r/folk • u/Russell_Twoways • 6d ago
Help me to find sad/atmosphere folk music
Hi music lovers,
Throw some sad folk songs my way. I am very new at folk genre, but I was fascinated after listening some songs from TWD game and TV Show. I already find some songs that I loved, so I listed them as a reference for your futher reccomendations.
Naiting Around To Die - The Be Good Tanyas
Take Us Back - Alela Diane
Black Creek - Brent Cobb
A Case of You - Joni Mitchell
We Can Be Strong - Willy Mason
Nothin' - Townes Van Zandt
Waiting Around to Die Townes Van Zandt
Will the Circle Be Unbroken - The Dead South
Tennessee - Gillian Welch
Tear My Stillhouse Down - Gillian Welch
Cranes of Potter - Charles Wesley Godwin
Thanks all in advance!
7
u/mturner11 6d ago
I recommend most of Gillian Welch songs.
This album Time (The Revelator) https://share.google/n0fALcUWFmMvn4TIa
Is one of my faves.
1
3
u/Spattzzzzz 6d ago edited 6d ago
Sandy Denny “next time around (no strings)” must be the no strings version if you can find it.
Also Denny “The North Star Grassman and the Ravens”
1
3
u/AdRepresentative8186 6d ago
Good god, no one has mentioned Elliot smith....
I guess all his music isn't really folk, but he's probably the king of sad acoustic songs.
Between the bars Angeles Pitselah Needle in the hay
And honestly, the guy was a songwriting genius, so there are at least 40 more brilliant songs that would match the description.
Won an Oscar for "miss misery" but you'll have to look up an acoustic version to get it to fit the folk request.
Enjoy(don't get too sad)
2
u/Russell_Twoways 6d ago
too late, after listening him I'm deep down in sadness (it is what i needed)
1
u/AdRepresentative8186 6d ago
Well, you're welcome.
Here's a track I only found after years of listening to him
1
3
u/kondvarga 6d ago
Rachel Unthank and the Winterset. First two albums (before they became the Unthanks) are pure beautiful Northumbrian folk misery.
1
3
u/Shashi2005 6d ago
The Soldier - Harvey Andrews - Tells the true tale of a British soldier who, during the so called troubles, lay down on a parcel bomb thrown into a crowded Belfast bus station. Utterly heart breaking. Well performed, it make an audience cry.
3
u/Terrible-Pangolin-31 6d ago
Turn, Turn, Turn - Pete Seeger
Not sad exactly, but definitely has that feel to it. It’s all taken straight from the Bible so feels very powerful in that regard too
3
2
u/roger_l_smith 6d ago
Try Nick Drake. He was a genius. Have a listen to the album Pink Moon. It's pure gold
2
2
2
u/TerraFirma2509 6d ago
Courtney Marie Andrews - If I'm Told
Keaton Henson - You Don't Know How Lucky You Are
Early James - If I Could Just Die Right Now
Dave Van Ronk - Sprig of Thyme
Fionn Regan - First Day of May
Lisa O'Neill - Old Note
Ray Lamontagne - Are We Really Through?
Rachael Yamagata - Elephants
Folk Bitch Trio - That's All She Wrote
The Bones of J.R. Jones - Start Again
3
2
2
2
u/bentheherper 6d ago
Bob dylan: Ballad of Hollis Brown, John Brown, Seven Curses
Avalanche by Leonard cohen and the rest of his songs
Not really folk but listen to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, music doesn’t get sadder or angrier than that
2
2
1
1
1
u/GemsOnVHS 6d ago
dunno if you've ever heard of gemsonvhs but youtube.com/gemsonvhs you can find a whole mess of artists like this lol cheers
1
1
1
1
1
u/Fit_Session354 6d ago
Fred Neil wrote incredibly melancholy songs, including “Everybody’s Talking”, but there are others like “A Little Bit Of Rain”. Similarly, Karen Dalton’s debut album, “It’s So Hard To Know Who’s. going To Love You The Best” is full of the modest heartwrenching songs ever.
1
1
u/SprinklesGood3144 6d ago
Richard Buckner is not mentioned enough. Check out Bloomed, Devotion + Doubt, and Since. Folky with an edge, but lots of heartbreakers on all 3 of those records. Buckner is an actual musical genius.
1
1
u/BecomeInsignificant 6d ago
Skip around my Alternative Folk playlist, you'll prob find a few tracks that fit
1
u/Uncomfortable_Owl_52 6d ago
The Vast Indifference of Heaven by Warren Zevon
Silver Lining by First Aid Kit
This may not quote fit the bill, but O Death by Camper Van Beethoven
2
u/52F3 6d ago
First Aid Kit is great. Just discovered them maybe three years ago. Ever see the live performance of Emmylou where Emmylou was in the audience? So good.
2
u/Uncomfortable_Owl_52 6d ago
Haven’t seen that one, but I’ll definitely check it out! I also love their cover of America by Simon and Garfunkel.
1
u/SeiberReno 6d ago
Jackson C Frank. Jackson makes Nick Drake and Townes Van Zandt seem like a couple of happy fellows. Frank was American. He was discovered by Paul Simon in London. He only released one album titled: Jackson C Frank (1965). Frank wrote all the songs on the album that was produced by Paul Simon. His Wikipedia page does a pretty good job of telling his very sad and heartbreaking story. But before you read about Jackson, listen to at least these two songs written by Frank. The first, "The Blues Run the Game," then on YouTube find the song "October." Jackson was living with a friend who recorded the song "October," in his living room shortly before Frank's death in 1999. On the song, "The Blues Run the Game", Franks' voice is beautiful and pure. When he performs "October," his voice is just a remnant of what it once was, but the emotion, the sadness and the heartbreak come through. And keep in mind, Frank had not sung or played guitar for 30 years when "October" was recorded. After you listen to these two songs, then go and read his life story. This man's life is a movie waiting to be made. I'm not sure what is taking so long. If you care to, let me know what you think. Peace.
