Sadness is a subjective feeling which can be generally termed as emotional pain associated with feelings of despair, rejection, loss, loneliness, disappointment and sorrow. Music as we know is quite capable of generating emotions. There are songs which can tug at your very heart strings to invoke those depressing feelings and leave you quite miserable. While happy songs are quite upbeat with a peppy melody and positive lyrics, sad songs take on slow gloomy rhythms accompanied by soft vocals and disheartening lyrics. These songs are mostly tributes to loved ones who have passed away and some are dealing with heartbreak while others are about personal loss. While there is a blurred line between sad songs and songs about heart break, the tone, mood and emotion sets apart the latter from the sad songs as well as the fact that the sad songs which are also about heartbreak deals with the pain one is going through instead of bitter feelings towards the other party.
So Evanescence's Hello is crowned as the saddest song with its extremely emotional lyrics accompanied by a haunting Amy Lee on the piano. The song is about how Amy Lee still remembers how she found out about her 3 year old sister's death when she was 6 years old. At second place is Ross Copperman's Holding On and Letting Go with Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven at a close third. Evanescence has 4 entries on the list with Sarah McLachlan having 3 entries. So here are the saddest songs of all time:
- Evanescence – Hello
- Ross Copperman – Holding on and letting go
- Eric Clapton – Tears in heaven
- Don Mclean – Vincent
- Vonda Shepard – 100 tears away
- R.E.M. – Everybody hurts
- Spiritualized – Lay it down slow
- The Carpenters – Goodbye to love
- Elton John – Candle in the wind
- Skeeter Davis – The end of the world
- The Band Perry – If I die young
- Nelly Furtado – All good things come to an end
- Evanescence – You
- Vonda Shepard ft. Emily Saliers – Baby don’t you break my heart slow
- Great Big World ft. Christina Aguilera – Say something
- Pearl Jam – Last kiss (Original by Wayne Cochran)
- Gary Jules – Mad world
- Boz Scaggs – We’re all alone
- Chental Kreviazuk – Leaving on a jet plane (Original by John Denver)
- Gabrielle – Out of reach
- Bob Dylan – Knockin’ on heaven’s door
- Timbaland ft. OneRepublic – Apologize
- Sarah McLachlan – Angel
- Enya – Only time
- Gilbert O’ Sullivan – Alone again (naturally)
- Mariah Carey & Boys II Men – One sweet day
- Jewel – Foolish games
- Sarah McLachlan – Rainbow connection (Original by Kermit the Frog)
- Evanescence – My immortal
- Simon & Garfunkel – The sound of silence
- The Beatles – Yesterday
- U2 – With or without you
- Sam Smith – I’m not the only one
- James Blunt – Goodbye my lover
- Peter & Gordon – World without love
- Patti Smith – No mistakes
- Miranda Lambert – Over you
- Adele – Someone like you
- Joshua Radin – Closer
- Whitney Houston – I will always love you (Original by Dolly Parton)
- Lifehouse – Broken
- Roy Orbison – In the real world
- Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – See you again
- Cyndi Lauper – Time after time
- Avril Lavigne – Nobody’s home
- Radiohead – Creep
- Johnny Cash – Hurt
- Sarah McLachlan – I will remember you
- Mike + The Mechanics – The living years
- Coldplay – Fix you
Till the next chord…
At Ease!!!
