The 25 sad songs in English that will make you cry

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 claim that sound is the sensory stimulus that awakens the most impulses in the brain, triggering an affective message in the diencephalon.

However, we will not delve into the physiological details, but rather aim to create a personal and subjective list of the saddest songs in English. If you're feeling down and need to listen to a song that matches your mood, here are a few examples from various genres.

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 artists who has achieved the most success in recent times. Beyond being an excellent songwriter (he also writes for other artists), he offers one of the most authentic live performances that exist with no more embellishments than his guitar and his voice. Happier is a brutal anthem for broken hearts. Give Me Love or Photograph will also tug at your heartstrings.

2. Radiohead - Karma Police

According to the music streaming platform Spotify, Karma Police is one of the saddest songs in history. Creep is also a strong candidate to make the list.

3. Christina Perri - A Thousand Years

Fans of the Twilight saga will be very familiar with this song, as 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 movie's protagonists.

4. Sam Smith - Stay With Me

If you haven't listened to Sam Smith yet, you're missing out on one of the most elegant voices in music. His style is infused with genres like soul or R&B, but above all, the virtuosity of his voice stands out. Jim Farber of the New York Daily News claims that in the highest notes, Smith is capable of emulating Mick Hucknall of Simply Red. High praise indeed.

5. Evanescence - My Immortal

If this song doesn't speak to you, you have no heart. My Immortal is a rock ballad born 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 fully recovered, but we will always have this beautiful composition and its enormous music video.

6. Simple Plan - Untitled

The songs that move us the most are often those we listened to the most as teenagers. It was the year 2004, and the youth of the time felt identified with Simple Plan's "pop punk for the misunderstood," and I was among them.

7. Coldplay - Fix You

Few know that all the band members were involved in the composition of Fix You, giving the song a different and unique sound. Despite being one of Coldplay's most tear-jerking tracks, Chris Martin assures that the lyrics carry a message of encouragement. For all those who are down but want to rise again.

8. Lord Huron - The Night We Met

Some may know this song as the central theme of 13 Reasons Why, one of Netflix's most successful series. We can only thank the series' creators for introducing us to Lord Huron, an indie folk band 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 it's a cover of Nine Inch Nails. The deep and trembling voice of the legendary singer can give us goosebumps in seconds, especially if we watch the music video directed by Mark Romanek, which features several moments from Johnny Cash's life. Long live the man in black.

10. Harry Styles - Sign of the Times

Harry Edward Styles, a former member of the boy band One Direction, wanted to continue 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 young American Alec Benjamin. His career is still too short to evaluate objectively, but he has already appeared on several American late shows. A sign that he's on the right track.

12. Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

The best country-folk artists and bands have come out of Nashville. Lady Antebellum is no exception, although most people have only heard their single Need You Now.

13. Birdy - Wings

I don't think anyone can memorize the name Jasmine Lucilla Elizabeth Jennifer van den Bogaerde, but they can remember Birdy. At the young age of 18, she burst onto the music scene with Wings, although she had already captured attention with the single Skinny Love. Her name has faded in recent years, which is a real shame.

14. LP - Lost on You

The best songs are those inspired by real events. Laura Pergolizzi (known in the scene as LP) wrote Lost on You right after breaking up with her ex. Many will identify with the lyrics.

15. Tom Odell - Another Love

Tom Odell began writing songs at the age of 13. When he came of age, he left the University of York and dedicated himself entirely to music. His first album Long Way Down earned 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 their vocalist Chester Bennington. One More Light is the song that gives its name to their last album, and it's overwhelming how some lines of its lyrics seem like a premonition of the singer's tragic end. As if the song weren't tear-jerking enough, the band released this video with 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 much of their discography to matters of love, and Here Without You is the best example.

18. The Fray - You Found Me

If you like bands like The Script, Coldplay, or Keane, we suggest you give The Fray a chance. They caught the attention of radio stations with the song How to Save a Life, which appears in the series Grey's Anatomy, but we chose You Found Me for the emotional power of the song.

19. Adele - Someone Like You

Adele needs no introduction. Her career began during the Myspace era when social media (or luck) wasn't essential to succeed in music. Her first album 19 already made it onto the UK charts, but worldwide fame came with her second studio work, 21, which includes hits like Rolling in the Deep or Someone Like You, dedicated to her ex.

20. Lana Del Rey - Video Games

The queen of hipster music is not known for making cheerful songs. We hesitated between including Videogames or her most famous track, Born To Die, but we think 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 Colour - What Makes a Man

Another of the great unknowns on the list, at least for the more mainstream audience. Canadian Dallas Green (formerly a member of Alexisonfire) uses the pseudonym City and Colour to offer us minimalist songs, melodies to the ear accompanied by a few chords.

22. Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars

A classic of tear-jerking 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 series Grey's Anatomy, although it would be unfair to say that the Irish became famous thanks to the medical series. 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 songwriter 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 operates in the electronic realm, usually accompanied by David Ghetta's production, but occasionally she gifts us with sad songs like this one.

25. Lewis Capaldi - Someone You Loved

His name may not sound familiar to you, but we're sure you'll hear his songs on the radio sooner or later. By the time you read this, Capaldi may already be an international star. This Scottish singer-songwriter has been described as the new Ed Sheeran, but we think it's still too early to label him that way.