Saddest Songs...Ever?

NME has a list of "saddest songs" over on their website now, it's interesting to see all the readers' picks. If you could only pick five, which songs make you outright cry or give you the chills?

Mine (in no particular order):

"Sweetness Follows," R.E.M -- Automatic for the People remains R.E.M.'s crowning achievement to date, which is saying a lot for a band who has recorded at least three outright classic pop albums. Automatic stands out, however, as their most personal, emotional album. Songs like "Nightswimming," "Everybody Hurts (one of their biggest hits)," and "M an on the Moon" are absolute highlights from their most commercial period, but it's the cello-drenched "Sweetness Follows" that delivers the killer blow. Any song that begins, "Readying to bury your father and your mother..." means business.

"Tomorrow," Ryan Adams -- Choosing the saddest Ryan Adams song is another unenviable task, but "Tomorrow," released on his demo collection Demolition, tops the list due to its tragic context. Co-written by then-ex Carrie Hamilton as she succumbed to cancer, it devastatingly evokes the conflicted feelings of fear, grief, and relief that accompany the impending death of a sick loved one. It's also the rare Adams song that isn't winking back at you through the tears. When his voice breaks during the last bar, there's no mistaking the pain behind it.

"Lost Art of Murder," Babyshambles -- Pete Doherty, much like Ryan Adams, has made a career out of sabotaging his career. Which is why "Lost Art of Murder," the closer on his band's sophomore LP Shotter's Nation, is so affecting. Mourning the loss of his lover (presumably Kate Moss) and mulling the possibility of redemption, the line, "Don't look at me like that/She won't take you back/Said too much, been to unkind/Get up off your back/Stop smoking that/Change your life/Think it'll change her mind?" creates a surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a junkie desperate to change but unconvinced that he can.

"Twilight," Elliot Smith -- If the words, "I'm tired of being down, I got no fight," sung by a man who soon thereafter (appears to have) ended his own life by plunging a knife into his chest

doesn't make you tear up, you're beyond help.

NME: http://www.nme.com