13 Songs Filled with Grief, Mourning & Remembrance

Reading Time: 13 min read

13 Songs Filled with Grief, Mourning & Remembrance features music courtesy of Alexander 23, Ed Sheeran, Foo Fighters, Kendrick Lamar, and Post Malone.

Sadness pervades 😭… and that is what this playlist is about! 🎧 13 Songs Filled with Grief, Mourning & Remembrance is self-explanatory – just read the title! All 13 of the songs dabble in depression or loss of sometimes. Maybe it’s trauma. Maybe it’s death. Whatever it is, these 13 songs serve as the soundtrack! Music featured on this grief-laden, mourning affair arrives courtesy of 🎙 Alexander 23, 🎙 Ed Sheeran, 🎙 Foo Fighters, 🎙 Kendrick Lamar, and 🎙 Post Malone among others. So, show that stiff upper lip, and let’s dive right into 🎧 13 Songs Filled with Grief, Mourning & Remembrance!

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1. Ed Sheeran, “Eyes Closed”

💿 – (Subtract) • 🏷 Asylum UK / Atlantic UK • 🗓 2023

“I’m still holdin’ back these tears / While my friends are somewhere else.” 😢. Folks, the 💿 – (Subtract) era is upon us! 🏆 Grammy-winner 🎙 Ed Sheeran returned in 2023 with his sixth studio album. 🎵 “Eyes Closed” served as the promo single finding Sheeran much more vulnerable.  He deals with the grief of loss, specifically the loss of his friend, Jamal Edwards, who died in 2022.  Edwards gave Sheeran his big break, so, his tragic death unsurprisingly affected him tremendously.  Sheeran pours his feelings into this well-rounded record. The rhythmic introduction marks a stellar start.  It’s followed up with lovely, easygoing vocals by Sheeran, who always sings with a beautiful tone. The melody is tuneful and rhythmic in the verses, despite the somber sentiment. The first verse features spare production, which is safe but quite effective, placing the focus on Sheeran’s voice. The second verse is relatively uncrowded instrumentally but more developed than the first. “Delusion is here again / And I think you’ll come home soon,” Sheeran sings regarding Jamal, adding, “But I lost more than a friend / I can’t help but missin’ you.” The main attraction is the chorus, which gets a harder hitting beat, and expands dynamically:   

“So, I’m dancin’ with my eyes closed  

‘Cause everywhere I look, I still see you  

And time is movin’ so slow  

And I don’t know what else that I can do  

So, I’ll keep dancin’ with my  

Eyes (closed).”  

Sheeran has always been at his best when he’s most vulnerable.  Pouring his grief, honesty, and vulnerability into 🎵 “Eyes Closed” pays off big time.  

Appears in 🔻:

Awesome Songs: April 2023

2. Post Malone, “Mourning”  

💿 Austin • 🏷 Mercury / Republic • 🗓 2023

“Don’t wanna sober up / The sun is killin’ my buzz, that’s why they call it mourning.” Ah, clever 🎙 Post Malone – we see what you did there!  The singer (the best way to label him these days) drops the short but sweet second single from his 2023 album,  💿 Austin, 🎵 “Mourning”. “Mourning,” produced alongside 🎛 Louis Bell and watt, finds Post in reflective mode, bothered by, shit for lack of a better word (“Got a lotta shit to say, couldn’t fit it in the chorus”).    

The shit that has affected Post Malone is substance issues – alcohol.  Part of the problem seems to be those “quote-unquote friends” who enable him, with him footing the bill of dinner, and them dragging him “to a party out in Malibu.” Things get worse in the second verse, where he asserts, “Stumblin’ down the corridor, came across and open door / Throwin’ up is easy and who put on The Commodores.” A brilliant reference to the famed soul collective, it also speaks to Malone’s alcoholism.  Despite his substance issues, which are no joke, 🎵 “Mourning” is sweet music to the listener’s ears. This is an authentic, honest, and well written single.  Post Malone is being true to self.      

