lovable cover photo for facebook - part 1

Saint Valentine

Saint / Holiday Figure

Born: ?

Died: c. 270 (beheading)

Birthplace: Roman Empire

Best known as:

The namesake of Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine, according to romantic legend, was a kind-hearted Roman priest who married young couples against the wishes of Emperor Claudius II, and was beheaded for his deeds on the 14th of February. In truth, the exact origins and identity of St. Valentine are not known. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February." Two of these men lived in the third century A.D., one being the bishop of Interamna (now Terni, Italy) and the other a priest of Rome. (Some speculate that these two figures were actually the same man.) Both seem to have been persecuted for their beliefs; the Roman priest reportedly was beaten and then beheaded on the orders of Emperor Claudius II, on or about the year 270. Legends vary on how the martyr's name became connected with romance: the date of his death may have become mingled with the feast of Lupercalia, a pagan festival of love, or with the ancient belief that birds first mate in the middle of February. In modern times Valentine's Day is a day of special romantic sentiment and gift-giving among lover

Biography of Hitlar

• NAME: Adolf Hitler
• OCCUPATION: Military Leader, Dictator
• BIRTH DATE: April 20, 1889
• DEATH DATE: April 30, 1945
• PLACE OF BIRTH: Braunau am Inn, Austria
• PLACE OF DEATH: Berlin, Germany
• NICKNAME: Der Führer ("The Leader")
• FULL NAME: Adolf Hitler

BEST KNOWN FOR

Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. He initiated World War II and oversaw fascist policies that resulted in millions of deaths.

QUOTES

"Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live."

"It is not truth that matters, but victory."

"Germany will either be a world power or will not be at all."

"I go the way that Providence dictates with the assurance of a sleepwalker."

"If you want to shine like sun first you have to burn like it."

Synopsis

Born in Austria in 1889, Adolf Hitler rose to power in German politics as leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party, also known as the Nazi Party. Hitler was chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and served as dictator from 1934 to 1945. His policies precipitated World War II and the Holocaust. Hitler committed suicide with wife Eva Braun on April 30, 1945, in his Berlin bunker

Early Years

Born in Branau am Inn, Austria, on April 20, 1889, Adolf Hitler was the fourth of six children born to Alois Hitler and Klara Polzl. When Hitler was 3 years old, the family moved from Austria to Germany. As a child, Hitler clashed frequently with his father. Following the death of his younger brother, Edmund, in 1900, he became detached and introverted. His father did not approve of his interest in fine art rather than business. In addition to art, Hitler showed an early interest in German nationalism, rejecting the authority of Austro-Hungary. This nationalism would become the motivating force of Hitler's life.

Alois died suddenly in 1903. Two years later, Adolf’s mother allowed her son to drop out of school. He moved to Vienna and worked as a casual laborer and a watercolor painter. Hitler applied to the Academy of Fine Arts twice, and was rejected both times. Out of money, he moved into a homeless shelter, where he remained for several years. Hitler later pointed to these years as the time when he first cultivated his anti-Semitism, though there is some debate about this account.

At the outbreak of World War I, Hitler applied to serve in the German army. He was accepted in August 1914, though he was still an Austrian citizen. Although he spent much of his time away from the front lines, Hitler was present at a number of significant battles and was wounded at the Somme. He was decorated for bravery, receiving the Iron Cross First Class and the Black Wound Badge.

Hitler became embittered over the collapse of the war effort. The experience reinforced his passionate German patriotism, and he was shocked by Germany's surrender in 1918. Like other German nationalists, he believed that the German army had been betrayed by civilian leaders and Marxists. He found the Treaty of Versailles degrading, particularly the demilitarization of the Rhineland and the stipulation that Germany accept responsibility for starting the war.

After World War I, Hitler returned to Munich and continued to work for the military as an intelligence officer. While monitoring the activities of the German Workers’ Party (DAP), Hitler adopted many of the anti-Semitic, nationalist and anti-Marxist ideas of DAP founder Anton Drexler. Drexler invited Hitler to join the DAP, which he did in 1919.

To increase its appeal, the DAP changed its name to theNationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP). Hitler personally designed the party banner, featuring a swastika in a white circle on a red background. Hitler soon gained notoriety for his vitriolic speeches against the Treaty of Versailles, rival politicians, Marxists and Jews.

In 1921, Hitler replaced Drexler as NSDAP party chairman.

Hitler's vitriolic beer-hall speeches began attracting regular audiences. Early followers included army captain Ernst Rohm, the head of the Nazi paramilitary organization, the Sturmabteilung (SA), which protected meetings and frequently attacked political opponents. On November 8, 1923, Hitler and the SA stormed a public meeting of 3,

000 people at a large beer hall in Munich. Hitler announced that the national revolution had begun and declared the formation of a new government. After a short struggle including 20 deaths, the coup, known as the "Beer Hall Putsch," failed.

Hitler was arrested three days later and tried for high treason. He served a year in prison, during which time he dictated most of the first volume of Mein Kampf ("My Struggle") to his deputy, Rudolf Hess. The book laid out Hitler's plans for transforming German society into one based on race.

