we collected the saddest songs to cry alone to — from Beyoncé and Elliott Smith to Master P and Sheryl Crow — in no particular order.
Bonnie Raitt, “I Can’t Make You Love Me”
I’ll close my eyes, then I won’t see
The love you don’t feel when you’re holding me
Frank Ocean, “There Will Be Tears”
There will be tears
I’ve no doubt
There may be smiles
But a few
And when those tears
Have run out
You will be numb and blue
Britney Spears, “Everytime”
Every time I try to fly I fall
Without my wings
I feel so small
Daniel Johnston, “Some Things Last A Long Time”
Your picture is still on my wall
I think about you often
I can’t forget all the things we did
Some things last a long time
Boosie Badazz & Webbie, “Goin’ Thru Some Thangs”
I been goin’ thru some thangs
And don’t nobody understand me man
I want rock candy man
I been goin’ thru some thangs
Hopin’ my niggas stay the same
But they always change
(Sandy) Alex G, “Change”
I don’t like how things change
I don’t like how things change
I don’t like how things change
I don’t like how things change
I don’t like how things change
I don’t like how things change
Coma Cinema, “Survivor’s Guilt”
Expectations weigh on me
To satisfy these endless needs
And I don’t care and I don’t know why
Maybe I’m no good inside
All this wasted time
To see your fucked up life become mine
JAY Z & Beanie Siegel f. Scarface, “This Can’t Be Life”
And I’m hurtin’ for you dog, but ain’t nobody pain is like yours
I just know that heaven’ll open these doors
And ain’t no bright side to losin’ life but you can view it like this
God’s got open hands homey, he in the midst of good company
Who loves all and hates not one
And one day you gon’ be wit your son
Amy Winehouse, “Love Is A Losing Game”
Oh, what a mess we made
And now the final frame
Love is a losing game
Elliott Smith, “No Name #3”
So come on night
Everyone is gone
Home to oblivion
Beyoncé, “Heaven”
I fought for you
The hardest, it made me the strongest
So tell me your secrets
I just can’t stand to see you leaving
But heaven couldn’t wait for you
John Prine, “Sam Stone”
There’s a hole in daddy’s arm where all the money goes
Jesus Christ died for nothin I suppose
Fiona Apple, “Never Is a Promise”
You’ll say “Don’t fear your dreams, it’s easier than it seems”
You’ll say you’d never let me fall from hopes so high
But never is a promise and you can’t afford to lie
Eve, “Love Is Blind”
How could you beat the mother of your children
How could you tell her that you lover her
Don’t give a fuck if she lives
Gil Scott-Heron, “Did You Hear What They Said?”
Did you hear what they said,
About his mother and how she cried,
They said she cried, ’cause her only son was dead
Phoebe Bridgers, “Funeral”
And last night I blacked out in my car
And I woke up in my childhood bed
Wishing I was someone else, feeling sorry for myself
When I remembered someone’s kid is dead
DMX, “Slippin’”
Ay yo I’m slippin’, I’m fallin’, I can’t get up
Ay yo I’m slippin’, I’m fallin’, I can’t get up
Cat Power, “Names”
His name was Charles
He said he was in love with me
We were both fourteen
Then I had to move away
Then he begin to smoke crack
Then he had to sell ass
I don’t know where he is
Jewel, “You Were Meant For Me”
I go about my business, I’m doing fine
Besides, what would I say if I had you on the line
Same old story, not much to say
Hearts are broken every day
Joni Mitchell, “River”
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I made my baby cry
Master P, “Goodbye To My Homies”
How do I say goodbye to what we had
The good times that made us laugh outweighted the bad
I thought we’d get to see forever
But forever’s gone away
Kanye West f. Paul McCartney, “Only One”
You know I never left you
‘Cause every road that leads to heaven’s right inside you
Meek Mill f. Young Thug, “We Ball”
When they killed my nigga, I seen the footage on the tape
Man I must’ve threw up everything I ever ate
Lewis Baloue, “Even Rainbows Turn Blue”
[Instrumental]
Lil Wayne, “I Feel Like Dying”
On the day I die, would you even cry?
