No Bed of Roses, No Pleasure Cruise Quiz

Answer: "The River" - Bruce Springsteen

This song marked a change in direction for Bruce Springsteen. While it was recorded with his E Street Band, it was a plaintive ballad with a wailing harmonica that told the true story of Springsteen's sister and brother-in-law: a story of poverty due to inconsistent construction work employment, a teenage pregnancy and the reality of dreams that will never be fulfilled. Throughout the song, the river, where the two protagonists go to escape their mundane everyday lives, is seen as a symbol for the dreams of the future. The song narrator still keeps his hopes and dreams alive even as they realistically begin to fail. In the last verse, we see that those dreams will never be realised:

"That sends me down to the river,
Though I know the river is dry.
It sends me down to the river tonight"

The song became the title song of his 1980 album, a double album recorded over 18 months with his band. The song was a hit overseas but was not released as a single in the US. Over fifty songs were recorded for the album, of which twenty made the final cut. However, according to a 2015 TV interview, the album contained four songs "The River", "Point Blank", "Independence Day" and "Stolen Car" as being "the heart and soul" of the album. But more so these introspective songs informed the songs written for his next album, "Nebraska", a solo project recorded in his New Jersey home.

These demos were meant to be used as templates for the E Street Band to add their customary high-energy backing, but in the end, Springsteen released the demos without the band's input. There was little promotion of this album, and the reviews were mixed. The album, a blend of folk and lo-fi heartland rock, took commentators by surprise. However, the themes of blue-collar America not being able to succeed within the US became Springsteen's mantra, and he became a symbol for the working class.

In time, "Nebraska", first released in 1982, became not just one of Springsteen's best albums but, in a time dominated by synth-pop, it stood out as something much more different and much more powerful than the contemporaneous songs popular around it. (The full E-Street Band version of the Album, "Electric Nebraska", was released in October 2025.)

The picture, indeed, depicts a river, but the "Nebraska" road sign hints at the linkages between "The River" and the next Springsteen album ", Nebraska".

Answer: "Cat's in the Cradle" - Harry Chapin

Harry Chapin's only number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "Cat's in the Cradle", started life as a poem by Harry's wife, Sandy, who wrote about her first husband, a distant father to their three children. (Sandy subsequently divorced her first husband and married Harry. They had two children of their own.)

The picture depicts the second verse of the song:
"My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today
I got a lot to do." He said, "That's okay"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
It said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"

The boy spends his whole childhood and adolescence with an absent father. The situation comes full circle in the fourth and final verse:

"I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and the kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"
And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me".

(Author's note: While this person has been listening to Chapin music for over fifty years, this song was always in the back of his mind as a parent, and he hopes he was never the same father (or even close to it) that was depicted in this powerful song, worthy of being told as a Shakespearean tragedy.)

Answer: Seasons in the Sun

In 1961, Belgian poet-composer Jacques Brel released "Le Moribond" ("The Dying Man") in French. In 1964, the Kingston Trio released the first English-language version of the song (after American poet Rod McKuen translated the lyrics into English). It was this version that Canadian Terry Jacks heard and became the basis for his version, retaining the tragic theme of a young man knowing he was going to die and saying goodbye to everyone before the inevitable.

Jacks had a good reason for recording this macabre song: One of his close friends had developed leukaemia and had been given six months to live, dying in four. He reworked the original song as a tribute to his friend.

After the song was a hit, he had dinner with Jacques Biel, who explained that he wrote the song in a brothel in Tangiers. The story in that song, he explained, was "about an old man who was dying of a broken heart because his best friend was [having sex with] his wife". He was farewelling his priest and his best friend and his wife, who had cheated on him:

"Adieu, Francoise, my trusted wife, without you I'd have had a lonely life. You cheated lots of times but then I forgave you in the end, though your lover was my friend."

The picture depicts two car jacks superimposed with "Terry" to visually depict the artist's name, the shining summer sun and the falling leaves hint at seasons, and the leaves being maple leaves point toward Terry Jacks' Canadian nationality.

Answer: Hazard

In some way, Richard Marx's synth-pop music epitomised the music of the 80s. His songs, usually about relationships, were mega-successful with seven Billboard Hot 100 top ten hits and three number ones (listed as incorrect answer options above) before 1991's "Hazard", which admittedly was different to his previous hits. The song is the story of a young man who grows up in Hazard, Nebraska and is an outsider because he's "not right". He is accused, rightly or wrongly, of murder when his friend, Mary, is found dead by the river. The song is ambiguous whether he is innocent or guilty, but it is written in a way that you feel sympathy for the young man. In the corresponding film clip where Marx plays the young man, it is quite clear who the murderer is. However, when you listen to the song, you want the underdog, the marginalised, to be right, and you wish for his innocence to be recognised.

The backstory to the name of the song is quite unique. Marx had the whole song written except for the name. Marx explains in a 2012 interview that the last line of the chorus was locked in with "and leave this old Nebraska town". So he called the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce to ask 'Can you fax me a list of every town and city and municipality in the state of Nebraska.' The official was obliging and sent Marx a 17-page list of Nebraskan towns. He picked Hazard randomly (luckily, it was two syllables).

