3 Rock Songs That Make People Weirdly Emotional

Some songs are made to make the listener cry. The songwriter knows precisely what they are doing, putting just the right emotional core in their work. The three rock songs below weren’t written to make us cry, but they still do. It’s not that it’s weird to get emotional to these songs, but that’s not their intent. Revisit these surprisingly emotional rock hits below.

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“Boys of Summer” (Don Henley)

Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer” isn’t a tear-jerker melody-wise, but the nostalgia in this rock song has been known to make listeners well up from time to time.

Henley helped his fans revisit a time gone by when both summertime and youth felt eternal. If you’re young enough to still be in that stage of your life, this song stunningly speaks to your situation. For those who can only look back at times like these, the sentiment is like a knife to the heart. I never will forget those nights / I wonder if it was a dream, Henley sings, nodding to an all too familiar memory.

“Livin’ on a Prayer” (Bon Jovi)

Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” is a crowd-pleaser. It’s impossible to hear this song and not want to sing along, forcing a communal experience in every room. If you’ve ever experienced such a moment with “Livin’ on a Prayer,” you might feel a tinge of nostalgia for good times gone by every time you’re acquainted with this Bon Jovi classic.

The lyrics tell an emotional story, but most people hear this song as an anthem. “Livin’ on a Prayer” proves that a song can be both large enough to fill an arena and intimate enough to stir something in all of us.

“Wild Horses” (The Rolling Stones)

On paper, The Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses” is a touching love song. But, in practice, this rock song has proven to be much more. Whether it be nostalgia or just pure songwriting force, “Wild Horses” has an element that makes it almost existential.

Wild horses couldn’t drag me away, the chorus reads. Keith Richards wrote this song as a lullaby for his son, after many years of balancing fatherhood with a touring life. However, the sentiment in this song is so universal that most people don’t know its origin. This hit is about anyone who listens to it, and that’s the mark of a truly great song.

(Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)