world's most depressing song

I've recently begun pursuing a collection of "the World's Most Depressing Music."

The original leader was this Dan Fogelberg song:

Same Old Lang Syne

Met my old lover in the grocery store
The snow was falling Christmas Eve
I stole behind her in the frozen foods
And I touched her on the sleeve
She didn't recognize the face at first
But then her eyes flew open wide
She went to hug me and she spilled her purse
And we laughed until we cried

We took her groceries to the checkout stand
The food was totalled up and bagged
We stood there lost in our embarrassment
As the conversation dragged
We went to have ourselves a drink or two
But couldn't find an open bar
We bought a six-pack at the liquor store
And we drank it in her car

We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness but neither one knew how

She said she'd married her an architect
Who kept her warm and safe and dry
She would have liked to say she loved the man
But she didn't like to lie
I said the years had been a friend to her
And that her eyes were still as blue
But in those eyes I wasn't sure if I saw doubt or gratitude
She said she saw me in the record stores
And that I must be doing well
I said the audience was heavenly but the traveling was hell

We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness but neither one knew how
We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to time
Reliving in our eloquence, another 'auld lang syne'

The beer was empty and our tongues were tired
And running out of things to say
She gave a kiss to me as I got out and I watched her drive away
Just for a moment I was back at school
And felt that old familiar pain
And as I turned to make my way back home
The snow turned in to rain...

This song acquired its status on a LONG drive at about 2:00 a.m. ... when it seemed to be playing on whatever radio station we turned to. I was quite sure there were a hundred depressed people slitting their wrists as they desperately spun the radio dial looking for something to drag their spirits out of the mire.

But ... this morning, I heard the current champion -- Randy Stonehill's "Christmas at Denny's"

CHRISTMAS AT DENNY'S

They got Christmas Muzak
Piped in through the ceiling
And the refills of coffee
Are always for free
And the waitress on graveyard
And the surly night manager
Are wishing that all of us losers would leave

There's a star on the sign
At the Texaco Station
Like the star long ago
On that midnight clear
As I look all around
At these cold, empty faces
I doubt that you'd find many wise men here

And I'm dreaming about
A silent night - Holy Night
When things were alright
And I'm dreaming about
How my life could have been
If only, if only, if only
But somewhere down the road
I gave up that fight

Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight

Once I had a home
And a wife and a daughter
Had a company job
Earning middle-class pay
Then Lisa got killed
By a car near the school yard
And my wife started drinking
Just to get through each day

I will never forget
That little red wagon
Turning to rust
All alone in the rain
One morning I flagged down
A truck on the highway
I just couldn't bear
To go back there again

And I'm dreaming about
A silent night - Holy night
When things were alright
And I'm dreaming about
How my life could have been
If only, if only, if only
Well, it's not just the blind man
Who loses his sight

Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight

They say
Life's made of cruel circumstance
Fate plays the tune and we dance
Dance til we drop
In the dust and we're gone
And the world just goes on

The cop at the counter
He's the guardian angel
He watches these orphans
Through dark mirrored shades
And the register rings
Like a bell sadly tolling
For the fools we've become
And the price that we paid
Oh when I was a boy
I believed in Christmas
Miracle season
To make a new start
I don't need no miracle
Sweet baby Jesus
Just help me find
Some kind of hope in my heart

And I'm dreaming about
A silent night - Holy night
When things were alright
And I'm dreaming about
How my life could have been
If only, if only, if only
But I'll still be here
At the morning's first light

Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight
Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight

Written by Randy Stonehill.

So ... anyone got any to add to my collection? If you can beat "Christmas at Denny's" the prize is a mention on a nationally-read blog ... yes ... it's true. :)