There are some really, really sad songs out there – but these ones may be the saddest of all.
Sure, sad music can be a downer sometimes.
And, admittedly, it isn’t appropriate for all situations, (trust us, do not put Leonard Cohen, or anyone on this list, on at the function, please.)
But really, sad music can often create an odd sense of joy, and can make us feel better.
It’s a joy that comes about when you feel understood by a song.
Without sadness, there is no joy, after all – right?
Anyways, here’s a list of the most absolutely unrivalled sad songs, ever.
The list is more or less in order of sadness, but could certainly be rearranged based on what really gets you down.
Honourable Mention – ‘I Can Feel Your Pain’ – Manchester Orchestra
It is widely accepted that Manchester Orchestra has some very sad songs out there.
But the band’s early work, including the absolutely underrated 2006 album I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child, is some of their saddest.
‘I Can Feel Your Pain’ is a stripped back reflection on grief.
Andy Hull’s voice is timid and raw, and his words cut through from the very first bar.
10. ‘Claws in Your Back ‘- Julien Baker
Baker explains hopelessness and mental illness with a very scarcely witnessed sincerity.
About the song, Baker said “I don’t want to just waste my life being sad, I want to stay, I want to make it better, I want to try.”
9. ‘A Lack of Colour’ – Death Cab for Cutie
The final, somber note on Death Cab’s best album, Transatlanticism, is ‘A Lack of Colour.’
Bring back yearning like Ben Gibbard is yearning on this song, btw.
8. ‘Nutshell’ – Alice in Chains
A pinnacle of 90s alt rock, ‘Nutshell’ encapsulates isolation and hopelessness.
The song remains the band’s most popular, and is the highlight of their acclaimed album Jar of Flies.
Lyrics like “If I can’t be my own, I’d feel better dead” solidify its position on this list.
7. ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ – Leonard Cohen
Songs of Love and Hate is certainly a melancholic listen.
To pick just one track from this album is tough, but ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ might just be the most depressing.
Its journalistic devastation could only have come from Cohen.
6. ‘True Love Waits’- Radiohead
Just depressing as hell.
In particular, the Live in Oslo version…ouch.
5. ‘Twilight’ – Elliott Smith
And of course, Elliott Smith was going to be on here.
We probably could’ve made this list entirely up of Smith’s music, but for now, we’ve picked only one.
The track opens with Smith’s singing, “Haven’t laughed this much in a long time, I better stop now before I start crying.”
From A Basement On The Hill was released in 2004, roughly a year after Smith’s death.
4. ‘Real Death’ – Mount Eerie
Mount Eerie’s A Crow Looked at Me is a rough listen, and an incredibly accurate depiction of death and grief.
Phil Elverum explores the experience of losing his wife to cancer, mere months after the birth of their child.
Elverum finishes the song with the most authentic depiction of loss ever written, “I don’t wanna learn anything from this, I love you.”
3. ‘Fourth of July’ – Sufjan Stevens
Carrie & Lowell is a memorial for Stevens’ late mother.
‘Fourth of July’ follows a conversation between the two of them whilst she was passing.
2. ‘Funeral’ – Phoebe Bridgers
You didn’t actually click on this list, and expect not to see a Phoebe Bridgers track in here somewhere, did you?
Really, we could have just put her entire discography here, but for the sake of brevity we’ve decided to go with just one, and it was a tough pick.
Funeral is a hopeless depiction of loss and depression, and maybe pretty relatable to the readers of this list.
“Jesus Christ, I’m so blue all the time, and that’s just how I feel, always have and I always will.”
1. ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ – Bon Iver
Bon Iver makes an absolutely detrimental (to our mental health) take on Bonnie Raitt’s ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me.’
Maybe it’s controversial to put a cover in the number one spot on this list, but you just have not heard desperation like you will hear it in Justin Vernon’s voice in this song.
Again, bring back yearning, please.
