Some songs hit you right in the heart. Whether it’s a breakup, losing someone you love, or just feeling lost, sad songs have a way of putting emotions into words when you can’t find them yourself. These tracks span decades and genres, but they all share one thing in common: they’ll probably make you cry.
Be sure to check out the Sad Songs Playlist at the bottom of this page.
Saddest Songs
1. “One More Light” – Linkin Park
Lyric Sample: “Who cares if one more light goes out? Well, I do.”
This 2017 track focuses on the value of a single life and the impact someone leaves behind after they’re gone. It became even more meaningful to fans following the death of lead singer Chester Bennington.
2. “He Stopped Loving Her Today” – George Jones
Lyric Sample: “All dressed up to go away, first time I’d seen him smile in years.”
Often called the saddest country song ever recorded, this 1980 classic tells the story of a man who only gave up on his unrequited love when he passed away.
Related: CMA – Singles of the Year
3. “Monsters” – James Blunt
Lyric Sample: “I’m not your son, you’re not my father, we’re just two grown men saying goodbye.”
Blunt wrote this for his father, who was battling kidney disease, turning the idea of a childhood bedtime story into a permanent farewell.
Related: Best Songs About Fathers
4. “Elephant” – Jason Isbell
Lyric Sample: “I’d carry her to bed, sweep up the hair from the floor.”
“Elephant” is about watching a friend die from cancer and not knowing what to say. Isbell describes the awkwardness and helplessness of sitting with someone who’s dying.
Related: Songs About Death
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5. “Listen Before I Go” – Billie Eilish
Lyric Sample: “Sorry can’t save me now, sorry I don’t know how.”
This track from Eilish’s debut album is about a person’s final thoughts as they struggle with their mental health. It’s definitely among the most popular sad songs for many younger fans today.
Related: Songs About Suicide
6. “Yesterday” – The Beatles
Lyric Sample: “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, now it looks as though they’re here to stay.”
Paul McCartney sings about the sudden shift from happiness to heartbreak. It’s a classic ballad that everyone knows for its depiction of regret.
Related: Best Songs About Nostalgia
7. “Landslide” – Fleetwood Mac
Lyric Sample: “Can I sail through the changing ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life?”
Stevie Nicks wrote this 1970s hit about getting older and facing big life changes. It’s about fear of the future and watching time pass by.
Related: “Landslide” Lyrics Explained
8. “The Night We Met” – Lord Huron
Lyric Sample: “I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you.”
This 2015 indie-folk song is about wanting to go back to the first night with someone before everything fell apart. It’s about regret and wishing you could undo mistakes.
Related: “The Night We Met” Song Meaning
9. “Sam Stone” – John Prine
Lyric Sample: “There’s a hole in daddy’s arm where all the money goes, Jesus Christ died for nothin’, I suppose.”
This folk song tells a devastating story about a veteran returning from war and falling into addiction. It’s about how trauma can ripple through a family.
Related: Best Vietnam War Songs
10. “Whiskey Lullaby” – Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss
Lyric Sample: “He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger.”
This is a tragic country storyabout a man who kills himself with alcohol after a breakup, followed by his ex doing the same.
Related: Songs About Suicide
11. “How Could You Leave Us” – NF
Lyric Sample: “But I don’t need a picture of my mom, I need the real thing.”
NF’s 2015 rap track is about his mother dying from an overdose. You can actually hear him breaking down as he talks about the moments she missed.
12. “Lua” – Bright Eyes
Lyric Sample: “The love I sell you in the evening, by the morning won’t exist.”
Conor Oberst describes a cold night in New York City spent wandering between parties while dealing with addiction. He sings about using substances to numb his feelings of isolation.
13. “Father and Son” – Cat Stevens
Lyric Sample: “It’s not time to make a change, just relax, take it slowly.”
This 1970 hit features a dialogue between a father who wants his son to stay and a son who feels he must leave. It’s about the pain of growing apart.