Another fun fact: Marx did not like this song, but his wife (Cynthia Rhodes, "Dirty Dancing" 1987) loved it and proclaimed it a hit. Marx disagreed and said he only put it on his 1991 album "Rush Street, "just to prove to her that she was wrong". He went on to say it was a number one hit in 13 countries four months later (but only number nine in the US).

The picture depicts the second verse of the song:
"We used to walk down by the river
She loved to watch the sun go down
We used to walk along the river
And dream our way out of this town"

Answer: Neil Young - "The Needle and The Damage Done"

If there was ever a song that epitomised the tragedy of drug use, this 1971 ballad from Neil Young's "Harvest" album is it. The sadness intensified when you found out it was about a bandmate of Young's, Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten. During rehearsal for an upcoming tour, Young explained he was so high he could not hold his guitar. Young gave him money for rehab and sent him back to Los Angeles. When Whitten reached LA, he killed himself by overdosing on alcohol and Valium. The song takes on an added intensity when the listener realises the track was recorded live (University of California in January 1971, a year before "Harvest" was released). You can hear the heartache in Young's voice, and at the end, you can feel the earnestness of the audience clapping as they had witnessed hearing a song for the first time that was obviously heartfelt.

The picture depicts the last heartbreaking verse of the song:
"I've seen the needle and the damage done...But every junkie's like a settin' sun".

This wasn't the only loss to heroin Neil Young recorded in song as a tribute. "Tonight's The Night" off the same album is a tribute to Young's roadie Bruce Berry, who overdosed on heroin a few months after Whitten.

Answer: Someone Like You

Oh, Adele, if your first two albums are anything to go by, you have had more heartbreak than most before you were 21. Your worldwide 2011 number one from "21", "Someone Like You" is one of the saddest songs. It is about trying to get over an ex-partner and trying to find another partner who can bring back those special feelings. This author had the pleasure of attending your 2017 Brisbane (Australia) concert, where you told the crowd, "Because as bad as a break up can be, as bitter and horrible and messy as it can be, that feeling when you first fall for someone is the best feeling on earth, and I am addicted to that feeling."

The sadness of the song was exemplified by the sparse arrangement. It was written in two days with Dan Wilson (from Semisonic), with only a grand piano for accompaniment, allowing the emotion in Adele to spill out and fill the spaces that other instruments would have in a typical pop song.
The picture depicts the song title.

"Similar Features" is another heartbreaking song (1988) by the "Queen of Angst Over Broken Relationships" - Melissa Etheridge, who could have had any number of songs in this quiz.

Answer: "Brick" - Ben Folds Five

Ben Folds Five was a fun band. Their name exemplified this - they were a trio. While they were a great band to see live, commercial success, through recording, eluded them. So, in a series of heartbreaking songs that comprise this quiz, this is arguably the saddest song in this entire series.

It is a true story of Ben Folds, who went through a high school abortion with his at-the-time girlfriend. On the subsequent "Live" album (2013), Folds explained, "I didn't really want to write this song from any kind of political standpoint, or make a statement. I just wanted to reflect what it feels like". And what a sad story it was; told chronologically, it documents the events of the day with the chorus blaming the girl for what had happened, she had become an encumbrance for him:

"Now that I have found someone
I'm feeling more alone
Then I ever have before
She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly"

To the transactional while waiting at the clinic:

"Then I walk down to buy her flowers
and sell some gifts that I got"

It was the day after Christmas, and he pawned Christmas gifts to pay for the abortion.

We don't get to see how his girlfriend feels about this situation until the second half of the song - She is depressed and not doing well at all. We know this as the boy talks to the unborn baby:

"Now she's feeling more alone
Then she ever has had before"

And finally, they owned up to their parents:

"They told me, son, it's time to tell the truth
She broke down, and I broke down
Cause I was tired of lying"

But the saddest part of the song is the last verse:

"Driving home to her apartment
For the moment, we're alone
She's alone
I'm alone
Now I know it"

Despite the shared experience they both went through,
they are not in it together. Whilst we initially think they are alone together, we realise that she was alone, and he was alone.
And then the heartbreaking chorus again

"She's a brick and I am drowning slowly"

We realise they are not going to make it, and for the boy, he needs to leave the girl; otherwise, he will not make it himself.

Answer: "Crying" - Roy Orbison

There are sad songs and there are sad singers. Few could sing a sad song as well as Roy Orbison: He had a soulful voice with an incredible range. He also had a tragic backstory: he lost his wife in a motorcycle accident in 1966 and two of his sons soon after when his house burnt down. He wrote this song in 1961 with his songwriting partner Joe Melrose after he met an old girlfriend with whom he was still in love. He didn't tell her this, so the song became his lament. The tone of the song adds to its sadness: it starts slow and low and builds to a soaring release at the end with the top register of Orbison's on full display. Another remarkable item about this song was at the time of writing, men who cried were seen as being weak. However, Orbison was able to convey sensitivity. Arguably, few other singers of the time would have been able to pull this off.

