Top 10 Essential Sad Girl Songs

MsMojo

Grab tissues and dim the lights — we’re diving into the most heart-wrenching bops that belong in every sad girl playlist. From intimate bedroom-pop confessions to cinematic alt-pop laments, these tracks turn pain into catharsis with aching vocals, handwritten lyrics, and melodies that sting. Whether you’re nursing a breakup or indulging in late-night reflection, these songs know how to hurt—and heal. Expect raw honesty and replay-worthy moments.

Transcript

00:00I'll only hurt you if you let me

00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo

00:08And today we're counting down our picks

00:11for the most heart-wrenching bops

00:12that need to be in every sad girl playlist

00:15It's you, it's you, it's all for you

00:19Everything I do

00:22Number 10, Liability, Lord

00:30I understand, I'm a liability

00:34This is the song you listen to

00:36when you need someone to validate your feelings

00:39Lorde doesn't mince her words

00:41as she sings a feeling dispensable in relationships

00:44With emotionally charged vocals

00:46she conveys the pain of being left behind by friends

00:50as they grow weary of her

00:51At the end of the day, she's alone with her demons

00:54dancing with her loneliness

00:56I mean, I think, you know, everyone's always

00:58kind of thinking to themselves

01:00when is someone going to realize

01:02that they actually don't want to spend

01:05that much time with me?

01:06Yet even then, she doesn't shrink herself

01:09Liability is ultimately a declaration of self-love

01:12of feeling adequate

01:14even if everyone convinces her otherwise

01:16She may be heartbroken now

01:18but she'll always have herself to fall back on

01:21Baby really hurt me

01:22Crying in the taxi

01:24He don't want to know me

01:26Says he made the big mistake

01:27of dancing in my store

01:29Number 9, Lover is a Day

01:31Cucco

01:32Time change, we're different

01:36But my mind still says redundant things

01:39If the act of spiraling into a vortex

01:42of unresolved emotions were a song

01:44it would be this one

01:45Cucco's stream of consciousness

01:47is nearly a prayer

01:48driven by lush synths that sound like

01:51they belong in a daydream

01:52The lyrics hold the kind of vulnerability

02:03that will never reach its destination

02:05Our narrator is constantly stuck

02:07between baring his soul

02:08and hiding it away

02:09And the endless loop is mirrored

02:12by the repetitive chorus of the song

02:14Cucco sounds both dejected and hopeful

02:16which is the gray area we've all found ourselves in

02:20at some point

02:20The song is potent enough

02:22to awaken those memories in a split second

02:24and that's why it's dangerous

02:26Realistically I can't leave now

02:29but I'm okay as long as you

02:32keep me from going crazy

02:35Keep me from going

02:38What's a sad girl anthem

02:53without the devastation of losing a love

02:55that felt like forever?

