From the soulful croons of Marvin Gaye to thoughtful lyrics from Carole King, the 1970s was an era of timeless music. But out of all the joyful and uplifting tunes, a few stand-out tracks broke our hearts. Whether it was a simple love song with a devastatingly sad story or heartbreaking tales of distress and woe, these 25 saddest songs of the 1970s will make you reach for the tissues.
- 1. One Less Bell to Answer, the 5th Dimension, 1970
- 2. Long, Long Time, Linda Rondstadt, 1970
- 3. Vincent, Don McLean, 1971
- 4. Without You, Harry Nilsson, 1971
- 5. So Far Away, Carole King, 1971
- 6. Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast, Wayne Newton, 1972
- 7. Taxi, Harry Chapin, 1972
- 8. Time in a Bottle, Jim Croce, 1973
- 9. She’s Gone, Hall & Oates, 1973
- 10. Jolene, Dolly Parton, 1973
- 11. Billy Don’t Be a Hero, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, 1974
- 12. Best of My Love, The Eagles, 1974
- 13. Run Joey Run, David Geddes, 1975
- 14. At Seventeen, Janis Ian, 1975
- 15. I’m Not Lisa, Jessi Colter, 1975
- 16. Landslide, Fleetwood Mac, 1975
- 17. Kiss and Say Goodbye, The Manhattans, 1976
- 18. Don’t Leave Me This Way, Thelma Houston, 1976
- 19. Weekend in New England, Barry Manilow, 1976
- 20. Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Gordon Lightfoot, 1976
- 21. Telephone Line, Electric Light Orchestra, 1977
- 22. On and On, Stephen Bishop, 1977
- 23. Dust in the Wind, Kansas, 1978
- 24. Don’t Cry Out Loud, Melissa Manchester, 1978
- 25. Just When I Needed You Most, Randy VanWarmer, 1979
- You’ll Also Love
1.
“One Less Bell to Answer,” The 5th Dimension, 1970
If this desolate song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David doesn’t make you cry, I’m not sure you’re human. Released in 1970 on the 5th Dimension’s debut album, Portrait, “One Less Bell to Answer” reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Marilyn McCoo’s emotional vocals and the deceptively simple but heart-breaking lyrics make this song an absolute classic.
Saddest Lyric
Though I try to forget
It just can’t be done
Each time the doorbell rings
I still run
“One Less Bell to Answer,” Burt Bacharach and Hal David
2.
“Long, Long Time,” Linda Rondstadt, 1970
Nobody sang a sad song better than Linda Ronstadt, and “Long, Long Time” was one of her saddest songs. Recorded in 1970 for Ronstadt’s first solo album, “Long, Long Time” is an emotionally charged ballad about the heartbreak of a lost love.
Linda’s vocals soar over a spare acoustic guitar, and lines like “I’ve done everything I know to try and make you mine” send us all back to the memory of our first lost love.
Saddest Lyric
Love will abide, take things in stride
Sounds like good advice but there’s no one at my side
And time washes clean love’s wounds unseen
That’s what someone told me but I don’t know what it means
“Long, Long Time,” Gary White
3.
“Vincent,” Don McLean, 1971
You probably thought the title of this song was “Starry, starry night,” as that’s the haunting first line of this bittersweet retelling of the life of Vincent van Gogh. In McClean’s version, van Gogh is too beautiful for an uncaring world, and so he eventually takes his own life because the world he loves so much doesn’t love him back.
The words and music of this song are as haunting and beautiful as any of van Gogh’s paintings.
Saddest Lyric
You took your life as lovers often do
But I could have told you, Vincent
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you
“Vincent,” Don McLean
4.
“Without You,” Harry Nilsson, 1971
Harry Nilsson wrote and recorded One is the Loneliest Number, one of the saddest songs of the 1960s. However, Three Dog Night’s version became the hit recording we all remember today.
So, it seems only fair that Harry Nilsson would have a hit in the 1970s, singing a sorrowful song written and recorded by another band. “Without You” was written and recorded by Badfinger, but Harry Nilsson’s version became a number-one hit.
Nilsson’s version was raw and personal, and his desperate vocals stopped just short of sounding unhinged. You truly believed that this man didn’t want to live if he had to live without his lover.
In another sad twist, both of the writers of Without You, Pete Ham and Tom Evans, died by suicide. Harry Nilsson also died too soon, at age 54, from heart disease.
