Have you ever felt such deep emotional pain that nothing helps except sitting in a rainy window and listening to “Someone Like You” by Adele on repeat? There’s something scientific about that, actually. According to a recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Pain Research, listening to sad, bittersweet songs can help some people feel less pain, at least physically.
Videos by American Songwriter
The study itself asked 63 young adults to pick out their two favorite songs, according to a report from WESH out of Orlando. The participants also had to choose one song from a selection of relaxing music that the researchers provided.
Each participant went through a 7-minute block of staring at a screen while their favorite songs played, the researcher-chosen song played, or a scramble of all three songs played. A different 7-minute block had participants sitting in silence, while during both blocks, researchers placed a hot object on participants’ inner forearms, the equivalent of a “boiling hot teacup,” according to the report.
What did the study find, exactly? Apparently, participants felt less pain when they were listening to their favorite songs, in comparison to sitting in silence or listening to a strange mash-up of noise. Specifically, it’s those bittersweet songs that can relieve the most pain, according to how participants rated their pain after the study.
“It’s a very cool result,” said Darius Valevicius, lead study author and doctoral student of neurosciences at the University of Montreal. “I think it’s something that myself and probably many people intuitively pick up on why we listen to bittersweet, melancholic or even spiritual music.”
The reason melancholy, bittersweet, or moving music may affect pain the most is because of chills, or the shivers we get when we listen to truly emotion-inducing music. According to Valevicius, those chills may create minor pain-blocking effects. The hypothesis comes down to something called “sensory gating.” That is, when the brain is sending signals to the body, it’s simply tuning into the chills from the music instead and blocking the pain signals.
“When people are listening to music they enjoy, by our measurements it can reduce the pain that we’re feeling by 10%,” said Patrick Stroman, a professor of biomedical and molecular sciences at Queen’s University. He was not involved in the study, but has done his own research into the relationship between music and pain. He also clarified that music is not enough of a pain reliever to forego medication or medical treatment.
Whether it’s “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol, “How to Save a Life” by The Fray, or “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis, a bittersweet song has been proven to reduce physical pain, at least by a little bit. So, what about our favorite sad songs? The American Songwriter staff got together to share our go-to sad songs for bittersweet times, and the results are as varied and unique as our team.
American Songwriter Weighs In: Sad Songs Edition
Editor-in-Chief Lisa Konicki started us off by sharing that “Leader of the Band” by Dan Fogelberg reminds her of her father. “It always made me think of my dad and hopefully making him proud,” she said.
Dean Moore likes Harry Nilsson’s “Save the Last Dance for Me” for sad times. “Unlike the confident original by The Drifters, Harry Nilsson’s “Save the Last Dance for Me” suggests he knows his lady would much prefer going home with one of the interlopers she’d been dancing and flirting with that night,” Dean said. “His voice sounds excruciatingly downtrodden not only because of the sentiment, but because he’d permanently blown out his previously divine voice trying to impress the producer of the song, John Lennon.”
Annie Reuter shared “The House That Built Me” by Miranda Lambert. “The song always was a powerful one to me,” Annie began, “but when my parents moved out of my childhood home three years ago I can’t listen to the song and not cry. Brings back so many memories!”
Jake Uitti said “Mad World” by Gary Jules is “the most serene sad song on Earth. Touching and mesmerizing. It’s the song that makes me reflect on life most of all. It’s what a single tear sounds like.”
Lorie Liebig chose “Space Cowboy” by Kacey Musgraves, saying, “Golden Hour is one of my favorite albums of all time because of its dreamy production and sharp, relatable lyricism. Singing ‘Space Cowboy’ at the top of my lungs while crying it out helped me get through some traumatic chapters of heartbreak in my twenties. Although I’m in a much happier place now, Musgraves’ powerful vocal delivery takes me right back to those painful but formative moments.”
Another Kacey Musgraves fan, Cillea Houghton chose “Mother,” saying it “always makes me think of my mom and grandmother (who I live more than 1,100 miles away from) and is so beautifully heartbreaking. This song never fails to bring tears to my eyes.”
It’s “Dark End of the Street” by Percy Sledge (originally by James Carr) for Tina Eves, who said, “‘Dark End of the Street’ is the pain and tragedy of a love not meant to be—They’re gonna find us / You and me / At the dark end of the street—and the only place they’ll meet. Written by Dan Penn and Chips Moman and first recorded by James Carr in 1967, Percy Sledge’s 1967 version of ‘Dark End of the Street’ made it even more heartbreaking as did The Afghan Whigs in 1993.”
Alex Hopper chose “This Time Tomorrow” by Brandi Carlile, saying, “This song is more bittersweet than intensely sad, but it acts as a sonic hand to hold during those somber moments. Carlile sings about picking up the pieces of yourself after falling apart in the most soul-touching way possible.”
Matt Friedlander went with American Music Club’s “Blue and Grey Shirt,” saying, “American Music Club frontman Mark Eitzel is known for writing sad and beautiful songs, and ‘Blue and Grey Shirt’ might be his most heartbreaking and delicately pretty of all. I believe he wrote the song about the loss of a close friend who died of AIDS, although for me, it evokes sad thoughts of losing close family members, as well as emotional breakups and unrequited relationships.”
Meanwhile, Clayton Edwards has a soft spot for “Follow You To Virgie” by Tyler Childers. “The song reminds me so much of my late mother-in-law and close friend,” he said. “I can’t hear the song without crying, but it also puts a smile on my face.”
As for this author? It’s got to be “Tallahassee” by The Mountain Goats. Tallahassee the 2003 album is this author’s favorite—followed closely by The Sunset Tree, so “Love, Love, Love” is a personal favorite as well—and there’s something about the lines “There are loose ends by the score / What did I come down here for? / You,” that scratches a bittersweet, romantic itch that the author has always had. Her advice? “Take two ‘Tallahassees’ and call me in the morning.”
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