Rise to Power

The Great Depression in Germany provided a political opportunity for Hitler. Germans were ambivalent to the parliamentary republic and increasingly open to extremist options. In 1932, Hitler ran against Paul von Hindenburg for the presidency. Hitler came in second in both rounds of the election, garnering more than 35 percent of the vote in the final election. The election established Hitler as a strong force in German politics. Hindenburg reluctantly agreed to appoint Hitler as chancellor in order to promote political balance.

Hitler used his position as chancellor to form a de facto legal dictatorship. The Reichtag Fire Decree, announced after a suspicious fire at the Reichtag, suspended basic rights and allowed detention without trial. Hitler also engineered the passage of the Enabling Act, which gave his cabinet full legislative powers for a period of four years and allowed deviations from the constitution.

Having achieved full control over the legislative and executive branches of government, Hitler and his political allies embarked on a systematic suppression of the remaining political opposition. By the end of June, the other parties had been intimidated into disbanding. On July 14, 1933, Hitler's Nazi Party was declared the only legal political party in Germany.

Military opposition was also punished. The demands of the SA for more political and military power led to the Night of the Long Knives, which took place from June 30 to July 2, 1934. Ernst Röhm and other SA leaders, along with a number of Hitler's political enemies, were rounded up and shot.

The day before Hindenburg’s death in August 1934, the cabinet had enacted a law abolishing the office of president and combining its powers with those of the chancellor. Hitler thus became head of state as well as head of government, and was formally named as leader and chancellor. As head of state, Hitler became supreme commander of the armed forces. He began to mobilize for war. Germany withdrew from the League of Nations, and Hitler announced a massive expansion of Germany’s armed forces.

The Nazi regime also included social reform measures. Hitler promoted anti-smoking campaigns across the country. These campaigns stemmed from Hitler’s self-imposed dietary restrictions, which included abstinence from alcohol and meat. At dinners

Hitler sometimes told graphic stories about the slaughter of animals in an effort to shame his fellow diners. He encouraged all Germans to keep their bodies pure of any intoxicating or unclean substance.

A main Nazi concept was the notion of racial hygiene. New laws banned marriage between non-Jewish and Jewish Germans, and deprived "non-Aryans" of the benefits of German citizenship. Hitler's early eugenic policies targeted children with physical and developmental disabilities, and later authorized a euthanasia program for disabled adults.

The Holocaust was also conducted under the auspices of racial hygiene. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazis and their collaborators were responsible for the deaths of 11 million to 14 million people, including about 6 million Jews, representing two-thirds of the Jewish population in Europe. Deaths took place in concentration and extermination camps and through mass executions. Other persecuted groups included Poles, communists, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses and trade unionists, among others. Hitler probably never visited the concentration camps and did not speak publicly about the killings.

World War II

In 1938, Hitler, along with several other European leaders, signed the Munich Agreement. The treaty ceded the Sudetenland districts to Germany, reversing part of the Versailles Treaty. As a result of the summit, Hitler was named Time magazine's Man of the Year for 1938. This diplomatic win only whetted his appetite for a renewed German dominance. On September 1, Germany invaded Poland. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany.

Hitler escalated his activities in 1940, invading Scandinavia as well as France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium. Hitler ordered bombing raids on the United Kingdom, with the goal of invasion. Germany’s formal alliance with Japan and Italy, known collectively as the Axis powers, was signed to deter the United States from supporting and protecting the British.

On June 22, 1941, Hitler violated a non-aggression pact with Joseph Stalin, sending 3 million German troops into the Soviet Union. The invading force seized a huge area before the German advance was stopped outside Moscow in December 1941.

On December 7, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Hitler was now at war against a coalition that included the world's largest empire (Britain), the world's greatest financial power (the U.S.) and the world's largest army (the Soviet Union).

Facing these odds, Hitler's military judgment became increasingly erratic. Germany's military and economic position deteriorated along with Hitler's health. Germany and the Axis could not sustain Hitler’s aggressive and expansive war. In late 1942, German forces failed to seize the Suez Canal. The German army also suffered defeats at the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk.

On June 6, 1944, the Western Allied armies landed in northern France. As a result of these significant setbacks, many German officers concluded that defeat was inevitable and that Hitler's denial would result in the destruction of the country.

Death and Legacy

By early 1945, Hitler realized that Germany was going to lose the war. The Soviets had driven the German army back into Western Europe, and the Allies were advancing into Germany. On April 29, 1945, Hitler married his girlfriend, Eva Braun, in a small civil ceremony in his Berlin bunker. Around this time, Hitler was informed of the assassination of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Afraid of falling into the hands of enemy troops, Hitler and Braun committed suicide the day after their wedding, on April 30, 1945. Their bodies were carried to the bombed-out garden behind the Reich Chancellery, where they were burned. Berlin fell on May 2, 1945.

Hitler’s political program had brought about a world war, leaving behind a devastated and impoverished Eastern and Central Europe, including Germany. His policies inflicted human suffering on an unprecedented scale and resulted in the death of an estimated 40 million people, including about 27 million in the Soviet Union. Hitler's defeat marked the end of a phase of European history dominated by Germany, and the defeat of fascism. A new ideological global conflict, the Cold War, emerged in the aftermath of World War II.

biography - ABRAHAM LINCOLN

• NAME: Abraham Lincoln
• OCCUPATION: Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer,U.S. President, U.S. Representative
• BIRTH DATE: February 12, 1809
• DEATH DATE: April 15, 1865
• DID YOU KNOW?: Lincoln was an accomplished wrestler: He was defeated only once in about 300 matches, and is enshrined in the Wrestling Hall of Fame.
• DID YOU KNOW?: Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, was saved from getting hit by a train by Edwin Booth, John Wilkes Booth's brother.
• PLACE OF BIRTH: Hodgenville, Kentucky
• PLACE OF DEATH: Washington, D.C.
• FULL NAME: Abraham Lincoln
• NICKNAME: Honest Abe
• NICKNAME: The Great Emancipator

                                                                     <-----QUOTES---->

   

"I walk slowly, but I never walk backward."

