“And it feels so good to hurt so bad and suffer just enough to sing the blues,” Elton John sings in “Sad Songs (Say So Much).” “When all hope is gone, you know sad songs say so much.”
Who doesn’t love a great sad song? That song you can turn to when you’re feeling down or alone or you just want a good cry. Even your favorite artists love that great sad song, that one that speaks to them in times of trouble.
What is the saddest song ever written? I once saw the Australian band Frente! say “Ruby’s Arms,” by Tom Waits. That is a damn good answer. Here, some of your favorite artists, from Dave Grohl, Panic At The Disco’s Brendon Urie and Heart frontwoman Ann Wilson to Miguel, the Doors’ John Densmore and Robby Krieger and the Greta Van Fleet brothers give you their choice for saddest song ever written. It is an impressive list, from country to rock. And see the two songs that got picked twice.
Dave Grohl: “All By Myself,” Eric Carmen
Probably have to go by myself with “All By Myself,” by Eric Carmen. That song’s just a f**king bummer. Want to clear a room? Put that f**king s**t on.
Brendon Urie: “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” Bonnie Raitt
“I Can’t Make You Love Me,” every time I hear it I go Niagara Falls. Alone in a room, I could be in a crowded bar, oh my god, I love it. There’s something about that too, there’s that factor. I remember hearing Adele talk about this like three years ago. She said it has to end up on the album when I am crying in the studio, like recording take after take cause I am just crying in the studio. There’s something special about that.
Chrissie Hynde: “Always On My Mind,” Willie Nelson
“Always On My Mind,” Willie Nelson. Listen to the song.
Bebe Rexha: “Hurt,” Nine Inch Nails
That feels like the saddest song ever written to me. When I first heard it I thought it was about somebody hurting themselves and that made me really sad. I think that song is really sad because I feel like I’ve been there once before, not where I wanted to hurt myself, but I felt like a pile of s**t. That’s the saddest place you could ever be. But I loved Johnny Cash’s version. I heard that and it made my heart melt.
Dorothy: “Your House,” Jimmy Eat World
The saddest song, in my opinion, there’s this one song by Jimmy Eat World, and it’s probably again cause I relate to it, “Your House,” it’s talking about you’re losing someone.
Ann Wilson: “Back To Black,” Amy Winehouse
Without a doubt, “Back to Black” is the saddest song I have heard or sung. Written by Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson, when the darkness of these lyrics is taken pure, without the alloy of R&B treatment, they are deeply existential. The very idea of ‘black’ has many facets here. On the surface, black tar heroin; but here, there is an even deeper, darker well…disappointment, disillusion, humiliation; a return to depression, black clothing, drawn shades and disintegration. This soul has ventured out into the sublime light of love, been deceived, forsaken and abandoned. The soul shrivels and returns to its closet, the ancient safe place. This song’s beauty is in its honesty and raw sadness. The head is bravely held high, but the heart is resigned to blackness. It is a song of defeat.
Miguel: “For All We Know,” Donny Hathaway
“For all we know, me may never meet again/So love me tonight/Tomorrow was made for some, tomorrow may never come.” It’s one of my favorite songs. That song is the first song I heard of Donny Hathaway’s, first time I heard his voice and I was blown away. I was 12 years old and I had never been in love, never had to lose somebody, no one in my family had died before. I’d never had to deal with any kind of loss in that way, but that song, I knew exactly what it felt like.
Sully Erna, Godsmack: Elton John: “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word”
I’ve always been amazed with the anomaly of how sound waves, which are nothing more than frequencies, just simple vibrations, can come in contact with the human body and create emotion. That’s what music is to me. It’s a gift that is so underestimated. It’s the only thing I know that has the power to take you back to a time and place when you first heard that song, or can fill you with emotions even when there are no lyrics sung. But every so often a song comes along where the artist was able to marry the emotion of the music, to some dramatic lyrical content that we are able to all relate to on a personal level. And when that happens it can be tremendously powerful. That’s what this song is for me. It’s a perfect beautiful storm.
Alan White, Yes: “Tears In Heaven,” Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton’s “Tears In Heaven: is a powerful, heartfelt love song from Eric to his young son. Any parent must identify with the unbearable pain, and Eric shared his pure, personal sorrow with the world.
Chris Hillman, the Byrds: “Crying Time,” Buck Owens
“You’re gonna leave me.” That can apply to all things. Buck Owens wrote that. That’s a sad one because of the separation and we weren’t meant to be separate from each other. We weren’t, as a species. That’s a sad song, there are a bunch of them. That’s the beauty of country music, that pathos, that genuine honest emotion. And R&B too, that’s what it’s about. We joke as songwriters, I just broke up with my girlfriend, it’s good for four songs.
Robby Krieger, the Doors: “Tears In Heaven,” Eric Clapton
“Tears In Heaven,” the song Eric Clapton wrote about his son.
John Densmore, the Doors: “Hyacinth House,” the Doors
What’s the Jim [Morrison] lyric? “I see the bathroom is clear/I think that somebody’s here/I’m sure that someone is following me, oh yeah.” “Hyacinth House,” of the Doors’ catalogue, that is, for me, the saddest long. Jim sng, “I need a brand-new friend who doesn’t trouble me.” I mean, come on.
Chris Daughtry: “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” Bonnie Raitt
That is a heartbreaking song, but a beautiful song. Just the feeling of that one-sided relationship and knowing it’s never reciprocated is a terrible feeling.
Allie X: “These Days,” Nico
“These Days” by Nico is one of the saddest lyrics I can think of. Nico reflecting on her life, knowing she won’t be around much longer, and she is full of regret. She sounds so tired. It is such an honest portrayal of a broken person.
Rich Robinson, Magpie: “Fly,” Nick Drake
Nick Drake has always been one of my favorite musicians. The song “Fly”, which was a demo on the record Time Of No Reply, is the first song I’d ever heard of Nick Drake. The beauty and the melancholy of the sonic environment of that song to me is striking and crushingly sad.
Josh Kiszka, Greta Van Fleet:“Mr. Bojangles, John Denver
“Mr. Bojangles, John Denver’s version gets me every single time, I can’t listen to it. That is the epitome of sad.
Jake Kiszka, Greta Van Fleet:“Hello Darlin’”Conway Twitty
“Hello Darlin’,” by Conway Twitty, is one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard. Classic country gets me.
Sam Kiszka, Greta Van Fleet:“Let Me Die In My Footsteps,” Bob Dylan.
I think, for me, saddest song is “Let Me Die In My Footsteps,” by Bob Dylan.
