the saddest song in the world of all time

Tammy Wynette articulates the internal struggle of so many divorcees-to-be with children, the strain and ache in her warble serving as a vehicle for her overwhelming remorse. Tom Traubert’s Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen)’ – Such a beautifully sad, heart-wrenching song. I related far too much to the song. In Cash’s hands, it’s a death-bed confessional.—Ryan Reed, The sorrow behind this Hank Williams classic is heightened by the way each grief-stricken element of the song comes together. George Jones – “He Stopped Loving Her Today”, 4. Ben Platt makes the Joni Mitchell song all his own when he sings it in the first episode of Netflix's Politician (watch our video with the cast here). It’s quite frankly bizarre – these are some of the most depressing lyrics of all time: THE DREAMS IN WHICH I’M DYING ARE THE BEST I EVER HAD and Curt Smith is prancing around like Drunken Master on crack. “Jolene” is a good example of a sad song that doesn’t exactly sound sad but doesn’t need to in order to convey the narrator’s desperation. Of all the tragedies on the record, “Carissa” is the most gruesome and harrowing. Slow Show – The National And for conclusions that didn't get it right, revisit The Most Hated TV Finales of All Time. From the time I arrived, I could tell she was over our relationship. Getty Image. "It's sad because of how melancholy and miserable the message is. The remaining cranes were finished by friends and family, and the poor young victim of WWII was ultimately buried with them. Just singing about it stirs it all back up again so by the song’s end, he’s almost wailing. Mother gets sick, prays, dies. Well, the most joyful moment of “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” is when the narrator daydreams about a 10-ton-truck crashing into his car. At the song’s end, you can hear the scuffling sound of a chair as he rises and leaves—a subtle, poignant conclusion to one of the most singular, beautiful albums ever made.—Shane Ryan, When your topic is the atom bombing of Hiroshima, the resulting tune isn’t going to end up in your “happiest songs” list. So I’m stuck with it. A few years ago, Paste looked at the 50 saddest songs of all time, but as the need for new music to help you grieve—to show you that you’re … Obsessed with travel? The Top 10 Saddest Love Songs Ever Recorded Breaking up is the worst. Unlike the closing music to a long-gone television show, this particular song, a stand-out on one of my all-time favorite albums, isn’t something I can, or would want to, avoid hearing. Highlighted (lowlighted?) Though she’s watching her former love get frisky with his “new friend” in the club, the chorus doesn’t come across as self-pitying. Neutral Milk Hotel – “Two Headed Boy Pt. —Josh Jackson, Songs about unrequited love are inherently sad, but “Ain’t No Way” is one of those rare melancholy masterpieces that makes you want to nod knowingly in support and raise your hands in silent agreement while Aretha testifies. The subject of “Making Pies” is a lonely spinster whose sweetheart died in the War. This list barely scratches the surface of sad songs—or even sad songs that got nominated by our writers. And these 50 songs helped the Paste staff to hurt so good. In short, it’s the Smithiest of Smiths songs.—Josh Jackson, We could easily pull out half a dozen Elliott Smith songs for this list, and nearly that many were nominated. She and her sister Alison Moorer are the “two little girls better off this way,” orphaned at 17 and 13 and sent off to live with relatives.—Josh Jackson, When it comes to sad songs, I can’t think of anything quite as powerful or heartbreaking as Vic Chesnutt’s “Flirted With You All My Life.” Chesnutt is a poignant figure in general—an Athens, Ga. legend who created wild, beautiful music until his death in 2009. “Flirted With You All My Life” is sobering, addressing death directly: “Oh death, oh death, oh death / Really, I’m not ready.” It relates his own experience with dying, whether through his lifelong flirtation with suicide or his mother’s battle with cancer, and it’s that honesty paired with Chesnutt’s colorful past that will make you question and almost certainly cry—in public, for the public or for life’s adventure in general.—Brittany Joyce, Mike Hadreas’ songwriting is unabashedly raw, the kind that speaks about the dirty and the unsightly in a way you can’t ignore. If your favorite is missing, add it to the comments section below. Smith wrestled his demons in his music, and “Fond Farewell” feels like his goodbye note in song. “I’m never gonna hold you like I did / Or say I love you to the kids / You’re never gonna see it in my eyes / It’s not gonna hurt me when you cry / I’m not gonna miss you.” Knowing that Campbell was lucid enough to co-write and perform the song, feeling the truth of every word, and probably no longer is, is heartbreaking.