Heartbreaking Christmas Songs For If You’re Festive But Also Really Sad
I get that Christmas is supposed to be the season of love, joy, togetherness, and all that jazz, but it's also the time of year where there is the least amount of sun and seasonal depression is in full swing.
While I do love the festivity of the holiday season, I don't like having endless songs about happiness shoved down my throat, so these are songs that are about Christmas but are also sad AF.
Last Christmas - Wham!
This is forever a classic for those of us who prefer to think about the ways past lovers have scorned us while also imagining that we'll make better choices the next time around. I mean, it's a good fantasy.
"River" By Joni Mitchell
A song that talks about Christmas as a time when people are "cutting down trees", makes this a perfect sad girl Christmas song. I mean, the line "I'm so hard to handle: I'm selfish and I'm sad" will never not hurt me.
"Christmases When You Were Mine" By Taylor Swift
This guitar-heavy song is about a girl who can only think about how she's no longer with the person she loves this Christmas, and can't get into a happy mood despite the time of year as she reminisces about Christmases when they were together.
"I'll Be Home For Christmas" By Bing Crosby
Spoiler alert: the singer will not be home for Christmas. This song about a person imagining everything going on at home, assuring that their mind will be with those at home on Christmas even if they can't be there physically.
"Where Are You Christmas?" By Faith Hill
This song may be featured in The Grinch, but Faith Hill writes about feeling horribly disconnected from the holiday and wonders if she'll ever feel the same as she did during past holiday seasons.
"Merry Christmas, Darling" By The Carpenters
In this song, the singer has already set up everything for Christmas, and the only thing she wants is to be with her love. She imagines them being together even though they're far apart.
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" By Darlene Love (But Covered By Mariah Carey)
In this song, the singer begs their significant other to come home for the holiday. Despite everything exciting going on, she says that "it's not like Christmas at all / 'Cause I remember when you were here". Big sad energy.
"Christmas Makes Me Cry" By Kacey Musgraves
This song is about a person who just can't really get into the Christmas spirit, no matter how hard they try, and end up feeling lonely throughout the holidays every year. It's a ~vibe~ if you're feeling a little down this year.
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" By Judy Garland
This song has been covered more times than I can count, but the original Judy Garland version from Meet Me In St. Louis is the G.O.A.T. This song about hoping someday things will be better than they are now has a melancholic undertone to sob along to.
"Christmas Lights" By Coldplay
Leave it to Coldplay to make us sad. This song follows the story of a messy, angry breakup and what Christmas is like after: getting drunk and feeling awfully sad.
"Another Lonely Christmas" By Prince
Get your tissue box ready, because this song was made to draw tears. The narrator talks us through how he misses his one true love, before revealing she died on a past Christmas and now he gets drunk alone for the holiday. I am not okay.
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" By BandAid 1984
This song was recorded by a large group of artists to bring attention to the extreme poverty that plagues many areas of the world, describing about how the plentiful Christmas experience in North America is non-existent elsewhere. It's great for bringing some perspective to the season.
"Hard Candy Christmas" By Dolly Parton
This melancholic song is about wanting to escape your own life because you feel so hopeless and sad, barely getting through each day, with the narrator trying to reassure herself that she'll be fine.
"Blue Christmas" By Elvis Presley
This song has been remade numerous times and while it's not particularly downbeat, it's a sad tale of someone missing an ex-lover who, they know, does not really miss them at all. Elvis, deep down, was a sad girl too.
"Every Year, Every Christmas" By Luther Vandross
This slow jam is a ballad about a person hoping beyond reason each year that the one they love will return back to them, knowing their wish will not come true. Here's to us suckers who hold onto blind faith and get hurt every time!
"Lonely This Christmas" By K.T. Tunstall
This person remembers a lost love, feeling lonely on the holiday as she spends it all alone in her house. She thinks about their times together, wishing he was there to hold her. Instead, she's crying, and I, for one, can relate.
"Christmas Shoes" By NewSong
Prepare yourselves, because this one will hit you in the feels. This story-song is about a boy who is trying to buy shoes for her mom, who is sick and dying, so that she can dance in heaven tonight. I AM NOT OKAY.
"Cold December Nights" By Boys II Men
In this song, the narrator is a hopeful romantic who is hoping that the person they're into will fall in love with them, telling the person they want, "They call it the season of giving; I'm here, yours for the taking," It's a little sad, but still a little hopeful.
"My Sad Christmas Song" By Miley Cyrus
In true Miley style, this is a Christmas song written for the chaotic gals who miss their ex. Miley talks about flirting with Santa Claus and getting high to try and drown out the sadness of not being with her ex anymore. So relatable.
"Both Sides Now" By Joni Mitchell
While it's not technically a Christmas song, it's inextricably connected to the holiday after it was featured in Love Actually when the one woman finds out her husband is cheating on her. Pause for a moment while I cry.