Saddest Lyric
I can’t live, if living is without you
I can’t live, I can’t give any more
Can’t live, if living is without you
I can’t give, I can’t give any more
“Without You,” Pete Ham and Tom Evans
5.
“So Far Away,” Carole King, 1971
The song lyrics might seem like Carole King is simply expressing sorrow at being so far from someone she loves. But the regret with which she sings and the poignant piano chords clue us into the fact that there’s more going on here than the lyrics can say. We understand that the two lovers in this song are far away, both in distance and emotionally.
The song’s arrangement is spare, with only three instruments, but somehow that makes the song even more powerful. A 22-year-old James Taylor played the guitar on the original recording of this song.
Saddest Lyric
Traveling around sure gets me down and lonely
Nothing else to do but close my mind
I sure hope the road don’t come to own me
There’s so many dreams I’ve yet to find
“So Far Away,” Carole King
6.
“Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast,” Wayne Newton, 1972
Divorce became more common in the 1970s, and the music reflected it. This song, written by Peter Callander and Geoff Stephens, portrayed the heartbreak of a man walking out on his wife, only to be followed by the little girl he was leaving behind.
He returns home to try again in his marriage because what kind of monster keeps going when his little girl is begging him to stop?
Saddest Lyric
Daddy, don’t you walk so fast
Daddy, don’t you walk so fast
Daddy, slow down some ’cause you’re makin’ me run
Daddy, don’t you walk so fast
“Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast,” Peter Callander and Geoff Stephens
7.
“Taxi,” Harry Chapin, 1972
When you think about sad songs from Harry Chapin, the first song that comes to mind is “Cats in the Cradle,” the old classic about the world’s worst dad. But this melancholy ballad is even sadder.
Released in 1972 on Chapin’s album Heads & Tales, it’s a first-person story of a taxi driver picking up a late-night fare who turns out to be his ex-girlfriend. Both are unhappy because they never followed the dreams they had when they were together.
She was going to be an actress but instead threw away her life to marry a rich man. (Of course.) And he was going to be a pilot, but became a taxi driver instead.
Chapin debuted this song on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and received so much acclaim for his performance that Carson brought him back the very next night to perform the song again.
In 1980, Chapin released a follow-up song to Taxi (Sequel) where he revisits the lives of his characters. Harry is now a successful musician, and his ex-girlfriend Sue has left behind her affluent life to find happiness in a working-class lifestyle.
Saddest Lyric
Baby’s so high that she’s skying
Yes, she’s flying, afraid to fall
I’ll tell you why baby’s crying
‘Cause she’s dying, aren’t we all?
“Taxi,” Harry Chapin
8.
“Time in a Bottle,” Jim Croce, 1973
“Time in a Bottle” was written in 1970 and featured on Croce’s debut album, You Don’t Mess Around with Jim. But it was released as a single and became a hit after Jim Croce’s untimely death in a helicopter crash in 1973.
“Time in a Bottle” was a pensive ballad with a mournful minor key melody. The song lyrics, “But there never seems to be enough time, To do the things you want to do once you find them” are especially heartbreaking when you realize Croce would be dead less than five years after he wrote the song.
Saddest Lyric
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do once you find them
I’ve looked around enough to know
That you’re the one I want to go through time with
“Time in a Bottle,” Jim Croce
9.
“She’s Gone,” Hall & Oates, 1973
Nobody can turn heartbreak into a stirring anthem like Hall & Oates. One of the few Hall & Oates songs to be a true writing collaboration, “She’s Gone” showcases how beautifully they harmonize together. If you thought Daryl Hall is the only good singer in Hall & Oates, then you haven’t heard this song.
The song starts simply with both men singing in falsetto harmony and builds to an explosion of pain, with each man trading lines. The end of the song always gives me chills.
Saddest Lyric
Get up in the mornin’, look in the mirror
I’m worn as her tooth brush hangin’ in the stand, yeah
My face ain’t lookin’ any younger
Now I can see love’s taken her toll on me
“She’s Gone,” Daryl Hall and John Oates
10.
“Jolene,” Dolly Parton, 1973
You can’t talk about the song “Jolene” without mentioning that Dolly Parton wrote this song and “I Will Always Love You” on the same day. Dolly has written so many good songs; she’s one of the best songwriters of our generation.