"Nearly all men can handle adversity, if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

"I'm the big buck of this lick. If any of you want to try it, come on and whet your horns."

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns."

"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"

"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."

Synopsis

Abraham Lincoln is regarded as one of America's greatest heroes due to both his incredible impact on the nation and his unique appeal. His is a remarkable story of the rise from humble beginnings to achieve the highest office in the land; then,a sudden and tragic death at a time when his country needed him most to complete the great task remaining before the nation. Lincoln's distinctively human and humane personality and historical role as savior of the Union and emancipator of the slaves creates a legacy that endures. His eloquence of democracy and his insistence that the Union was worth saving embody the ideals of self-government that all nations strive to achieve.

Childhood

Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Thomas was a strong and determined pioneer who found a moderate level of prosperity and was well respected in the community. The couple had two other children: Abraham’s older sister Sarah and younger brother Thomas, who died in infancy. Due to a land dispute, the Lincolns were forced to move from Kentucky to Perry County, Indiana in 1817, where the family “squatted” on public land to scrap out a living in a crude shelter, hunting game and farming a small plot. Thomas was eventually able to buy the land.

When young Abraham was 9 years old his mother died of tremetol (milk sickness) at age 34 and the event was devastating on him. The 9-year-old Abraham grew more alienated from his father and quietly resented the hard work placed on him at an early age. A few months after Nancy’s death, Thomas married Sarah Bush Johnston, a Kentucky widow with three children of her own. She was a strong and affectionate woman with whom Abraham quickly bonded. Though both his parents were most likely illiterate, Sarah encouraged Abraham to read. It was while growing into manhood that he received his formal education—an estimated total of 18 months—a few days or weeks at a time. Reading material was in short supply in the Indiana wilderness. Neighbors recalled how Abraham would walk for miles to borrow a book. He undoubtedly read the family Bible and probably other popular books at that time such as Robinson Crusoe, Pilgrims Progress and Aesop’s Fables.

Law Career

In March, 1830, the family again migrated, this time to Macon County, Illinois. When his father moved the family again to Coles County, 22-year-old Abraham Lincoln struck out on this own, making a living in manual labor.  At six feet four inches tall, Lincoln was rawboned and lanky, but muscular and physically strong. He spoke with a backwoods twang and walked with a long-striding gait. He was known for his skill in wielding an ax and early on made a living splitting wood for fire and rail fencing. Young Lincoln eventually migrated to the small community of New Salem, Illinois where over a period of years he worked as a shopkeeper, postmaster, and eventually general store owner. It was here that Lincoln, working with the public, acquired social skills and honed story-telling talent that made him popular with the locals.When the Black Hawk War broke out in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans, the volunteers in the area elected Lincoln to be their captain. He saw no combat during this time, save for “a good many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes,” but was able to make several important political connections.

After the Black Hawk War,

Abraham Lincoln began his political career and was elected to the Illinois state legislature in 1834 as a member of the Whig Party. He supported the Whig politics of government-sponsored infrastructure and protective tariffs. This political understanding led him to formulate his early views on slavery, not so much as a moral wrong, but as an impediment to economic development. It was around this time that he decided to become a lawyer, teaching himself the law by reading William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England. After being admitted to the bar in 1837, he moved to Springfield, Illinois and began to practice in the John T. Stuart law firm.

It was soon after this that he purportedly met and became romantically involved with Anne Rutledge. Before they had a chance to be engaged, a wave of typhoid fever came over New Salem and Anne died at age 22. Her death was said to have left Lincoln severely depressed. However, several historians disagree on the extent of Lincoln’s relationship with Rutledge and his level of sorrow at her death may be more the makings of legend.

In 1844, Abraham Lincoln partnered with William Herndon in the practice of law. Though the two had different jurisprudent styles, they developed a close professional and personal relationship. Lincoln made a good living in his early years as a lawyer, but found that Springfield alone didn’t offer enough work, so to supplement his income, he followed the court as it made its rounds on the circuit to the various county seats in Illinois

Entering Politics

Abraham Lincoln served a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1847 to 1849. His foray into national politics seems to be as unremarkable as it was brief. He was the lone Whig from the state of Illinois, showing party loyalty, but finding few political allies. He used his term in office to speak out against the Mexican-American War and supported Zachary Taylor for president in 1848. His criticism of the war made him unpopular back home and he decided not to run for second term, but instead returned Springfield to practice law.

By the 1850s, the railroad industry was moving west and Illinois found itself becoming a major hub for various companies. Abraham Lincoln served as a lobbyist for the Illinois Central Railroad as its company attorney. Success in several court cases brought other business clients as well—banks, insurance companies and manufacturing firms. Lincoln also did some criminal trials. In one case, a witness claimed that he could identify Lincoln’s client who was accused of murder, because of the intense light from a full moon. Lincoln referred to an almanac and proved that the night in question had been too dark for the witness to see anything clearlyHis client was acquitted.

