3 Tender Tracks From 1993 That Had Generation X Crying by the Radio

Generation X got plenty of tear-jerker tracks in 1993. These three songs, in particular, might just make you feel emotional.

“Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M. from ‘Automatic For The People’

“When your day is long / And the night, the night is yours alone / When you’re sure you’ve had enough / Of this life, well, hang on.”

This R.E.M. hit was a shoo-in for our list of 1993 tracks that had Generation X in tears back in the day. “Everybody Hurts” is an ode to compassion and loneliness that all human beings share, and the band did something fairly new by injecting that sentiment into an alternative rock song.

“Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M. was a No. 29 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune also reached the Top 30 around the globe.

“Linger” by The Cranberries from ‘Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?’ 

“I swore, I swore I would be true / And, honey, so did you / So why were you holding her hand? / Is that the way we stand? / Were you lyin’ all the time?”

This fragile and heartbreaking song about a broken relationship leaving one wondering whether there was ever really love to begin with had plenty of listeners in tears back in the day. If you were going through a breakup when this Cranberries classic hit the airwaves, you probably listened to it on repeat more than you’d care to admit.

“Linger” by The Cranberries peaked at No. 8 on the Hot 100 in 1993. The dreamy song also reached the Top 40 globally.

“I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston from ‘The Bodyguard’

“But don’t make me close one more door / I don’t wanna hurt anymore / Stay in my arms if you dare / Or must I imagine you there?”

Honestly, if “I Will Always Love You” had been released in 1993 instead of 1992, it would have stolen this spot on our list. But “I Have Nothing”, another Whitney Houston classic from The Bodyguard soundtrack, definitely deserves the spot nonetheless. She had the kind of explosive and emotional voice that could bring even the most hardened adult to their knees.

“I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston was a global hit in 1993. The anthemic heartbreaker reached No. 4 on the Hot 100 and topped the Adult Contemporary chart in the US.

Photo by Anthony Pidgeon/Redferns