But she would still deserve all the songwriting accolades if she had written only this one song. I’m one of many people who believe Jolene is the perfect song.
The song shows Dolly at her most vulnerable. Her man is in love with Jolene, and Dolly knows she can never compete with Jolene’s beauty. All she can do is beg Jolene to leave him alone for her.
I love this song for so many reasons, but two reasons stand out. First, it’s one of the few songs between a woman and her rival that doesn’t paint the other woman as a low-down, man-stealing skunk. Instead, it points out Jolene’s desirability: “Your beauty is beyond compare, With flaming locks of auburn hair.”
Second, Dolly’s vocals genuinely illustrate how heartbroken she is to think of her man leaving her for Jolene. You can feel the pain in every line.
Saddest Lyric
He talks about you in his sleep
And there’s nothing I can do to keep
From crying when he calls your name
Jolene
“Jolene,” Dolly Parton
11.
“Billy Don’t Be a Hero,” Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, 1974
The British band Paper Lace and Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods both had hits with this song in 1974. Still, the Bo Donaldson version was the biggest hit in the U.S. Their version was a number-one hit in 1974, and I vividly remember it being played repeatedly on the radio that summer.
The song tells the story of Billy, who has enlisted in the army against the wishes of his fiancee. She begs him to play it safe and not be a hero so he can return to her and they can marry. Of course, he doesn’t. (They never do.)
“Billy Don’t Be a Hero” was #8 in the Rolling Stone Reader’s Survey of The Worst Songs of the 1970s. (Harsh!) But someone was buying this record. The single sold over three and a half million copies.
Saddest Lyric
I heard his fiancee got a letter
That told how Billy died that day
The letter said that he was a hero
She should be proud he died that way
I heard she threw that letter away
“Billy Don’t Be a Hero,” Mitch Murray and Peter Callander
12.
“Best of My Love,” The Eagles, 1974
The end of any love affair is heartbreaking, but perhaps the saddest breakups of all are the ones where both partners tried their best to make it. “Best of My Love” captures that feeling perfectly.
Recorded for the iconic album, On the Border, “Best of My Lov”e was The Eagles’ first Number One hit. The song features The Eagles’ impeccable harmonies and a wistful melody.
Saddest Lyric
Every night i’m lyin’ in bed
Holdin’ you close in my dreams
Thinkin’ about all the things that we said
Comin’ apart at the seams
We try to talk it over
But the words come out too rough
I know you were tryin’ to give me the best of your love
“Best of My Love,” Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and J. D. Souther
13.
“Run Joey Run,” David Geddes, 1975
I can’t think about “Billy Don’t Be a Hero” without remembering “Run Joey Run,” the equally melodramatic hit of summer 1975. The narrator, Joey, tells of his distraught girlfriend, who calls him one night, warning him not to come over because her dad is furious and threatening to kill Joey.
It’s never said, but it’s heavily implied that Julie is pregnant, which is why her father is so angry.
Like Billy in “Billy Don’t Be a Hero,” Joey doesn’t listen and instead high-tails it to Julie’s house. Julie’s father sneaks behind him to try to kill him, but Julie screams, “Watch Out!” and steps in front of Billy to protect him.
Julie’s dad accidentally shoots Julie instead of Joey, and she falls to the ground, saying in her last words, “We’re going to get married, Just you wait and see.”
Men, listen to your women, and we’ll all be safer!
Saddest Lyric
Suddenly, a shot rang out
And I saw Julie falling!
I ran to her
I held her close
When I looked down
My hands were red
And here’s the last words Julie said
“Run Joey Run,” Paul Vance and Jack Perricone
14.
“At Seventeen,” Janis Ian, 1975
If you ever cried in your room over unrequited love or felt the pain of being excluded from a group, then I’m sure you’re familiar with the feelings Janis Ian sings about in “At Seventeen.”
Ian worked on this intensely personal song for three months and was concerned about releasing it as a single because she worried no one else would relate.
She couldn’t have been more wrong. The song hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been covered by numerous artists, including Celine Dion, proving that we all feel awkward and unloveable sometimes.
Saddest Lyric
The valentines I never knew
The Friday night charades of youth
Were spent on one more beautiful
At seventeen I learned the truth
“At Seventeen,” Janis Ian
15.
