Playlist: In Honor of the “Football Season Is Over” Winter Blues, Our Favorite (Mostly) Non-Weepy Songs About… Crying (Dedicated to Hunter S. Thompson)

“No more games. No more bombs. No more walking. No more fun. No more swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No fun- for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. This won’t hurt.” – Hunter S. Thompson, ‘Football Season Is Over’

I’ve always been a huge fan of Hunter S. Thompson, aka Raoul Duke. My friend Doug gave me a copy of Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas when I was right out of college and that led me to his Hell’s Angels and then deep into his catalog. The lines I quoted above are perhaps his most poetic but sadly also his suicide note from February of 2005. Hunter was always a fan of Hemingway and in the end they both went out the same way. But clearly – and I want to be very, very clear here – suicide should never be on the table. Trust me, I’ve had my long walks on the dark side but suicide is not the path for anybody. I had a friend kill himself many years ago and it was a sad deal (and yes, I wept). If you’re struggling more than a playlist can help, please call someone – a friend, family, a therapist. It can always get better.

That being said, Thompson kind of had a point in his farewell note. I hate this time of year but then I’m a pretty huge NFL fan. March Madness is a big party I’m not invited to… I hate basketball. The holidays are all past us – which I’m very okay with, I’ve never been a huge fan of Xmas and I know there’s a lot of depression around the holidays – so this time of year we’re just left with the feeling that “now is the winter of our discontent.” “February made me quiver with every paper I delivered…” indeed. Short, gray, cold days are strung together seemingly endlessly like static on a dead TV channel. Since we all work from home now, we don’t even get a snow day when it turns into a blizzard out there. It gets dark at 4pm. It’s made all the worse because dammit, football is over, nothing to distract us on Sundays. And as a life long Chiefs fan (and season ticket holder) it was an especially brutal end to the season. The Chiefs’ loss was like a punch to my solar plexus… I feel like I’m constantly hyperventilating. That game was like accidentally slipping off your old bike seat and hitting the metal frame, if you know what I mean.

According to the weatherman we’re supposed to get a blizzard tonight. At some point in the next 24 hours I’m going to be standing in my garage pulling on the cord to start an old snowblower my father gave me years ago. I’ve never had to start the thing and am not completely certain it actually works. With my rather checkered history with motorized tools, there’s no way that could go wrong? I once smashed a lawn mower into a basketball goal because I couldn’t get it started, bending the frame in my fit of hysterical rage. I was never a fan of lawn work. Sadly I did it in front of a huge picture window where the Rock Chick was standing and she witnessed the outburst. Rather than divorce me, she merely suggested that maybe we hire one of the neighborhood kids to mow the lawn. My father might have been fucking with me when he gave me the snowblower for free, ridding himself of the cost of disposal. “There is no such thing as paranoia. Your worst fears can come true at any moment.”

With the grim weather and no football, I started thinking that no one could blame you if you dropped to your knees to beseech the Gods to give us some sunshine and warmth while openly, loudly weeping. I’m talking about audible lamentation here. Which of course got me thinking about songs about Crying. Granted, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner which could be a bright spot for some. I’ve been on both sides of that thing and have posted an angry Anti-Valentine’s Day Playlist (for the broken hearted) and last year a much more positive Non-Mushy Valentine’s Day Playlist… an antidote for the first one, if you will. A lot of folks do enjoy Valentines. But it can also be a source of heartbreak (hence the Anti-VD playlist) so the holiday could potentially be another source of tears. I had a friend who tended to break up with his holiday girlfriends before Valentines as a matter of economic responsibility. I once had a beer with a guy I used to know on V-Day because his girlfriend went to see “a friend” in Florida…it turns out it was a guy who had been her long distance boyfriend and she was going to break up with him and stay with my beer drinking comrade. Heartache everywhere on that story. But like Hunter said, “When the going gets tough, the tough turn pro.” The only real hope in sight is St. Patrick’s Day…but I’ve retired my jersey from that holiday. Plus you never know how the weather will be mid-March especially now that the climate is changing.

If the weather hasn’t led you down the path of seasonal affect disorder and your love life is in order to the point where Valentine’s Day isn’t a flashpoint that could cause tears, I know the world’s geo-political situation has become a cause of despair and more likely anger (tears of rage anyone?). We’re in the second Gilded Age where folks are voting against their own economic interest. Again, I must cite Hunter, “Good news is rare these days and every glittering ounce of it should be cherished and hoarded and worshiped and fondled like a priceless diamond.” My advice, “Don’t let the bastards drag you down…” or as Billy Joel ends his concerts, “Don’t take any shit from anybody.”