02:57Olivia's debut hit paints a picture of young love

02:59that's not frivolous or fleeting

03:01Her lyrics portray the depth of the relationship

03:04and thus the pain of the betrayal that followed

03:06And I just can't imagine

03:09how you could be so okay

03:13now that I'm gone

03:15The track is strikingly candid

03:18enough that it sparked rumors

03:19about who Olivia might have written about

03:22However, its true strength lies

03:24in how relatable it is

03:25whether that be to a teen experiencing

03:28their first love

03:29or a grown-up on the edge of a midlife crisis

03:31After all, breakups hurt all the same

03:34no matter how equipped you may be to handle them

03:37Number 7

03:47Moon Song

03:48Phoebe Bridgers

03:49We hate tears in heaven

03:54Listening to this song on repeat

03:59has to qualify as masochism

04:01The lyrics recall a rocky relationship

04:04defined by push and pull

04:06that leaves our heroine begging for love

04:08Her devotion was in stark contrast to his indifference

04:11but even then

04:12she'd pluck the moon for him if she could

04:14Undeterred by his change of heart

04:37she holds onto a false sense of hope so fragile

04:40it could crack at any moment

04:42This is expressed musically by how carefully Phoebe sings

04:46So much so that even her pauses start to take on meaning

04:49Her gentle, raspy vocals are front and center

04:53as the track is stripped of needless ornamentation

04:56This rawness is what makes it even more profound

04:59Number 6

05:09Picture You

05:10Chapel Roan

05:11The Midwest princess's unique brand of sad and sexy

05:23is inimitable

05:24Picture You is neither innocent nor provocative

05:27It is a desperate plea to be seen and desired

05:30by the one person who matters most

05:32Roan's voice is characteristically velvety

05:48but there's a gravitas to it

05:50which is offset by the dreamiest falsetto segments

05:53The emotional journey of the song is similar

05:55It goes from sultry to lovesick

05:58but the ache in her voice remains unchanged

06:00This complexity is what has put Chapel Roan in a league of her own

06:04I was like obsessive for them

06:06and then it turned out to be just casual for them

06:08and that's why it was so shocking to me

06:11because I had pictured them in so many different ways

06:14So yeah, I think Picture You is like a somber song

06:20as long as a kind of sexy song

06:22Number 5

06:24The Night We Met

06:25Lord Huron

06:26Besides being a TikTok favorite

06:35this song is the classic soundtrack to a poor soul's sleepless night

06:39It's worth wondering what Lord Huron put in this song

06:43because it is downright addictive

06:45even if the tears it brings are unstoppable

06:48Evoking the type of regret that makes you want to rip your heart out

07:02The Night We Met will have you rethinking your entire life

07:05It lingers long after it ends

07:07and the listeners are left staring into the abyss

07:09watching distant memories flash before their eyes

07:12If you want to take things up a notch

07:14just check out the duet version of the record featuring Phoebe Bridgers

07:18Number 4

07:26I'm Your Man

07:28Mitski

07:28All songwriting is poetry in one way or another

07:38However, in this song

07:40Mitski masters that art form to a divine degree

07:43I'm Your Man is not your usual love song

07:46or even a love song at all

07:48It is written from the perspective of the patriarchy

07:50that looms over us all

07:52What Mitski taps into is her internalized version of the same

07:55That voice inside her head is unkind

08:07but rather than deeming it unwanted

08:08she comes to terms with it

08:10The track is atmospheric and even meditative

08:13but strangely unnerving

08:14That's the Mitski effect we know and love

08:17Mara is the demon god

08:20or a demon god in the story of the Buddha

08:22and

08:24the Buddha responds by saying

08:28I see you

08:30and then inviting Mara

08:33for tea

08:34and treating Mara like

08:35a special guest

08:37Number 3

08:38Glimpse of Us

08:39Joji

08:40She'd take the world off my shoulders

08:43If it was ever hard to move

08:47If you find yourself listening to this song at 3am on a random Thursday

08:51just call your ex

08:53Joji has a reputation for making the most devastating melodies

08:56On top of them

08:58he neatly lays out morally ambiguous lyrics

09:00that work even and especially

09:02if you were the bad guy in your relationship

09:05That's not a niche everyone targets

09:07and no one does it better than Joji

09:09In Glimpse of Us

09:22he's a little too honest about stringing someone along

09:25while being stuck on a former lover

09:27However, his voice holds so much pain

09:29that for a moment

09:30you almost want to root for him

09:32After all

09:33he's only human

09:34and so are we

09:36Number 2

09:45Video Games

09:46Lana Del Rey

09:47The Queen of Melancholia never misses

09:57As the inventor of the sad girl aesthetic

09:59Lana has tugged at her heartstrings

10:01from the moment she stepped into the music scene

10:03Her debut with video games was as strong as it gets

10:06Music lovers everywhere were instantly taken with her forlorn sound

10:11The lyrics revolve around an ordinary but unfulfilling relationship

10:24that Lana is settling for

10:26It's the life she has chosen

10:28setting aside her own aspirations

10:30Still, she can't help but dream of an alternate reality

10:33where she loves and is loved with the fiery passion she craves

10:37Without a doubt

10:38this song gets more and more poignant with time

10:41Before we continue

10:51Be sure to subscribe to our channel

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11:00If you're on your phone

11:01make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications

11:04The final boss of sad girl music has arrived

11:18The voice of our generation

11:20Billie Eilish has a way of reaching the deepest parts of our hearts with her music

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