Music has a very powerful effect on the brain. It enhances our emotional intelligence and increases the ability to interpret feelings. From a psychophysiological approach, scientists say that sound is the sensory stimulus that awakens the most impulses in the brain, awakening an affective message in the diencephalon.
However, we will not go into the physiological details, but we intend to make a personal and subjective list of the saddest songs in English . If you’re down and need to listen to a song that suits your mood, here are a few examples from various genres.
- Find out which are the 50 best songs in history.
Sad songs in English (modern and current)
For this list we wanted to focus on contemporary artists who dominate the charts. How many of these songs will make you shed a tear ? 1. Ed Sheeran – Happier
Ed Sheeran is one of the most successful artists he has garnered in recent times. Beyond being an excellent composer (he also writes for other artists), he offers one of the most authentic live shows that exist with no more adornments than his guitar and his voice. Happier is a brutal anthem for broken hearts. Give Me Love or Photograph will also put your heart in a fist. 2. Radiohead – Karma Police
According to the streaming music platform Spotify, Karma Police is one of the saddest songs in history. Creep is also running as a candidate firm to make the list. 3. Christina Perri – A Thousand Years
The followers of the Twilight saga will know this song very well, since it is the central theme of the movie Breaking Dawn (part 1) . Unlike other soundtracks, A Thousand Years focuses its lyrics on the romance of the film’s protagonists. 4. Sam Smith – Stay With Me
If you haven’t heard Sam Smith yet, you’re missing out on one of the most elegant voices in music. His style is impregnated with genres such as soul or R & B, but above all the virtuosity of his voice stands out. Jim Farber of the New York Daily News says that on the highest notes Smith is capable of emulating Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall. Big words. 5. Evanescence – My Immortal
If this song doesn’t say anything to you, it’s because you don’t have a heart. My Immortal is a rock ballad from the brilliant minds of Amy Lee and Ben Moody. Shortly after the release of the first album Moody left the band and Evanescence has never been recomposed (at least completely), but we will always have this beautiful composition and its huge video clip. 6. Simple Plan – Untitled
The songs that move us the most are often those that we listened to the most as teenagers. The year was 2004 and the young people of the time felt identified with Simple Plan’s “pop punk for the misunderstood”, and I was one of them. 7. Coldplay – Fix You
Few know that in the composition of Fix You all the members of the band were involved, giving the song a different and unique sound. Although it is one of the most tearful Coldplay songs, Chris Martin says that the lyrics have a message of encouragement . For all those who are down but want to take flight. 8. Lord Huron – The Night We Met
Some may know this song as the theme song for 13 Reasons Why, one of the most successful series on Netflix. We can only thank those responsible for the series for introducing us to Lord Huron, an indie folk band that we can’t get out of our heads. 9. Johnny Cash – Hurt
The last great success of Johnny Cash before his death, although few know that it is a version of Nine Inch Nails . The deep and trembling voice of the mythical singer is capable of giving us goosebumps in a matter of seconds, even more so if we see the video clip directed by Mark Romanek in which several moments in the life of Johnny Cash take place. Long live the man in black. 10. Harry Styles – Sign of the Times
Harry Edward Styles, former member of the boy band One Direction, wanted to give continuity to his career with a solo album. The result has surprised many of us. 11. Alec Benjamin – Paper Crown
Paper Crown was the first single from the young American Alec Benjamin. His career is still too short to assess it objectively, but he has already made his appearance in several American late shows. Sign that you are on the right track. 12. Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
Nashville has produced the best country-folk artists and bands. Lady Antebellum is no exception, although most people have only heard her single Need You Now. 13. Birdy-Wings
I don’t think anyone will be able to memorize Jasmine Lucilla Elizabeth Jennifer van den Bogaerde’s name, although they will remember Birdy’s. At the young age of 18, she burst onto the music scene with Wings, though she had previously grabbed her attention with the single Skinny Love. Her name has been diluted in recent years, a real shame. 14. LP – Lost on You
The best songs are those that are inspired by real events. Laura Pergolizzi (known in the scene as LP) wrote Lost on You just after splitting from her ex De Ella. Many will feel identified with the letter. 15. Tom Odell – Another Love
Tom Odell began writing songs at the age of 13. When he came of age, he dropped out of York University and devoted himself body and soul to music. His first album Long Way Down gained critical acclaim thanks to the first single Another Love, a complex and moving song. 16. Linkin Park – One More Light
Linkin Park fans still mourn the death of lead singer Chester Bennington. One More Light is the song that gives its name to his latest album and it is overwhelming as some lines of its lyrics seem like a premonition of the tragic end of the singer . As if the song wasn’t tearful enough, the band posted this video of some of Chester’s most emotional moments. 17. 3 Doors Down – Here Without You
Alternative rock is also an inexhaustible source of sad songs. 3 Doors Down dedicates a large part of their discography to matters of love, and Here Without You is the best example. 18. The Fray – You Found Me
If you like groups like The Script, Coldplay or Keane, we suggest you give The Fray a try. They captured the attention of the radio with the song How to Save a Life, which appears in the Gray’s Anatomy series, but we have chosen You Found Me for the emotional power of the song. 19. Adele – Someone Like You
Adele needs no introduction. Her journey began during the Myspace era, when social media (or luck) wasn’t a must to make it in music. Ella’s first album 19 by Ella was already on the UK charts, but worldwide fame came with her second studio effort, 21, which includes hits like Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You, dedicated to her ex From her. 20. Lana Del Rey – Video Games
The queen of hipster music is not known for making happy songs. We hesitated between including Videogames or her best-known song, Born To Die, but we think that the latter is more melancholic than sad. In any case, Lana Del Rey has one of the most velvety voices we’ve heard in a long time. 21. City and Color – What Makes a Man
Another of the great unknowns on the list, at least for the more mainstream public. Canadian Dallas Green (formerly a member of Alexisonfire) uses the pseudonym of City and Color to offer us minimalist songs, melodies by ear accompanied by a few chords. 22. Snow Patrol – Chasing Cars
A classic of tearful songs. Chasing Cars is the pinnacle of Snow Patrol’s career and their best-selling single to date. Part of its success is due to its appearance in the Grey’s Anatomy series , although it would be unfair to say that the Irish have become famous thanks to the series of doctors. You should also give Run a listen. 23. James Bay – Let It Go
Chaos and the Calm may be one of my favorite albums of all time, so I highly recommend listening to it. The British composer demonstrates his enormous personality with songs like Need the Sun to Break or Let It Go. 24. Sia – Big Girls Cry
There are no words in any language to define Sia’s voice. The Australian singer almost always moves in the field of electronica, usually accompanied by the production of David Ghetta, but from time to time she gives us sad songs like this one. 25. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved His
name may not ring a bell, but we’re sure sooner or later you’ll hear his songs on the radio. By the time you read this, Capaldi may already be an international star. This Scottish singer-songwriterHe’s been described as the new Ed Sheeran , but we think it’s too early to put that label on him.
- If you want to declare yourself with a song, check out these 25 love songs on SanValentinDia.com
