If you're going through a breakup or just in need of a good cry, we have the ultimate lineup for you. From Noah Cyrus's "Make Me (Cry)" to Kygo and Selena Gomez [1]'s "It Ain't Me" to "Issues" by Julia Michaels, we were treated to some really amazing sad songs last year. Trust us, these tracks will have you bawling your eyes out all through the new year.
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"It Ain't Me," Selena Gomez and Kygo
- Why it's sad: Many fans believe the song directly references Gomez's relationship [3] with Justin Bieber. Coincidentally, Gomez's boyfriend, The Weeknd, also released a song that appears to dis Bieber [4] around the same time.
- The saddest lyrics: "Somewhere along the lines / We stopped seeing eye to eye / You were staying out all night / And I had enough"
"Heavy," Linkin Park Feat. Kiiara
- Why it's sad: This song is about feeling the emotional weight of problems [5] that are "stacking up" and "unnecessary." "It's that kind of feeling that stuff is piling up one on top of the other, and it creates this feeling of just being overwhelmed, like, 'Things feel so heavy to me,'" Mike Shinoda told Billboard.
- The saddest lyrics: "I wanna let go but there's comfort in the panic / And I drive myself crazy / Thinking everything's about me / Yeah, I drive myself crazy / 'Cause I can’t escape the gravity"
"Hold Me by the Heart," Kehlani
- Why it's sad: Being on either side of a breakup is hard. You're not sure if you can get back up and you start questioning everything you've every known about love, but then someone new comes along and shows you that everything is going to be OK.
- The saddest lyrics: "Tell me I'll be whole again / And hold me by the heart / Tell me it will never end / 'Cause I've begun to think that / I was nothing short of broken"
"Issues," Julia Michaels
- Why it's sad: This song is based on Michaels's relationship with her boyfriend. "My boyfriend and I like to fight a lot. I have a lot of problems. He has a lot of problems. Somehow, we always work them out and find a way back to each other. ‘Issues’ is knowing and accepting you have problems and your partner has problems and when sh*t gets hard, you don’t just walk away, you make it work—no matter how f*cked up you are. You’re there for each other,” she said in a statement [6].
- The saddest lyrics: "'Cause I got issues, but you got 'em too / So give 'em all to me and I'll give mine to you / Bask in the glory of all our problems / 'Cause we got the kind of love it takes to solve 'em"
"Drew Barrymore," SZA
- Why it's sad: Here we have a relationship the narrator knows is bad for her. It's making her doubt herself and affecting her self-esteem. However, the loneliness she feels when her partner is away is much worse.
- The saddest lyrics: "I get so lonely I forget what I'm worth / We get so lonely we pretend that this works / I'm so ashamed of myself think I need therapy"
"Make Me (Cry)," Noah Cyrus ft. Labrinth
- Why it's sad: The ballad finds the narrator stuck in a toxic relationship, but it's one that neither person wants to walk away from.
- The saddest lyrics: "Gave you up 'bout 21 times / Felt those lips tell me 21 lies / You'll be the death of me / Sage advice / Lovin' you could make Jesus cry"
"Paris," The Chainsmokers
- Why it's sad: The track was inspired by a friend [7] who struggled with a serious addiction, and "over the course of this, lived in this fantasy world with his girlfriend thinking life was great and they were just down for each other, thinking they were living in this wonderful day dream of a life, but in reality their lives were falling apart as well as the people around them."
- The saddest lyrics: "Out on the terrace / I don't know if it's fair but I thought how could I let you fall by yourself / While I'm wasted with someone else?"
"A Violent Noise," The xx
- Why it's sad: It's the perfect picture of disillusionment, fear, and isolation.
- The saddest lyrics: "How could eyes this wide / Lose sight of a world outside? / I've looked away, cowardice"
"You're Gonna Live Forever in Me," John Mayer
- Why it's sad: This ballad is open and straightforward [8]. "It is the first time in my life as a singer that I'm in a state of emotion, not just intellectualizing how to sing a song. Every time I hear it, it's like getting to meet myself in the same room and take a walk around myself, like, 'I guess that's what I look like from that angle,'" Mayer told Rolling Stone.
- The saddest lyrics: "And when the pastor asks the pews / For reasons he can't marry you / I'll keep my word in my seat"
"To Build a House," Cosima
- Why it's sad: Cosima penned this track [9] as a poem for her father, and said, "It’s a song for anyone who has ever stood by a window hoping and waiting."
- The saddest lyrics: "In the end I let the windows get dirty / I couldn't stand to see your absence through the glass / And in the end I learnt to sleep with the light off / So tired from giving space to shadows of the past"
"Killing Me," Luke Sital-Singh
- Why it's sad: This song was written as a tribute to Sital-Singh's grandmother [10]. He describes how her life has changed since his grandfather died.
- The saddest lyrics: "And it's killing me, that you're not here with me / I'm living happily, but I'm feeling guilty"
"Big Picture," London Grammar
- Why it's sad: We've got a lot of pain here. The singer reflects on an ex who did not treat her right.
- The saddest lyrics: "Only now do I see the big picture / But I swear that these scars are fine / Only you could've hurt me in this perfect way tonight"
"Too Good at Goodbyes" by Sam Smith
- Why it's sad: Smith pulled from personal experience [11] for this break-up ballad. "This song is about a relationship I was in and it's basically about getting good at getting dumped," Smith told E! News in a statement.
