40 Sad Songs for When You Want to Feel Something

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40 Relatable Sad Songs

It's healthy to listen to some sad songs every now and then. Usually, more personal and thought-provoking sad songs help us feel nostalgic, at peace, and in a state of admiration for just how moving artists can be.

The stories are gripping, brutally honest in every way possible, and can leave you in ruins when they strike the right note.

If you're ever going through one of those days when you just need a song to cry to, there might just be a song in this playlist that can help you along. If you want to know that there's someone else who's also going through hell, you might just find one of these songs relatable.

1. "Epilogue" by The Antlers

On an album as depressing as The Antler's Hospice, this is the last track. The entire album is depressing joinery itself, but the conclusion is just as jarring as a song can be. It's a love that always had an expiration date and the ghosts left behind when it reaches its inevitable conclusion.

"Epilogue" is great as a stand-alone song, but to feel its true power be sure to listen to Hospice in its entirety.

2. "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap

There is some ambiguity around the mean of this song, but the common interpretation is Imogen's description of her home when her parents divorced.

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The lyrics illustrate the reality of just how destructive and emotional the experience can be for a child losing her understanding of her family. It's definitely a story many can relate to.

3. "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley

Hallelujah has been covered hundreds of times by hundreds of artists, but Jeff Buckley's rendition remains an iconic hallmark of a profound song. It's not just the lyrics but the intensity in Jeff Buckley's vocals that make the song so moving. Although not the original by Leonard Cohen, this cover is what gave the song it is dark, cold, and broken reputation.

4. "Needle in the Hay" by Elliot Smith

A song about drug addiction and a jaded young man, "Needle in the Hay," tells the story of someone trying to break away from his sins as he's alienated by those he's disappointed. It's a man trying to fight his demons as he falls deeper into the pit, and in the end, it's as futile as finding a needle in a haystack.

"Your hand on his arm
The hay stack charm around your neck
Strung out and thin
Calling some friend trying to cash some check"

"He's acting dumb
That's what you've come to expect
Needle in the hay
Needle in the hay"

5. "Hurt" by Johnny Cash

Although this is a cover to the original by Nine Inch Nails, Cash's version is something special. It's the end to a legend career like no other. The music video, in particular, speaks to how fleeting fame really is as it cuts between clips of Cash from the height of his career to his state decades after.

It's a song gripping in every way, the lyrics, intensity, vocals, and theme all coming together to leave the listener in ruins. This song is considered to be everything from a suicide note to a final confession, but it is undoubtedly honest.

© 2017 Cyril Figgis