Top 20 Hauntingly Beautiful Songs

In this early 2000s hit, Chris Martin tells the story of a romantic partner with many regrets about his relationship. He wishes to say he’s sorry, even though it’s uncertain if the words will connect with his partner. The music video only enriches the lyrics with its ingenious use of reversed footage. “The Scientist” carries with it a mournful piano part that feels fit for a funeral. It might not be referring to a literal ceremony about death, but it does feel as though the union might be irreversibly damaged. The touching track lets you hope for the best through Martin’s emotional vocals and the band’s well-matched instrumentations.

From their album “Being Funny in a Foreign Language,” “About You” finds The 1975 in a much more pensive mood. The production is a far cry from their earlier sound, focusing on more experimental and shoegaze sounds. Warren Ellis’ strings and the backing vocals from Carly Holt only enhance the all-encompassing experience. The lyrics talk about a lover that the singer hasn’t forgotten, despite what the other half might think. These memories pour out in a dreamy soundscape that should be counted among the band’s best work. With this sonic combination, the track takes a wistful look at love.

With a mix of indie pop and a dash of metal, Phoebe Bridgers takes no prisoners in this epic track. It’s a multi-layered musing on the end of it all. Bridgers gives the first section a deliberate pace on top of ethereal instruments. She dreams about home as the song shifts into darker territory, building in intensity until the final verse. The apocalyptic lyrics and noises finally reach a climactic outro. The singer easily switches from her softer delivery to something much louder and unhinged. Her final screams ring out in a nightmarish ending that needs to be heard to be believed. All the while, the artist gives us an incredible examination of the worries that keep us at night.

Has there ever been a more devastating song about unrequited love? “I Can’t Make You Love Me” talks about what happens when someone doesn’t share the same feelings, with a tragic quality that underscores the whole track. Bonnie Raitt’s performance only solidifies the tense ballad. It’s both meditative and full of many moving lyrics. Raitt’s soulful voice keeps you engaged as she almost cries out, channeling a hopeless romantic that can’t convince someone to be with her. The piano part alone can make you bawl your eyes out. We don’t recommend listening to this song unless you’re prepared to have an emotional reaction.

As a singular vocalist, Björk puts her all into this incredible track. The song from her album “Post” digs into a lover’s extended routine before her partner wakes up. Its abundant metaphors manage to discuss romance in an indirect way. Infusing the artist’s lyrics with electronic elements gives “Hyperballad” a cerebral and digital feel. She paints beautiful pictures for listeners to create in their own minds, so much so that it feels like she’s created her own movie in one song, with the music functioning like the perfect soundtrack. These diverse instruments and production techniques add to the single’s stirring tribute to relationships.

This song off of “The Great Gatsby” soundtrack finds Lana Del Rey in top form. Her pristine voice gives a spacy and dreamy sound to the track, which examines the longevity of a relationship. The engaging production enhances this track’s universal themes. You’ll be transported to another world as Rey serenades you with this moody ballad. She really gets a hold on the audience, guiding them on a memorable and nostalgic trip. The singer asks her partner if they’ll still be in love after all the glamor of youth fades away. It’s a relatable question for longterm lovers, with an elaborate and soothing orchestra strengthening the mood.

Infused by their gothic aesthetic, Evanescence is able to delve into both metal and slower ballads. “My Immortal” tries out the latter sound as it brings things down with a softer and more methodical production. Amy Lee shows off her amazing pipes here, singing about the void left when you lose someone. The vocalist is plagued by thoughts of a person who means everything to her. On top of a delicate piano arrangement, the artist explores grief through many rich images. The song leaves room for the audience to fill in the blanks with their own personal struggles.

Channeling his writing skills into mournful tracks, Elliott Smith had a unique gift for storytelling. This minimal production lets a simple guitar part underscore the eerie lyrics with plenty of potential drug references. The performance itself couldn’t be more haunting, as Smith’s vocals lead you through a labyrinth of depressing scenes. The beauty underneath it all still brings you back, with the artist’s harrowing vision coming through on every syllable. There’s a hypnotic quality to his poetic songwriting that carries through this piece and into his impressive catalog. It also inspired a memorable scene in “The Royal Tenenbaums,” twisting the meaning into even darker territory.

After her time in the iconic group Eurythmics, Annie Lennox established herself as an equally talented solo artist. Her single “Why” defines what she does best as a performer and songwriter. With some atmospheric background vocals, the track sets a somber mood that doesn’t let you go. Lennox sings about a lover who has lost control of a relationship. Tackling love and heartbreak, the lyrics take us through the romantic grieving process with tremendous skill. The singer’s bitter feelings feel universal and sometimes too personal to hear. The entire production lets you wade in these complex emotions, with the synths giving this an unforgettable sound.

In a pantheon of great 90s tracks, this one perfectly captures the inescapable nature of love. Mazzy Star’s hit transcends any cliches about typical ballads. It’s an alternative piece that’s poetic in a lyrical sense as well as in terms of performance. Hope Sandoval delivers the vocal of a lifetime, putting her heart and soul into every word. She seems to capture a point in time where you’re drowning in a passionate affair. While it might not last, the relationship that’s described here is emblematic of many we’ve had in our younger years. “Fade into You” remains a high point in a decade that seemed to champion this kind of stellar music.

