REMs Everybody Hurts and the other songs that make grown men weep

REM’s Everybody Hurts has topped the list of songs most likely to make men cry - proof that it’s not only women who can have a good blubber.

The song has become something of an anthem for the melancholic since it was released in 1992. It became the fastest selling charity record in Britain so far this century when it was covered earlier this year by a host of pop stars to raise money for Haiti earthquake survivors.

Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven came second. He wrote the song following the death of his four-year-old son in 1991.

Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinead O’Connor, and Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen were also in the top ten.

The poll was conducted by PRS for Music, an organisation which collects and pays royalties to songwriters and composers.

Its chairman, Ellis Rich, said: “A well-written tear-jerker is one that people can relate to and empathise with. It is this lyrical connection that can reach deep down emotionally and move even the strongest of men.”

The top ten songs that make men cry:
1) Everybody Hurts – REM
2) Tears in Heaven – Eric Clapton
3) Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen
4) Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinead O’Connor
5) With Or Without You – U2
6) The Drugs Don’t Work – The Verve
7) Candle In the Wind – Elton John
8) Streets of Philadelphia – Bruce Springsteen
9) Unchained Melody – Todd Duncan
10) Angels – Robbie Williams
Source: PRS for Music