Undiscovered: 5 Alison Krauss Songs We Know You'll Love

Alison Krauss may be known for her sad love songs, but today is a happy day in the bluegrass-country artist’s life as it's her birthday. Her voice and skill with the fiddle have been in action since she was a child, and her sound has only grown more relevant over the years. Krauss has been in the industry most of her life, so it’s only fair that country music celebrates her 51st birthday alongside her. Happy birthday Alison Krauss!

1. “Too Late To Cry”

This track was released in 1987 on her debut album of the same name and it still brings its audience to an emotional catharsis with her artful lyrics. From the first verse, the audience is able to relate to Krauss’s heartbreak, “Sitting all alone with my whiskey on ice / I wonder why he’s not with me tonight.” Her creative choice to put such deceptively upbeat music with sad lyrics shows the complexity of love. Krauss sets the tone for her sound that would build her career into what it is today.

2. “Winter of a Broken Heart”

This track, from I’ve Got That Old Feeling, features the angelic voice that Krauss is known for. It’s more of a ballad than most of her other work, but it still demonstrates her bluegrass sound while displaying her heart-wrenching lyrics, “But seasons change and lovers too / And winter's twice as cold / But the fire in one heart is always burning.” Krauss's visual metaphor about lost love is relatable to the audience and brings more to the music than just an explicit declaration of despair.

3. “River In The Rain”

Krauss’s most recent album, Windy City, brought the beautiful metaphor of loving a river in this song. Krauss’s lyricism yet again shines with lyrics that reminisce the organic love of nature compared to loving another person. “Hell, there ain't no way to measure / Why I love you more than I did the day before.” It’s full of hopefulness and longing, leaving the listener wanting more for themselves and their romantic lives.

4. “That Kind Of Love”

Another hopeful song about the power of love came about in 1999, on the album Forget About It. As the name implies, it’s about finding a special kind of love, one that powers through even when the going gets tough, “There was not faith enough / Still my heart held on / When it found that kind of love.” Even this short quote from the lyrics demonstrates the power that Krauss’s song brings to love’s grip on the heart.

5. “This Sad Song”

Krauss hit the title dead-on when writing “This Sad Song,” featured on her 2004 album Lonely Runs Both Ways. The song speaks to the strength of music during difficult times, acknowledging that sometimes a sad song plays through your mind when emotion overcomes you, “Through the door, through the roof, through the window crack / Tossin' and a-turnin' all night long / To the rhythm and the sound of a saddened song.” This song is a brilliant anthem not just for fans of Krauss or bluegrass but for anyone going through a difficult time in their lives, romantic or otherwise.

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