“I’m Not Lisa,” Jessi Colter, 1975
In a way, “I’m Not Lisa” feels like a follow-up song to “Jolene.” because It describes how it feels to be with a man who’s pining over someone else. In this case, Jessi’s man still loves Lisa, who left him years ago.
Like Dolly Parton’s Jolene, Jessi Colter’s vocals make us feel every bit of the pain she’s feeling. She’s begging her lover to get past his heartbreak and see the woman in front of him who loves him.
Saddest Lyric
She left you here
Drowning in your tears
Here, where you’ve stayed for years
Crying Lisa, Lisa
“I’m Not Lisa,” Jessi Colter
16.
” Landslide,” Fleetwood Mac, 1975
Can we all agree that 1975 was the peak year for sad songs written by women? Landslide’s lyrics sound like they are about a failed relationship. However, Stevie Nicks said she wrote the song after her album with Lindsey Buckingham, Buckingham Nicks, failed commercially, and she felt everything in her life was “sliding down.”
The lyrics reflect Nicks’ uncertainty and sadness at the time, with classic lines like “Oh, mirror in the sky, What is love? Can the child within my heart rise above?”
The song feels authentic and genuine. It’s no wonder Landslide was a massive hit for Fleetwood Mac and remains a concert favorite to this day.
Saddest Lyric
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin’ ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
“Landslide,” Stevie Nicks
17.
” Kiss and Say Goodbye,” The Manhattans, 1976
This song starts with “This is Got to Be the Saddest Day of My Life,” so I had to include it. A heartwarming tale of a cheating husband forced to stop seeing his mistress, “Let’s Just Kiss and Say Goodbye” shot to the top of the charts when it was released in 1976. It was a number-one hit for The Manhattans and only the second single to go platinum.
I might poke a little fun at the song’s plot, but I can’t deny its greatness. The spoken word introduction sets up the story, and then The Manhattans’ lead singer, Gerald Alston, steps in to amp up the drama with his soulful tenor.
Watch the video for this song, as it’s an iconic example of classic R & B dancing. The outfits are “chef’s kiss” as well.
Saddest Lyric
This has got to be the saddest day of my life
I called you here today for a bit of bad news
I won’t be able to see you anymore
Because of my obligations, and the ties that you have
“Kiss and Say Goodbye,” Winfred Lovett
18.
” Don’t Leave Me This Way,” Thelma Houston, 1976
One of the few examples of a sad disco song, Thelma Houston’s powerful voice drives home her anguish and longing as her lover prepares to leave. The disco beat makes the song feel frantic and desperate but also compels you to get up and out on the dance floor.
“Don’t Leave Me This Way” became a gay anthem during the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 80s and 90s when so many in the gay community lost loved ones in the worst way possible.
Saddest Lyric
Don’t leave me this way
I can’t survive i can’t stay alive, without your love oh baby
Don’t leave me this way,
“Don’t Leave Me This Way,” Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert
19.
” Weekend in New England,” Barry Manilow, 1976
Nobody can sing a sad song like Barry Manilow, and “Weekend in New England” is perhaps his saddest. The song tells the story of a man back home in the city after an idyllic weekend with his lover, wondering when he’ll be able to see her again.
We never find out why the lovers must be apart, only that he doesn’t know when – or even if – he’ll be able to see her again.
You can’t listen to this song without tearing up if you’ve ever been in the kind of limbo you experience when you’re forced to part with the person you love,
Saddest Lyric
And tell me when will our eyes meet when can I touch you
When will this strong yearning end
And when will I hold you again
“Weekend in New England,” Randy Edelman
20.
” Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Gordon Lightfoot,” 1976
One of the things I love about ’70s music is the diversity of topics. Pop music typically focuses on love and romance between two people, but the 70s gave us hits about a boy’s love for his pet rat, the treatment of Native Americans, and a disco version of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
So, why shouldn’t Gordon Lightfoot write a sad song about the tragic wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, a freight ship that sank in Lake Superior in 1975, killing all 29 men aboard? And why wouldn’t that song reach #2 on the Billboard Hot 100?
The song is a straightforward retelling of the events aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10, 1975, as Gordon Lightfoot imagined they took place. He set the tale to an old Irish Dirge he remembered from childhood, giving the song a foreboding and somber feel.
Lightfoot said he wrote the song because he didn’t think the story got enough attention when the ship went down in 1975.