About a year after the death of Anne Rutledge, Lincoln courted Mary Owens. The two saw each other for a few months and marriage was considered. But in time Lincoln called off the match. In 1840, Lincoln became engaged to Mary Todd, a high spirited, well educated woman from a distinguished Kentucky family. In the beginning, many of the couple’s friends and family couldn’t understand Mary’s attraction, and at times Lincoln questioned it himself. However, in 1841,

the engagement was suddenly broken off, most likely at Lincoln’s initiative. They met later, at a social function and eventually married on November 4, 1842. The couple had four children, of which only one, Robert, survived to adulthood

Elected President

In 1854, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise, and allowed individual states and territories to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery. The law provoked violent opposition in Kansas and Illinois. And it gave rise to the Republican Party. This awakened Abraham Lincoln’s political zeal once again, and his views on slavery moved more toward moral indignation. Lincoln joined the Republican Party in 1856.

In 1857, the Supreme Court issued its controversial decision Scott v. Sanford, declaring African Americans were not citizens and had no inherent rights. Though Abraham Lincoln felt African Americans were not equal to whites, he believed the America’s founders intended that all men were created with certain inalienable rights. Lincoln decided to challenge sitting U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas for his seat. In his nomination acceptance speech, he criticized Douglas, the Supreme Court, and President Buchanan for promoting slavery and declared “a house divided cannot stand.” The 1858 Senate campaign featured seven debates held in different cities all over Illinois. The two candidates didn’t disappoint the public, giving stirring debates on issues ranging from states’ rights to western expansion, but the central issue in all the debates was slavery. Newspapers intensely covered the debates, often times with partisan editing and interpretation. In the end, the state legislature elected Douglas, but the exposure vaulted Lincoln into national politics.

In 1860, political operatives in Illinois organized a campaign to support Lincoln for the presidency. On May 18th at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, Abraham Lincoln surpassed better known candidates such as William Seward of New York andSalmon P. Chase of Ohio. Lincoln’s nomination was due in part to his moderate views on slavery, his support for improving the national infrastructure, and the protective tariff. In the general election, Lincoln faced his friend and rival, Stephan Douglas, this time besting him in a four-way race that included John C. Breckinridge of the Northern Democrats and John Bell of the Constitution Party. Lincoln received not quite 40 percent of the popular vote, but carried 180 of 303 Electoral votes.

Abraham Lincoln selected a strong cabinet composed of many of his political rivals, including William Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates and Edwin Stanton.Formed out the adage “Hold your friends close and your enemies closer”, Lincoln’s Cabinet became one of his strongest assets in his first term in office… and he would need them. Before his inauguration in March, 1861, seven Southern states had seceded from the Union and by April the U.S. military installation Fort Sumter, was under siege in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. In the early morning hours of April 12, 1861,the guns stationed to protect the harbor blazed toward the fort signaling the start of America’s costliest and most deadly conflict.

Civil War

Abraham Lincoln responded to the crisis wielding powers as no other present before him. He distributed $2 million from the Treasury for war material without an appropriation from Congress; he called for 75,000 volunteers into military service without a declaration of war; and he suspended the writ of habeas corpus, arresting and imprisoning suspected Confederate sympathizers without a warrant. Crushing the rebellion would be difficult under any circumstances, but the Civil War, with its preceding decades of white-hot partisan politics, was especially onerous. From all directions, Lincoln faced disparagement and defiance. He was often at odds with his generals, his Cabinet, his party, and a majority of the American people.

The Union Army’s first year and a half of battlefield defeats made it especially difficult to keep morale up and support strong for a reunification the nation. With the hopeful, but by no means conclusive Union victory at Antietam on September 22, 1862, Abraham felt confident enough to reshape the cause of the war from “union” to abolishing slavery. Gradually, the war effort improved for the North, though more by attrition then by brilliant military victories. But by 1864, the Confederacy had hunkered down to a guerilla war and Lincoln was convinced he’d be a one-term president. His nemesis, George B. McClellan, the former commander of the Army of the Potomac, challenged him for the presidency, but the contest wasn’t even close. Lincoln received 55 percent of the popular vote and 212 of 243 Electoral votes. On March 28, 1865, General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Virginia, surrendered his forces to Union General Ulysses S. Grant and the war for all intents and purposes was over.

Assassination

Reconstruction began during the war as early as 1863 in areas firmly under Union military control. Abraham Lincoln favored a policy of quick reunification with a minimum of retribution. But he was confronted by a radical group of Republicans in the Senate and House that wanted complete allegiance and repentance from former Confederates. Before a political battle had a chance to firmly develop, Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, by well-known actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. Lincoln was taken from the theater to a Petersen House across the street and laid in a coma for nine hours before dying the next morning. His body lay in state at the Capitol before a funeral train took him back to his final resting place in Springfield, Illinois.

Top 50 heart braking songs !!

50. Wham!, “Careless Whisper” (1984)
A cheesy yet expressive sax riff and some choice thoughts on the rhythmic deficiencies of guilty feet make George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s ode to cheater’s remorse a classic.