Whatever your reasons for crying, I actually think it’s a good thing. Talk about a physical and emotional release!? Of course as men, we’re taught not to cry or show any emotions. I’ve always been more emotional, blame it on my Italian heritage…but then my brother is very stoic so I don’t know how I turned out the way I did. The only things that really make me weep anymore are acts of altruism and moments of redemption. Put on almost any version of the Scrooge story, especially Bill Murray’s Scrooged and it’s “Niagara Falls, Frankie angel.” I guess it’s gotten so rare that people are good to each other, it moves me to tears when we do. I probably should have wept after the Super Bowl, but I just poured a whiskey instead.

When I was younger and…well… going through some things, I used to like sad music. I felt like it was leeching the despair out of my soul. Although I might have overdone it… I remember a friend coming into my apartment to steal beer one afternoon and saying, “Hey, man what’s with all this sad music… maybe put on some Van Halen, it’ll cheer you up?” It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that a bunch of songs about crying would all be sad. But that’s not exactly the case here. I’ve found upbeat rockers all the way to blues songs on this playlist. There are a lot of legendary bands here – The Beatles, the Band, the Stones, Smokey, Muddy, CSNY, to name but a few. I’ve actually listened to this playlist while working out. At the very least, if you’re kind of bummed this time of year, hearing these great artists share their experience helps you feel like you’re not alone – and you’re not – others have been through what you’re going through and come out on the other side, even I have. Many of these songs are defiant, angry or triumphant. Not all tears are sad ones.

Without further adieu, here’s our list of our favorite songs about crying. Play them in order, play them randomly, season to taste. If you don’t like a particular song, hit skip, you won’t hurt my feelings. If you have a great song about crying and it’s not here, put it in the comments and if it fits I’ll add it in. I will tell you up front, I’ll never add “Big Girls Don’t Cry” because I hate Frankie Valli almost as much as I despise the Beach Boys.