Related: “Father and Son” Song Meaning
14. “Liability” – Lorde
Lyric Sample: “The truth is that I am a toy that people enjoy ’til all of the tricks don’t work anymore.”
Lorde wrote this after feeling like she was “too much” for the people in her life. It’s a piano ballad about the realization that you might always be the one left behind.
15. “The Freshmen” – The Verve Pipe
Lyric Sample: “And now he’s guilt-stricken, sobbin’, with his head on the floor.”
This ’90s rock track is often interpreted to be about a college couple dealing with an abortion. The guilt and what-ifs haunt the narrator years later.
Related: “The Freshmen” Lyrics Explained
16. “To Build a Home” – Cinematic Orchestra
Lyric Sample: “And now, it’s time to leave and turn to dust.”
While it starts out sounding like it’s about a physical house, “To Build a Home” quickly turns into a story about a life falling apart. It’s about home being more than just a building.
Related: “To Build a Home” Song Meaning
17. “Real Death” – Mount Eerie
Lyric Sample: “Death is real, someone’s there and then they’re not.”
Phil Elverum wrote this 2017 track shortly after his wife passed away. He avoids metaphors to describe the actual mundane chores of grief.
18. “The Day the World Went Away” – Nine Inch Nails
Lyric Sample: “I’d listen to the words he’d say, but in his voice I heard decay.”
While Trent Reznor hasn’t confirmed it, many fans believe this 1999 track is about the death of his grandmother, who raised him. The lyrics describe the numb feeling of watching someone you love fade away until your entire reality feels empty.
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19. “What Sarah Said” – Death Cab for Cutie
Lyric Sample: “As each descending peak on the LCD took you a little farther away from me.”
This 2005 song describes the experience of sitting in a hospital waiting room. Ben Gibbard sings about the realization that love often involves eventually having to say goodbye to someone in a cold, medical setting.
20. “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” – Gordon Lightfoot
Lyric Sample: “Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?”
Lightfoot’s folk ballad tells the true story of a ship that sank in Lake Superior in 1975, killing all 29 crew members.
Related: “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” Song Meaning
21. “Brick” – Ben Folds Five
Lyric Sample: “She’s a brick and I’m drowning slowly.”
Ben Folds wrote this 1997 song about taking his high school girlfriend to get an abortion. He describes the day itself and his feelings afterward.
22. “Concrete Angel” – Martina McBride
Lyric Sample: “The teacher wonders, but she doesn’t ask, it’s hard to see the pain behind the mask.”
This country hit tells the story of a young girl dealing with abuse that the neighborhood ignores until it’s too late. It remains one of the saddest songs in the genre for obvious reasons.
23. “Five Years” – David Bowie
Lyric Sample: “Cried so much his face was wet, then I knew he was not lying.”
Bowie describes the chaos and despair of a world that finds out it only has five years left to exist. It’s a frantic look at how people react when they know the end is coming.
24. “Hate Me” – Blue October
Lyric Sample: “Hate me for all the things I didn’t do for you.”
Frontman Justin Furstenfeld wrote this about his struggle with depression and the pain he caused his ex. He wants her to despise him so she can move on with her life.
25. “Love Of My Life” – Queen
Lyric Sample: “Bring it back, bring it back, don’t take it away from me.”
Queen’s 1975 ballad is about losing someone important and begging them to come back. Freddie Mercury wrote this for Mary Austin, his long-time companion.
Related: Best Love Songs
26. “Good News” – Mac Miller
Lyric Sample: “Good news, that’s all they wanna hear.”
Released after Miller’s passing, “Good News” is about the pressure to always act okay for others when you’re actually struggling. It gives a look into his headspace during a very difficult time.
27. “Hurt” – Johnny Cash
Lyric Sample: “I wear this crown of thorns upon my liar’s chair.”
Originally by Nine Inch Nails, Cash’s version of “Hurt” sounds like a man looking back at his entire life with a sense of regret. It’s often cited as one of the best sad songs because of the gravelly, aged quality of his voice.