- The saddest lyrics: "I'm never gonna let you close to me / Even though you mean the most to me / 'Cause every time I open up, it hurts"
"Tell Me You Love Me" by Demi Lovato
- Why it's sad: Here the narrator sings about needing to be in a relationship in order to be happy. "The first time I heard it, it really stuck with me because at the time I was going through a breakup," Lovato said during her album release party [12] in September. "It's about the vulnerability of coming out of a very serious relationship and having a tough time with it. It also at the same time calls out a big misconception with the line, 'You ain't nobody 'til you got somebody,' which again comes from that vulnerability with mixed emotions."
- The saddest lyrics: "And I hope I never see the day / That you move on and be happy without me / Without me / What's my hand without your heart to hold?"
"New Year's Day" by Taylor Swift
- Why it's sad: In this track, Swift uses New Year's Day as a metaphor to discuss holding on to people and past memories. It's also rumored to be about Swift's boyfriend [13], Joe Alwyn.
- The saddest lyrics: "Please don't ever become a stranger / Whose laugh I could recognize anywhere / Please don't ever become a stranger / Whose laugh I could recognize anywhere"
"Supermarket Flowers" by Ed Sheeran
- Why it's sad: Sheeran wrote this emotional song as a tribute to his late grandmother [14]. "That's the most special song on the record for me," Ed told DJ Zane Lowe during a radio interview [15]. "My grandfather just turned to me [at the funeral], he was like, 'You have to put that out, that has to go on the record.' It's such a good memory, that's why it's ended up on there."
- The saddest lyrics: "You were an angel in the shape of my mum / When I fell down you'd be there holding me up / Spread your wings as you go / When God takes you back, He'll say, 'Hallelujah, you're home'"
"Praying" by Kesha
- Why it's sad: Here Kesha draws from personal experience and talks about her heartbreaking legal battle against record producer Dr. Luke [16]. In an essay for Lenny [17], Kesha opened up about how the track allowed her to tackle her "feelings of severe hopelessness and depression" and helped her find "strength in herself when it felt out of reach."
- The saddest lyrics: "You brought the flames and you put me through hell / I had to learn how to fight for myself / And we both know all the truth I could tell /I'll just say this is I wish you farewell"
"Writer in the Dark" by Lorde
- Why it's sad: Lorde [18] wrote this track about her 2016 split from photographer James Lowe [19]. "I think that when you do this, you have to find a way to live with yourself, because it's not making no one feel anything. A handful of people will listen to this album and have it sort of get them [in the gut]," she told NME back in June. "I don't think that song is apologizing for it. It's more like, 'What did you think was going to happen? I was doing this before I met you and I'll be doing this after you're gone.' I felt quite empowered."
- The saddest lyrics: "I still feel you, now and then / Slow like pseudo-ephedrine / When you see me, will you say I've changed?"
"Let Me Go" by Hailee Steinfeld and Alesso feat. Florida Georgia Line
- Why it's sad: Here we have a love that starts out great [20], but ultimately ends up running its course. As for what the song means to Steinfeld, she told Teen Vogue, "More than ever in the last couple months in my life, I've experienced what it's like to try and maintain a relationship while working . . . you realize that when you love someone so much and you can't give them the time, and the energy that they deserve, it's heartbreaking."
- The saddest lyrics: "I've been hoping somebody loves you in the ways I couldn't / Somebody's taking care of all of the mess I made / Someone you don't have to change"
"I-800-273-8255" by Logic feat. Alessia Cara and Khalid
- Why it's sad: The song's name is actually the number to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and the track was made to raise awareness and inspire those who are contemplating suicide.
- The saddest lyrics: "I don't wanna be alive / I don't wanna be alive / I just wanna die today"
"Wait" by Maroon 5
- Why it's sad: Even though the song is upbeat, Adam Levine sings about wanting his ex to give him another chance so that he can make up for all the times he messed up. However, it might just be a little too late.
- The saddest lyrics: "Wait, can you turn around, can you turn around? / Just wait, can we work this out, can we work this out? / Just wait, can you call me please? 'Cause I wanna be with you"
"Bad at Love" by Halsey
- Why it's sad: Halsey was dealing with a breakup [21] when she wrote this song. "I was going through, one by one in my head, thinking about each individual relationship and what I did to f*ck it up," she told Billboard in August. "The whole song is about me being in love, but you can't blame me for trying."
- The saddest lyrics: "I'm bad at love / But you can't blame me for tryin' / You know I'd be lyin' sayin' / You were the one"
"She's Not Him" by Miley Cyrus
- Why it's sad: While most of Cyrus's Younger Now album was inspired by her relationship with Liam Hemsworth [22], this track in particular seems to be about her previous relationship with Victoria's Secret Angel Stella Maxwell [23]. Cyrus talks about leaving the person she's with because she doesn't fill the void that her ex left behind, despite her lover's perfect qualities.
- The saddest lyrics: "No matter what you say / No matter what you do / I just can't fall in love with you / 'Cause you're not him"
"Save It Til Morning" by Fergie
- Why it's sad: While Fergie [24] has yet to confirm the speculation, the song certainly sounds like it's about her split from Josh Duhamel [25]. According to Page Six, the couple tried really hard to make their marriage work and even went to couple's therapy. The reason for their split still remains unclear.
- The saddest lyrics: "Love you a lot, you even more / Why do you hurt the ones you love the most?"