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3. Kendrick Lamar, “United in Grief” 

💿 Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers • 🏷 Aftermath / Interscope • 🗓 2022

“I wake in the morning, another appointment / I hope the psychologist listenin’.” Woo! 🏆 Grammy and Pulitzer Prize winner 🎙 Kendrick Lamar kicks off 💿 Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers with a bang with 🤩 🎵 “United in Grief.”  Here, Lamar reflects on a wide array of topics: his career, money/drip, trauma experienced (including loss of friends), meaningless sex, and mental health.  It seems as if Kendrick has used sex and money to cope with emotional/mental health.  He admits, in the outro, “I grieve different.”  Notably, “United in Grief” features intriguing production switches (), which marvelously help to illustrate all that’s spinning around in his head. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is a challenging album, but “United in Grief” marks one of its best moments.  

Appears in 🔻:  

Mourning 😭: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 46 (2023)

4. Hayley Williams, “Leave It Alone” 

💿 Petals for Armor • 🏷 Atlantic • 🗓 2020

“If you know love / You best prepare to grieve.” The thoughtfully penned 🎵 “Leave it Alone” (💿 Petals for Armor) finds 🎙 Hayley Williams totally consumed with grief.  The record has an extremely somber tone from the onset, instrumentally and lyrically. In the first verse, she sings, “‘Cause now that I want to live / Well everybody around me is dying / Now that I finally wanna live / The ones I love are dyin’.” Thinking about family members dying – people you care about leaving you – is totally depressing and overwhelming. In the second verse, Williams is further ‘triggered,’ providing a specific example of loss:    

“You don’t remember my name somedays 

Or that we’re related 

It triggers my worry 

Who else am I gonna lose before I am ready? 

And who’s gonna lose me?”  

The centerpiece of the record is the chorus, where “The truth’s a killer / But I can’t leave it alone…” An underrated gem from 2020, period.  

Appears in 🔻:

5. Alexander 23, “The Hardest Part”

💿 Aftershock • 🏷  Interscope • 🗓 2022  

“I guess the hardest part of getting old / Is that some people that you love don’t.” That is incredibly heavy, 🎙 Alexander 23 (Alexander Glantz); it hits something fierce. The handsome pop musician shines on the sad but ultimately superb 🎵 “The Hardest Part”. Glantz penned “The Hardest Part” alongside 🎼 ✍ Amy Allen and Daniel Nigro. Notably, he produced with Nigro as well.  

The theme of “The Hardest Part” is grief.  Alexander 23 expresses his skepticism about releasing the record but goes on to say he hopes it comforts those experiencing grief.  He laments the fact that the person he sings about won’t live to grow old – their life ended at just 28 years old.  Glantz offers some poetic specifics in the first verse, asserting, “And the year is gonna get a lot colder / But you will always be stuck in June.” So, so sad! In the second verse, he recollects, “Yeah, I cried when I read / The last text that you sent / ‘Cause I’ll never see those three dots there again.” Of course, the centerpiece is the chorus, excerpted at the beginning, and commencing with the words, “I never said goodbye, and now it’s sinking in / The last time I saw you we were kids…” All told, Alexander 23 sings well, and the songwriting is terrific. 

Appears in 🔻:  

6. Sarah Brightman, “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again”   

💿 The Phantom of The Opera (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) • 🏷 Polydor Ltd. • 📅 1987 

Is there anything more heavenly than an expressive, gorgeous ballad from a musical? No, there isn’t! Furthermore, when that musical is one of the greatest of all time, 🎦 The Phantom of The Opera, there is no debate whatsoever! The Phantom of the Opera, which closed on Broadway in 2023, has its fair share of BOPS, haha. Among the crème de la crème is the somber 🎵 “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again”, which finds protagonist Christine Daae memorializing her father.  In the original Broadway performance in 1987, Christine was portrayed by 🎭 🎙️ Sarah Brightman.   