Related: “Hurt” Song Meaning
28. “Someone Like You” – Adele
Lyric Sample: “I wish nothing but the best for you, too.”
This 2011 ballad is about showing up at an ex’s door only to find they’ve moved on and started a new life. One person has found peace and a new partner, while the other is still struggling to let go of the past.
Related: “Someone Like You” Song Meaning
29. “Alone Again (Naturally)” – Gilbert O’Sullivan
Lyric Sample: “And climbing to the top, will throw myself off.”
Despite the upbeat pop sound, the lyrics in “Alone Again (Naturally)” detail a failed wedding, the death of parents, and thoughts of ending it all.
Related: Songs About Loneliness
30. “The Living Years” – Mike + The Mechanics
Lyric Sample: “I didn’t get to tell him all the things I had to say.”
This ’80s hit is about a son who didn’t get to say what he wanted to his father before he passed away. The song is a warning to settle arguments while you still have the chance.
Related: Best Songs About Time Passing
31. “Nothing Compares 2 U” – Sinéad O’Connor
Lyric Sample: “It’s been seven hours and fifteen days since you took your love away.”
Prince wrote this classic, but O’Connor made it famous with her vocal performance that sounds like she’s on the verge of tears. It’s about missing someone so badly that nothing else matters.
Related: Best One-Hit Wonders
32. “Nutshell” – Alice In Chains
Lyric Sample: “No one to cry to, no place to call home.”
Alice In Chains’ 1994 acoustic track is all about feeling trapped and alone. Layne Staley sings about fighting battles alone with no one to turn to.
Related: “Nutshell” Song Meaning
33. “Glimpse of Us” – Joji
Lyric Sample: “I’m only here passing time in her arms, hopin’ I’ll find a glimpse of us.”
Joji’s 2022 international hit is about being in a new relationship but only seeing your ex in them.
34. “Strange Fruit” – Billie Holiday
Lyric Sample: “Southern trees bear a strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood at the root.”
Billie Holiday’s 1939 protest song uses the metaphor of fruit hanging from trees to describe lynchings in the American South.
35. “Tears In Heaven” – Eric Clapton
Lyric Sample: “Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven?”
Clapton wrote “Tears In Heaven” after the accidental death of his young son. It’s a heart-wrenching question about whether they would even recognize each other if they met again in the afterlife.
Related: “Tears In Heaven” Song Explained
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36. “Fast Car” – Tracy Chapman
Lyric Sample: “We gotta make a decision, leave tonight or live and die this way.”
“Fast Car” tells the story of a woman trying to escape poverty and a difficult home life. It’s a cycle of hope and broken promises that eventually turns into the realization that things might never actually change.
Related: “Fast Car” Song Meaning
37. “How To Disappear Completely” – Radiohead
Lyric Sample: “I’m not here, this isn’t happening.”
Radiohead’s 2000 song is about dissociation and trying to convince yourself you’re not really there while everything is happening around you. Thom Yorke wrote it about the stress of touring.
38. “I Can’t Make You Love Me” – Bonnie Raitt
Lyric Sample: “You can’t make your heart feel somethin’ it won’t.”
Raitt describes the final night of a relationship where one person has already checked out. It’s about accepting that you can’t force love.
39. “Matilda” – Harry Styles
Lyric Sample: “You don’t have to be sorry for leavin’ and growin’ up.”
Styles sings to a friend who had a difficult upbringing, telling them it’s okay to move on from their family and start over. It’s a supportive song about leaving trauma behind.
40. “Between the Bars” – Elliot Smith
Lyric Sample: “Drink up, baby, look at the stars, I’ll kiss you again between the bars.”
In “Between the Bars,” Smith personifies alcohol as a lover who promises to keep him safe while actually keeping him trapped.
41. “Supermarket Flowers” – Ed Sheeran
Lyric Sample: “You were an angel in the shape of my mum.”
Sheeran wrote this from the perspective of his mother after his grandmother passed away. He describes the sad tasks like clearing out her hospital room.