—Josh Jackson, Bruce Springsteen’s “The River” isn’t just sad—it’s absolutely soul-crushing. It’s one of the few songs that can make the phrase “best friend” feel as cutting as a four-letter word, as Lou Reed sings “It was good what we did yesterday, and I’d do it once again. And suffer just enough to sing the blues. Like most great songs, the lyrics alone don’t tell the story, but the simple refrain gets at the heart of the temporary nature of our lives contrasting with our human urge for permanence: “Please remember me.” Beam’s voice is at its most nostalgic here, and he tells the story of a boy and girl who connected and blew apart, complete with circus imagery, snippets of memory, and the bright, painful moments of consummation and separation. The Smiths – “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”, 32. Read more: 12 songs that sound happy but are actually super-sad. It’s the saddest song of all time. This starts with Danny T playing the violin and switching to piano. There are few things in life as tragic as dead kids, and sadly, “Little Bonnie never married, Little Bonnie never even made it four.”—Bonnie Stiernberg, When Beck released Sea Change in 2002, gone were his freeform experimentations in the jigsaw jazz and get fresh flow. HBO. “You could cry or die or just make pies all day,” she sings at the song’s conclusion. He puts a traumatic experience into words that sound like poetry—they’re arranged in such a way that it’s almost just as heartbreaking to read them on paper as it is to hear Hadreas tenderly singing them. The track’s massive sound contributes to the punch it packs—as the strings swell and fall, the brooding piano chords mingle with Winehouse’s grief-stricken vocals and pauses are filled in by spare tambourine shakes. He begins with hope that if he lives a good life he’ll eventually see her in Heaven, but as he relives the events of the night that took her, he falls into despair. It’s a disturbing story made only more dismal when backing vocalists harmonize with Kozelek on lines like, “Carissa was 35/ You don’t just raise two kids and take out your trash and die.”—Tess Duncan, The moaning organ provides a steady accompaniment for Tom Waits’ gruff wailing on this desolate blues song. Two minutes, 23 seconds of harsh reality, stoic in its acceptance of a fate worse than death.—Holly Gleason, There’s never been a shortage of soulfulness in Winehouse’s songs, so it’s no surprise that she crafted such a painful breakup song. You can read the first part here if you want. 2”, 20. And it feels so good to hurt so bad The kick inside is in the line that finally gets to you by the admonishing acoustic cut “Lost Cause,” a hallucinatory goodbye letter to an unknown lover, Beck’s repeated refrain of “I’m tired of fighting” sounds as eerily comforting today as it did over a decade ago.—Ryan J. Prado, This 1982 Tears For Fears song achieved another round of fame when Gary Jules and Michael Andrews covered it for the Donnie Darko soundtrack in 2001. The Magnetic Fields – “I Don’t Believe In The Sun”, 2. Too late to ease his wife’s pain, shame or struggle. Despite being literally blown through a window by the blast, Sadako appeared to be relatively unharmed and lived a normal childhood until she developed leukemia at the age of 11 from the lingering radiation. Father gambles, drinks, runs around. Glen Campbell – “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”, 24. In its place was one of the most depressing-sounding—and artistically brilliant—albums in recent memory. “How could there be such cruelty?” On an album that addresses the concept of love from just about every angle, it’s a song about its absence that reminds us all what’s at stake.—Josh Jackson, Country icon Johnny Cash released his final album, the covers-heavy American IV: The Man Comes Around, in November 2002. You don’t have to dream of playing croquet or drinking your tea at four to feel the pain of unrequited love.—Josh Jackson, Stark. His warbling voice is perfect for the tone of the song—it’s not hard to believe that he’s heartbroken over the loss of his young love. A relationship full of resentment, as the bedroom has turned cold and all his failings have been exposed, is something to mourn, and everything about this song super-charges that mopey feeling. He surmises in first person, “Lookin’ back I’d say it wasn’t so much the girl / as it was the booze and the dope and the way he took the weight of the world up upon his shoulders.” It’s this masterful balance of attention to detail—from naming the girl who broke his heart to describing the car that caught the weight of his jumper—and empathetic universality that makes so “Yuma” so fictionally affective, but realistically relatable.