Songs That Make You Cry: Heart-Wrenching Western Music—from Timeless Classics to the Newest Hits
There are times when, instead of listening to music to get pumped up or fired up, you deliberately want to listen to poignant or slightly sad songs and have a good cry alone, right?
Upbeat tracks that give you a push are great, but in this article we’ve researched and selected timeless, heart-wrenching English-language songs that empathize with listeners’ feelings, both old and new.
From classic standards to recent hits and the latest buzzworthy tracks, we’re bringing you a genre-crossing selection.
Try listening in whatever setting makes you feel most at ease—whether that’s in your bedroom or on a drive!
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Tearjerkers! Heartbreaking Western Songs — From Timeless Classics to the Latest Hits — (61–70)
SmileMorgan Wallen
American singer-songwriter Morgan Wallen’s new song is making waves.
Surprise-released in December 2024, the track is a poignant ballad that looks back on a past relationship.
Sparked by a smiling face in a photograph, the lyrics stir nostalgia for a love that’s been lost.
Wallen’s emotive vocals and a sound that blends country and pop are especially compelling.
Fans are also looking forward to its debut at his first-ever festival slated for 2025.
It’s a perfect song for when you’re in the mood to sink into old memories.
Die For You (Remix)The Weeknd & Ariana Grande
Die For You (Remix) is also known for going viral on TikTok.
It’s a track The Weeknd created together with Ariana Grande—a remix of The Weeknd’s 2016 release Die For You.
The lyrics portray a deep love, expressing a willingness to do anything for the other person.
While there are a few slightly explicit expressions, they also convey the depth of that affection.
How can you mend a broken heartBee Gees
A song that became the Bee Gees’ first No.
1 hit on the U.S.
charts.
It’s also known as a song Robin Gibb wrote effortlessly in about an hour.
Al Green covered it in 1972 on his album “Let’s Stay Together,” and his version was used in the 1999 film “Notting Hill.”
I Can’t Make You Love MeBonnie Raitt
A song written by songwriters Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin.
Reid got the idea for the song from a newspaper article about a man who, while drunk, shot his girlfriend’s car.
It is sung from the perspective of a woman who knows that the person she loves is no longer interested in her.
Slide AwayMiley Cyrus
Slide Away stands out with its mysteriously neither-bright-nor-dark melody.
It’s one of Miley Cyrus’s staple breakup songs.
That said, the lyrics are about her initiating the breakup, so depending on the person, it might actually feel refreshing, even cathartic (lol).