Related: “Supermarket Flowers” Song Meaning
42. “Asleep” – The Smiths
Lyric Sample: “Deep in the cell of my heart, I will feel so glad to go.”
This 1980s track follows someone wanting to die peacefully to escape the pain of living. Unsurprisingly, the Smiths chose not to perform this song live too many times.
43. “Fix You” – Coldplay
Lyric Sample: “When you feel so tired, but you can’t sleep.”
Coldplay’s 2005 hit is about trying to help someone through grief or depression. Chris Martin wrote this to comfort his then-wife after her father died.
Related: “Fix You” Song Explained
44. “Watching Him Fade Away” – Mac DeMarco
Lyric Sample: “And even though we barely know each other, it still hurts.”
“Watching Him Fade Away” is about dealing with the complicated feelings of having an estranged father who is dying. It’s about the lack of closure and the awkwardness of grieving someone you weren’t close to.
45. “Cat’s In the Cradle” – Harry Chapin
Lyric Sample: “He learned to walk while I was away.”
Chapin’s classic folk-rock song is about a father who is too busy for his son, who then grows up and becomes too busy for his father.
Related: “Cat’s In the Cradle” Song Meaning
46. “My Immortal” – Evanescence
Lyric Sample: “There’s just too much that time cannot erase.”
This piano-led rock track follows someone haunted by the memory of a lost loved one. It’s about struggling to move on while the ghost of the relationship lingers and prevents any real healing.
Related: “My Immortal” Lyrics Explained
47. “Fourth of July” – Sufjan Stevens
Lyric Sample: “Sitting at the bed with the halo at your head.”
Stevens wrote an entire album about the death of his mother, and this track features a fictional conversation between the two of them. There are a lot of gut-punch lines in this one.
Related: July Songs
48. “Funeral” – Phoebe Bridgers
Lyric Sample: “And last night, I blacked out in my car, and I woke up in my childhood bed.”
In this 2017 track, Bridgers sings about the strange guilt of feeling sad about your own small problems when you’re at a funeral for someone else. It’s a very honest look at how depression works.
Related: Songs About Death
49. “Cancer” – My Chemical Romance
Lyric Sample: “‘Cause the hardest part of this is leaving you.”
“Cancer” describes the physical toll of terminal illness. It’s about the goodbye rather than any kind of heroic struggle, which is why it’s one of the saddest songs of the century.
50. “Don’t Take the Girl” – Tim McGraw
Lyric Sample: “Take the very breath you gave me, take the heart from my chest.”
This ’90s country tune follows a boy and a girl through three stages of life, ending with a prayer in a hospital. It’s a classic tear-jerker about sacrifice and young love.
Related: CMA – Singles of the Year
51. “Wish You Were Here” – Pink Floyd
Lyric Sample: “Did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?”
The band wrote this for their former bandmate Syd Barrett, who had struggled with mental health issues. It’s about missing someone who is still alive but isn’t the same person they used to be.
Related: “Wish You Were Here” Song Explained
52. “Bitter Sweet Symphony” – The Verve
Lyric Sample: “But I’m a million different people from one day to the next.”
The Verve’s biggest hit is about the grind of daily life and the feeling that you’re just working until you die. It’s about a specific kind of urban exhaustion.
Related: Brit Awards – Song of the Year
53. “Last Kiss” – Pearl Jam
Lyric Sample: “I found the love that I knew I would miss.”
“Last Kiss” tells the story of a date that went horribly wrong, ending with a car accident and a final goodbye on the side of the road. Pearl Jam recorded the most successful and arguably the best version of the song.
Related: Songs About Death
Conclusion
Sad songs help us process emotions we can’t always put into words. Whether you’re dealing with loss, heartbreak, or just feeling down, these tracks remind you that someone else has felt the same way. Sometimes the saddest songs are the ones that help us heal.
If you enjoyed this list, you might also like our picks for Songs About Loneliness and Songs About Missing Someone.
