10 Sad Songs About Dogs Dying
Agnes Sligh Turnbull said that the fault of dogs is that their lives are too short. It would be heaven on earth if dogs outlived us, but then, we would also feel bad severing the bond with our death.
Losing a dog is like having your heart torn apart. Luckily, you can immortalize your dog’s memory with a song or poem. Famous musicians also have a soft spot for canines, and those who have lost theirs have written songs to help them mourn. If you are wondering how to eulogize your dog, here are ten sad songs about dogs dying to assist you.
10. All Dogs Go To Heaven by Chris Young
Young said this is one of his favorite songs because it is different. He added that it is important to him and was inspired by his dog, Porter. Young met Porter as a pup, but the dog has grown into a 115-pound German Shepherd.
However, the singer knows the likelihood of outliving the dog is high, so he thought about the day Porter will die. Young sings about dreading the day he will lose his dog.
Still, he revives hope in dog owners because he believes the dogs will be waiting for them at the gates of Heaven.
9. Gypsy Joe and Me by Dolly Parton
The country music queen brings to life the story of a girl who commits suicide after losing her dog, Gypsy, and boyfriend, Joe. Parton sings that she found Gypsy in a ditch by the road, and unfortunately, she lost him after a speeding car hit him.
Later, she loses Joe to pneumonia and wants to join her loved ones by jumping off the bridge. According to Songfacts, Parton admitted that she writes sad songs, adding that she had killed many puppies and herself in her songs.
8. Da Ruba Girl by Kenny Chesney
Chesney spoke to People, and disclosed that he wrote the song as a tribute to his dog, Ruby. The country star said that Ruby was an underdog, and people connected with the song because they all knew such a dog.
He wrote on Instagram that losing Ruby left a hole in his heart. So, the only way to ensure her memory lived on was to write the song and use the proceeds from the sale to help other dogs. Therefore, he donated the proceeds to Stray Rescue of St. Louis.
7. I Wish Dogs Could Live Forever by Tyler Farr
On May 3, 2018, Farr posted on social media that he had dug a hole and buried his best friend, Cooter. He even made a cross for the grave and the singer had to wear sunglasses to hide the swollen eyes from crying. Farr had been with Cooter since 2008, and the dog helped the singer through life’s ups and downs.
Unfortunately, the canine battled cancer and finally passed away, leaving Farr to mourn him with this song. When the country musician performed it live, he could not believe that grown men were crying listening to the song as it tapped into their emotions.
6. Chasing Butterflies by Frankly Speaking
Jordon Schneider, who goes by his artist name Frankly Speaking, could not hold the pain he felt for his dog any longer after losing him to Leukemia.
Therefore, the musician wrote the lyrics to this beautiful yet sad song about Keys, his dog who died on November 28, 2016. According to the lyrics, Schneider fell in love with the dog at first sight, and the bond remained till Keys breathed his last. The artist believes they will be reunited, but until then, he hopes Keys is having a blast chasing butterflies.
5. Old Shep by Elvis Presley
The song is a composition by Red Foley, and the lyrics are by Arthur Willis. It is allegedly about a German Shepherd named Hoover that Foley had when he was a little boy.
Unfortunately, Hoover died after Foley’s neighbor poisoned him. The lyrics tell a different story of how “Shep” died since Presley sings that Shep was in pain and had to be put down. Presley performed the song in his first-ever public performance at a singing contest – the Mississippi-Alabama Fair.
4. Good Dogs by Jameson Rodgers
Rodgers sings that you can have a truck for decades if you maintain it, and good women will stick with you through it all. However, good dogs do not live long enough. He told Songwriter Universe that one of his friends, Hunter Phelps, had the idea of writing a song about a dog he had adopted the previous year.
Rodgers admitted that they had to take breaks to cry, although they tried making it not the saddest song in the world. It was also an emotional tribute to the dogs the singer had growing up.
3. Mother and Child by Paul Simon
Many of Simon’s fans kept wondering about the inspiration behind the lyrics. Simon disclosed to Far Out Magazine that it was about the death of his family dog. The singer said that the dog was run over during summer and the canine’s death was the first Simon ever took personally. Although he had lost family members, the dog’s passing hit him harder than any other death. Thus, he wrote he could never remember a sadder day, and even though he was comforted to let it go, it was not easy.
2. Maggie’s Song by Chris Stapleton Featuring Miranda Lambert
The song is a real-life story about Stapleton’s dog, Maggie, who died in 2019 after being with the family for 14 years. As the lyrics reveal, they had found her as a puppy abandoned in a shopping cart at a parking lot. The singer confessed that it is one of the most personal songs he has ever written and kept choking up while recording it.
1. Shannon by Henry Goss
Some believe that the song was inspired by an Irish Setter friends and family of Brian Wilson gifted him after he sank into depression. The dog, Shannon, helped Wilson get into high spirits. Unfortunately, Shannon was swept away by the tide when Wilson took her out to sea. Losing Shannon led Wilson back to his depressive state.
However, there is another version. According to Bookshelf, Goss visited Wilson who said he had lost an Irish Setter named Shannon after she was hit by a car. Therefore, Goss, who could not imagine life without his beloved pet, composed a song about Shannon’s death, empathizing with Wilson.
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