For When You Need a Good Cry: Soul-Soothing Tearjerker Classics — Life, Love, and Work
There are moments in life when you just feel an overwhelming urge to cry, aren’t there?
In this article, we introduce songs that are guaranteed to make you cry and tracks to listen to when you want to let the tears flow.
We’ve gathered classic songs and masterpieces that support your desire to cry from various angles—heartache in love, the difficulties of life, the hardships of work, and more.
Anyone’s heart can get worn down if they push themselves past their limits.
If you’re feeling tired, please give these a listen.
I’m sure these wonderful pieces of music that gently stay by your side will bring you comfort.
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- [For those doing their best] A comforting song to listen to when you're tired of life
- [For when you want to cry or feel sad] Tear-jerking masterpieces that make you cry when you listen
- [Just the Lyrics Make Me Cry] Tear-Jerking Songs That Touch the Heart
- [Unrequited Love] Heart-wrenching Love Songs | A Roundup of Tear-Inducing Crush and Breakup Tracks
- [So touching it makes you cry] A heartbreakingly wistful and sad song that tightens your chest
- [Today's Tearjerker Song] Tear ducts destroyed! Timeless and trending tracks that will make you cry no matter what
- A tear-jerking love song that gently stays by your heart
- When you want to immerse yourself in music alone! Tear-jerker songs released in the Reiwa era
- Tear-jerking songs recommended for women in their 40s: classic and popular Japanese tracks
- [Deeply Moving] A Tear-Jerking Cheer Song: Popular Inspirational Anthems That Resonate with the Heart
- Tear-jerking songs recommended for women in their 50s: classic and popular Japanese hits
- [Tearjerker Guaranteed!] A Heartbreak Song Told from a Male Perspective
[For When You Want to Cry] Tearjerking Songs That Heal the Heart: Life, Love, and Work (111–120)
biting my lipyoshida takurou
Kuchibiru o Kamishimete is a single by Takuro Yoshida released in 1982.
It was the theme song for the film Detective Story, starring Tetsuya Takeda.
Sung in the Hiroshima dialect, it has also been covered by Tamio Okuda.
It’s a moving, masculine ballad that really strikes a chord with people who are giving their all.
A tearjerker recommended for those worn out by dealing with others.
A Gentle BallAimer
Set to the strains of a dreamlike waltz, a mysterious tale unfolds on the stage of a nighttime ball.
Aimer’s husky, lustrous voice gracefully paints a fantastical scene bathed in moonlight.
The feelings of a girl who keeps dancing within the fleeting hours of the night, searching for faint memories and traces of the past, will resonate deeply with us as adults.
This piece is included on the single “SCOPE,” released in February 2025, and was newly written for NHK’s “Minna no Uta” broadcasts for February and March.
It’s a song you’ll want to savor at the close of the day, in a quiet room—one that will gently accompany and soothe a heart tired from work.
Wish ~To You Back Then~Mirei Touyama
A heartrending breakup song that really touches the heart.
The airy, translucent vocals gently wrap you in nostalgia for days gone by.
The wish for an ex-lover’s happiness is so relatable you can’t help but hear it as your own story.
Released in August 2018, the song gained widespread support, especially among younger listeners.
It fully showcases her talent for expressing the genuine emotions of the streaming generation and spread widely through social media.
Listen to it on a quiet night while thinking of someone dear, and it will soothe your heart.
DarlingMrs. GREEN APPLE
A gem of a medium-tempo ballad that gently embraces the doubts and struggles of adolescence.
Released in January 2025 as the theme song for NHK General’s special program “Mrs.
GREEN APPLE 18 Festival,” the piece sings, like a letter to a loved one, of the beauty of being true to yourself.
The grand performance delivered by Mrs.
GREEN APPLE together with a thousand 18-year-olds brilliantly captured the interplay of youthful radiance and anxiety.
It is a song that stands by the feelings of those who, on the verge of losing their sense of self, long for someone who will accept their true selves.
Its tender melody is one that brings tears to your eyes.
SymphonyHirai Dai
Characterized by warm, heartfelt vocals and a grand orchestral arrangement, this gem of a love ballad gives voice to the universal longing for a hero and the resolve to protect the ones we cherish.
Infused with Dai Hirai’s perspective as a father, it carries a powerful message brimming with hope and love for the future.
Released in April 2023 as the theme song for the film TOKYO MER: Mobile Emergency Room – The Movie, it marked Hirai’s first theme for a live-action film.
The song is also included on his best-of album LOVE＋PEACE, released in May of the same year.
This track is perfect for new beginnings with someone special, pivotal moments in life, or any time you need the courage to face forward.
Wrapped in its warm vocals, it’s sure to help you take that first step toward tomorrow.
Happy Endingback number
A touching song that sings of the aching feelings for a former lover.
The portrait of a woman who tries to act tough yet cannot sever her lingering attachment is striking.
It depicts the complex emotions of someone who, despite her words, still truly loves the other person.
Released in November 2016, it was also used as the theme song for the film “My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday.” It’s recommended as a chance to sort out your feelings if you’ve experienced parting from someone you love.
Let yourself be carried by back number’s gentle vocals and take a moment to face your own emotions.
The true soundKOKIA
This is a song by KOKIA that calls on listeners to tune in to their true inner voice when they feel they’re losing sight of the meaning or purpose of life.
It urges us to face the part of ourselves that gets swept along by a superficial world and to reexamine our fundamental values.
With a translucent vocal and a beautiful piano melody that soaks into the heart, the piece feels like a cry from the depths of the soul.
Included on the album “moment,” released in May 2011, this work stands as a symbol of KOKIA’s musical maturity and has deeply moved many listeners.
It’s a song that offers companionship to those who feel lonely or anxious and are on the verge of losing their sense of purpose, and to anyone seeking a path that is true to themselves.