This was a number two Billboard Hot 100 hit - it deserved to be number one. It has been covered by many artists. This was Don McLean's second biggest American hit when he took it to number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980. Technically, it was a good cover, but Mr McLean did not have Mr Orbison's voice. Perhaps the best cover version was when Orbison himself re-recorded the song with kd lang, where Ms lang could match Mr Orbison's vocal range.

The picture conceptually shows Roy Orbison crying whilst being on stage. The darkened sunglasses he always wore were not just a gimmick. He forgot his glasses for one gig, so he wore prescription sunglasses instead. He found that they helped overcome his stage fright, so he then wore sunglasses all the time when performing.

Answer: "Tears in Heaven" - Eric Clapton

How does a parent get over the loss of a child? This 1992 Eric Clapton song is about the loss of his four-year-old son Conor, who fell out of a 53rd-floor window in a New York City apartment a year earlier.

The back story was that Clapton and Will Jennings, a songwriter of many hits, were engaged to write a song for a 1992 song called "Rush". They wrote the required song "Help Me Up", but there was room in the movie for another song. Jennings, in a 2006 interview, said Clapton wanted to write about his son. He had the first verse (see the question) and the bridge:

"Time can bring you down
Time can bend your knees
Time can break your heart
Have you begging please
Begging please"

He told Clapton it was a very personal song and he should write the song himself. They ended up writing the song together. After they finished the song, Clapton was not sure he wanted it to be released. The film director, Lili Zanuck, persuaded him otherwise with an argument "that it might in some way help somebody, and that got my vote," Clapton said. It was a top ten hit on both sides of the Atlantic and won Grammys in 1993 for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal.

The picture is an abstract representation of tears in heaven.

Answer: "Hurt" - Nine Inch Nails

This song was written by Trent Reznor, the lead singer of Nine Inch Nails, whose group released it in 1995. It was an industrial rock song about self-harm and addiction.

When Johnny Cash recorded it in 2002, a few months before his death, he not only made the song about himself and his life but also added enormous depth and meaning. This was in no small part due to the accompanying video being filmed in his home and museum, The House of Cash. The museum was dedicated to both his life and body of work, but it has deteriorated and fallen into disrepair during the last years of his life.

In the video, Cash is surrounded by the memories of his life, both good and bad. In the song, his voice now breaking with age, Cash evokes so much pain, regret, and heartache as he reflects, as only an ailing man at the end of his life can. He knows exactly where he has been, and he knows with certainty that there is no going back. The video won the 2004 Grammy Award for "Best Short Form Music Video", and it was ranked the greatest music video of all time by "NME" in 2012.

This was the final hit of the Man in Black's career. Three months later, his wife, June Carter Cash, died 35 years after they were married. Four months later, Johnny Cash died. "Hurt" was a fitting epitaph.

Answer: "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" - Elton John

"Sad Songs (Say So Much)" is not a sad song per se. (Hence, it is not one of the ten saddest songs in this quiz). The lyrics are sad, but the music contradicts them by being upbeat. This is because the song is written in the key of C Major. Most sad songs are sung in a minor key. However, this song's lyrics come close to why counterintuitively we like sad songs so much (so to speak).
The lyrics reveal:

"'Cause from the lips of some old singer
We can share the troubles we already know"

and

"If someone else is suffering enough to write it down
When every single word makes sense
Then it's easier to have those songs around
The kick inside is in the line that finally gets to you
and it feels so good to hurt so bad
And suffer just enough to sing the blues"

So, to try to explain via the literature, sad songs attract empathy and emotional engagement. These types of songs resonate with the listener on a deep emotional and personal level because they evoke empathetic feelings, allowing us to connect with the emotions associated with the song. This, in turn, leads to a shared experience and a better understanding in part of our world. Empathetic people are more likely to appreciate sad music as they can relate to the emotions carried in the music.

The literature has reported on the "tragedy paradox." This is the phenomenon of enjoying sad music. We try to avoid sadness in our daily activities, but we find pleasure in experiencing sadness in music and art. This enjoyment occurs because sad music causes a cathartic release, allowing the listener to firstly confront and, secondly, process their own emotions on their terms in a safe, controlled environment. From this, an emotional release may occur for the listener as their emotions are no longer suppressed. Finally, for the listener, sad songs can evoke nostalgic reminders of past emotional experiences, which may be a source of comfort and well-being.

(Author's note. If you want an Elton John sad song, see any one of the following:
- "Empty Garden"
- "Candle In The Wind"
- "Song for Guy"
- "Cold as Christmas (In the Middle of the Year)"
- "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"
- "Daniel"
- "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me")

The picture depicts images associated with Elton John: A rocket becomes "Rocket Man" (1969); A pair of his outrageous spectacles, and an artwork depicting the yellow brick road. The larger "Saddest Songs" book hints that there are many more sad songs compared to love songs, as the "Saddest Songs" is the biggest book on the shelf. The book, "Too Low for Zero", is the same title as the 1984 Elton John album that features the "Sad Songs" track.