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The 10 Saddest Sam Smith Songs, Ranked (Grab a Tissue)

The 10 Saddest Sam Smith Songs, Ranked (Grab a Tissue)

The 10 Saddest Sam Smith Songs, Ranked (Grab a Tissue)

Who's ready to ugly cry?

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Sam Smith has returned to the pop world after a two-year hiatus, and his music is more emotionally charged than ever. The 25-year-old has already had his fair share of heartbreak, made painfully clear with his debut album In The Lonely Hour, and he isn't afraid to transfer his listeners to an incredibly vulnerable and raw place. We at PRIDE decided to take this opportunity to rank his saddest songs... for posterity.

You're welcome?

10. "Stay With Me"

One night stands are not for everyone. Sam Smith's yearning over a Grindr hookup underscores his loneliness and desperation for someone to love. #Relateable

9. "Make It to Me"

One day the love of your life will make their way to you, but Sam's loneliness seeps through the seams of this song as he patiently waits for the one. 

8. "Good Thing"

Perhaps his most cinematic song, Sam cuts himself off from an unrequited love to maintain his sanity. While the guy makes him happy, Sam's only hurting himself in the long run by not moving on.  

7. "I've Told You Now"

Born out of the anger and frustration that comes along with not being able to tell your crush how you feel, "I've Told You Now" sounds like that drunken phone call you immediately regret the next morning.

6. "I'm Not The Only One"

Sam realizes his boyfriend has been cheating on him, but doesn't quite know how to stop loving him. The chorus includes one of his most heartbreaking lyrics; "But when you call me 'baby'/I know I'm not the only one." Whew.

5. "Too Good at Goodbyes"

In the first single off his new album, Sam sings about closing himself off emotionally to protect his heart. He told Zane Lowe it was about a past relationship he was in. "It’s basically about getting good at getting dumped," he explained. "I’m still very, very single. I think I’m even more single than I was when I released In the Lonely Hour, so I’m insanely single."

4. "Leave Your Lover"

Sam has fallen for someone in a relationship, and he's fallen hard. Unable to reel in his feelings, he basically begs for his love to choose him. "Set my midnight sorrow free/I will give you all of me/Just leave your lover, leave him for me." The music takes it a step further and makes it about a heterosexual friend.

3. "Lay Me Down"

Sam is literally saying "lay me down next to my dead husband." Doesn't get much sadder than that.

2. "Not In That Way"

Who among us hasn't been in love with a heterosexual? When you fall for someone who literally cannot love you back, you're setting yourself up for heartbreak, and Sam's pain is all of us at least once in our lives.

1. "Drowning Shadows"

Perhaps his most vulnerable track to date, Sam sings about drowning his loneliness in booze, fame, and casual love. But is it better to be alone or take love where he can get it? "Do I go home to nothing or stay out for more?/Give in to someone or lock down my door?"

Whew. Anyone else need a drink after this?

30 Years of Out100Out / Advocate Magazine - Jonathan Groff and Wayne Brady

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Taylor Henderson

Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one! 

Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!