Saddest Lyric
When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin’
“Fellas, it’s too rough to feed ya”
At seven PM, a main hatchway caved in, he said
“Fellas, it’s been good to know ya”
The captain wired in he had water comin’ in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
“Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” Gordon Lightfoot
21.
“Telephone Line,” Electric Light Orchestra, 1977
This song is just one of many in a genre I like to call “Begging the Operator to Help You Call Your Love.” (Other examples: Chuck Berry’s Memphis Tennessee and Jim Croce’s Operator)
“Telephone Line” follows the same basic plot as other songs in the genre: the narrator wants to call a lost love to apologize and reconnect but cannot get through. (In this case, no one will pick up the phone.) He ends the song by begging the operator to give him more time.
However, the haunting melody, Jeff Lynne’s plaintive vocals, and ELO’s lush orchestration turn the old trope from a sad song into an operatic masterpiece of despair and sorrow.
Fun fact: the telephone ringing at the beginning of the song was created on the synthesizer after Lynne called an American phone number to listen to what it sounded like when it rang.
Saddest Lyric
Okay, so no one’s answering
Well, can’t you just let it ring a little longer, longer, longer? Oh
I’ll just sit tight, in shadows of the night
Let it ring forevermore, oh-whoa
“Telephone Line,” Jeff Lynne
22.
“On and On,” Stephen Bishop, 1977
This melancholic ballad beautifully conveys the despair of a man who believes the world is an endless cycle of sorrow. (It just goes on and on.)
You can feel the longing in Bishop’s voice as he sings, and the sweet but straightforward melody just pulls at your heart.
The lyrics to this song are pure poetry, and the line “puts on Sinatra and starts to cry” might be the saddest lyric ever written.
Saddest Lyric
Poor old Jimmy
Sits alone in the moonlight
Saw his woman kiss another man
So he takes a ladder
Steals the stars from the sky
Puts on Sinatra and starts to cry
“On and On,” Stephen Bishop
23.
“Dust in the Wind,” Kansas, 1978
I’m not really a fan of this song, but I can’t deny it’s a real bummer. Kansas guitarist Kerry Livgren wrote the song “Dust in the Wind” after reading a Native American poem that inspired him to reflect on what was truly important in life.
The band was doing well at the time, but he realized that all their success and material wealth would mean nothing once they had died and become just “dust in the wind.”
This could have been an inspiring song encouraging listeners to look for what’s truly important in life. However, the dirge-like melody and Steve Walsh’s mournful vocals convey a feeling of “nothing really matters because we’re all going to die.” Fun!
Saddest Lyric
Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
“Dust in the Wind,” Kerry Livgren
24.
“Don’t Cry Out Loud,” Melissa Manchester, 1978
“Don’t Cry Out Loud” tells the story of “Baby,” who doesn’t want life to pass her by. So, she takes up with a clown and joins the circus, only to find that her dreams come crashing down when the circus moves on. But thanks to the advice of the song’s singer, Baby learns to hide her feelings and, “if you should fall, remember you almost had it all.”
Like “Dust in the Wind,” this song could be inspirational if it wasn’t such a downer. Manchester belts out the song like she’s pouring out a lifetime of disappointment, and the lyrics offer no hope for a brighter future. We’re just told, “Don’t Cry Out Loud.”
Saddest Lyric
Baby saw that when they pulled that big top down
They left behind her dreams among the litter
The different kind of love she thought she’d found
There was nothin’ left but sawdust and some glitter
“Don’t Cry Out Loud,” Peter Allen and Carole Bayer Sager
25.
“Just When I Needed You Most,” Randy VanWarmer, 1979
I love this song because it was inspired by two events we can all relate to: VanWarmer’s girlfriend broke up with him, and his car broke down. If you’ve ever experienced the one-two punch of an upsetting break-up followed by an equally upsetting life event, you can understand how easily that can lead to “Now, most every morning, I stare out the window and I think about where you might be.”
VanWarmer understood why the song appealed to people, saying, “It’s happened to everyone. That emotion is universal…I always hoped the record wasn’t wallowing in self-pity and it had some redeeming value, and I guess it does.”
I would disagree just a bit with what he said. The song is absolutely wallowing in self-pity, but sometimes, that’s just what you need most.
Saddest Lyric
Now, I miss you more than I
Missed you before and now
Where I’ll find comfort, God knows
‘Cause you left me just when I needed you most
“Just When I Needed You Most,” Randy VanWarmer