49. Sufjan Stevens, “John Wayne Gacy Jr” (2005)
The only song about a real-life serial murderer on our list, Stevens’ intimate, piano-strewn portrait of a killer is truly a masterwork of creeping devastation: “He dressed up like a clown for them / With his face paint white and red / And on his best behavior / In a dark room on the bed he kissed them all.”

48. Meshell Ndegeocello, “Bitter” (1999)
Ndegeocello’s songs have ranged over all sorts of unexpected genres throughout her career. Her third album’s title track, a stripped-down lament for a failed relationship, may pack more emotional punch than any of them.

47. Skeeter Davis, “The End of the World” (1962)
A heart-wrecking symphony of slow-waltzing piano, keening violins, and utterly woebegone vocals, Davis’ country crossover hit paints an indelible picture of post-breakup misery: “Why does the sun go on shining? / Why does the sea rush to shore? / Don’t they know it’s the end of the world / ‘Cause you don’t love me any more?”

46. Lauryn Hill, “Ex-Factor” (1998)
Forget screaming fights. Nothing sums up the final impact of a break-up like Hill’s melodic sigh of resignation in this tune.

45. Fairport Convention, “Who Knows Where the Time Goes” (1969)
If you just read the words on a page, this isn’t particularly heartbreaking (“I am not alone while my love is near me” is hardly the stuff of tragedy). But Sandy Denny’s aching voice and a nostalgia-attack chorus make this a sad classic anyway.

44. Jackson Browne, “Late for the Sky” (1974)
“Looking hard into your eyes, there was nobody I’d ever known,” Browne sings on this intimate peek at a crumbling relationship. “Such an empty surprise to feel so alone.” Bedroom navel-gazing at its best.

43. John Cale, “If You Were Still Around” (1982)
Cale sounds like he’s singing while curled up in the fetal position on the bathroom floor. And Sam Shepherd’s lyrics are positively chilling: “If you were still around / I’d tear into your fear / leaving it hanging off you in long streamers / shreds of dread.”

42. Ryan Adams, “Come Pick Me Up” (2000)
This song from Adams’ appropriately named album Heartbreaker implores a lover to humiliate him all she wants, if she’ll only come back to him.

41. Throwing Muses, “Hate My Way” (1986)
The lyrics might seem a little too teenage-diary (“So I sit up late in the morning / And ask myself again / How do they kill children? / And why do I want to die?”), but Kristin Hersh backs it up with a coo-and-growl performance that’s totally unhinged.

40. Sinead O’Connor, “Thank You for Hearing Me” (1994)
It’s not the obvious gut-wrencher from the Irish pixie, but it sure is the right one. Where “Nothing Compares 2 U” comes at you straight up the middle, “Thank You for Hearing Me” (off of 1994′s Universal Mother) lulls you into a false sense of security with reassuring verses like “Thank you for loving me,” only to wallop you over the head with this doozy: “Thank you for breaking my heart / Thank you for tearing me apart / Now I’ve a strong, strong heart / Thank you for breaking my heart.” Yeah.

39. The Go-Betweens, “Dusty in Here” (1983)
Grant McLennan’s father died when he was four. Twenty years later, he wrote this bleak tribute, and its echoing empty spaces beautifully capture muted anguish for a loved one long-gone. When McLennan himself died three years ago, it took on even greater resonance.

38. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence” (1965)
“Hello darkness, my old friend.” The delicate harmonies of the then-nascent NYC folk duo spoke to a singular kind of loneliness — one that seeps in despite the constant noise and crowd of city life.

37. Sugarland, “Very Last Country Song” (2008)
It’s nice to think about a world without loss, pain, or regret, a world in which we wouldn’t require forlorn ballads like this one. And then you realize that world will never exist, and we’re all gonna die alone, and it’s not so nice anymore.

36. Phil Ochs, “Rehearsals for Retirement” (1969)
The underrated folk singer’s reluctant goodbye to the world must have been painful enough to hear when it first came out and his career was still active. Listening to the same words now with the knowledge that Ochs would take his own life seven years later is almost unbearably tragic.

35. Lorraine Ellison, “Stay With Me” (1966)
As the story goes, Ellison only recorded this with a full orchestra because Frank Sinatra cancelled on a session after they’d assembled. Her voice could have overpowered five symphonies.

34. The Velvet Underground, “Candy Says” (1969)
“I’ve come to hate my body / And all that it requires,” late-period bassist Doug Yule sings over hushed guitar chords in this song, reportedly written in honor of transgender Andy Warhol associate Candy Darling. It’s one of Lou Reed’s simplest compositions, and one of his most powerful.

33. Fiona Apple, “Never Is a Promise” (1996)
The crown princess of ’90s piano angst dug deep on this fierce, fragil ode to supreme isolation, singing desperately of a fever that “burns me deeper than I’ve ever shown.”

32. 10CC, “I’m Not in Love” (1975)
A choir of processed vocals — beautiful but weirdly chilly, like Stepford wives — provide the perfect backdrop for this anthem of blocked emotions.

31. Judy Garland, “Over the Rainbow” (1939)
The poignant plea at the heart of The Wizard of Oz speaks to our fantasies of flying away to a pain-free (and, sadly, impossible) paradise “where troubles melt like lemondrops.”

