3 Ballads From the 1970s That Are Even Sadder for 70s Kids To Hear as Adults

Sad ballads, many of which continue to make us cry, remind listeners just how much we all share similar heartbreaking experiences. We connect the most with songs that seem to speak to us directly—as if the songwriter is telling our story. A great ballad, like these classics from the 1970s, feels more emotional with time as memories pile up and compete for space in our brains. So if you are in the mood for a good cry, allow these endlessly sad ballads to serve as the soundtrack to your deepest feels.

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“Without You” by Harry Nilsson

“I can’t live if living is without you,” sings Harry Nilsson on his heartbreaking cover of Badfinger’s “Without You”. The track appears on Nilsson’s 1971 masterpiece, Nilsson Schmilsson. It became his only No. 1 single, and it occupied the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. An emotional and heartrending vocal performance, Nilsson can’t imagine life carrying on without his partner, and handling such a breakup doesn’t get any easier with age.

“The Way We Were” by Barbra Streisand

The title track to Barbra Streisand’s 1973 film finds the singer looking back on a relationship before it has disintegrated. She sings about her memories as watercolors—misty, bright, and soft. But watercolors can also bleed into a messy picture, making it hard to distinguish details. Our minds are good at tricking us into remembering only the good parts of the past. That’s how nostalgia works. In the film, Streisand plays opposite Robert Redford, and their relationship ultimately ends when idealism meets reality. But only in hindsight does she focus on the tender moments.

“Let It Be” by The Beatles

During sessions for the White Album, Paul McCartney felt as though he was the only Beatle still interested in the band. Then McCartney dreamed about his late mother, Mary. “One night during this tense time, I had a dream I saw my mum, who’d been dead 10 years or so,” he said. “And it was so great to see her because that’s a wonderful thing about dreams: you actually are reunited with that person for a second.”

Many listeners have interpreted the lyric about Mother Mary to be a religious reference to the Virgin Mary. However one hears it, “Let It Be” remains as emotionally moving as when it first appeared on The Beatles’ final studio album.

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