When we are happy, we usually enjoy cheerful, upbeat music that matches our mood. But in moments of doubt, burdened by the worries of daily life, we tend not to turn to these same playlists. Instead of soothing our nerves with hopeful tunes, we choose melancholic and nostalgic tracks that only deepen that mood. There are, in fact, hundreds, if not thousands, of songs that fall into this category.
Experts Analyzed the Charts: How They Chose the Saddest Songs
In 2022, HappyOrNot, in collaboration with music expert Analies Micallef Grimaud from Durham University, reviewed the most popular songs on the charts. The aim was to identify the happiest and saddest songs of all time. They based their choices not only on listener favorites but also on several pre-established criteria. They considered songs that most accurately express the emotions and feelings that correspond to specific moods. "I study how people, regardless of their musical knowledge, if any, believe different emotions should sound in music," said the professor, describing the experiment. His findings might surprise you.
The Saddest Song of All Time and Other Songs on the List
While selecting happy songs posed little difficulty, choosing those that express sadness was more challenging. As Grimaud noted, few artists can accurately describe sadness, meaning that songs in this category usually have a similar tone and structure. Despite this, the experts managed to identify several titles that stand out from the rest in the ranking and meet their criteria.
The nostalgic category includes the 1991 hit "Black" by Pearl Jam and "Nutshell" by Alice in Chains, released three years later. The list also features "Tears in Heaven" Eric Clapton’s tribute to his late son, and "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. However, the saddest and most overwhelming song of all time, according to the study, is Nirvana’s "Something In The Way" in which Kurt Cobain reflects on his childhood and struggles with loneliness.
The author of the text is Roksana Pamuła, journalist of Gazeta.pl.
