History TearJerker / DeathCabForCutie

* "Tiny Vessels"is very much a downer when you imagine being the person on the other end of the song.

* "Tiny Vessels",
This song is very much a downer when you think about being the person on the other end of the song.

* "The Sound of Settling", despite its [[LyricalDissonance upbeat tune]], can be quite depressing. Also "Tiny Vessels":

[[DeathCabForCutie This indie band]] [[TearJerker is quite prolific in writing songs that can trigger the tears]].

* "Styrofoam Plates", which is told from the viewpoint of a boy at the funeral of his selfish, neglectful father, can leave many a person in helpless, horrified tears -- especially after the last verse ("You're a disgrace to the concept of family; the priest won't divulge that fact in his homily, and I'll stand up and scream if the mourning remain quiet; you can deck out a lie in a suit, but I won't buy it...") - but it isn't uncommon for people to start tearing up from the very first line, either.
** It doesn't help that it's so...DIFFERENT than most Death Cab songs. Usually, Ben Gibbard sings in such a quiet, haunting and almost sad voice...and this song is raw ANGER, and when he starts to lose his temper when practically YELLING at his dead father...it can be shocking. Although, this could be explained by the fact that it's not about his father --- but about a friend's dad. Therefore, he maybe felt free to write in a different style -- as an outsider

** It doesn't help that it's so...DIFFERENT than most Death Cab songs. Usually, Ben Gibbard sings in such a quiet, haunting and almost sad voice...and this song is raw ANGER, and when he starts to lose his temper when practically YELLING at his dead father...it can be shocking. Although, this could be explained by the fact that it's not about his father --- but about a friend's dad. Therefore, he maybe felt free to write in a different style -- as an outsider

[...]\\

I return to the scene of these crimes.

* The Ghosts of Beverly Drive is about being hurt so many times that you feel resigned to relationships always failing, but continuing to try anyway because you don't know what else to do. "But if you let me be your skyline / I'll let you be the wave / that reduces me to rubble / that looked safe from far away"

[[folder:Codes and Keys]]

* Despite the briefness of "Gridlock Caravans," anyone who's had to deal with troubles in a seemingly ideal life will cry at this.
* For anyone who's ever completely loved a person, but was scared of commitment: Listen to "Diamond and a Tether."
* A lesser known Death Cab for Cutie song, ''Amputations'' should be included here if not only for the line [[WhamLine "He's unresponsive 'cause you're irresponsible"]].

* "Line of Best Fit" manages to make a math metaphor heartbreaking.
* "Army Corps of Architects."

* "What Sarah Said" can place some people on the verge of tears after actually listening to the lyrics. The real gut-wrenching lyrics are "I'm thinking of what Sarah said: That love is watching someone die. So who's gonna watch you die?"
** That song was used during an adaptation of Everyman, a medieval morality play about who will have your back when you die and face God's judgement. Very much a tearjerking juxtaposition.
** It could also be because the image of being in a hospital, literally feeling someone you love slowly slip away from you, can appeal to everyone who has ever been in a slightly similar situation.
** And the music video adds a whole new dimension of heartbreak, with imagery of self-harm and mental illness that really amps up the helplessness of watching someone die, and hurt, and no matter how much you love them you can't make them choose to stay.
* "I Will Follow You Into the Dark", especially with the video, is absolutely devastating.
** Truly one of the simplest, most haunting, and truly beautiful songs ever written.
** It even has two videos- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nog3J4t3BfE the official]], which is simple, effective, and creative... And then there's the one that was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEGXU773tTM included]] in their DVD "Directions: The Plans Musical Album."
* "Brothers On A Hotel Bed" can do it for some people, when they are feeling particularly unhappy or needs to write something sad. From the first line, "You may tire of me as our December sun is setting because I'm not who I used to be," straight to the finish, it's a heartbreaking song.
** "On the back of a motor bike, with your arms outstretched, trying to take flight...leaving everything behind...but even at our swiftest speed, we couldn't break from the concrete in the city where we still reside" can also be very triggering. The heartbreaking loneliness, despite being with someone, is so powerful in this song...
** It's such a subtle song too; that's partially why it's so moving. It's not a big dramatic breakup song, it's tragic in an understated why.
* "Summer Skin", which is a beautiful but incredibly sad song about fleeting love.
-->"On the night you left\\
I came over\\
And we peeled the freckles from our shoulders\\
Our brand new coats so flushed and pink\\
And I knew your heart I couldn't win\\
Cause the season's change was a conduit\\
And we'd left our love in our summer skin".

* "Someday You Will Be Loved" might be the most powerful song, especially for people who have been dumped. ("You'll be loved, you'll be loved, like you never have known/And the memories of me will seem more like bad dreams/Just a series of blurs, like I never occurred/Someday you will be loved.")
** Can cause MoodWhiplash when looked at from a [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation different angle]]: The narrator is using his girl's potential future happiness to rationalize sneaking out on her now.

