Sometimes, the need for a sad song trumps the requirement to lose yourself in happiness. Whether it is sticking on R.E.M. when faced with a new break-up or looking towards The Smiths when teenage life seems to overcome every other emotion, sad songs provide a cathartic release for all musos and should never be shunned in favour of happy-go-lucky monstrosities.
There are countless songs that we tend to think of as the world’s most melancholy music; the two aforementioned bands, alongside the work of Radiohead and Sufjan Stevens, are always preferred go-tos. Yet, when you look at the data, only one song is deemed the saddest.
In 2022, with the help of Durham University music expert Analiese Micallef Grimaud, data company HappyOrNot worked to deem which can be considered the happiest and saddest songs of all time. While it may seem like fruitless work within an art form that is based on subjective preferences, there is some value to using science to help source the songs that will allow us to revel in our feelings, happy or sad.
“It’s no secret that music can profoundly affect how we feel, or that musicians can seek to express their feelings at a certain time or about a certain topic through their work,” shared HappyOrNot chief executive Miika Makitalo.
It should be noted that the songs selected are not necessarily the tracks that are found to be the saddest by an audience but rather which tunes, according to the data points, are best at expressing the emotions of happiness and sadness. “In my research, I explore how people, irrespective of their musical knowledge (if any), think different emotions should sound like in music,” confirmed Grimaud.
The top five happiest songs are likely very well-known to you. Pharell Williams’ summer anthem ‘Happy’, Outkast’s dancefloor-filler ‘Hey Ya’, Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, the rollicking rocker ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ from Queen and Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’. Considering the criteria, with lyrical content, and vocal expression high up on the formula, it is easy to see how these songs would make top billing.
However, things get a little more subtle when we turn our attention to the other end of the emotional scale. Few artists write songs that are so explicitly about sorrow, so the formula is working a little harder to pick out the tracks which best express musical misery. Yet, there are some familiar names on the list.
Pearl Jam’s 1991 anthem for unrequited love, ‘Black’ takes fifth spot. A band of a similar vein, Alice in Chains, feature in the fourth position with ‘Nutshell’ and Eric Clapton’s heartbreaking tribute to his son who died from a tragic accident, ‘Tears In Heaven’ can also be found on the list. Of course, R.E.M.’s anthemic ‘Everybody Hurts’ takes the second spot, but the saddest song of all time, according to science, is Nirvana’s ‘Something In The Way’.
Recorded on a four-string charity shop guitar, the track, recorded for Nevermind, remains a gut-wrenching tune. An ode to solitude, the song sees Cobain mythologising his childhood, neatly using metaphor to explore his own feelings of isolation and allowing one of rock’s most furious records to end with stark beauty.
R.E.M. were an American alternative rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia.
The happiest and saddest songs have been revealed, thanks to research into listener habits. Pharrell Williams's 2013 hit Happy is apparently the world's most joyful song, while Nirvana's 1991 track Something in the Way was found to be the saddest.
Eric Clapton's 'Tears in Heaven' is probably the most emotional song you'll ever hear. The song is a memorial to Conor, Eric Clapton's son who fell 50 stories to his death at the age of 4. Following the tragic event, Clapton went into reclusion for several months to mourn the loss.
Every person is different, and if you notice that sad songs are making you feel worse, it may be advisable to stop listening to them and seek the support of a mental health professional. However, research suggests that in general, listening to sad music may actually be beneficial for those with symptoms of depression.
But according to a team of neuroscientists from Mindlab International, the number one most relaxing song in the world is “Weightless,” commissioned by the British Academy of Sound Therapy, whose mission is to improve health and well-being using therapeutic sound, and written by British ambient band Marconi Union.
"Friday" has been widely described as the worst song ever recorded, attracting derision for its lyrical content and heavy use of Auto-Tune. The song became an Internet meme and the subject of multiple parodies and ridicule. Missing Andy singer Alex Greaves named this the worst track ever.
The Saddest Music in the World, directed by Guy Maddin, and written by Maddin and George Toles based on an original screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro (author of An Artist of the Floating World, and The Remains of the Day), is more than one kind of moving picture: an experimental film; a musical comedy; a story of family ...
Of course, R.E.M.'s anthemic 'Everybody Hurts' takes the second spot, but the saddest song of all time, according to science, is Nirvana's 'Something In The Way'.
1. Eric Clapton – 'Tears in Heaven' Eric Clapton's son Conor was just four years old when he fell to his death from the 53th floor of a New York building in 1991. Not long after the tragedy, Clapton and songwriter Will Jennings penned "Tears in Heaven" as a tribute to the child.
Here are some of the most recommended sad songs for grief: Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven. Sarah Mclachlan - In The Arms of an Angel. The Beatles - Let It Be.
When a researcher and a musical group teamed up with sound therapists from the British Academy of Sound Therapy, they claimed to compose a song that is scientifically proven to alleviate stress and anxiety. The track Weightless, by the band Marconi Union, has been dubbed, “the world's most relaxing song.”
When we experience real-life loss, or empathize with another's pain, hormones such as prolactin and oxytocin are released within us. These help us cope with loss and pain. They do so by making us feel calmed, consoled, and supported.
His study revealed that “Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys is the top song that makes people the happiest. Dr. Bonshor says the structure of the 1966 hit single checks all of the boxes when it comes to producing positive emotions in listeners. Other songs that follow Dr.
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