If I end my life, would you hold me tight then?
Johnny Cash, “Hurt”
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
Future, “Deeper Than The Ocean”
Sometimes I wanna get inside the Escalade and crash it
My pain runnin’ deeper than the ocean
My pain runnin’ deeper than the ocean
My pain runnin’ deeper than the ocean
Kacey Musgraves, “Fine”
I go about my business, I’m doing fine
Besides, what would I say if I had you on the line
Same old story, not much to say
Hearts are broken every day
Scarface, “I Seen A Man Die”
I never understood why
I could never see a man cry ’til I seen a man die
Mary J. Blige, “Not Gon‘ Cry”
No, I’m not gon’ cry,
It’s not the time
‘Cause you’re not worth my tears
Nina Simone, “Blackbird”
Why you want to fly, blackbird, you ain’t ever gonna fly
You ain’t got no one to hold you, you ain’t got no one to care
If you’d only understand, dear, nobody wants you anywhere
Nico, “These Days“
I’ve been out walking
I don’t do that much talking these days
These days
These days I seem to think a lot
About the things that I forgot to do
And all the times I had the chance to
Sampha, “(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano”
An angel by her side, oh, all the times I knew we couldn’t cope
They said that it’s her time, no tears in sight, I kept the feelings close
Prince, “Sometimes It Snows In April”
Springtime was always my favorite time of year
A time for lovers holding hands in the rain
Now springtime only reminds me of Tracy’s tears
Rihanna f. Mikky Ekko, “Stay”
Funny you’re the broken one but I’m the only one who needed saving
‘Cause when you never see the light it’s hard to know which one of us is caving
Lil Peep, “About You”
On the day I die, would you even cry?
If I end my life, would you hold me tight then?
Perfume Genius, “Mr. Peterson”
Mr. Peterson
I know you were ready to go
I hope there’s room for you up above
Or down below
Selena, “No Me Queda Mas”
No me queda más
Que perderme en un abismo
De tristeza y lágrimas
Meshell Ndegeocello, “Fool Of Me”
You made a fool of me
Tell me why
Mista, “Blackberry Molasses”
Woke up Sunday morning
Got a little bad news today
They say my life ain’t worth living
And time is slowly ticking away
Sade, “Pearls”
She lives a life she didn’t choose
And it hurts like brand-new shoes
Hurts like brand-new shoes
Sam Amidon, “My Old Friend”
My old friend
This song’s for you
Cause a few simple verses was the least that I could do
To tell the world that you were here
The love and the laughter
Will love on long after
All of the sadness and the tears
We’ll meet again, my old friend
Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You”
If I should stay
I would only be in your way
So I’ll go but I know
I’ll think of you every step of the way
Mariah Carey, “I Don’t Wanna Cry”
Once again we sit in silence
After all is said and done
Only emptiness inside us
Tracy Chapman, “Fast Car”
You got a fast car
I’ve got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinking late at the bars
See more your friends than you do your kids
I always hoped for better
That maybe together you and me would find it
I got no plans I ain’t going nowhere
So take your fast car and keep on driving
Mount Eerie, “Real Death”
Death is real
Someone’s there and then they’re not
And it’s not for singing about
It’s not for making into art
When real death enters the house, all poetry is dumb
When I walk into the room where you were
And look into the emptiness instead
All fails
Sufjan Stevens, “Casimir Pulaski Day”
When I found out you had cancer of the bone
Your father cried on the telephone
And he drove his car into the navy yard
Just to prove that he was sorry
Lucinda Williams, “Dust”
It’s a sadness so deep the sun seems black
And you don’t have to try to keep the tears back
’Cause you couldn’t cry if you wanted to
Even your thoughts are dust
Tegan and Sara, “Nineteen”
I was all alone you were all I had
You were all I
I was yours right?
Lil B, “No Black Person Is Ugly”
Sunshine, sunshine, lookin’ for the sunshine
No black is person is ugly, don’t say it one time