“You were once my one companion / You were all that mattered,” Christine sings at the beginning of the ballad, initially set in G minor.  She continues singing, “You were once a friend and father / Then my world was shattered.” Later, stricken with the grief of his passing, Daae asserts in the poetic text, “Passing bells and sculpted angels / Cold and monumental / Seem for you the wrong companions.” Of course, the centerpiece is the chorus, varied slightly each time it occurs, where the minor key shifts to the parallel major.  It is incredibly tuneful, accompanied by more enthusiastic orchestration:      

“Wishing I could hear your voice again  
Knowing that I never would  
Dreaming of you won’t help me to do  
All that you dreamed I could.”   

Also, the outro is worth highlighting, as Christine has closure regarding the loss. She knows that she can’t wallow in grief.  🎼 ✍ Andrew Lloyd Webber, you are truly legendary and brilliant for this one! 

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7. YG & Lil Wayne, “Miss My Dawgs” 

🎵 “Miss My Dawgs” • 🏷 4hunnid / Def Jam / UMG Recordings, Inc. • 🗓 2022 

“Man, I miss my dawgs / Thuggin’ on the block, really pistol in the drawers / Tryna make it out the hood, my dawg had a cause.” WOOF, WOOF 🐕! 🎙 YG pays ode to his dawgs, 🎵 “Miss My Dawgs”.  He is joined by 🏆 Grammy-winning rapper 🎙 Lil Wayne, who drops the second verse.  YG handles the chorus, which arrives at the top of the track, as well as the first verse. Fueling both rappers fire is a rhythmic, light, and reflective backdrop courtesy of 🎛 Gibbo and Ambezza. YG does a fabulous job of painting a picture of what his dawgs meant to him.  Early on, in his verse, he defines his dawg as “one who ride for me.” Furthermore, he later spits, “My dawgs kept it honest with me, no if, ands, or probablys / You ain’t my dog if we ain’t ever do no robberies.” Riders through thick and thin! In the second verse, Lil Wayne also misses his dawgs (expectedly), mentioning “Bad-ass memories” and making some epic dog references:  

“Niggas act like kittens, tryna scratch a nigga off 

All my niggas pits, and I spit like a Saint Bernard 

I don’t bark though, that’s my dawg show 

She a dog ho, she on all four.”  

Never change, Lil Wayne. This enjoyable, well-rounded track should add some bite to your playlist.    

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8. The Smiths, “Suffer Little Children”  

💿 The Smiths • 🏷 Warner Music UK • 📅 1984   

“But fresh lilaced moorland fields / Cannot hide the stolid stench of death.” EERIE 😱! 🎵 “Suffer Little Children” is the penultimate track from 🎙 The Smiths’ 1984 self-titled debut [Note: suffer is a related word to mourn and grieve]. The Smiths were an English band from 80s, led by 🎙 Morrissey, who later continued his career as a solo artist.  “Suffer Little Children” references the infamous child murders (Moors murders) committed by Ian Brady (1938 – 2017) and Myra Hindley (1942 – 2002). Morrissey mentions the victims of Brady and Hindley by name.

“Lesley-Anne, with your pretty white beads  

Oh John, you’ll never be a man   

And you’ll never see your home again  

Oh Manchester, so much to answer for  

Edward, see those alluring lights?  

Tonight, will be your very last night.”

Creepy. Interestingly, Ian Brady is left out of the name dropping.  Myra Hindley, not so much. Historically, there seems to be greater hatred for Hindley, who, notably, died long before Brady:  “Hindley wakes and Hindley says / Hindley wakes, Hindley wakes, Hindley wakes, and says: / ‘Oh, wherever he has done, I have done.’” 