1. The Beatles, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” – One of my all time favorite George songs from the White Album. If you’ve never seen Prince play the solo at the HOF ceremony with Petty/Jeff Lynne on vocals, do yourself a favor and check it out.
2. Van Halen, “Jamie’s Crying” – I dunno, but it sounds like Jamie might have a reason to cry. From the fabulous VH debut album.
3. Prince, “When Doves Cry” – We certainly miss the genius of Prince. From his blockbuster 1984 album Purple Rain.
4. The Cure, “Boys Don’t Cry” – The Cure, who just released a phenomenal new album, basically repeating what my father and grandfather told me…
5. The Rolling Stones, “As Tears Go By” – Written for and originally done by Marianne Faithful, who we recently lost. RIP.
6. ? & the Mysterians, “96 Tears” – Crazy band name but a great song.
7. INXS, “Bitter Tears” – One of those first tracks by INXS that I just loved.
8. Joe Cocker, “Cry Me A River” – Everybody from Sam Cooke to Aerosmith have covered this classic, but I was surprised Joe Cocker’s version was the highest charting one.
9. Muddy Waters, “Standing Around Crying” – Muddy giving us the real blues. “Oh baaaaaybeeee…”
10. Steve Miller Band, “Cry Cry Cry” – Only Steve Miller could make crying sound this smooth and cool.
11. Roy Orbison, “Crying” – One of the greatest voices in rock n roll. I had to have this one on here.
12. Sting, “Why Should I Cry For You?” – Anyone who’s had a difficult relationship with their father will get this song… “Dark angels follow me…” indeed.
13. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, “Tears Of A Clown” – This could be my story back in my 20s.
14. The Rolling Stones, “Fool To Cry” – Some people are put off by Mick’s falsetto here, but I love it. Coincidentally, I had a girlfriend long ago, “and she live in the poor part of town…” The rest of that story is sealed until 25 years after I’m dead. “Tell me all your troubles…”
15. The Box Tops, “Cry Like A Baby” – Alex Chilton (later of Big Star) and his first band.
16. The Beatles, “Cry Baby Cry” – A John Lennon song from The White Album.
17. Lucinda Williams, “Reason To Cry” – Lucinda giving us her trade mark blues… makes crying seem not so bad.
18. The Band, “Tears Of Rage” – Lyrics by Dylan, music by the late Richard Manuel. Dedicate this one to the late Garth Hudson who we recently lost.
19. Crosby, Stills & Nash, “You Don’t Have To Cry” – They’re right you know… you don’t have to cry but sometimes it does help.
20. Elvis Presley, “Crying In The  Chapel” – I am at best a Pagan, but the image of the King weeping tears of joy in an old chapel moves even me. One of my all time favs from Elvis.
21. Muddy Waters, “Screamin’ And Cryin'” – When “Standing Around Crying” won’t work you have to resort to “Screamin’ and Cryin’.”
22. Sting, “I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying” – A jaunty country track that’s on our Playlist – Rockers Doing Country Rock.
23. George Harrison, “Tears Of The World” – George, not weeping for a lost love, but for the world. The guy was a citizen of the world. A very relevant song today.
24. Ray Charles, “Crying Time” – “Oh, it’s cryin’ time again, you’re gonna leave me, I can see that far away look in your eyes…” Brother Ray telling a story I’ve lived more than once. When it’s time to go, you generally know it. You may not want to believe it, but deep down… you know.
25. Johnny Cash, “Cry! Cry! Cry!” – The Man In Black who “taught the weeping willow how to cry, cry, cry…” Damn, that’s heavy.
26. Godley & Creme, “Cry” – Maybe it was the “at the time” very cool video, but I always liked this song. These guys were apparently in 10cc, a band I know virtually nothing about.
27. Iggy Pop, “Cry For Love” – Iggy rocking out here…but if you’re gonna cry it might as well be for love.
28. Guns N’Roses, “Don’t Cry (Original)” – If I’m not mistaken, this was the first official single from the Use Your Illusions albums.
29. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Don’t Cry No Tears” – From Zuma, Neil’s first album after The Ditch Trilogy. Nice little rocker here. I love Neil with Crazy Horse.
30. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “No Reason To Cry” – Great ballad from Mojo.
31. The Beatles, “I’ll Cry Instead” – Classic early Beatles. Billy Joel covered this track as well.
32. George Harrison, “This Guitar (Can’t Keep From Crying)” – A sequel of sorts to #1 on this list. George’s solo work is terribly underrated.
33. Bob Dylan, “It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry” – A track that was also on our Playlist: Train Songs. I just saw the Timothee Chalamet Dylan movie and thought it was great.
34. Lucinda Williams, “World Without Tears” – Wouldn’t this be a great place if the world was without tears?
35. Solomon Burke, “Cry To Me” – This track was covered by so many bands including the Stones and the Animals but I had to go with the original. What a voice!
36. Gregg Allman, “Tears, Tears, Tears” – From a Gregg solo album produced by T. Bone Burnett who just produced Ringo’s new album.
37. Elmore James, “The Sky Is Crying” – I’ve always been partial to Clapton’s version but again had to go with the original. I’ve always loved rockers playing the blues.
38. Janis Joplin, “Cry Baby” – I like Janis but this song has been permanently ruined for me by that Natalie Portman perfume commercial.
39. The Rolling Stones, “No Use In Crying” – For those Tattoo You Side 2 fans out there. And I know there are plenty of you out there.
40. George Harrison, “Woman Don’t You Cry For Me” – The start of this track makes me think Disco was sneaking into George’s music… but then that signature guitar sound starts and everything is okay.