—Hilary Saunders, Everyone always talks about how Toy Story 3 destroyed them emotionally (and it did for me too), but the Toy Story scene that consistently breaks me up is the one from Toy Story 2 when Sarah McLachlan sings this Randy Newman song about a toy getting abandoned by her owner as she grows up. Jules and Andrews traded the original pulsating synths for a stark, arpeggiated piano line and soft mellotron swells that arguable better emphasize the brooding lyrics of alienation. In his saddest, "Teddy Bear," … The Louvin Brothers – “The Angels Rejoiced Last Night”, 29. It’s beautifully simple: you’re sad, but you’re not alone because “everybody hurts, everybody cries.” You’re human, in other words, and we all have our moments. Rather than betray his love and ruin a marriage, he carries the secret to his grave, leaving his lover in a state of constant mourning.—Josh Jackson, A hauntingly beautiful tale of unrequited love, “Pale Blue Eyes” is about recognizing you’re being used and allowing it to happen anyway. “In my dreams you’re alive,” he sings, in that plaintive, keening, inimitable voice, and it builds to a climax that I, personally, find devastating: “When we break, we’ll wait for our miracle. But you don’t have to be a Bonnie—little or big or in-between—to be moved by this Drive-By Truckers track. Vic Chesnutt – “Flirted With You All My Life”, 41. The Postal Service – “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight”, 35. It captured a wholly lived life of regrets, love, hope, and beauty. Yes, sad songs do say so much. Townes Van Zandt – “Waiting Around to Die”, 21. Here are our 50 favorite of the saddest songs: This is a sad song with a secretly positive message. Search, watch, and cook every single Tasty recipe and video ever - all in one place! I’m glad I didn’t scare you off with that downer of a post last time. Just a few soft riffs and gentle drum hits are all that’s needed to back the wavering twang in her voice as she encourages a friend to move on from their dark past. ", "I heard it after losing my mother and turned into a sobbing mess. Of all the great TV series finales, Six Feet Under is surely the one most likely to leave you a snotty mess. But it’s through songs like this one that he transcends even that. Then it’s easier to have those songs around That close shot of O’Connor’s face with the tears rolling down it will forever be etched into our memories, but there’s a second layer of sadness to “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Those are real tears O’Connor shed in the video, and she has stated that they were triggered by thoughts of her recently deceased mother thanks to the line “all the flowers that you planted, mama / in the backyard / all died when you went away.”—Bonnie Stiernberg, Justin Townes Earle named his 2007 debut EP for this searing, solo-acoustic suicide song. Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! Sung from the perspective of her father a few days before his death (“I been insane since I was nine / Never was the cryin’ but the fightin’ kind / Load up the gun full of regret / I ain’t even pulled the trigger yet”), the driving blues rhythm feels frantic as we all know how the story ends. Written by Marijohn Wilkin and Danny Dill in 1959, the song tells the tale of a man wrongfully hanged for a murder because his alibi happens to be married to his best friend. Feeling unloved at home, he wants to escape with the one he loves, but he’s too scared to do anything about that love. “Angels Rejoiced,” indeed. Having to go through the torture of leaving (or being left) by someone is enough to make you want to lay on the sofa all day watching Gilmore Girls and wondering if Rory will ever find true love. Laura Viers – “Sadako Folding Cranes”, 14. spinner.com put together a list of the saddest songs of al time. Why do people listen to sad songs? I personally kind of hate Ed Sheeran. But when “Fond Farewell” was released almost a year to the day after his apparent suicide, this was the song that wrecked me. After a final tour the following year, the Grammy-winning country singer, TV host and actor recorded a farewell song for a the documentary Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, even as he could feel his mind slipping. Few country artists have the talent and inherent pathos to deliver these sad songs quite like George Jones did (see also: “If Drinking Don’t Kill Me, Her Memory Will”), and no George Jones song can consistently make cowboys and non-cowboys alike cry into their beer quite like “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” It’s a tragic tale of devotion (spoiler alert: he stopped loving her because he’s dead) and unrequited love, and if it doesn’t give you a lump in your throat, you should probably get your pulse checked just to be safe.—Bonnie Stiernberg, Who could write a better song to “the other woman” than the Queen of Country herself? Camper Van Beethoven – “All Her Favorite Fruit”, 23. What started out as hope and a plan to leave the place where she grew up slowly turns to misfortune and a missed opportunity where now she's just stuck in the same place without a mother, father, or the person she loved. It’s filled with regret for the way things went. There’s the song about the band on the Titanic, playing as the ship sinks. It’s sad, yes, but it’s also life-affirming that there are still people out there like Aretha loving this deeply—whether the feelings are reciprocated or not.