There ain’t much in the world like a good old fashioned, sad country song.
If you follow Whiskey Riff in any capacity, then you know how much all of us here love them.
And since some of my favorite artists in the genre right now have written some of my very favorite sad songs that hurt so good, I wanted to know what some of their favorite’s were that inspired them to write soul-crushing music just like George, Willie, Merle, Waylon and all the other country greats.
So far for this new Sad Country Songs series, we’ve heard some great picks from Whiskey Myers frontman Cody Cannon, Wade Bowen, Hailey Whitters, Miranda Lambert, Graycie York, Riley Green, Randall King, Parker McCollum, and today, one of my favorite rising stars in the genre Ashland Craft is giving us her favorite sad country song.
Presented by our friends at Templeton Distillery, she says that the most heartbreaking song she’s ever heard is Patsy Cline’s “Crazy”:
“I love all sad country songs, but one that is really heartbreaking to me is ‘Crazy’ by Patsy Cline. I love the song so much because it’s such a mixture of emotions.
It’s really, really sad, but it’s almost endearing the way it is written and how it’s sang. You think about the lyrics and it’s about feeling crazy for loving someone but being unapologetic about it, and that’s a heartbreaking scenario.
The song was written and delivered perfectly, it punches me in the gut every time!”
Of course, “Crazy” was originally written by the one and only Willie Nelson, but shot to the #2 spot on the country charts in 1962 when Patsy released her iconic version as a single.
And it’s probably one of the most famous country classics of all time… I mean, who doesn’t know and love that song?
Ashland added that she loves these kinds of songs so much because it allows us to feel and release emotions that we don’t usually want to talk about out loud:
“One of the main reasons I’m so drawn to sad songs is because it’s a part of our emotions that we don’t put out there a lot.
We don’t talk about sad things all the time, but with sad music you can scream it at the top of your lungs and get out exactly what you are feeling in the moment. That’s why I appreciate ‘Crazy’ so much – especially because it’s a love song in a sense, and love brings a lot of sadness sometimes.
The whole song captures the many emotions of love and relationships, and how heartbreaking and beautiful they can be.”
Like all of you reading this I’m pretty sure, she hopes sad songs are one of those country music specialties that never goes away:
“My hope is that sad country music never goes away! I feel like it’s one of those double edged swords, everybody loves it but it’s a hard emotion to feel.
I know there are a lot of people out there that love writing and singing sad country music, I think that is what country music was built on!”
I couldn’t have said it any better myself.
Pour yourself a glass of Templeton whiskey and turn this one up if you need a good cry today…
They have a multitude of different kinds of whiskey, from their flagship variety of rye whiskey to the top-shelf specialities, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy, and any of their options pairs perfectly with a sad country song like this:
“Crazy”
And one of my favorite’s of Ashland’s sad songs come from her 2021 Travelin’ Kind album called “Make It Past Georgia.”
It’s definitely more along the lines of an angry breakup song, but you can never have enough of those, either, in my opinion. Coupled with her gritty, twangy vocals, it’s one of those tunes you can scream at the top of your lungs in the car and never gets old.
“Make It Past Georgia”
And if you really wanna get in your feels, check out our Sad Country Songs Make Me Happy playlist.
Listen to the playlist on Spotify.
Listen on Apple Music.