The following three powerfully sad cover songs stand the test of time.
I. “This Woman’s Work” by Kate Bush
First featured in She’s Having a Baby (1988), it’s heard when Jake (Kevin Bacon) is learning that his wife (Elizabeth McGovern) and their unborn baby are in crisis. “As the song plays, we see a montage sequence of flashbacks showing the couple in happier times, intercut with shots of him waiting for news of Elizabeth and their baby’s condition. Bush wrote the song specifically for the sequence, writing from a man’s (Jake’s) viewpoint and matching the words to the visuals which had already been filmed” (KateBushEncyclopedia).
Jen Chaney, Vulture: “Unlike other songs that suffer from pop-cultural overuse — like ‘Hallelujah,’ in all its incarnations — this gut puncher about trying to summon strength in a moment of profound weakness never loses its power. Instead, it has accumulated additional, profound layers of meaning.”
Lyrics from the middle:
…I should be crying, but I just can’t let it show
I should be hoping, but I can’t stop thinking
Of all the things I should’ve said,
That I never said
All the things we should’ve done,
That we never did
All the things I should’ve given,
But I didn’t…
Official video:
When it comes to sad cover songs, Maxwell‘s 1997 more “definitive version” (secondhandsongs.com) of “This Woman’s Work” reigns. He opens below with giving due credit to Bush, though:
II. “Dance with My Father” by Luther Vandross (1951-2005)
Vandross’s father died when he was eight. This song, however, seems to strike a chord with anyone who’s lost someone. Final lyrics:
In 2011 Jacob Lusk (now with a group called Gabriels) blew the American Idol audience away with this cover:
III. “It’s Quiet Uptown” from Hamilton
Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s “Hamilton Mixtape” album features one of the best sad cover songs I’ve ever heard. It’s by Kelly Clarkson, and it doesn’t need the context of the play (the death of the son of Alexander Hamilton and wife Eliza) to be appreciated.