30. Big Star, “Holocaust” (1978)
No, the lyrics (“You’re a wasted face / You’re a sad-eyed lie / You’re a holocaust”) are not perky, and the weeping guitar and cello aren’t cheery either. But the real knife-twister is Alex Chilton’s voice, which slips and slides around the proper key and never sounds like a put-on.

29. Frank Sinatra, “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)” (1958)
In the aftermath of his painful divorce from Ava Gardner, Sinatra recorded Only the Lonely, one of the ultimate heartbreak albums. On this oft-covered track, he implores a bartender to help him drink away the pain and memories.

28. The Cure, “Pictures of You” (1989)
No amount of twinkly chime-shimmering can mask this song’s tragic truth: When you’ve been staring at pictures of your ex for so long you actually start to have tangible hallucinations about said ex, that’s bad.

27. Annie Lennox, “Why” (1992)
When Annie Lennox desperately cries to her lover, “Why can’t you see this boat is sinking?” it’s instantly familiar to anyone who has fought to the end in a deteriorating relationship. Her haunting voice makes this plea for forgiveness all the more despairing.

26. Aretha Franklin, “Ain’t No Way” (1968)
Technically a b-side to another single, this cri de coeur turned out to be one of the Queen of Soul’s crowning jewels.

25. Dolly Parton, “Jolene” (1973)
It’s a simple request: You can have any man you want, Jolene; please don’t take mine. That brittle tremble in Parton’s voice is desperation defined.

24. The Carpenters, “Superstar” (1971)
Originally recorded by Delaney and Bonnie as “Groupie (Superstar),” it’s written from the point of view of a woman waiting for her musician lover to return to her. Karen Carpenter’s yearning, hopeful performance makes you feel utterly devastated at the thought that said musician is probably now several more sexual conquests down the road.

23. Elvis Costello/Burt Bachrach, “God Give Me Strength” (1998)
Originally written for the film Grace of My Heart, this desperate prayer to survive love lost hits a crescendo when it speaks to the naked truth of being dumped — “See, I’m only human, I want him to hurt.”

22. John Lennon, “Mother” (1970)
Over sparse piano chords, drums, and bass, Lennon laments his long-departed mum (and the father who abandoned them), and then shows what he’s learned in primal-scream therapy.

21. U2, “One” (1992)
The third single from the Irish superstars’ 1991 album Achtung Baby remains one of the band’s most beloved touchstones (and, somewhat counter-intuitively, a wedding favorite).

20. The Band, “Tears of Rage” (1968)
Co-written by Bob Dylan and Band pianist Richard Manuel, this slow-burn ballad gets much of its emotional punch from Manuel’s anguished wail. It’s one of rock’s most haunting vocal performances.

19. George Jones, “He Stopped Loving Her Today” (1980)
How did the hopelessly devoted subject of Jones’ poignant country classic finally quit his long-gone but still pined-for love? He died. Seriously: “They placed a wreath upon his door / And soon they’ll carry him away / He stopped loving her today.”

18. Bill Withers, “Ain’t No Sunshine” (1971)
Withers was working in a factory making airplane toilet seats when he wrote this remarkably bleak but beautiful R&B ode to longing for someone when she’s gone.

17. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Maps” (2003)
The stunning desperation Karen O displays on this impassioned plea to a lover about to leave proves her pain is real. It’s as if she knows there’s nothing she can say to keep him at home, but can’t help putting up a good fight anyway.

16. Neil Young, “The Needle and the Damage Done” (1972)
Young’s heartfelt but unflinching song about Crazy Horse member Danny Whitten’s heroin addiction was rendered even more tragic when Whitten died of an overdose at the end of 1972.

15. Beck, “Lost Cause” (2002)
On the saddest track of Beck’s saddest album, love hasn’t just slipped away — it’s no longer worth fighting for, replaced by apathy and pretty, pretty exhaustion.

14. Bonnie Raitt, “I Can’t Make You Love Me” (1991)
Is there anything more heart-wrenching than begging someone to make love to you one last time — knowing they don’t want you anymore? Can’t think of it.

13. Roy Orbison, “Crying” (1961)
The flip side of his fame would always remain the jaunty, Julia Roberts-friendly “Pretty Woman,” but the orchestral sweep and chest-squeezing sorrow of the rock pioneer’s ululating ballad remains an unforgettable musical marker of “I’m not over you” despair.

12. Joy Division, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (1980)
Song as suicide note? Doesn’t get much sadder than that. Released just before frontman Ian Curtis took his own life, the beautifully morbid tune is believed to spell out the joyless division the singer and his wife, Deborah, were experiencing in real life. As an apparent statement of fact, she had “Love Will Tear Us Apart” inscribed on Curtis’ headstone.

11. Elliott Smith, “Between the Bars” (1997)
Smith’s ode to drinking away his depression poignantly encapsulates the work of an artist whose gifts were both a blessing and a burden.

10. Billie Holiday, “Good Morning, Heartache” (1946)
“I’ve got those Monday blues / Straight through Sunday blues”: Have the weekly blahs ever been conveyed more eloquently than in Lady Day’s jazz standard?

9. Prince, “Purple Rain” (1984)
U never meant 2 cause us any sorrow? U never meant 2 cause us any pain? Well, we never wanted 2 be your weekend lover. We only wanted to 2 be some kind of friend. Think on it, Prince. Think on it.

8. The Beatles, “Yesterday” (1965)
There have been scads of songs about the urge to turn back time and right old wrongs, but no tune captures that feeling quite as beautifully as “Yesterday.”

