Have you ever wondered why sad songs make their way to the top of your personal favorites list? What about those songs that talk about the things that you are feeling but you dare not say out loud? See, I have heard many times "why do you write so many sad songs, you know that you can write happy stuff to right?" Well, I am going to answer this to the best of my ability.
Let's start with why sad songs even make their way to our ears. Music has and always will be a form of art. To me, true art speaks to you. Many times in life we find ourselves alone and afraid of what's next. You know what will always be there for you when no one else is? Have a guess? Yes, if you said music then you are indeed correct. It's comforting to hear someone else say that they are struggling with life just like you are. Music is a sort of therapy for many, and in fact, it is for me.
What about those things you want to say but you just won't? It's funny how with music and other forms of art you have a little wiggle room to say some pretty intense things without anyone trying to send you to the loony bin. The truth is it's because many people have often had the same thoughts and just don't want to admit it. In a song you can describe everything from love to self- hate, and the reasons you feel that way, without the judgment of your peers.
I'll be honest some days I listen to sad music when I'm not even sad. Those songs still speak to the part of me that is still afraid and alone even though they aren't at the surface. I remember many days putting on my headphones and listening to "You Be The Anchor That Keeps my Feet On The Ground." by Mayday Parade, just because of the fact that life made sense when I listened to it. Now one part of that song that always stuck with me is when in the chorus it says "I could stand here for hours. Just to ask God the question, 'Is everyone here make-believe?' With a tear in His voice, He says, 'Son, that's the question.' Does this deafening silence mean nothing to no one but me? ". It just makes me stop and think if I feel alone, how much more alone does God feel being reject by not only the ones he created but the ones he came to earth and was brutally slaughtered for?
All in all, the answer to "why sad songs?" is because it makes you feel. It makes you feel the things that everyone tries to tell you to bury and to forget. When the world tells you to become numb to the cruelty around you, these songs remind you that it's okay to feel. The depths at which humans feel emotions and empathize with each other is the one thing that sets us apart from the rest of creation. It is what makes us one as humanity. I believe that if the world would start appreciating sad songs, that we would once again learn to love and empathize with each other again. In the end, if music doesn't make you feel, then is it really music or is it instead a noisy distraction stuff, with propaganda about a lifestyle that is but a fantasy?
