Pop music doesn’t get much closer to the bone, and it's all the more poignant following her death in July 2023.

Sad Song ft. Elena Coats (Official Video) We The Kings - Sad Song ft. Elena Coats (Official Video)

If Claire had to give even a small portion of the love she had for Grayson to a child that was not her own there's no way she'd have been able to do all she did for him. Owen Ashworth’s solo project was aptly named, specialising in wrenching portraits of millennial misery – like Girlswithout the jokes – mumbled in too-tired-for-suicide baritone over chintzy 8-bit keyboard beats. With lyrics in place, this gorgeous song from French singer Tellier embodies all the hope and anticipation of a new love affair. Bandmate, Roger Waters wrote Wish You Were Here for his unwell bandmate and created a classic song of loss and regret.Ducking the obvious (‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’) and the totally harrowing (‘New Dawn Fades’), we’ve picked ‘Isolation’ for its chilly synths, peppy bassline and urgent sense of desperation: ‘Mother, please try to believe me/I’m doing the best that I can/I’m ashamed of the things I’ve been put through/I’m ashamed of the person I am.

The Sad Son: A surprisingly funny memoir about mental illness The Sad Son: A surprisingly funny memoir about mental illness

But on this song, found towards the end of XTC’s magisterial 1986 album Skylarking, Moulding lets all of his fears come right to the surface, spelling out in exacting detail the experience of watching a relative pass slowly away and not wanting to share that horrible fate. Jerry Byrd’s clever steel guitar flourishes are nestled snugly between verses until the drama of Tommy Jackson’s whimpering fiddle swoops in. Ashcroft’s personal demons have become his driving force and this song reflects on the time he lost to this substance abuse. The piano and drumming single on My Saccharine hints at a love of Jazz musicianship but soon finds its pop feet. Just hope someone who is judging that one day has read this or read this and thinks twice before throwing judgement.It’s written from the perspective of his deceased grandfather, who implores his still-living wife to “sleep oh sleep, my Vivian” because “heaven is too cold without you. Despite the upbeat chorus, Parton pleads with the title character not to crush her dreams by stealing the love of her life. Feeling unloved at home, he wants to escape with the one he loves, but he’s too scared to do anything about that love. In the second verse—”Something warm flowing through my eyes / But somehow I found my baby that night / I lifted her head, she looked at me and said / ‘Hold me darling just a little while’”—Vedder’s voice cracks on the final line, as the dying girl begs her boyfriend to hold her while she slips away.

50 Best Sad Songs That Make You Cry - Time Out 50 Best Sad Songs That Make You Cry - Time Out

In 1974 Nick Drake recorded five songs for his fourth album, the sequel to his stark masterpiece Pink Moon. But though the relationship is spent, the regret and resentment in the voice and the lyrics lets us know there’s more pain further down the road.There were so many times I wanted to jump in and help, listen to her when she was asking for help, tell her she was right, that she wasn’t a bad mum. This is not to say that this is a backwards-looking record, but there is much here that will please older listeners, although Powell himself may be surprised at such thoughts.