* "Grapevine Fires" might seem mediocre, at first - until you realize what it is talking about. It is about an event that many real people went through.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8ZUV9IBEXY The video]] [[FromBadToWorse is even worse]], especially when the singer's brother/neighbor's girlfriend gets burned up (true story).
*** Actually, the "based on a true story" part of the song was when the girl danced through the field of graves. It doesn't make it any less sad, though, because it's assumed that at least one person close to Ben Gibbard died in the fires.
* ''Do not'' listen to "Talking Bird" if you've ever lost a pet, especially a bird. Good luck making it through without breaking down completely if you have!
* "Your New Twin Sized Bed" can make many people who suffer from loneliness after having the strong hopes of finding someone break down and cry. Especially where he sings, "It's like we're in some kind of hurry to say good-bye..."
* "You Can Do Better Than Me (But I Can't Do Better Than You)", which ([[LyricalDissonance although it has an upbeat tune]]) is about a slowly failing relationship, and the narrator's own low self-esteem/low opinion of themself.
-->"I have to face the truth\\
That no one could ever look at me\\
Like you do\\
Like I'm something worth\\
Holding on to\\
There's times I think of leaving\\
But it's something I'll never do\\
'Cause you can do better than me\\
But I can't do better than you."
* Their cover of "All is Full of Love" has this too, to a lesser degree. Only two minutes.
* Despite the briefness of "Gridlock Caravans," anyone who's had to deal with troubles in a seemingly ideal life will cry at this.
* For anyone who's ever completely loved a person, but was scared of commitment: Listen to "Diamond and a Tether."
* A lesser known Death Cab for Cutie song, ''Amputations'' should be included here if not only for the line [[WhamLine "He's unresponsive 'cause you're irresponsible"]].
* "Death of an Interior Decorator". "Can you tell me why you have been so sad?"

* Though it's technically a Postal Service song, "This Place Is A Prison" is a heartbreaking tune about addiction.
* "Stable Song." The subdued, nostalgic music, together with lyrics such as "Suffered a swift defeat / I'll endure countless repeats / The gift of memory's an awful curse / with age it just gets much worse" make this one melancholy even by Death Cab's standards. The alternate version, "Stability," might be even sadder.
* "I'm Building A Fire" on Ben's solo album is about someone comforting his loved ones before he dies.

* "Steadier Footing" is about running into someone you used to have feelings for but still don't have the courage to approach about it. "I try to bum a smoke, you quit this winter past / I've tried twice before, but like this it just will not last."

* "Coney Island."
* Their newest album Kintsugi has some pretty serious tearjerkers. Particularly:
** The Ghosts of Beverly Drive is about being hurt so many times that you feel resigned to relationships always failing, but continuing to try anyway because you don't know what else to do. "But if you let me be your skyline / I'll let you be the wave / that reduces me to rubble / that looked safe from far away"
** Little Wanderer hits particularly hard if you've ever been in a long distance relationship.

* "Grapevine Fires" might seem mediocre, at first - until you realize what it is talking about. It is about and event that many real people went through.

** It even has two videos- [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rePcHxFJIuU&feature=BFa&list=PL371DEC82FDD90167&index=26&shuffle=669791 the official]], which is simple, effective, and creative... And then there's the one that was [[http://www.myspace.com/video/monkmus/quot-i-will-follow-you-into-the-dark-quot/3108172 included]] in their DVD "Directions: The Plans Musical Album."

* "Summer Skin". "On the night you left/I came over/And we peeled the freckles from our shoulders/Our brand new coats so flushed and pale/And I knew your heart I couldn't win/Cause the season's change was a conduit/And we'd left our love in our summer skin".

* ''Do not'' listen to "Talking Bird" if you've ever lost a pet, especially a bird.

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8ZUV9IBEXY The video]] [[ItGotWorse is even worse]], especially when the singer's brother/neighbor's girlfriend gets burned up (true story).

** It even has two videos- [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rePcHxFJIuU&feature=BFa&list=PL371DEC82FDD90167&index=26&shuffle=669791 the official]], which is simple, effective, and creative... And then there's the one that was [[http://www.myspace.com/video/monkmus/quot-i-will-follow-you-into-the-dark-quot/3108172 included]] in their DVD "Directions: The Plans Musical Album", and if this doesn't make you cry, I don't know ''what'' will.

** Can cause MoodWhiplash when looked at from a different angle: The narrator is a rationalizing sneaking out on his girlfriend.

** It even has two videos- [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rePcHxFJIuU&feature=BFa&list=PL371DEC82FDD90167&index=26&shuffle=669791 the official]], which is simple, effective, and creative... And then there's the one that was [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfBw0IWwO5U&feature=BFa&list=PL4B39EA260AC1EE19&index=6 included]] in their DVD "Directions: The Plans Musical Album", and if this doesn't make you cry, I don't know ''what'' will.

* "The Sound of Settling", despite its [[LyricalDissonance upbeat tune]], can be quite depressing.

** It doesn't help that it's so...DIFFERENT than most Death Cab songs. Usually, Ben Gibbard sings in such a quiet, haunting and almost sad voice...and this song is raw ANGER, and when he starts to lose his temper when practically YELLING at his dead father...it can be shocking.
*** This could be explained by the fact that it's not about his father, but about a friend's dad. Therefore maybe he felt free to write in a different style, as an outsider

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jduFDgIr598 "A Lack of Color"]] got this troper to tears half-way through, bawling hopelessly at it's conclusion. Lines like: "And when I see you/I really see you upside down/But my brain knows better/It picks you up and turns you around", "And on your machine/I slur a plea for you to come home/But I know it's too late/I should have given you a reason to stay" and "This is fact not fiction/for the first time in years" is enough to drive ''anyone'' to tears.
** This song is interperated in multiple different ways, but one way of looking at these lyrics is to see it was a song about [[DrivenToSuicide suic]][[DyingAlone ide]]. Given Ben's fascination with death, this isn't too far off the mark. [[TearJerker It also makes it that much more sad.]]