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9. Chris Stapleton, “Maggie’s Song” 

💿 Staring Over • 🏷 Mercury Nashville • 🗓 2020 

🎵 “Maggie’s Song” (💿 Starting Over, 2020) sounds characteristic of 🎙 Chris Stapleton through and through.  The harmonic progression and overall sound reminds me of 🎵 “Friendship” (💿 From a Room: Volume 2, 2017). They aren’t one and the same, of course. Maggie happens to be the 🏆 Grammy winner’s late dog.   

“Somebody left her in a shopping cart 

In a parking lot for us to find 

Just a fuzzy black pup 

She was hungry and feeling alone 

We put her in the back seat 

And told her we were takin’ her home.” 

Aww 🥰! “Maggie’s Song” is a very touching record that should connect to animal lovers everywhere. The voices express the narrative. The chorus, the centerpiece, is on-point, as Stapleton sings, “Run, Maggie run / With the heart of a rebel child / Oh, run, Maggie run / Be just as free as you are wild.” Stapleton penned “Maggie’s Song,” producing alongside 🎛️ Dave Cobb.  

Appears in 🔻:

13 Intriguing Songs That Reference Animals (2023)

10. Bastille, “Good Grief”  

💿 Wild World • 🏷 Virgin • 📅 2016 

“So, what would you little maniacs like to do first?” Sigh. Ahead of their 2016 sophomore album, 💿 Wild World, British alternative collective 🎙 Bastille spoiled the listener with promo single, 🎵 “Good Grief”, a breakup song. Despite the bad vibes for front man 🎙 Dan Smith, “Good Grief” is definitely a triumphant way to kick off the album. Superbly produced – including ostinato piano and a dash of synths – “Good Grief” is blessed with the ‘pop bag of tracks’, most notably, a danceable groove.  Smith delivers his falsetto for the first time, which is a treat. Most of “Good Grief” resides in his middle register, with the spare use of falsetto rivaling dessert. The chorus is simple but plays a gargantuan role in the infectiousness.  “Every minute and every hour / I miss you; I miss you; I miss you more,” Smith sings, continuing, “Every stumble and each misfire / I miss you; I miss you; I miss you more.” Ultimately, “Good Grief” sets the tone for the greatness that is Wild World.   

Appears in 🔻:

15 Really ‘Good’ Songs… It’s That Simple! (2019)

11. Grizzly Bear, “Mourning Sound” 

💿 Painted Ruins • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2017 

“I made a mistake / I should have never tried / I took the cake / Finished every slice,” 🎙 Ed Droste sings on 🎵 “Mourning Sound”, one of four singles issued from the 2017 🎙 Grizzly Bear album, 💿 Painted Ruins.  Notably, the alternative collective returned after a ‘beary’ long break – a five-year hiatus.  “Mourning Sound” is enjoyable. Droste continues singing in the first verse, “I moved away / Still playing off the fights / For every day / I share our love delight.”  From the start, there is an intense groove, grabbing the listener’s attention, keeping them engaged. Within the groove, a hint of synth is perceptible alongside bass and drums.  Following the verses, the instrumentation increases, with the sound expanding, including synths. By the conclusion of the song, Grizzly Bear throws all kinds of sounds at the listeners. Vocally, Droste shines from the start. The structure of the song is interesting: two verses, with two instrumental interludes, following them.  The first two verses are written in similar fashion, eschewing complex lyrics, as excerpted above. While it lacks complexity, the simplicity is appealing and downright charming. The first chorus arrives after the second verse-interlude (“I woke to the sound of dogs / To the sound of distant shots and passing trucks / We woke with the mourning sound”). After the third verse (patterned after the first two), there’s a slight variation of the chorus.  Instead of “I,” Droste goes for “We.” 

