Sad country songs just make me so damn happy.
Of course, if you follow Whiskey Riff in any capacity, then you know how much all of us here love a good old fashioned, sad country song.
I’m talking turn the lights out, pour a glass of whiskey and cry in your room alone kind of sad. The kind that rips your heart clean out of your chest… and yet, it’s enjoyable.
I mean, this really sums it up:
And not only that, but since some of my favorite artists in the genre right now wrote some of my all-time 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 this week, to kick off our new Sad Country Songs series, I wanted to start with the incredibly talented Cody Cannon, who you know best as the frontman for the face-melting Southern rock band Whiskey Myers.
The guys have a brand new album Tornillo out as of this past Friday, and since there’s one or two absolute heartbreakers on that tracklist (“For the Kids,” namely), I figured Cody would have a couple great sad songs he loves up his sleeve to share with us.
Of course, like he mentioned, it’s nearly impossible to choose just one, because it really is a country specialty in every sense:
“Oh God, there’s a million of them! I don’t know if I have a go-to, I’m just gonna pick one that I really like. So let’s say, I mean, ‘cuz that’s like, a kinda country song specialty, right?
So you’re talking about the best songs ever in that category.”
And while I couldn’t agree with that statement any more, he did settle on one tune in particular, which would be “Weatherman” by Hank Williams Jr., from his 1981 33rd studio album The Pressure Is On:
“Let’s go with ‘Mr. Weatherman,’ Hank Williams Jr. That would probably be the first real sad song that I really, really dug, you know what I mean?”
He added that the deep cut is still one of his go-to’s today, and it holds a bit of sentimental value in that it was featured on the very first cassette tape he ever owned as a young kid and one of the first sad songs he really loved:
“It’s still up there for me, so I would say ‘Mr. Weatherman.’ That record was ‘The Pressure Is On,’ that was the first cassette tape I ever had when I was a kid.”
There you have it, folks… straight from one of the best songwriters in the genre right now.
If you’ve never heard this gem from ol’ Bocephus, make sure you take Cody’s recommendation and check it out:
And in the spirit of sad songs, I also want to include my favorite one from each artist and band I feature, and Cody might’ve penned the saddest one I’ve ever heard with Whiskey Myers’ Platinum song “Broken Window Serenade.”
Seriously, I’m sad for like a whole week every time I listen to this one. It’s beyond phenomenal:
For more of the best sad country songs, check out the Whiskey Riff Sad Country Songs Make Me Happy Playlist:
Listen on Spotify.
Listen on Apple Music.