41. Crosby, Stills & Nash, “Run From Tears” – Deep track from the CSN album. Tasty guitar from Stills.
42. Jack White, “Weep Themselves To Sleep” – Jack White is a genius.
43. Jackson Browne, “Here Come Those Tears” – A track that was co-written by Jackson’s late wife’s mother. Jackson’s wife had committed suicide by OD. It happened in late March of ’76.
44. The Rolling Stones, “Out Of Tears” – “I’m a whisper, I’m a shadow but I’m standing up to sing.” Out of the pain and sorrow we see resilience.
45. Johnny Cash & Nick Cave, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” – Johnny joined by Nick Cave on a classic Hank Williams song produced by Rick Rubin… what’s not to love?
46. Bob Dylan, “Cry A While” – A late career bluesy stomper.
47. Cheap Trick, “Cry, Cry” – Cheap Trick have been so solid for so long… they may be on every playlist I’ve ever done.
48. The Police, “Driven To Tears” – A song as relevant today as it was in the early 80s when it came out. “What is my reaction, what should it be? Confronted by this latest atrocity, Driven to tears…”
49. Neil Young, “Don’t Cry” – From Neil’s “comeback” album Freedom.
50. Bad Company, “Weep No More” – I’m hearing Bad Co might be on this years HOF ballot. Nice bouncy little deep track.
51. Eagles, “You Never Cry Like A Lover” – From what might be my favorite Eagles record, On The Border.
52. Steve Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, “I’m Cryin'” – From Stevie Ray’s fabulous debut album, Texas Flood. I think I put the title track on our Playlist: Rain Songs.
53. Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Let ‘Em Cry” – From one of two records released a few years back, Unlimited Love. I like this song.
54. Sheryl Crow, “Can’t Cry Anymore” – I run hot and cold on Sheryl, mostly cold. I have always liked this song though.
55. Blind Faith, “Had To Cry Today” – Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood jamming. Great song from a perhaps slightly under baked album.
56. Ozzy Osbourne, “No More Tears” – Ozzy’s epic entry to the playlist.
57. Bob Marley & the Wailers, “No Woman, No Cry (Live)” – The live version of this song has always been definitive to me. It helped me turn my daughter onto Bob Marley.
58. Robert Plant, “Your Ma Said You Cried In Your Sleep Last Night” – Plant doing an almost psychedelic rock track in 1990.
59. Rod Stewart, “Crying Laughing Loving Lying” – A bit of a deep track here. One of the last songs from that wonderful Mercury Records early era of Rod’s career. The song came out on a greatest hits album.
60. Elvis Costello & the Attractions, “Big Tears” – Pugnacious rock song from a pugnacious rock singer.
61. Dave Gahan & the Soulsavers, “Don’t Cry” – From a great Gahan solo record with the Soulsavers.
62. Kenny Wayne Shepherd, “Blue On Black” – “Hey, blue on black, tears on a river…” The Rock Chick turned me onto this song.
63. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, “The Tracks Of My Tears” – Timeless classic. I first heard this song on the soundtrack of The Big Chill. At least I think that’s where I first heard it, those days are hazy.
64. Aerosmith, “You See Me Crying” – From the peak period of Aerosmith‘s recorded output. They did another song later, “Cryin'” but I despise that song.
65. The Byrds, “You Won’t Have To Cry” – Another great song co-written by Gene Clark. How they let that guy out of the band is a mystery. I know Gene was afraid of flying, and “you can’t be a Byrd if you can’t fly,” but man he was the best songwriter in that band.
66. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, “No Tears Left” – Another bluesy rocker from Stills. I tend to agree, I’ve got no tears left for our current situation.
67. Lucinda Williams, “Tears Of Joy” – I love this song… so glad to have this much Lucinda on the playlist. Makes great background music for when you’re drinking a tumbler of rye talking to your baby.
68. Bob Marley & the Wailers, “Cry To Me” – Not to be confused with the Solomon Burke song above. Did Bob have a bad song? I don’t think so.
69. Faces, “I Wish It Would Rain” – I probably should have gone with the Temptations original version of this song, but as long time readers know, I have a weak spot for the Faces. I love when Rod says to Ronnie Wood, “Let it rain…” and the guitar solo ensues.
70. The Animals, “I’m Crying” – Great British blues-rock band. I feel like they’re kind of forgotten but I’ll listen to the Animals any time.
71. Aretha Franklin, “Drown In My Own Tears” – One of the most heartfelt tracks on the list from the Queen of Soul.
72. Gram Parsons, “Cry One More Time” – Gram and Emmy Lou Harris… iconic. I think J. Geils covered this song. It may have been country but the blues are never far away.
73. Lucinda Williams & Elvis Costello, “Jailhouse Tears” – The funniest song on the list. A duet about a couple having “issues” as the man keeps getting put in the drunk tank.
74. Robert Plant, “I Cried” – Another great deep track from Manic Nirvana.
75. The Kinks, “Stop Your Sobbing” – Also ably done by the Pretenders.
76. Fleetwood Mac, “Never Make Me Cry” – A touching end from the Mac. This one is a beautiful Christine McVie ballad that only she could do.

There you have it. Hopefully this list helped you get along the road through these dog days of winter. And hopefully it hasn’t left you with tears in your eyes. Hang in there, Spring is right around the corner. Again, if you’ve got a favorite song about crying, drop it in the comments and if it fits, I’ll add it. These are really our playlists, not mine.

Chin Up, Cheer Up… Cheers!