The 50 Saddest Country Songs of All Time, Ranked
Each one of country music’s 50 saddest songs is unique, but they all have one important thing in common: They all tell a powerful, tear-jerking story.
Some of those stories are on topics that don’t get explored quite enough: For example, Sunny Sweeney opens up about the pain of infertility and miscarriage in “Bottle by My Bed,” and Chris Stapleton tributes the life of a beloved family dog in “Maggie’s Song.”
Others share powerfully emotional takes on life’s most universal struggles: Grief, heartbreak and the eventuality of death. Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan and Vince Gill are just a few of the artists who have released songs that perfectly express sadness, no matter what kind of hard times their listeners might be going through.
Some of these songs find beauty in the experience of sadness, while others feel more hopeless. No matter what stage of pain and grief you’re going through, however, there’s a song that’s just right on this list.
Flip through the gallery below for Taste of Country’s definitive list of the saddest country songs of all time, and let us know which great sad songs we missed in the comments section.
The 50 Saddest Country Songs of All Time
Each one of the 50 saddest country songs of all time tells a story. Some of those stories are about the pain of heartbreak, while others explore the grief of losing a loved one. Some are about more unconventional subject matter — from infertility to the loss of the beloved family dog — while others tap into the universal subjects of heartbreak and loneliness. Flip through the gallery below for a list of the saddest country songs, ever.
