4 Country Tearjerkers From 1980 That Still Give Us Goosebumps

When John Travolta and Debra Winger appeared onscreen as Bud and Sissy in Urban Cowboy, the 1980 film introduced country music and honky-tonk culture to a wider audience. Soon, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, and others landed smash hits on both the country and pop charts. And many of those songs, like the ones on the list below, are the kind of tearjerkers that may still give you goosebumps.

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“Lady” by Kenny Rogers

“Lady”, one of Kenny Rogers’ signature songs, became a crossover hit. It was written and produced by Lionel Richie, who, after leaving the Commodores, ascended to the heights of pop stardom in the 1980s as a solo artist. Richie’s R&B instincts and Rogers’ country croon helped make “Lady” one of the most iconic ballads of the decade.

“Beneath Still Waters” by Emmylou Harris

“The surface won’t tell you what the deep water knows,” Emmylou Harris sings on “Beneath Still Waters”. Written by Dallas Frazier and first recorded by George Jones, Harris released the single in 1980. The song describes the tumult lying beneath a veneer of calm in a relationship. Even after countless spins of this tearjerker, Harris’s lonesome voice reliably delivers goosebumps.

“Old Flames Can’t Hold A Candle To You” by Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton assures a lover that the sparks from an ex aren’t enough to reignite an old relationship. “Like stars in the night, lost in the sweet light of dawn,” she sings here. Joe Sun released the single in 1978, and Parton’s reading of “Old Flames” appears on Dolly, Dolly, Dolly, an album comprised of covers. Though Parton didn’t write it, once in her voice, it’s hard to hear the sugary tune any other way.

 “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” by Charley Pride

There’s A Little Bit Of Hank In Me is Charley Pride’s album-length ode to Hank Williams. And it’s hard to imagine any country music singer without Williams’s influence. “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” is one of the great sad songs in history. A whippoorwill too blue to fly. Or the moon, hiding its face behind a cloud. This is the forlorn language of Williams. Here, Pride’s resounding baritone soars past weeping instrumentation, reiterating Williams eternal lament.

Did you ever see a robin weep,
When leaves begin to die?
That means he’s lost the will to live
I’m so lonesome, I could cry.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns