Old 97's) This is the only song from my favorite band that makes this list, mind you, which is a bit embarrassing, as it was their biggest radio hit.

Imagine if I made a mix CD of just these songs? Horrifying.

I know I'll think of more as soon as I hit "post," but I'm going to stop typing simply so I can stop crying.