Big girls do cry when they hear these songs

Big girls don’t cry …
~ Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons

To quote Tom Hanks in the movie “A League of Their Own,” “There’s no crying in baseball!”

Well, Tom, such is not the case in rock ‘n’ roll.

Despite anything Frankie Valli or The Cure may say, big girls and boys do cry when it comes to sentimental songs. Heck, even rock’s manliest men aren’t afraid to turn on the waterworks every once in a while.

Eric Clapton shed some “Tears in Heaven”, Prince made birds teary-eyed “When Doves Cry” and The Beatles even make their instruments damp “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

This “big girl” is especially soft when it comes to sappy songs. I’m not ashamed to blow my nose when my favorite sentimental songs come on the radio.

Here are just a few of my favorite tunes that make me tear up and make the Kleenex Company very happy whenever I hear them.

1. I’ll Be There by The Jackson 5: Why don’t they just rewrite the lyrics of the opening stanza in this song to, Where there are noses being blown repeatedly … I’ll be there. Okay, those words aren’t as catchy, but I swear I can’t listen to this song through to the end without my nose turning a red to rival Rudolph’s.

2. The Long and Winding Road by The Beatles: Or as I like to call it, The Red and Running Nose. If you value your health, please don’t listen to this song on a rainy day with all the lights turned off - you might become the “pool of tears” Paul McCartney is singing about.

3. Circle of Life by Elton John (as covered by Jennifer Hudson): I’m a sucker for Disney ballads. Shoot me. When I first listened to this song in “The Lion King” when I was 10 years old, I cried. When I heard Elton John’s single version of the song, I cried. Can you guess what I did when I heard Jennifer Hudson cover the song on “American Idol’s” third season? You guessed it … I cried like a 2-year-old.

4. Sweet Child o’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses: When you think of Guns N’ Roses, you probably think big-hair era macho men, not women weeping disconsolately. However, the boys struck sentimental gold with this song. (And, by the way, Slash’s stellar guitar solo doesn’t cheer me up - it just makes me cry harder.)

5. Copperline by James Taylor: A “hair of the dog” to cure homesickness, this song brings back the memories of my kidhood in Muscle Shoals on the banks of the Tennessee River … and tears to my eyes.

6. Tennessee River by Alabama: And speaking of the Tennessee River … I’m not a big country music fan. But, as a North Alabama girl, I’m contractually inclined to like the boys from Fort Payne. And since this song’s about my favorite river, what’s not to love?

Now, *sniff*, if you’ll excuse me, *snuffle*, I’m going to curl up on the couch with a thermos of hot cocoa and a box of Kleenex, read “Where the Red Fern Grows” and watch “Old Yeller” for a while until this is all out of my system.

Keep reading, keep rocking and keep those tissues handy.