[For when you want to cry] A ballad love song. A heartbreaking love song.
Here are some ballad songs we’d love you to listen to when you feel like crying.
We’ve gathered recommended tearjerkers and full-on sob songs, including popular love songs.
If you’re hurting from love, can’t forget an ex, or you’re feeling lonely and looking for songs to listen to, this is for you.
These are all ballads that will quietly stay by your side while you cry alone.
Find the one song that matches how you feel right now, and let yourself cry as much as you need.
Crying might help you sort out your feelings, or even give you the push you need to move forward.
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[When You Want to Cry] A ballad love song. Heart-wrenching love songs (1–10)
Stay by my sideAbe Mao
A song that Mao Abe wrote in her senior year of high school.
It’s a sad love song that conjures the image of a woman who can’t let go of a love that’s ended and keeps wandering on.
The lyrics are surprisingly mature for something written by a high school student, but when sung with Abe’s firm, resonant voice, they carry real conviction and even a sense of power.
She wanted to stay by the side of the person she loved, but they broke up before she could say so.
This song captures that painful feeling.
For anyone who’s been through the same thing, it’s a track that will bring past memories flooding back.
Song of PointillismMrs. GREEN APPLE feat. Inoue Sonoko
Moments spent with someone you have feelings for are so fun they feel like they pass in an instant.
This track was featured as an insert song in the film “Ao-Natsu: Kimi ni Koi Shita 30-Nichi” and is a duet with the hugely popular Sonoko Inoue among junior and high school students.
This love ballad, swirling with the emotions of being in love and the wishes directed toward an unrequited crush, naturally brings tears to your eyes.
Dried flowersYuuri
Singer-songwriter Yuuri, whose song “Kakurenbo” became a huge hit mainly on social media.
While “Kakurenbo” is a breakup song from the perspective of a man who’s been dumped, “Dry Flower” tells the story from the woman’s perspective—his ex-girlfriend’s point of view.
Yuuri’s vocals alone can bring you to tears, and the poignant lyrics add a realism that makes your chest tighten.
There’s no sense of being forced; it flows in naturally, and before you know it, you’re crying—such a song.
[When You Want to Cry] Ballad Love Songs: Heartbreaking Romance Songs (11–20)
KoiAndrop
The theme song for the film “Until I Meet September’s Love,” starring Issey Takahashi and Haruna Kawaguchi.
No matter the fate, no matter the constraints, I’ll search for you—because it has to be you! Have you ever met someone who makes you feel, or who feels for you, that deeply? That kind of straightforward, wholehearted love that seems to exist only in movies and dramas is something we all admire.
Takahito Uchizawa’s gentle vocals make this a heartfelt track overflowing with love.
Because I fell in loveaimyon
Unrequited love is something that tangles your feelings into a messy jumble, isn’t it? Aimyon’s “Koi wo Shita Kara” is a song that expresses the pain of thinking only of someone you love one-sidedly.
Her expressive vocals further heighten the sense of heartbreak.
If you’re experiencing unrequited love, there will surely be many parts you can relate to.
Unfit to be a loverKoresawa
This is a self-cover by Koresawa of a song she originally wrote for singer-songwriter Miyuhan.
Miyuhan liked Koresawa’s song “Tabako” (“Cigarette”), asked her to write an answer song, and this track was the result.
The lyrics lament that, to the ex-girlfriend, he was weak and unfit to be a boyfriend.
But back then, there’s no doubt she was the one who mattered… The feelings after breaking up with someone—when it’s too late to say or think anything—are something anyone can relate to.
rainbowSuda Masaki
Masaki Suda, who’s also active as a singer, has released a string of hit songs, many of which you often hear as tie-in tracks.
His song “Niji” serves as the theme for the film STAND BY ME Doraemon 2, making it a love song well known across a wide range of ages.
While the song evokes weddings and proposals, it overflows with love to such an extent that calling it a “song of love” might feel more fitting than simply a love song.