7. Fleetwood Mac, “Landslide” (1975)
Written by a young Stevie Nicks, this ethereal, melancholic tune about change and growing older becomes even more poignant with the maturing of its author.

6. Eric Clapton, “Tears In Heaven” (1992)
The guitarist responded to the accidental death of his four-year-old son with this devastating lament that makes horribly clear the chasm that now lies between Clapton and the loved one he has lost.

5. Al Green, “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?” (1972)
Reverend Green asks a reasonable question in his cover of the Bee Gees’ lament. But if heartbreak causes him to raise the query in such a silkily soulful fashion, we’re not going to get too upset that he doesn’t find the answer.

4. R.E.M., “Everybody Hurts” (1993)
Michael Stipe sounds like a bleating lamb who lost his mother on this overplayed but still devastating song, which keenly summarizes a universal truth atop a swooning string section.

3. Johnny Cash, “Hurt” (2002)
The Nine Inch Nails original conjures a sad-if-sadomasochistic glee. Johnny’s tear-inducing cover reinterpreted those mixed feelings into ones of genuine loss and heartache.

2. Otis Redding, “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” (1965)
The most soulful song ever? Redding’s rasp sounds like he’d been crying for a week before laying down the track, and the blaring horn build-up hits like a punch in the stomach. Almost physically painful to listen to.

1. Hank Williams, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” (1949)
Williams is so down, even the birds seem like they’ve lost their will to live. Throw in a mournful, clip-cloppy beat and a sobbing fiddle, and you might as well just lie down on the railroad tracks right now. Which is exactly what we feel like doing after compiling this list. We’re going to go listen to “Shiny Happy People” a few hundred times now

TOP 25 - Sad song list all over the world

There's no shortage of sad songs about rainy days and lovers who don't bring flowers. And then there are songs that truly bring the pain -- songs so despairing they can make us wonder why we even bother. Here are 25 little ditties so crushing, they could knock Dick Cheney to his knees.

25

'The River'

Bruce Springsteen (1980)

The Breakdown: Premature pregnancy, marriage and a weepy harmonica crush the dreams of a young couple.

The Waterworks: "We went down to the courthouse/And the judge put it all to rest/No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle/No flowers, no wedding dress."

Casualty Count: One couple's age of innocence.

Read 'The River' Lyrics

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24

'Nothing Compares 2 U'

Sinead O'Connor (1990)

The Breakdown: In this Prince-penned purple ode to an incomparable ex, there is life after love, but life really sucks.

The Waterworks: "Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling/Tell me baby, where did I go wrong?"

Casualty Count: One lover, seven hours, fifteen days.

Read 'Nothing Compares 2 U' Lyrics

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23

'No Surprises'

Radiohead (1997)

The Breakdown: A killer even by Thom Yorke's bleak standards, the kiddie chimes can't hide the singer's suicidal depression.

The Waterworks: "I'll take a quiet life/A handshake, some carbon monoxide."

Casualty Count: One heart that's "full up like a landfill."

Read 'No Surprises' Lyrics

22

'A Change Is Gonna Come'

Sam Cooke (1964)

The Breakdown: Recorded just before his tragic death, the soul great's response to 'Blowin' in the Wind' set the tone for the desperate Civil Rights struggle.

The Waterworks: "It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die."

Casualty Count: Countless proud citizens in Jim Crow America.

Read 'A Change Is Gonna Come' Lyrics

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21

'Space Oddity'

David Bowie (1969)

The Breakdown: In the same year as our lunar landing, rock's space alien creates Major Tom, whose remains will travel the galaxy alone forever.

The Waterworks: "Tell my wife I love her very much."

Casualty Count: One astronaut.

Read 'Space Oddity' Lyrics

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20

'That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be'

Carly Simon (1971)

The Breakdown: Marriage is inevitably dismal in this evocative pop hit, which was recorded a year before Simon's ill-fated marriage to James Taylor.

The Waterworks: "Their children hate them for the things they're not/They hate themselves for what they are."

Casualty Count: All marriages, one American dream.

Read 'That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be' Lyrics

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19

'Lost Cause'

Beck (2002)

The Breakdown: The postmodern trickster reaches back to the Romantic era for the most depressing song on his breakup album, 'Sea Change.'

The Waterworks: "I'm tired of fighting/Fighting for a lost cause."

Casualty Count: The one love of your life.

Read 'Lost Cause' Lyrics

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18

'I've Gotta Get a Message to You'

Bee Gees (1968)

The Breakdown: Condemned man makes final plea to loved one.

The Waterworks: "One more hour and my life will be through."

Casualty Count: One convicted murderer with a heart of gold.

Read 'I've Gotta Get a Message to You' Lyrics

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17

'Back to Black'

Amy Winehouse (2006)

The Breakdown: An ominous song of impending misery following infidelity, sung by a woman with her departing lover's name tattooed on her chest.

The Waterworks: "You go back to her/And I go back to black."

Casualty Count: A lover. Sobriety? Sanity?

Read 'Back to Black' Lyrics

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16

'Shilo'

Neil Diamond (1968)

The Breakdown: Lonely kid turns to an imaginary friend.

The Waterworks: "Papa says he'd love to be with you/If he had the time."