1
u/Mission-Valuable-306 6d ago
I promise you won’t be disappointed by::
Sparklehorse - It’s A Wonderful Life
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - I See A Darkness
Also try:
Ian Noe - Ballad of a Retired Man
Silver Jews - Transylvania Blues
and most Dylan records from Time Out Of Mind onward have a song that should fit this description.
1
u/Brutal-Juice 6d ago
Here are a few that first came to mind for me:
Neil Young - Interstate
Damien Rice - 9 Crimes
Jackson C. Frank - Milk and Honey
City and Colour - What Makes a Man?
Tim Buckley - Morning Glory
Neutral Milk Hotel - Oh Comely
Nick Drake - Clothes of Sand
Elliott Smith - Twilight
Jim Croce - Time in a Bottle
Palace - Gulf Shores
Palace Brothers - You Will Miss Me When I Burn
Cowboy Junkies - Powderfinger
Ani DiFranco - Sorry I Am
Led Zeppelin - Going to California
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
Kings of Convenience - Parallel Lines
Chris Isaak - Blue Spanish Sky
Mazzy Star - Into Dust
Death in June - Little Black Angel
1
1
1
u/aucklandboy123 6d ago
Sad story telling about a missing person. Keys, guitar and violin https://open.spotify.com/track/4ByDBSSODyW9ZTHRBVHl2T?si=RJgxk_-eSTOI-8bt9egsPw
1
u/NickofWimbledon 6d ago
Most songs by Anne Briggs, Bert Jansch, Pentangle, the first few LPs by both Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, most Nick Drake, quite a lot of Richard Thompson, Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span.
1
1
1
u/Frequent-Lock7949 6d ago
I don’t know if Bon Iver would count but definitely check out For Emma, Forever Ago.
Laura Marling
Nick Drake
Some of Fleet Foxes could be counted like this maybe?
1
u/AccountantRadiant351 6d ago edited 6d ago
Gillian Welch has more that should be on your list- Annabelle, Winter's Come and Gone, and One More Dollar come to mind.
Kate Wolf has some that may suit- You're Not Standing Like You Used To, Unfinished Life, These Times We're Living In, Friend of Mine, The Heart, Emma Rose, Two-Way Waltz, Lay Me Down Easy, honestly there are probably more, these just off the top of my head; and she also recorded several by friends that would fit - Telluride, Springfield Mountain Coal Miner, Red Tailed Hawk, Rock Salt and Nails.
"One I Love" should be on the list for sure, either Jean Ritchie's original or Sally Rogers covering it.
"Fair and Tender Ladies"- so many good versions of this one, I love Danú doing it on their album Think Before You Think but choose one you like.
"The Blackest Crow" (aka The Lover's Lament) needs to be on the list too. Bruce Molsky or Jay Ungar/Molly Mason both have great versions.
Molly Tuttle (with Golden Highway) did a gender-swap on Cold Rain and Snow that's stunning. (Her originals Goodbye, Mary and The River Knows might suit as well.)
There Were Roses is heartbreaking. I'm partial to Cara Dillon's version but the ones by Mick Moloney may be more your style in this case (one features Liz Carroll; one Maura O'Connell and Dolores Keane. Can't go wrong either way.)
1
1
1
1
u/tomallis 6d ago
There’s a guy named Chris Wood who I like. He’s British and years ago I bought a couple of his CD’s (Trespasser and The Lark Descending) from him. Could not find them elsewhere. He has a very low key, melancholy style. He seems pretty traditional Brit folky to me - I like him a lot.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/AnotherBaldWhiteDude 5d ago
Pokey Lafarge - Cairo Illinois
David Grey - Gutters full of Rain
Low Roar - Just a Habit
1
1
u/Oxenmoxx 5d ago
Irish: Cara Dillon
Scottish: Kate Rusby
Nordic: Kari Rueslåtten
Kate Price, Rebecca Pidgeon
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/No-Ad-3534 4d ago edited 4d ago
To Live a Life - First Aid Kit
Rooftops - Liz Lawrence
Every song by Fleet Foxes
Sister Song - Perfume Genius
1
1
u/Salt-Situation-9061 3d ago
I don't know why but "he doesn't know why" by fleet foxes gives me a feeling of doom
1
u/Hot_Direction6627 3d ago
"Olde Tyme Mem'ry", by Mischief Brew
"For an old Kentucky anarchist", by The Orphans
1
u/bluegreyhorses 6d ago
The Decemberists especially E. Watson, The Harrowed and the Haunted, The Tain EP, Don’t Go to the Woods, and Shankill Butchers. There’s more but you can start with that. I would recommend Lord Huron’s Strange Trail. Laura Marling, The Civil Wars‘ Devil’s Backbone, and Sixteen Horsepower‘s Folklore album.
1
u/LovableCoward 6d ago
E. Watson
I've actually camped at Watson's Place in the Everglades. It's some beautiful scenery there.
25
u/PuzzleheadedAd822 6d ago
How is nobody mentioning Nick Drake? Come on guys, he's the absolute king of haunting and gloomy folk music.