While not the sound they're known for, this track from 2000's “Kid A” is now remembered by many as one of Radiohead’s best offerings. In place of his otherworldly guitar work, Jonny Greenwood presents a Krzysztof Penderecki inspired string arrangement as the foundation for “How to Disappear Completely,” which was recorded at Dorchester Abbey in Oxfordshire, England. Lyrically, meanwhile, the track was inspired by a mantra of sorts, given to Thom Yorke by Michael Stipe of REM - “I'm not here, this isn't happening.” The song was also inspired by a dream Yorke had about floating. Sonically, it's almost hard to tell where Yorke's vocals leave off and the mournful and emotive string section begins.

Featuring just McLachlan, her piano, and the subtle bass of Barenaked Lady Jim Creeggan, this song tugged at the heartstrings long before it became associated with the ASPCA. Inspired by the overdose death of Smashing Pumpkins’ touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin, this haunting lullaby has become the go-to song to underline sadness in TV shows and movies, and as an attempt to find hope in real life tragedies. McLachlan has referred to the writing process of this song as a “very easy labor.” Burnt out from two years worth of touring, the singer felt that, while not a drug user herself, she could identify with someone turning to substances as a means of coping with the touring lifestyle.

The title track of the album that cemented this band’s place in music history, “Transatlanticism” may very well be one of Death Cab for Cutie’s finest musical moments. Written by Ben Gibbard with Chris Walla, the track runs close to the 8-minute mark and maintains a sense of pained loneliness throughout. Beginning sparsely with just piano, vocal, and precise percussion, the song builds with the eventual addition of electric guitar. Addressing the loneliness and frustration that comes with a long distance relationship, a theme carried across the entire concept album, “Transatlanticism” is as lyrically beautiful as it is musically hypnotic.

Owing to the way it was recorded, “Breathe Me” is one of the few songs in Sia’s catalogue that she can really enjoy listening to. With Sia out sick, bassist Sam Dixon and drummer Felix Bloxsom recorded the track in her absence, and she got to fall in love with the results before adding her vocals. She wasn't the only one to feel smitten though. Upfront about worries, anxiety, and self-harm, the song is at once inconsolable and deeply soothing. Beginning with just piano and a voice so weary and lethargic you doubt she'll make it to the end of the verse, “Breathe Me” builds in intensity and emotion, like light at the end of a dark tunnel.

Originally recorded by Tears for Fears, “Mad World” took on a whole new sound in the hands of Michael Andrews. Tasked with sound tracking the film “Donnie Darko,” Andrews needed a song with the right emotional weight to replace U2's “MLK,” which the production could not afford. Featuring no drums or guitars at the request of director Richard Kelly, Andrews created the soundscape of “Mad World” using piano, vocoder, as well as synthetic cello via a mellotron. He then enlisted former bandmate Gary Jules to record the restrained vocals. Mostly completed in less than two hours, the version was meant as a demo, but Kelly liked the track so much he decided to use it for the film.

Written while Justin Vernon was recovering from a breakup, the end of a band, and mononucleosis of the liver, “The Wolves” is almost a mantra of self-determination in the face of intangible obstacles. Relocating to his father's cabin in rural Wisconsin, Vernon coped with his loneliness by recording and pursuing new directions and approaches to his songwriting. Completing what he thought was a solid demo, Vernon was urged to release the recordings as an album, “The Wolves” proving to be a highlight for many listeners. The conflicted mix of emotions in the song can only be rivaled by the band's later track “Holocene” which treads similar ground.

A favorite of many Clapton fans, “Tears in Heaven” was the guitarist's means of coping with the death of Conor, his young son with model Lory Del Santo, who fell to his death from a New York City high rise. A former person with substance use disorder, Clapton sought to avoid falling back on old habits, pouring his grief into music instead. Having written the first verse, Clapton asked co-writer Will Jennings to complete the song as part of their work for the soundtrack of the film “Rush.” Inescapably linked to Conor's death, “Tears in Heaven” is an emotional exploration of sorrow, loss, pain, and uncertainty.

Written over a six month period, “The Sound of Silence” was slow in the making. Simon allegedly wrote much of it in a bathroom with the lights out, which likely explains the opening line, if not the mood of the whole song. Thought by many to be about a range of heavy topics - most notably the JFK assassination - Paul Simon has said it’s simply about people's inability to communicate with one another. Undeniably captivating, the uniquely bleak sentiment of uncertainty offered by “The Sound of Silence” has seen it used to underscore emotion in films as diverse as “The Graduate” and “The Watchmen.” It even found its way into the quirky fabric of the cult classic comedy series “Arrested Development.”

What was once a musical note about taking one’s own self from Trent Reznor became a musical obituary for the Man in Black. Presented to the iconic songwriter by producer Rick Rubin, Cash took a liking to the Nine Inch Nails classic - allegedly listening to it roughly 100 times. The song not only perfectly suited Cash and his demon-fuelled past, but also married perfectly with his weakening but still commanding, low-baritone voice. Powerful in its own right, the song becomes an absolute tearjerker when paired with the music video. Within a year of its release, both Cash and his wife June would pass away. In 2007, the couple's home - which featured prominently in the video - was destroyed by fire.

As omnipresent as it is today, “Hallelujah” actually took a very long time to gain footing in the public consciousness. First released by Leonard Cohen in 1984, the singer wrote it over a five year period, accumulating approximately 80 different verses before narrowing it down to four. Rejected by CBS Records, who called it “a disaster,” Cohen released it independently to little fanfare. Ten years later Jeff Buckley picked up where John Cale's 1991 cover version left off, but it too had a limited impact... until Buckley's death in 1997. Today over 300 covers exist, but it's Jeff Buckley's raw and sensual take that is best known, the sentimentality of which is only heightened by Buckley’s untimely demise.

Did we forget another hauntingly beautiful song? Let us know in the comments below.