5 Iconic Songs That Will Bring a Tear to Any Baby Boomer’s Eye

There’s nothing quite as cathartic as allowing a song to move you to tears, and the 1970s were chock-full of songs that did just that.

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From the general passing of time to the heartache of growing up to the gut-punch breakups, these iconic songs can easily bring a tear to any baby boomer’s eye. (But let’s be real: Gen X-ers and millennials aren’t immune to these effects, either.)

“Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac

Even in her mid-20s, Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac managed to encapsulate the feeling of growing up, moving on, and finding inner peace with all the wisdom of someone in their 70s or 80s. “Landslide” appeared on the band’s eponymous 1975 release, which was the first to include Nicks and her then-partner, Lindsey Buckingham. Breakups, big moves, death, inner changes: “Landslide” is the perfect soundtrack for all of these emotionally moving moments.

“Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin

Harry Chapin’s 1974 hit, “Cat’s In The Cradle”, is one of those songs that will move you to tears for different reasons, depending on how old you are when you listen to it. From feeling far away from too-busy or altogether absent parents in one’s youth to feeling that same distance and separation from one’s own kids as an adult, Chapin’s song is the tear-soaked gift that keeps on giving.

“Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young distilled the shock, anger, frustration, and deep sadness every baby boomer felt after witnessing the tragic shooting at Kent State University on May 4, 1970, in their track, “Ohio”, which they released that same year. The melancholic chord progression and tight vocal harmonies create tremendous emotional impact, and the events of that harrowing day speak for themselves. In this case, the tears shed are as angry as they are sad.

“Blue” by Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell bore her soul on her 1971 album, Blue—so much so that she made other songwriters, like Kris Kristofferson, a little uncomfortable. But Blue and its title track are the musical equivalent of starting to cry because you see someone else welling up. That kind of vulnerability and heartache is hard not to internalize when it’s being presented to you in such painstaking, voice-cracking clarity.

“Without You” by Harry Nilsson

Finally, speaking of heart-wrenching vulnerability, Harry Nilsson’s version of Badfinger’s “Without You” is one of the most emotionally devastating vocal performances of the 1970s. Nilsson sounds like he might explode in a burst of heartbroken, yearning passion by the end of the song, rousing the listener to feel the same way. Of all the 1970s songs that can bring a tear to your eye, this one is certainly guaranteed to transport you back to your first real heartbreak.

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