Why Must I Be Sad?

This They Might Be Giants song wasn't meant to make me cry, but it did. Twice. Here's how “Why Must I Be Sad?” became my grief anthem.

The CD face of John Henry. A literal memento mori.

I’ve been sort of dreading reaching this song since I started this newsletter. When I first began writing through John Henry, I mentioned a sudden, traumatic loss I experienced as a teenager, just four months after buying this album. Every track carries trace memories from that time, but none more than W…