What better way to drown in the sorrows of 2016 than with a selection of truly sad songs? It's been a good year for music. Sia haunted us with her sorrowful, powerful tribute to Orlando [1], while Lady Gaga [2] surely opened the flood gates with more than one track off her fifth studio album, Joanne [3]. Oh, and don't worry, that's really just the tip of the sad iceberg. Keep reading for all the artists who made us misty this year, from Rihanna [4] to Frank Ocean to Kanye West [5].
"Million Reasons," Lady Gaga
- Why it's sad: Even though it's not explicit, popular consensus is that Gaga wrote the song about Taylor Kinney. The two broke up back in July [9], shattering the hearts of, well, millions.
- The saddest lyrics: "Baby I'm bleedin', bleedin' / Stay / Can't you give me what I'm needin', needin' / Every heartbreak makes it hard to keep the faith"
"Broken Glass," Sia
- Why it's sad: I'd venture to say the heartbreak is laced right into the title of the song. It's hard to feel broken and damaged and like you're worthy of love, all at the same time.
- The saddest lyrics: "I'm not discarding you like broken glass"
"Real Friends," Kanye West
- Why it's sad: West seems to be musing about one of the biggest pain points of the industry. Once you're famous, once you have something to offer, can you ever really trust someone? Can you ever really call someone your friend? This song has so much loneliness in its undercurrent.
- The saddest lyrics: "Lookin' for all my real friends / How many of us? How many of us are real friends / To real friends, 'til the real end / 'Til the wheels fall off / 'Til the wheels don't spin"
"Close to You," Rihanna
- Why it's sad: We've all been there: in a relationship where all we want to do is fight, but the other person wants to let go. It sucks.
- The saddest lyrics: "Nothing but a tear, that's all for breakfast / Watching you pretend you're unaffected / You're pulling our connections / Expecting me to let you go / But I won't"
"Don't Wish Me Well," Solange
- Why it's sad: Here we've got a heartache that seems to come from family and close friends rather than a lover. The main story of the song seems to be a narrator who has left the most important people behind. Maybe the love's not there, maybe they can't accept this person for the way they are. Regardless of what it is, you can really sense the loss.
- The saddest lyrics: "Look what remains / Pour ashes where they claimed my name / They say I changed / But a pity if I stayed the same"
"Audition," La La Land (Emma Stone)
- Why it's sad: Even though the song is ultimately uplifting, it's still a rueful meditation on how hard life can be. It's messy and heartbreaking, and we all act foolishly.
- The saddest lyrics: "Here's to the ones who dream / Foolish as they may seem / Here's to the hearts that break / Here's to the mess we make"
"I Am," JoJo
- Why it's sad: To me, the lyrics of this song aren't declarations. It's more like the narrator is trying to convince themselves: I am worthy of love, I am beautiful.
- The saddest lyrics: "Mirror, mirror on the wall / You seem to think you know it all / Why do, why do I believe? / You tear me down just to laugh / But if I break your shining glass / I'll just see pieces of me"
"Home Is Such a Lonely Place," Blink 182
- Why it's sad: It's clear we're looking through the lens of a pretty fresh, pretty wrenching breakup. It's hard to find a lyric you won't relate to.
- The saddest lyrics: "And I hold on tight / But not enough to hold you back / It feels like the moon / Is spinning off into outer space without you / This room is such a lonely place without you"
"To the Hilt," Banks
- Why it's sad: This isn't just a lover we've lost, it's a life partner, a cocreator, a collaborator. The wounds run deep, and it's clear the emptiness of this breakup does too.
- The saddest lyrics: "All those times you warmed my hand / Maybe things weren't easy as they seem"
"Never Ending," Rihanna
- Why it's sad: To me, it seems like we're witnessing a story not of a breakup, but of new love. But it feels strange to be in love. Maybe it's baggage from previous relationships, maybe it's a fundamental belief that the love is undeserved. Either way, it's filled with sorrow.
- The saddest lyrics: "It's pulling me apart, this time / Everything is never ending"
"Angela," The Lumineers
- Why it's sad: There's a rumination here, on the cruelty one person can inflict on another. But it's more than that, too: the world is malicious, and it will cut you down if you let it.
- The saddest lyrics: "The strangers in this town / They raise you up just to cut you down"
"Boyfriend Jeans," Grace
- Why it's sad: It's the perfect portrait of a heartbroken soul that can't seem to let go of a lost love. Even though the love is gone, the narrator is still wearing their ex's jeans.
- The saddest lyrics: "Now I choke on the words that I wrote for you / How am I supposed to sing them now / Boy, you're breaking my heart"
"The Greatest," Sia
- Why it's sad: As if the lyrics weren't heartbreaking enough, Sia actually wrote the song for the 49 victims [10] who died at the horrific gay nightclub shooting in Orlando, FL, in June 2016.
- The saddest lyrics: "I fell twice before my bounce back was special / Letdowns will get you / And the critics will test you / But the strong will survive / Another scar may bless you"
"Ivy," Frank Ocean
- Why it's sad: We truly get the full spectrum of heartbreak in this one, from hopeful beginnings and honeymoon phases to hearbreak and hatred.
- The saddest lyrics: "I thought that I was dreaming / When you said you loved me / It started from nothing / I had no chance to prepare / Couldn't see you coming / And we started from nothing / I could hate you now"
"Joanne," Lady Gaga
- Why it's sad: Gaga penned this song (and her entire album of the same name [11], for that matter) about her late aunt, Joanne. This particular song seems to mourn that loss and to wish she hadn't left so soon.
- The saddest lyrics: "Heaven's not ready for you / Every part of my aching heart / Needs you more than the angels do"
"Alone / With You," Daughter
- Why it's sad: I think this song captures what it's like to feel lonely even though you're in a relationship. It's a very real, gutting sensation: to be sharing a bed with someone, but to still feel isolated.
- The saddest lyrics: "I hate sleeping with you / 'Cause you are never there / Just a shadowy figure with a blank face / Kicking me out of his place"
"Gettin' Old," 6LACK
- Why it's sad: We've got a double dose of aching here. Not only is this the sudden realization that life blazes by way faster than we realize, but that we all hit a point where we feel lonely and we just want someone to connect to.
- The saddest lyrics: "Show me what love is, 'cause going out is getting old"
"Drug Dealer," Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (Feat. Ariana Deboo)
- Why it's sad: It's pretty clear that this is a harrowing depiction of what drugs can do to the human body. As if the physical imagery wasn't enough, there's a lot of more hinting at the need to escape a bleak and hopeless life.
- The saddest lyrics: "This is not what I started / Walkin' carcass, I lost everything I wanted / My blinds drawn, too gone to leave this apartment"
"Love on the Brain," Rihanna
- Why it's sad: Have you ever been so caught up in a love you knew was bad for you? It's hard to escape the vicious cycle of an abusive relationship, and I think those conflicting desires are perfectly summed up here.
- The saddest lyrics: "Must be love on the brain / That's got me feeling this way / It beats me black and blue but it f*cks me so good / And I can't get enough"