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! Bittersweet Songs in Western Music—from Timeless Classics to the Newest Hits—(141–150)
Run To YouWhitney Houston
It’s a song used in part of the movie The Bodyguard, in which Whitney Houston herself appeared.
The film’s theme song is I Will Always Love You, and both songs are quite poignant.
Cry Me A RiverJustin Timberlake
A song Justin Timberlake wrote about Britney Spears.
They both appeared on The Mickey Mouse Club and lived together for two and a half years before breaking up in 2002.
The piano on the track is performed by Scott Storch.
You should be sadHalsey
Halsey’s go-to tearjerker, “You should be sad.” The melody is generally on the brighter side, but the overall tone is serious.
Even if you don’t understand the lyrics, it’s the kind of song that can make you cry just from the melody.
The chorus has a powerful, scream-like feel that’s bound to stir your emotions.
Tearjerkers! Bittersweet Western Songs — From Timeless Classics to the Newest Hits — (151–160)
CryinAerosmith
When we met, I was crying, and when we parted, I cried too.
This song expresses the helpless feeling of having to part with someone you truly love from the bottom of your heart.
I especially love Steven Tyler’s harmonica in this track—it’s beautiful.
There’s about a 40-second harmonica solo in the middle of the song, and it really resonates with the heart.
This Ain’t A Love SongBon Jovi
The way it suddenly crescendos at the chorus makes it such a cool song that it hardly feels like a ballad, but if you listen closely to the lyrics, they’re steeped in the bittersweet tone of a ballad.
It’s so captivating that once you hear it, you’ll find it addictive.
OutsideCalvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding
Outside is a song by DJ Calvin Harris, so the track itself is a very upbeat club tune.
But the key theme is about the struggle with emotional distance in a relationship (at least that’s how I interpret it).
Someone who’s close yet feels far away—I really feel that sense of melancholy.
The FlameCheap Trick
A soft ballad included on the 1988 album Lap of Luxury.
Written by the songwriting team of Bob Mitchell and Nick Graham, the song was originally penned for the British singer Elkie Brooks.
It became Cheap Trick’s only No.
1 hit on the charts.