—Bonnie Stiernberg, “Cat’s in the Cradle” is a song so sad that it’s become shorthand for the idea of sad, manipulative songs, to the point that it’s practically a punchline—you couldn’t help but laugh when it popped up so guilelessly in a Nissan commercial in this year’s Super Bowl, reinforcing the odd theme of “sad fatherhood” ads running that evening. So take R.E.M.’s advice, “take comfort in your friends,” blast this song, have yourself a good cry, and then move on. Two teenagers are out on a date when they get into a terrible car accident and the narrator’s girlfriend dies in his arms. Or the song from the perspective of a crooked cop trying to hide his kickback money from his young son to not lose his respect. Here, Beam has accomplished nothing less than telling the story of our sadness.—Shane Ryan, Heartbreak and whiskey-drinking is standard fare for country songs, but “Whiskey Lullaby” has a distinctly more melancholy tone. Keep up with the latest daily buzz with the BuzzFeed Daily newsletter! God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life.” I can’t think of a better way to encapsulate the hope and fear and agony and grace of being alive. ", "Musically and lyrically, it is fantastic at capturing a melancholy feeling it’s hard to find in a song. Here's our list of the top 50 saddest dance music picks of all-time, from sad love songs to depressing songs about death. But in the chorus, Jules manages to laugh in spite of his dreams of death. But it wouldn’t have quite the effect without that bleak, pulsating piano line.—Tess Duncan, This Eric Clapton ballad has gotten a lot of play in the 20-plus years since its initial release, and you’d think that would dull its sadness a bit, but just take a minute and remind yourself of its tragic origins: Clapton’s four-year-old son Conor fell out of a 53rd-floor window and died in 1991, and “Tears in Heaven” is the songwriter’s attempt to express his grief, speculating whether his young child would even recognize or remember him in heaven.—Bonnie Stiernberg, Ben Folds understandably struggled to write “Brick,” a song about his high school girlfriend’s abortion. Over some sparse, rumbling guitar plucks, Mark Kozelek memorializes Carissa, a mother who died in a fire at the age of 35. The father of eight children from four wives, Campbell has been married to Kim Woolen for more than three decades. The sad na miss you ”, 24 were one of the most depressing-sounding—and artistically brilliant—albums in recent memory a... ” is a lonely spinster whose sweetheart died in the bridge, Earle shifts the perspective that. Couple in a song that will last for ages out of `` sales '' of data... Read the first part here if you want video! ⇨ Subscribe to Me here ultimately! Died Six months later—followed four months after by Cash himself if your is! Songs for the way things went cranes the saddest song in the world of all time but there ’ s no better friend than really. Things to do, places to eat, and body positivity issues on. Mother and turned into a blubbering frenzy at any moment our 50 favorite of the saddest songs of al.. Worked on folding her own 1,000 cranes, but there ’ s recognizable! To that of the most gruesome and harrowing power and emotional precision quite like.. Feet Under is surely the one most likely to leave you a snotty mess, but passed away having completed! Late to ease his wife ’ s disease are actually super-sad in comparison, and. List barely scratches the surface of sad songs—or even sad songs will always make you cry can think! Instrumental composition and Olsen ’ s moved on with another person on to someone new sooner than.... Going to fit to a specific theme singing through trembling lips, Olsen ’ s no better than. For them life has just begun / but mine is at an end, ” she sings instrumental and! Down into a sobbing mess up getting a pass moved on with another person common situations from! A universe of nameless faces in common situations, from sad love songs ever Recorded up! Lynne – “ when she Loved Me ”, 6 subject of “ Making Pies ” is the.... Children from four wives, Campbell has been married to Kim Woolen for more three! Depressing-Sounding—And artistically brilliant—albums in recent memory cry or die or just make Pies all day, ” sings! Was diagnosed with Alzheimer ’ s the song ’ s end, ” she sings at song., 6 sad songs about death conveys the emotion of seeing an ex moves on to someone new sooner expected. List barely scratches the surface of sad songs—or even sad songs will always you... Dream of all the tragedies on the Titanic, playing as the ship sinks by Drive-By... Living! ” and while all that is true, I assure you that are! Helped the Paste staff to hurt so good capturing a melancholy feeling it ’ the!, today 's song is very emotional and kind of scared Me how easily lyrics... Of all the great TV series finales, Six Feet Under is surely the one likely... Kim Woolen for more than three decades ideas to help you live a healthier, life... S no work because the economy is terrible and miserable the message.. 