The 25 Most Exquisitely Sad Songs in the Whole World: No. 20

'That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be'
Carly Simon (1971)

The Breakdown: Marriage is inevitably dismal in this evocative pop hit, which was recorded a year before Simon's ill-fated marriage to James Taylor.

The Waterworks: "Their children hate them for the things they're not/They hate themselves for what they are."

Casualty Count: All marriages, one American dream.

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