Appears in 🔻:  

Mourning 😭: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 46 (2023)

12. Foo Fighters, “Rescued”

💿 But Here We Are • 🏷 Roswell • 🗓 2023  

First and foremost, rest in peace, 🎙 Taylor Hawkins. The loss of the incredibly talented 🎙 Foo Fighters drummer 🥁 was a huge one – devastating and totally unexpected. Despite the loss, 🎙 Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters decided to move forward as a band, releasing their 11th studio album, 💿 But Here We Are, led by the dynamic lead single, 🎵 “Rescued”.  “Rescued” was produced by the band alongside 🎛 Greg Kurstin. The sound is strong – dynamic, as in LOUD AND IN YOUR FACE LIKE IT’S SCREAMING AT YOU 🤘!!! Grohl is intense on both drumming and vocals.  He seeks to memorialize his late friend and bandmate, as well as carry on the torch.  “It came in a flash, it came outta nowhere,” Grohl sings in the first verse, adding, “It happened so fast, and then it was over.” In the chorus, he asserts, “I’m just waitin’ to be rescued, bring me back to life / …We’re all just waitin’ to be rescued tonight.” The record is a reaction to Hawkins’ unexpected passing, and how it has affected the band. It feels fitting that this song is the first single as well as the opening track from But Here We Are. “Rescued” is an honest and powerful statement by the 🏆 Grammy-winning band: “We’re all just waitin’ to be rescued tonight.” 

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Appears in 🔻:

Awesome Songs: April 2023

13. Commodores, “Nightshift” 

💿 Nightshift • 🏷 Motown • 🗓 1985

When a famous lead vocalist and songwriter leaves a band/collective, it can be utterly crushing.  Losing 🎙 Lionel Richie was a big hit for 🎙 Commodores, who’d thrived with him fronting them.  Of course, Richie would go onto earn a fruitful solo career which earned him four 🏆 Grammys including the highly coveted, Album Of The Year (💿 Can’t Slow Down).  Of course, Richie had been nominated for multiple Grammys while a member of Commodores. What’s shocking is the fact that the collective won their sole 🏆 Grammy for a record that wasn’t written or sung by Richie (Best R&B Performance by A Duo Or Group With Vocal).  That record, folks, is 🎵 “Nightshift”.

“Nightshift” appeared on Commodores’ 1985 album, also titled, 💿 Nightshift.  It’s safe to say that “Nightshift” was the big attraction on this album, featuring 🎙 J.D. Nicholas as the lead vocalist.  Also, “Nightshift” marks one of the final hits for Commodores, crossing over to the pop charts and peaking at no. 3.  It’s an impressive post-Richie joint, characterized by a silky smooth, hella groovy backdrop.  Thematically, the record remembers two iconic musicians, 🎙 Marvin Gaye and 🎙 Jackie Wilson, who both passed away in 1984.  “Marvin, he was a friend of mine,” Nicholas sings in the first verse, adding, “And he could sing a song, his heart in every line / Marvin sang of the joy and pain / He opened up our minds…” Of Wilson, he sings in the second verse, “Jackie, you set the world on fire / You came and gifted us, your love it lifted us higher and higher,” referencing Wilson’s beloved classic, 🎵 “Your Love (Keeps Lifting Me Higher)”.  Of course, the centerpiece is the chorus which references the nightshift – the afterlife for Gaye and Wilson: 

“Gonna be some sweet sounds, coming down on the nightshift 

I bet you’re singing proud, I bet you’ll pull a crowd 

Gonna be a long night, it’s gonna be all right, on the nightshift 

You found another home, I know you’re not alone, on the nightshift.” 

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Appears in 🔻:  

13 Songs Filled with Grief, Mourning & Remembrance [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; 4hunnid / Def Jam / UMG Recordings, Inc., Aftermath / Interscope, Asylum UK / Atlantic UK, Mercury / Republic, Mercury Nashville, Motown, Polydor Ltd., RCA, Roswell, Virgin; Alex Green, cottonbro studio, Gioele Fazzeri, Karolina Grabowska, Ketut Subiyanto, from Pexels]

13 Songs Filled with Grief, Mourning & Remembrance | Playlist 🎧

Published by the musical hype on June 14, 2023June 14, 2023