[Dark Songs] A carefully curated selection of deeply dark tracks and heartbreaking songs that accompany you in tough times
There are times when something tough or sad happens and you just feel down, right?
In those moments, listening to overly positive songs like “Keep your head up!” or “You can do it!” can actually make things harder for some people, surprisingly.
So in this article, instead of upbeat tracks, we’ll introduce songs with a darker mood that gently sit with your more negative feelings.
By intentionally listening to songs with heavy or heartbreaking lyrics, you might find your feelings become just a little easier to bear.
- [Melancholy] For when you want to sink all the way. Masterpieces that depict various kinds of gloom.
- [Yami Song] Fight darkness with darkness!? Deep tracks that stay close to your pain
- Songs that hit home when you're feeling blue: masterpieces of Japanese music
- Masterpieces that sing of despair. Recommended popular songs.
- [For High School Students] Melancholy Songs That Stay Close to Your Feelings [Tough Times]
- [Songs to Listen to When You Want to Die] I want to disappear... A song to support you who feel that way
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- [Yami Song] A mental breakdown track that sings the true feelings of a melancholic heart
- [So touching it makes you cry] A heartbreakingly wistful and sad song that tightens your chest
- Hidden gems of yami songs. Recommended popular tracks.
- [Songs of Bereavement] Songs about losing someone dear. Tracks to listen to while thinking of a loved one.
- [Bereavement Song] To you whom I can no longer meet... Tear-jerking songs about death
- [Relatable Lyrics] Emo songs to listen to when you're stuck after a breakup or relationship troubles
[Dark Songs] A curated selection of deeply dark and heartrending tracks that empathize with painful feelings (41–50)
The moon for youCocco
Cocco has released many works that portray the darkness of the heart.
This song, “Moon to You,” is another track that conveys inescapable despair and loneliness.
It’s not just her songs—there’s a sense of agitation hidden within her beautiful, powerful voice that seems to fit perfectly with how you feel when you’re down.
While drawing out those darker emotions, her music somehow calms the heart in the end.
On a gloomy night, try listening to it alone, slowly and attentively.
Room 304, The Cherry Blossoms of White DeathDIR EN GREY
They’re a very famous band known as a passionate visual kei act that makes full use of death growls.
Not only are their music videos intense, but the synergy between the sound and the lyrics is outstanding.
That immersive, pitch-dark atmosphere they plunge you into is really cool, isn’t it?
Boukyaku featuring KOHHUtada Hikaru
From the intro, it’s a song that evokes despair.
If you listen to it when you’re struggling, it will lead you even deeper into a world of sorrow.
When people experience great sadness, they forget even their happy memories.
The past is unnecessary.
It sings of such a sorrowful life.
“There isn’t always light beyond hardship,” and right now we are in the dark.
It’s a song that stays close to those going through such difficult times.
dark and blackzutto mayonaka de ii no ni.
This song, “Kuraku Kuroku” by Zutto Mayonaka de Iinoni, is the theme for the film The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, starring Masaki Okada and Jun Shison.
It slips right into your ears from the intro, and just when you think it’s going to be a medium-tempo ballad, the mood shifts dramatically at the end of the first verse, launching into a forceful, driving development from the second verse.
While the arrangement doesn’t feel particularly heavy or dark, many listeners will likely resonate with the weight and darkness of the lyrics.
It’s a track you’ll want to sink into when you’re going through tough times.
I wanted to dance to your heartbeat.Pikon
A slow ballad with a striking piano melody, this captivating track weaves a beautiful world through its heartrending tune and lyrics that resonate deeply.
Released in January 2018, it is the 17th song by Vocaloid producer Picon and has garnered over 3 million views on YouTube.
The melancholic piece, which sings of loneliness and a sense of loss, carries a lingering afterglow that makes you want to listen in the quiet of the night.
When you’re weighed down by pain or want to immerse yourself in the bittersweet feeling of thinking about someone, it will gently stay by your heart.
Only a single voicerokudenashi
A song that delicately portrays the difficulties and inner conflicts of living.
Ninjin-san’s fragile, ephemeral vocals resonate deeply.
Released in December 2021, the track has surpassed 55 million streams on Spotify and 100 million views on YouTube.
It also topped Hong Kong’s Spotify Viral Chart, becoming a major topic across various Asian countries.
Many of us have experienced being unable to express our true feelings and suppressing our emotions to maintain harmony with those around us.
This work gently accompanies that universal sense of struggle and offers a deep sense of empathy.
Grim ReaperOmori Seiko
Since the title is “Shinigami,” it’s exactly the kind of song I want to listen to when I’m feeling despair…
Even if I believe that sorrow will clear someday, there are times when you want to listen to a song like this, right? Just be warned: the lyrics are intense, so take them as events happening within the song.
It’s a track where almost no helping hand is extended.