Top 20 Saddest Music Videos

Death Cab For Cutie
There are two different video clips to Death Cab for Cuties I Will Follow You into the Dark. Both accurately represent the songs themes regarding the mystery and debated finality of death. One features the bands vocalist and guitarist, Ben Gibbard, singing the acoustic ballad as a hole gradually opens up within his bedroom. The other features a pair of animated bunny rabbits andyeah, both are melancholic but the latter one takes the cake. This visualizer video was a part of Death Cabs companion album to Plans, the LP from which this song is taken. It takes a more emotionally heart wrenching and sentimental approach to the songs lyrics, bringing us to tears each and every time.

Carrie Underwood
The subjects of war, death, trauma and healing are all at the forefront of Just a Dream by Carrie Underwood. The inherent melancholy that is found in much country music is in full force in the video clip, one which wastes no time in presenting the tragedy of its tale. Underwood displays some realistic emotional pathos as her character mourns her love, who has died in a war overseas. The transition from wedding dress to funeral attire avoids feeling too cliche or overdramatic, and instead feels earned via Underwoods performance. Just a Dream is a creative symbiosis between music, images and words that creates a total package.

Guns N Roses
Expense was no object for the shooting budget of November Rain. This visual mini-epic from Guns N Roses is one of the priciest of all time, but the end result went on to become an iconic snapshot of The Guns at peak power. Del James short story Without You serves as an inspiration not only for November Rain, but also its spiritual cousins, Estranged and Dont Cry. The subjects of infidelity, regret, depression and self-destruction are all present within the videos visual narrative. That said, audiences could also be forgiven for ignoring all this, given how freakin cool November Rain wound up being for an entire generation of rockers.

Sam Smith
This entry is another song with multiple music videos to its name. Sam Smiths Lay Me Down initially received a video that was shot inside of a casino. A video was also shot for the songs re-release for Red Nose Day in 2015. The second clip, however, is the sad one, a video thats actually been compared to November Rain, by Guns N Roses. This Lay Me Down includes church and funeral shots that tie into Smiths mourning of a lost spouse and lover. It works similarly well, proving that some music video ideas are timeless.

Rascal Flatts
The world of country music has often been a haven for heartbreak. Sad songs just sort of come part-and-parcel within the genre, and Here Comes Goodbye from Rascal Flatts is no exception. The video clip from this pop-country group, centering on the mourning of deceased loved ones, is stylish, featuring a snow-covered set and quality acting from its cast. Meanwhile, the songs arrangement feels somewhat akin to a hair metal power ballad from the 80s, complete with an epic guitar solo. This isnt a slight, mind you, but instead some nice connective tissue mixing the dramatic content of old school music videos with a more contemporary creative approach.

Queen
Question: Is it required for Queen fans to be familiar with the 1986 film Highlander in order to be emotionally affected by Who Wants to Live Forever? Were honestly tempted to say yes, but the honest truth is that this song one-hundred-percent stands upon its own two feet. Here, its the melancholy of the song itself that makes the clip demonstratively moving, particularly the magnetic presence of Freddie Mercury. The camera honestly loves Freddie and all of the Queen boys, but Who Wants to Live Forever hinges upon the bands earnest performance. Elsewhere, the version of this song featured within Highlander drives home the songs notions of love, loss and immortality in an even more profound fashion.

Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss[a]
Modern bluegrass icon Alison Krauss was no stranger to crushingly sad music videos. This was, after all, the same woman who sang New Favorite alongside her group, Union Station. However, this collaboration between Krauss and country artist Brad Paisley struck depressing gold yet again with 2003s Whiskey Lullaby. The imagery of adultery and alcohol use disorder is presented in a manner that feels both stark and dramatized, a story of broken promises and undying regrets. There is a glimmer of ghostly hope during the finale of Whiskey Lullaby, but make no mistake: this is the stuff of tragedy.

Martina McBride
We challenge anyone to listen to Concrete Angel, and remain unmoved. This goes double for its difficult-to-watch video clip, one that strikes head-on the injustices of mistreatment of underage youth. Concrete Angel is sure to strike a particular chord with parents, as it showcases how so many signs of this behavior can be visible to those in positions of power. Yet the video doesnt give any easy answers for why children need to suffer on earth, and why those who have suspicions fail to speak up. This fictional Concrete Angel may find love in heaven, but its little comfort to those real kids who dont have the fantasy of Martina McBrides lovely song to sing them a lifeline.

Good Charlotte
The pop-punk genre is one thats frequently light-hearted and full of enjoyable silliness. Marylands Good Charlotte decided to get a little serious, however, on their second full-length album, The Young and the Hopeless. The video clip for Hold On is a plea for those dealing with mental health stresses and issues to refrain from self-destruction. Survivors and family members join Good Charlotte in the video, and share stories of their loved ones. Its all affecting stuff, while the songs mid-paced composition eschews punks penchant for speed and aggression. Good Charlotte instead allows the message to supersede the music, and its a wise decision.

Steven Wilson
The musical heritage of Britains Steven Wilson is one steeped in progressive rock, and its true that the arrangements and complexity of Routine is seriously impressive. Even more impressive, however, is how the songs visual message tugs at our heartstrings. A woman who has lost her family buries herself in routine household chores, in an attempt to keep the emotional fissures from becoming widened cracks. Theres unfortunately no light at the end of the tunnel for this woman, or Routine, since theres no magic wand that can bring back her husband or children. Its incredibly depressing, and not for everybody, but the artistry of Steven Wilson and Routine is impossible to deny.

