Sad Songs That Make You Cry: 40 Songs for Every Heartbreak

A good sad song does not fix anything. It just tells you that someone else has felt this too, and sometimes that is enough to let the tears come out.

Every song here has its release year checked. We have not quoted lyrics; each line is our own short note on why the song lands. Pick the section that matches how you feel.

Sad songs about breakups

These are for when a relationship has ended and you are still replaying it. They cover regret, pride, and the strange pain of seeing an ex move on.

1. "Someone Like You", Adele (2011): just a piano and a voice wishing an ex well while clearly not being fine.
2. "drivers license", Olivia Rodrigo (2021): the feeling of driving past familiar streets alone, written by a teenager and felt by everyone.
3. "Nothing Compares 2 U", Sinéad O'Connor (1990): a Prince song she made her own, with a close-up video where the tears look real.
4. "Someone You Loved", Lewis Capaldi (2018): about leaning on one person so much that losing them knocks the ground away.
5. "Back to Black", Amy Winehouse (2006): heartbreak with a dark, old soul sound, about being left for someone else.
6. "Say Something", A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera (2013): the quiet moment before one person finally gives up.
7. "When I Was Your Man", Bruno Mars (2012): a man listing everything he should have done, now that she is with someone who does it.
8. "Un-Break My Heart", Toni Braxton (1996): a big 90s ballad begging for the hurt to be reversed.
9. "Too Good at Goodbyes", Sam Smith (2017): about building walls after being hurt too many times.
10. "The Night We Met", Lord Huron (2015): the wish to go back to the very first night and choose differently.
11. "I Will Always Love You", Whitney Houston (1992): a goodbye that is loving, not bitter, sung like a farewell to the whole world.
12. "All Too Well", Taylor Swift (2012): every small detail of a past relationship, remembered painfully well. A 10 minute version came out in 2021.

Sad songs about loss and grief

These are for missing someone who has died. Many were written by artists in real mourning, which is why they feel so honest.

13. "Tears in Heaven", Eric Clapton (1992): written after the death of his four year old son, Conor. Hard to hear without a lump in your throat.
14. "See You Again", Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth (2015): a tribute to actor Paul Walker that became a song for every friend gone too soon.
15. "Fix You", Coldplay (2005): a slow build from quiet comfort to a full release, for when someone you love is broken.
16. "Hurt", Johnny Cash (2002): a Nine Inch Nails song sung by an old man looking back at his whole life. He died the following year.
17. "Supermarket Flowers", Ed Sheeran (2017): written about his grandmother, from the view of a mother clearing a hospital room.
18. "My Immortal", Evanescence (2003): about a presence that stays with you after the person is gone.
19. "Everybody Hurts", R.E.M. (1992): a simple, steady reminder that you are not alone in pain.
20. "Hallelujah", Jeff Buckley (1994): his cover of the Leonard Cohen song, fragile and haunting, often played at memorials.
21. "Yesterday", The Beatles (1965): a short, plain song about everything changing overnight.

Sad songs about loneliness

These fit the nights when nothing is wrong on paper but you still feel alone, or when you only value something after it is gone.

22. "Mad World", Gary Jules and Michael Andrews (2001): a slowed, bare cover of a Tears for Fears song, heavy with the feeling of being outside life.
23. "Let Her Go", Passenger (2012): about only knowing what you had once it has walked away.
24. "Hello", Adele (2015): calling back into the past to say sorry, years too late.
25. "Jealous", Labrinth (2014): one man at a piano admitting he envies everything near the person he lost.
26. "Liability", Lorde (2017): the fear that you are too much for people, sung softly to yourself.
27. "lovely", Billie Eilish and Khalid (2018): about feeling trapped in your own head and wanting out.
28. "Skinny Love", Bon Iver (2007): raw and cracked, about a love that is slowly starving.
29. "Stay With Me", Sam Smith (2014): asking someone not to leave in the morning, because being alone feels worse.

African and Afrobeats sad songs

Afrobeats is known for dance songs, but some of its biggest records are sad underneath the groove. These hit hardest for listeners in Nigeria, Ghana and across the continent.

30. "Last Last", Burna Boy (2022): a breakup anthem built on a Toni Braxton sample, about numbing the pain after she leaves. People cry and dance to it at the same time.
31. "Peace", Mohbad (2022): a song about searching for inner peace that became a mourning song across Nigeria after his death in September 2023.
32. "Understand", Omah Lay (2021): about loving someone through confusion and pleading to be understood.
33. "Last Heartbreak Song", Ayra Starr featuring Giveon (2024): two voices tired of being hurt, hoping this pain is the final one.
34. "Free Mind", Tems (2020): written at a low point, about anxiety and fighting your own thoughts. It reached the Billboard Hot 100 in 2022.
35. "Lonely at the Top", Asake (2023): success and crowds all around, but still feeling alone.
36. "Wait for Me", Johnny Drille (2015): a soft love song whose 2017 video, about losing a partner to illness, left many viewers in tears.
37. "Ojuelegba", Wizkid (2014): looking back at the hard years in Lagos before fame. Not a breakup song, but it brings tears to anyone who has hustled.
38. "Too Late for Mama", Brenda Fassie (1989): the South African classic telling of a mother killed by lightning while fetching water with her baby on her back.
39. "I Lied", KiDi (2023): about pretending you are fine when you are not, a topic Ghanaian pop rarely touches.
40. "Fo (Cry)", Mr Drew featuring Kwabena Kwabena (2021): a Ga language highlife song of heartbreak, with Kwabena Kwabena's warm voice adding weight.

Why do sad songs make you cry?

Sad songs give your feelings a shape. A slow tempo, a minor key and a voice that sounds close to breaking all signal sadness, and when the story matches your own life, the emotion you have been holding back finds a way out.

Many people find that a good cry with music leaves them calmer afterwards. If sadness lasts for weeks, or you feel hopeless or unsafe, please talk to someone you trust or a doctor. Music is comfort, not treatment.

How to make a cry playlist

Start with the mood you are in, then let the playlist move you gently towards something lighter.

1. Pick three or four songs from the section that matches what you are feeling.
2. Add one or two songs that put words to the feeling you cannot say out loud.
3. End with something calmer or hopeful, so you do not stay stuck in the low point.
4. Keep it short. Ten songs is about 40 minutes, enough for a good release.

Frequently asked questions

What is the saddest song ever?

There is no single answer, but "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton, "Hurt" by Johnny Cash and "Someone Like You" by Adele are among the songs most often named, because they come from real loss.

What Nigerian song makes people cry?

"Peace" by Mohbad became the song many Nigerians played while mourning him in 2023. "Last Last" by Burna Boy and "Wait for Me" by Johnny Drille are also known for bringing tears.

What is a good sad song for a breakup?

"Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi, "drivers license" by Olivia Rodrigo and "Last Last" by Burna Boy are three of the most played breakup songs of recent years.

What song should I play when I miss someone who died?

Many people turn to "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth, "Supermarket Flowers" by Ed Sheeran or "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton.

Is it healthy to listen to sad songs?

For most people, yes. Sad music can help you process feelings and feel less alone. If low mood will not lift, speak to a doctor or someone you trust.