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(#2) The Way
- Fastball
Pop band Fastball's only hit, "The Way," tells a romanticized version of a real story - about two elderly people disappearing. Lela and Raymond Howard left home in June 1997 to attend a festival in Texas, despite Lela suffering from Alzheimer's disease and Raymond having recently had brain surgery.
The couple was found deceased two weeks later at the bottom of a ravine near Hot Springs, AR, hundreds of miles away from where they intended to go.
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(#19) Ladies & Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space
- Spiritualized
Spiritualized's mastermind/lead singer Jason Pierce was in a long-term relationship with the band's keyboard player Kate Radley. Sometime in 1995 or 1996, though, she secretly married The Verve lead singer Richard Ashcroft - while she was still ostensibly in a relationship with Pierce. Needless to say, this was crushing to him, and he wrote the title track of this deeply sad record about her.
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(#16) Detroit Rock City
- Kiss
One doesn’t normally associate KISS with harrowing personal trauma, but guitarist Paul Stanley had that in mind when he wrote "Detroit Rock City." Stanley wrote the song about a KISS fan who was felled in a car crash after he went to see the band perform.
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(#13) Sister
- Prince
Buried on Prince's 1980 album Dirty Mind is "Sister," a short funk track about seducing one's… well, you know. Prince fans thought the track was pure fantasy, but when more biographical details about the Purple One started to come out, the song took on a weird, dark meaning.
It seems that a 16-year-old Prince spent some time living with his half-sister, who was 32.
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(#9) Nena - '99 Red Balloons'
While German band Nena had a massive hit with the poptastic "99 Luftballoons/Red Balloons," few people stopped dancing long enough to figure out that the song was actually about the tensions between West and East Germany during the Cold War.
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(#3) Joy Division - 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'
Deeply-troubled Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis wrote the band’s only real hit about the tempestuous relationship he had with his wife, Deborah. It also reflected his state of mind in general - and if the song did not communicate how depressed Curtis was, the fact that he took his own life just a few weeks before the track was due to be released as a single.
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About This Tool
Sad songs don't have to be based on real tragedy. But some hits speak the truth about the worst heartbreak things in life. Some of the most iconic songs of all time came about the real experiences of artists or bands. Breakups, divorce, friendships, betrayals, and mental health struggles are just a few of the life experiences that have inspired some of the most famous songs.
People rarely have a chance to know the intention of the songwriter or music artists. This page collates 14 entries, there is a collection of depressing stories behind some of the most popular songs in modern history. You can find more information.
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