Hozier[b]
Considering this was Hoziers first major label video release, one may have expected him to pursue a flashier spectacle. Instead, he stuck to the lyrical tone and its message of religious institutions rejecting natural facets of being human, specifically, love of all kinds. Shot in black and white, the video depicts a same-sex relationship shared between two men. When one of the men is outed, the community descends upon him with violence and hatred. They storm his house, take him captive, and torture him mercilessly. Tragically, his partner can only watch, as outing himself would mean the same fate. It highlights the sad reality of fear and hatred that many in the LGBTQIA+ community face every day.

Modest Mouse
This video begins brightly, greeting the viewer with a collage of blurry, flashing lights. It fades out to unveil they are the lights from a motel sign, and then moves inside to a loving mother tucking her son into bed. This initial positive tone is soon lost, as it is revealed the video is moving in reverse chronological order. As the song progresses, we learn the true story of the mother and her boy, as the two spend their time driving around the streets of Reno. Ultimately, the video tears at your heartstrings as it is revealed that the mother had taken her dying son out of the hospital to spend some final moments with him.

Green Day
Released in 2005, this 7-minute-long video grounded itself in the harsh reality of the War on Terror. It tells the story of a young couple in love, dedicated to one another, who are torn apart when the boyfriend enlists to go to war. The tragedy is that he does so out of love, putting his life on the line to keep his girlfriend safe. Shes left heartbroken, as he broke his vow to never leave her and may die in battle. The video is intercut with scenes of the boyfriend in battle and his girlfriend quietly mourning in a field. Meant to promote free thought and peace, the video emphasizes the pain and suffering war inflicts on everyone.

David Bowie
Look up here, Im In Heaven. Ive got scars that cant be seen. The first lines of this song assumed powerful meaning upon Bowies death just three days after the release of this video. The entire video assumes more importance when placed in the light of Bowies death, as it centers on the artist himself collapsed and trapped in his deathbed. Moving slowly, the video presents a blindfolded Bowie, with buttons covering his eyes, frail and near death. It then rapidly switches back and forth between this feeble version of the artist, and the lively, dancing version audiences loved in his prime. Just before his death, we see a tragic Bowie, caught between cancer and the life he craves.

Kelly Rowland[c]
A song about loneliness, depression, and lost dreams, this video tracks the lives of three interconnected high school students. Opening with a young man descending the stairs of his house to see his sister with his distraught mother, who has a black eye, presumably after being beaten by his father. At school, he is overcome with depression and takes his own life in the bathroom. Fellow student Mary is overcome with grief at his death. An aspiring actress, her dreams are also crushed when she learns she is pregnant. Finally, the schools basketball star is gunned down by a rival classmate. Its a haunting portrayal of lives cut short and its a hard one to watch without tearing up.

My Chemical Romance
Known for visually stunning and highly creative videos, My Chemical Romance raised their efforts to new heights with this war epic. They invested one million dollars and shot enough footage to make a movie in order to capture the right tone and message for their tragic ballad. Representing love, comradery, and loss, the video intercuts shots of the band at a USO dance, and as soldiers storming a beach. Deliberately paralleling the Omaha Beach Scene from Saving Private Ryan, we see the horrible devastation of war. The terrified faces of soldiers losing their innocence and lives in battle is haunting, and reminds the audience what is truly sacrificed and lost through war.

Coldplay
This video is both beautifully sad and an astounding achievement in choreography. Presented in reverse narrative but also shot in reverse, it begins with Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin lying on a mattress, seemingly in bliss, but tracks backwards to depict a tragic car accident. In order to make it appear like he is singing but still moving the narrative in reverse, Martin spent a month learning how to sing the lyrics backwards. The end result of his efforts is an aura of haunting surrealism, which culminates in the final tragic scene. Martins passenger is shown to unbuckle her seat belt just before the crash, ultimately causing her own death.

Johnny Cash
We all know Cash had his share of sad songs, but its this video for his cover of the Nine Inch Nails song Hurt that may just stay with us forever. Cash and director Mark Romanek deliver a video that highlights the artists deteriorating health, as well as the wake of his career as it fades into memory. The video is set in Cashs home and museum, The House of Cash, which is now derelict, run down and closed to the public. In the dark, abandoned house, Cash performs with heart as the video is intercut with footage of Cash as a younger man. With both him and his wife June Carter Cash dying within months of the video's release, it became an eerie tribute to the man himself.

Soul Asylum
With this video, Soul Asylum intended to shock audiences and bring to light the truly alarming and sad problems of runaway and mistreated children. Different versions of the video begin with different stats but the core of the video portrays several connected, tear jerking stories: a child who witnesses his grandmother beaten to death by his grandfather, a young girl who is forced to become a sex worker, and eventually kidnapped and assaulted, and a baby kidnapped from its stroller. These scenes are intercut with the photos and names of real children who have gone missing. Its a moving video that reminds us of the many young, innocent children suffering in the world.

Moby
Taking place in an old-school video game and using the video game trope of lives, Wait for Me depicts the day of a normal man who loses health with every bad situation he finds himself in. The video begins with a silent breakfast in his loveless marriage and a trip through the monotony of his life to his boring white collar job, where he is fired by a heartless boss. Following this, hes beat up and left by his wife. Finally, the nameless man takes his own final life and chooses to exit the game rather than play again. Ultimately, its this character's normal, utterly unremarkable life that is tragically sad.




Do you find any pleasure in feeling sad? Or do you try to keep up your spirits at all costs? Let us know, if you feel comfortable to do so, in the comments.