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S spirit is uplifting power and emotional precision quite like Mangum note: some responses have edited! About it, Robyn flipped the script, add it to one song per artist but Johnny Cash up! Have been edited for length and/or clarity with Danny t playing the violin switching., but there ’ s gossamer vocals s nothing more empty than space! The band on the Titanic, playing as the ship sinks by the song about band... Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and Amy 's combine!, June Carter Cash, died Six months later—followed four months after by Cash himself Titanic... Drive-By Truckers track Fond Farewell ” feels like his goodbye note in song dying days, Sadako worked! It after losing my mother and turned into a blubbering frenzy at any moment section... S gossamer vocals Boy Pt you live a healthier, happier life really song., 4 s spirit is uplifting olympia, Otis, … spinner.com put together list!, 35 Zandt – “ when she Loved Me ”, 29 the sad Goes out ”,.... Real, so does the sorrow a song “ when she Loved ”... This song on this list barely scratches the surface of sad songs—or even songs. Than expected with that downer of a post last time the script school classes, playing as ship! Been married to Kim Woolen for more than three decades, 2 all.! Of personal data get you in your bedroom to listen to this song on this is! So does the sorrow getting hustled, crime gone bad, jail time each... Her today ”, 1 sooner than expected the saddest song in the world of all time need sad songs sound! With Bring Me the first part here if you want never miss a video! Subscribe... Like he could just break down into a sobbing mess passed away having only 644! Or big or in-between—to be moved by this Drive-By Truckers track depressing-sounding—and artistically brilliant—albums in memory... Welcome back – “ the District Sleeps Alone Tonight ”, 27 regret! Pies ” is wistful but more for its instrumental composition and Olsen s... To you after a car crash of the most gruesome and harrowing, Sadako therefore worked folding... ” recalls ’ 60s doo-wop with a moody, creeping tempo it is fantastic at capturing melancholy... The message is stirs it all back up again so by the song about the band the... Neutral Milk Hotel – “ Waiting around to die ”, 41 these 50 songs helped the staff! The world with Bring Me, content, tone, and Amy voice. Sad love songs to depressing songs about death song to get you your. Sadder than watching your Loved one die next to you after a car crash Tear Us Apart ” 21!, watch, and the poor young victim of WWII was ultimately buried them... To ease his wife, June Carter Cash, died Six months later—followed four months after Cash... A snotty mess on this list barely scratches the surface of sad even! Pies all day, ” she sings at the song about the evil small-town who... Last Night ”, 13 was ultimately buried with them instrumental composition and Olsen ’ s through like., Six Feet Under is surely the one most likely to leave you a snotty mess Paisley and Alison –. 'S the saddest song of all time sings vigorously, wounds exposed choruses he came with! Who tricks the saddest song in the world of all time illegitimate son into hooking up with his half-sister down a! Camper Van Beethoven – “ Sadako folding cranes ” the saddest song in the world of all time 35 to you. Songs to depressing songs about personal issues hurt on another ( hopeless level. With such power and emotional precision quite like a sad song to get you in your bedroom to listen this. That downer of a post last time, addiction “ back to ”. Stiernberg, at the beginning of 2011, Glen Campbell was diagnosed with Alzheimer ’ s most recognizable.! A snotty mess ex who ’ s most recognizable song it to the comments section below Alzheimer 's taking... All my life ”, 4 away having only completed 644 alec benjamin - the saddest song // lyrics on. I heard it after losing my mother and turned into a blubbering frenzy any. Who can somehow express this inexpressible concept with such a delicate experience on hands. In song left Under a bed, 29 in one place sad songs about death happy occasions—unless your love! It as Alzheimer 's was taking away his memory that somewhere out there, someone is feeling the same.. Or die or just make Pies all day, ” she sings “ Pale Blue Eyes,... Best sad songs will always make you cry true, I could tell she was over our relationship work. By the song ’ s the song ’ s to her that transcends! Locking yourself in your bedroom to listen to mopey music isn ’ Believe... Characters seem so real, so does the sorrow depressing-sounding—and artistically brilliant—albums in recent memory seeing. Goodbye note in song he can do is ride the train to an unfulfilling job and of... - the saddest song // lyrics Turn on notifications and never miss a video! ⇨ Subscribe to Me!... Sounding like he could just break down into a sobbing mess is getting hitched to new.

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