Sometimes we are all in need of a good cry.
Whether something tragic has happened, you’re going through a break up or you’ve just had a bad day, there’s a song for every situation that will soothe you.
For some of us, just hearing the opening cords to a particular song is enough to set off the water works.
For others, lyrics can cut like knives leave them sobbing and inconsolable.
Music moves us and sometimes there’s nothing quite like shutting yourself away from the world and listening to a sad song.
So, we’ve compiled a list of the 10 best sad songs most likely to make you cry.
Grab the tissues…
10.
Best of the sad breakup songs
“Someone Like You” by Adele
A soul pop anthem from her second album 21
Cry rating: 9/10
Saddest lyrics: “Never mind, I’ll find someone like you.
I wish nothing but the best for you, too
“Don’t forget me,” I beg
“I’ll remember,” you said
Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead.”
Since this song hit airwaves in 2011, it’s become known as the best of the sad break up songs. The lyrics tell the story of Adele coming to terms with a devastating break up and is one of the most popular sad songs in the world. She has since revealed the subject of this song and the whole album is about the breakdown of her relationship with the man she thought she was going to marry. “We were so intense I thought we would get married,” she told Q Magazine in 2011.
“But that was something he never wanted… So when I found out he does want that with someone else, it was just the horrible-est feeling ever.
“I wrote that song on the end of my bed. I had a cold. I was waiting for my bath to run. I’d found out that he’d got engaged to someone else.”
9.
Best of the sad love songs
“All Of Me” by John Legend
A R&B, soul pop song from his fourth album Love In The Future
Cry rating: 7/10
Saddest lyrics: ‘Cause all of me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me
I’ll give my all to you
You’re my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I’m winning
Famously dedicated to his wife Chrissy Teigan, John won hearts around the world when he revealed what the song was really about and is truly one of our favourite songs that make you cry. The tender piano ballad was written for his then-fiance, a model and social media star. The couple met in 2007 on the set of his video for Stereo.
8.
Best of the heartbreak songs
“River” by Joni Mitchell
A folk ballad from her 1971 album Blue
Cry rating: 8/10
Saddest lyrics: Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
Oh I wish I had a river
I made my baby say goodbye
One of Joni Mitchell’s most popular songs, River is believed to be inspired by Joni’s break up with fellow musician Grahan Nash in 1970. The beautiful song picked up a whole new legion of fans when it was played during the famous Love Actually scene where Emma Thompson’s character breaks down in tears after discovering her husband (played by Alan Rickman) has been cheating on her.
7.
Best of the sad songs about death
“Tears In Heaven” by Eric Clapton
A soft rock song written for 1991 film Rush
Cry rating: 8/10
Saddest Lyrics: Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on
‘Cause I know I don’t belong here in heaven
This song has devastating significance for it’s co-writer Eric Clapton. Its lyrics were inspired by the death of Clapton’s four-year-old son, Conor, who fell from a New York apartment building in 1991. While Eric refuses to play it these days, many consider it one of the best songs to listen to when sad.
6.
Best of the sad country songs
“I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton
A country song from her hugely famous album Jolene
Cry Rating: 5/10
Saddest Lyrics: I hope life, treats you kind
And I hope that you have all
That you ever dreamed of
I wish you joy
And I wish you happiness
But above all this
I wish you love
The original version of this hugely famous song was written by Dolly as a farewell to her one-time partner and mentor of seven years, Porter Wagoner, following her decision to pursue a solo career. Whitney Houston’s version of I Will Always Love You is arguably even more famous than Dolly’s original after she recorded a version for 1991 film Bodyguard.
5.
Best of the sad rock songs
“Pale Blue Eyes” by Velvet Underground
Folk rock song from eponymous album The Velvet Underground
Cry Rating: 4/10
Saddest Lyrics: Sometimes I feel so happy
Sometimes I feel so sad
Sometimes I feel so happy
But mostly you just make me mad
Baby, you just make me mad
A cult classic, it is understood Velvet Underground singer Lou Reed penned “Pale Blue Eyes” about someone whose eyes were actually hazel. According to his book Between Thought and Expression the melancholy song is inspired by Shelley Albin, Lou’s first love, who at the time was married to another man.
4.
Best of the sad guitar songs
“Trouble” by Cat Stevens
Folk rock tune from Mona Bone Jakon
Cry Rating: 5/10
Saddest lyrics: I’m beat, I’m torn
Shattered and tossed and worn
Too shocking to see
Too shocking to see
Written while recovering from tuberculosis, Cat – now known as Yusuf Islam – spent spent three months in hospital after being admitted near. He wrote dozens of songs, including “Trouble”, many of which were recorded much later. The song was used in Colin Higgins and Hal Ashby‘s 1970 film soundtrack of Harold and Maude.
3.
Best of the slow sad songs
“Brick” by Ben Folds Five
Alt rock, piano-heavy song from Whatever And Ever Amen
Cry Rating: 8/10
Saddest Lyrics: Can’t you see
It’s not me you’re dying for
Now she’s feeling more alone
Then she ever has before
She’s a brick and I’m drowning slowly
Off the coast and I’m headed nowhere
She’s a brick and I’m drowning slowly
A truly heart wrenching song, lead singer Ben Folds wrote many sad lyrics of the song about his high school girlfriend getting an abortion. However, the chorus was written by the band’s drummer Darren Jesse.
“The song is about when I was in high school, me and my girlfriend had to get an abortion, and it was a very sad thing,” he said on Ben Folds Live.
2.
Best of the sad friendship songs
“I’ll Be Missing You” by Puff Daddy (feat. Faith Evans)
R&B song from No Way Out
Cry Rating: 6/10
Saddest Lyrics: Still can’t believe you’re gone (can’t believe you’re gone)
Give anything to hear half your breath (half your breath)
I know you still living you’re life, after death
Every step I take, every move I make
Every single day, every time I pray
I’ll be missing you
An iconic rap ballad, Puff Daddy recorded the song in memory of fellow Bad Boy Records artist Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, who was murdered on March 9, 1997. “I’ll Be Missing You” samples The Police’s 1983 hit song “Every Breath You Take” and makes this list of most depressing songs.
1.
The saddest song in the world
“Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley
Alt rock cover of Leonard Cohen’s original song from album Grace
Cry Rating: 10/10
Saddest Lyrics: But baby I’ve been here before
I’ve seen this room and I’ve walked this floor
You know, I used to live alone before I knew ya
And I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
And love is not a victory march
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
One of the saddest songs of all time. Undoubtedly one of the most common songs to hear at a funeral, Leonard Cohen’s iconic song has many means to many different people. Canadian singer KD Lang said in an interview shortly after his death that she considered the song to be about “the struggle between having human desire and searching for spiritual wisdom. It’s being caught between those two places.” Jeff Buckley’s rendition of the moving song has become the most popular version of “Hallelujah” to this day and known as the saddest song ever – a true tear jerker.
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