Saddest Songs

The saddest songs are written to make you think, make you remember and make you cry. The very best of the saddest songs could make even the toughest man lose his senses for a moment. Here is a list of the very saddest songs of all time.

1. "The Dance" (1990) - Tony Arata. It is never very clear exactly what "The Dance" (1990) is about. Is it about a couple cut short because of the death of one of the lovers? Is it about someone that learns his spouse was unfaithful? The full message is never clearly described. But when Garth Brooks sings the song with the deep voice of his, it becomes one of the saddest songs you ever heard.
2. "Season in the Sun" (1974) - Jacques Brel & Rod McKuen. This was the only hit song for singer Terry Jacks, but it was enough to make him a worldwide sensation. The music for this song is rather upbeat, but it is also deceiving. Once you start to listen to Jacks sing the story of a man saying goodbye to his friends because he is dying, you realize that this is a very sad song.
3. "Beth" (1976) - Peter Criss & Stan Penridge. The popular misconception about this sad song is that Peter Criss wrote it for his wife. The truth is that he wrote it before joining Kiss and after listening to a phone call between a band member and the band member's wife Beth. It tells a story common to working musicians, and was the centerpiece of Kiss shows for many years.
4. "Hurt" (1995) - Trent Reznor. It isn't the Nine Inch Nails version of this song that makes the list of saddest songs, it is the 2002 cover by Johnny Cash that strikes a chord with people. The song is depressing enough as it is, but to hear Johnny Cash sing it brings a whole new aura to it. You can tell that the lyrics mean something to Cash, and that he has lived the pain in the song.
5. "Butterfly Kisses" (1997) - Bob Carlisle & Randy Thomas.  Any person that listens to this song is bound to be affected by its sad lyrics, but this is especially true if you have a daughter. It is the story of a man that watches his little girl grow up until he has to give her away at her wedding. The scratchy voice of Randy Carlisle adds a sad element to the song that makes it hard to ignore.