Casualty Count: One squandered father-son relationship

Read 'Shilo' Lyrics

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15

'My Mom'

Chocolate Genius (1998)

The Breakdown: Recent Springsteen sideman cut this heartbreaker about a return visit to his childhood home, and the mother he was losing to senility.

The Waterworks: "My mom, my sweet mom/She don't remember my name."

Casualty Count: One Alzheimer's victim (and one dog).

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14

'Anyone Who Had a Heart'

Dionne Warwick (1963)

The Breakdown: A lover begs her man to see how he's mistreating her. Classic Bacharach/David melodrama, crushing Warwick wails.

The Waterworks: "What am I to do?"

Casualty Count: One lover's sense of pride.

Read 'Anyone Who Had a Heart' Lyrics

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13

'Naked as We Came'

Iron & Wine (2004)

The Breakdown: Indie folkie Sam Beam's brutally sweet love song acknowledging that one always has to die before the other, plus a plug for cremation.

The Waterworks: "If I leave before you, darling/Don't you waste me in the ground."

Casualty Count: Your better half.

Read 'Naked as We Came' lyrics

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12

'In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning'

Frank Sinatra (1954)

The Breakdown: Ol' Blue Eyes parlayed his painful divorce from movie star Ava Gardner into a career makeover: the lonely guy at the end of the bar.

The Waterworks: "You'd be hers if only she would call."

Casualty Count: One Hollywood marriage, countless nights of sleep.

Read 'In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning' Lyrics

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11

'Brick'

Ben Folds Five (1997)

The Breakdown: Singer recalls taking his high-school girlfriend to get an abortion -- on the day after Christmas, no less.

The Waterworks: "Now that I have found someone/I'm feeling more alone/Than I ever have before."

Casualty Count: One pregnancy, one first love, several Christmas presents.

Read 'Brick' Lyrics

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10

'In the Real World'

Roy Orbison (1989)

The Breakdown: The master of pop-opera misery ('Crying,' 'It's Over') outdid himself with this quavering answer to his own 'In Dreams.' Posthumously released.

The Waterworks: "I love you and you love me/But sometimes we must let it be."

Casualty Count: All dreams.

Read 'In the Real World' Lyrics

09

'Concrete Angel'

Martina McBride (2001)

The Breakdown: What's more devastating than a child's headstone?

The Waterworks: "A name is written on a polished rock/A broken heart that the world forgot."

Casualty Count: One victim of child abuse.

Read 'Concrete Angel' Lyrics

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08

'Dance With My Father'

Luther Vandross (2003)

The Breakdown: Impossibly wrenching lament for the fact that we can't take care of our kids forever.

The Waterworks: "Sometimes I'd listen outside her door/And I'd hear how my mother cried for him/I'd pray for her even more than me."

Casualty Count: One father, one boy's sense of security in his father's arms.

Read 'Dance With My Father' Lyrics

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07

'Hallelujah'

Jeff Buckley (1994)

The Breakdown: Leonard Cohen's existential hymn addressing an old fling becomes a heavenly, if unanswered, prayer in the hands of the ill-fated Buckley.

The Waterworks: "Love is not a victory march/It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah."

Casualty Count: One crisis of faith.

Read 'Hallelujah' Lyrics

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06

'He Stopped Loving Her Today'

George Jones (1980)

The Breakdown: Sung by the country star with the most tears in his beer this side of Hank Sr., a jilted lover carries his old flame's memory until his dying day.

The Waterworks: "I went to see him just today/Oh, but I didn't see no tears/All dressed up to go away/First time I'd seen him smile in years."

Casualty Count: One fatally broken heart.

Read 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' Lyrics

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05

'I Know It's Over'

The Smiths (1986)

The Breakdown: For Morrissey, the world's loneliest singer, life isn't just over -- it never really began.

The Waterworks: "As I climb into an empty bed/Oh, well, enough said."

Casualty Count: One lonely soul ... any minute now.

Read 'I Know It's Over' Lyrics

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04

'Hurt'

Johnny Cash (2002)

The Breakdown: In failing health, the great American singer tolls a death knell for the rest of us with this brutal Nine Inch Nails song about addiction and self-destruction.

The Waterworks: "And you could have it all/My empire of dirt/I will let you down/I will make you hurt."

Casualty Count: Everyone he knows ("goes away in the end").

Read 'Hurt' Lyrics

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03

'Eleanor Rigby'

The Beatles (1966)

The Breakdown: The cute Beatle writes a timeless, devastating ode to the futility of life, set to a grieving string octet.

The Waterworks: "Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name/Nobody came."

Casualty Count: One spinster, one pair of socks.

Read 'Eleanor Rigby' Lyrics

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02

'Gloomy Sunday'

Billie Holiday (1941)

The Breakdown: The Queen of Soul-Sapping is haunted about losing a loved one.

The Waterworks: "Angels have no thought of returning you/Would they be angry if I thought of joining you?"

Casualty Count: One woman's will to live.

Read 'Gloomy Sunday' Lyrics

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01

'Chicken Wire'

Pernice Brothers (1998)

The Breakdown: Breathy Massachusetts sad sacks offer a lovely ballad about a woman choking to death on exhaust fumes ... and a cloud of minor chords.

The Waterworks: "They found her car/Still running/In the garage."

Casualty Count: One woman, and the drink she was holding.