3 of the Saddest Country Songs of the 2010s

Though country music serves many purposes, it primary goal is to tell stories. Sometimes those stories are upbeat and other times they are deeply emotional. We’re focusing on the latter group today. Check out three of our favorite sad country songs from the 2010s, below.

3 of the Saddest Country Songs of the 2010s

1. “If I Die Young” (The Band Perry)

“If I Die Young” is a personal eulogy made by The Band Perry. The sentiment about imagining one’s death is among the most somber. The lyrics are hard to listen to, let alone sing along to. Few of us are able to reckon with that reality. The Band Perry stares it right in the face here.

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

2. “All Too Well” (Taylor Swift)

Next up on our list of sad country songs, Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” has stood the test of time. Originally released in 2012, this ballad sees Swift pour her heart out in the wake of a breakup. The redux version of the song, released in 2021, adds even more narrative heft to the storyline. Anyone who has gone through a life altering breakup will know the emotions Swift is singing about in this track.

I walked through the door with you
The air was cold
But something about it felt like home somehow
And I, left my scarf there at your sister’s house
And you’ve still got it in your drawer even now

[RELATED: Billy Joel and His Family Attend Taylor Swift Concert the Night She Broke His Attendance Record at the Same Stadium]

3. “Colder Weather” (Zac Brown Band)

Sometimes love is not enough and other factors get in the way of an otherwise beautiful relationship. That’s the onus behind Zac Brown Band’s “Colder Weather.” The lyrics draw on a personal relationship of Wyatt Durrette’s. After going through a long distance relationship, Durrette received an angry phone call from his disgruntled partner.

“She let me have it,” he once said. “I hung up the phone, walked on the bus and wrote the chorus and the melody to the chorus. […] As for me, it’s a story of impossible love, where geography or timing gets in the way of it, and it’s just not possible.”

He said, I want to see you again
But I’m stuck in colder weather
Maybe tomorrow will be better
Can I call you then?

(Photo by Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock)