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 Songs in Western Music — From Timeless Classics to the Newest Hits — (131–140)
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.
GeneradeBruno Mars
Generade means “hand grenade.” It’s a song that powerfully expresses a one-sided crush—the resolve to catch even a hand grenade for the sake of someone precious, to endure any pain.
When sung in Bruno’s voice, the sense of longing becomes even more poignant.
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.
Waiting For YouCharly Bliss
A masterpiece where wistfulness and hope intersect—Charlie Bliss return with a brand-new track.
It’s the lead single from their upcoming album FOREVER, slated for release in August 2024, and it’s a song that conveys both the pain of heartbreak and the strength to overcome it.
Eva Hendricks’s deeply expressive vocals mesh perfectly with a sound that recalls ’90s alternative.
Packed with the charm of this New York–based four-piece, the track captures the complexities of romance and the subtleties of human relationships, sure to resonate with anyone who’s experienced a breakup.
It’s the kind of song you’ll want to listen to alone—on a drive or during a nighttime walk.
The Power Of LoveCéline Dion
This is Celine Dion’s cover of The Power of Love, originally sung by Jennifer Rush.
It’s a song that really showcases her clear, crystalline vocals.
Since it’s so famous, you’ve probably heard it somewhere at least once.
I don’t want you backEamon
It’s a bittersweet song, but it’s also packed with a lot of anger toward the ex-girlfriend.
Since the lyrics are full of F**k, they made quite a few changes when it aired on TV.
Still, I think it’s great how it expresses honest feelings about love so directly.
Heartbreak HotelElvis Presley
A song written by Tommy Durden, a Nashville steel guitar player who once worked as a dishwasher repairman.
When the song was released on January 27, 1956, Elvis Presley was 21 years old.
It became his first No.
1 hit on the Billboard pop chart.