[So touching it makes you cry] A heartbreakingly wistful and sad song that tightens your chest
A feeling like your chest is being tightly squeezed…
Heartbreak, parting from someone precious, the daily pains…
Here are some heartbreaking songs that will bring tears to your eyes when you listen.
We’ve gathered tracks for those who want to have a good cry or be comforted by songs that share the same feelings.
From timeless classics to the latest releases, we’re covering a wide range—so be sure to read to the end.
Even with sad songs, finding ones you can relate to helps you realize you’re not alone.
By the time you finish listening, your sadness and heartache might just turn a little more positive.
Let these wistful songs guide you, and allow yourself to honestly let out your weakness and pain as your emotions lead you.
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[Tearjerker] Songs so heartrending and sad they make your chest tighten (1–10)
Please forget it.Yorushika
A song that portrays the struggle of being unable to forget past memories that cling to the heart.
Packed with Yorushika’s distinctive worldbuilding, this work was released digitally in July 2024.
Despite its poppy melody, the lyrics are marked by deep despair and introspection.
Through the metaphor of a “record,” it expresses events that replay in one’s mind and ways of confronting one’s past self.
Many of us have likely wished to escape the pain and failures of the past, yet found them impossible to forget.
This piece is a track that gently accompanies those complex feelings of wanting to forget but being unable to.
junkYonezu Kenshi
A song that weaves a tender melody with a heartrending emotion that shakes you to your core.
Created by Kenshi Yonezu with his own experiences in mind, the piece carefully portrays broken relationships and lonely hearts.
Chosen as the theme song for the film “Last Mile,” it is included on the album “LOST CORNER,” released in August 2024.
The lyrics reflect a sense of childhood loneliness and memories of not fitting in, carrying the message that “it’s okay to be broken.” It’s a track that stands beside those who have gone through heartbreak and separation, whose hearts feel like they might shatter.
Even while holding onto your wounds, it gives you the courage to keep facing forward and live on.
PrologueUru
If you’re struggling with love, you should definitely listen to Uru’s “Prologue.” Released in 2018 as her seventh single, it was chosen as the theme song for the TBS drama “Middle Schooler A Diary.” It reached No.
1 on both the Billboard download chart and the Oricon digital singles chart.
The lyrics, which capture the bittersweet feelings at the start of love and the growing longing of the heart, really resonate as you listen.
If you’re in love right now, you’ll surely relate!
[Tearjerkers] Songs so heartrending and sad they make your chest tighten (11–20)
HAPPY BIRTHDAYback number
Back number, a three-piece band from Gunma Prefecture, is in high demand for film and TV drama theme songs thanks to their emotional, heart-stirring ballads.
Their 2019 release “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” was used as the theme song for the TV drama “A Story to Read When You First Fall in Love.” Its catchy yet wistful melody line pairs perfectly with the lyrics.
Eine KleineYonezu Kenshi
Kenshi Yonezu, an artist who even performed at the 2018 Kohaku Uta Gassen and is now supported by listeners across generations.
His 2014 release “Eine Kleine” is beloved by many as one of his signature songs.
It’s a love song with a gentle, warm sound tinged with a touch of poignancy—one that makes you want to listen to it over and over again.
PretenderOfisharu Higedan Dism
You can fall in love by yourself, but you can’t be in a relationship alone—that’s what I felt listening to this song.
The lyrics’ worldview, which makes you think, “If we’d met in a different situation, could we have had a different kind of relationship…?” is heartbreaking yet captivating.
The acoustic version brings me to tears all over again.
HeartacheONE OK ROCK
A beautiful, ephemeral heartbreak song from ONE OK ROCK.
The lyrics dwell relentlessly on lingering feelings for a past lover, and just reading them makes your chest tighten.
Taka’s heartbreakingly poignant voice, which spins such straightforward love, seeps deeper and deeper into our hearts as listeners.
The lyrics blend English and Japanese, so try parsing not only the Japanese parts but the English ones as well.
Precisely because they usually play intense rock numbers, a gentle, relaxed song like this also comes across as deeply compelling.
