20 Best Sob Songs from the ’90s

Inspired by the suicide of their band manager's gay high school friend, Third Eye Blind’s lead singer Stephan Jenkins wrote “Jumper.” Jenkins says the narrative is a plea to the bullied and the bullies – a call for compassion. Over the years, the song has resonated deeply with the LGBTQ community and those feeling similarly dejected.

When explaining the song’s lyrics, Jenkins recalls having given money to a friend for medical expenses after she’d been raped. Unfortunately, as Jenkins explains, the friend never wanted to see him again once she’d divulged her deeply vulnerable situation. Jenkins understood and used the experience to pen the song’s chilling chorus. 

Like “Jumper,” Radiohead’s “Creep” is supposedly based on true events – an unsurprising notion given lead singer Thom Yorke’s innate creepiness. In the late ‘80s, while studying at Exeter University, Yorke penned the song about a girl he’d become infatuated with. According to the band’s guitarist Jonny Greenwood, Yorke even resorted to lightly stalking the young woman.

In true industry fashion, the band eventually grew to hate the song, sometimes refusing to play it at all. Despite their disdain for the hit, it remains Radiohead’s most popular single, a fact likely to boil Yorke’s blood. When explaining why he and the band resented “Creep” so much, the singer said: “It’s like it’s not our song anymore... It feels like we’re doing a cover.”

Dave Grohl wrote “Everlong” in 45 minutes during a divorce that left the singer-drummer temporarily homeless. The song, however, isn’t based on his relationship with his now ex-wife. Rather, it’s about his then-romance with Veruca Salt vocalist Louise Post. When asked about the song’s origins, Grohl told Kerrang!: “That song's about a girl that I'd fallen in love with, and it was basically about being connected to someone so much, that not only do you love them physically and spiritually, but when you sing along with them, you harmonize perfectly.”

Admittedly, the song’s riff is a Sonic Youth rip-off that Grohl “stumbled on” while strumming around on his guitar. Pleased with the sound, he developed the riff into one of the band’s most identifiable songs.

In 1993, after his girlfriend Amanda relocated to Ecuador, Billie Joe Armstrong wrote “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).” The homage to his relationship is filled with both anger and resolve as he strums the somber chords and shakily sings the song’s subtitle.

Though “Good Riddance” is melodically contemplative and serious –  a complete divergence from the band’s previous material – Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt dubbed the single their “most punk” production.

Admittedly, when Conor passed, the newly sober Clapton was thrown into a “wobble.” Though he didn’t relapse and instead poured himself into his work, Clapton recalls his grief heavily affecting his decision-making: “You know when you can look back and say, 'Oh, that's why I did that’? The same could be said about the death of my son in 1991 and me getting into the weirdest relationships for the rest of the '90s…I never saw a connection until recently.”

Originally written in 1975 by Freddie Perren and Christine Yarian, “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” was featured that same year in the film Cooley High. 16 years later, Boyz II Men covered the somber song for their first album, appropriately titled CooleyHighHarmony. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Motown Records R&B group dedicated the song’s video to fellow Motown artist LaTasha Rogers, professionally known as MC Trouble. The 21-year-old artist was the first female rapper signed to Motown. Unfortunately, she suffered from epilepsy and died in her sleep following a seizure on June 4, 1991.

Originally penned as a poem by lead singer Anthony Kiedis, “Under the Bridge” almost didn’t make it onto the group’s fifth studio album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Kiedis considered the despondent song about drug use and dejection too divergent from the album’s other tracks. However, after some convincing by producer Rick Rubin, Kiedis tabled his reluctance and presented the emotional poem to the band.

Unexpectedly, the song blew up and catapulted the Red Hot Chili Peppers to mainstream superstardom. Even now, three decades after its release, “Under the Bridge” – a brooding ballad about loneliness – remains the go-to joint for an introspective cruise through the City of Angels.

On April 5, 2002 – the eight-year anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death – the body of Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley was discovered in his home in Seattle. The lead vocalist died two weeks prior from a speedball overdose, and his badly decomposed body weighed in at only 86 pounds.

When pressed about which song reminded him most of Staley, bassist Mike Inez answered “Nutshell.” He expressed his appreciation for Staley’s “honest” songwriting, explaining that, with the song, Layne “really put everything in a nutshell for everybody.” Though the lyrics deal with depression, rejection, and death, the remaining band members often dedicate the song to Layne Staley’s memory, allowing the pain and sadness to keep their friend alive.

In 1990, while attempting to learn the mandolin, R.E.M. guitarist Pete Buck accidentally strummed what would become “Losing My Religion.” An improbable hit, the song and its accompanying video garnered massive praise and airplay.

Admittedly, the band’s bassist Mike Mills derived the song’s bassline from a Fleetwood Mac song, citing his inability to conjure an original chord for such a unique track. Lead singer Mike Stipe laid down his vocals in a single take, and the whole of the song’s orchestration proved relatively smooth. After the single’s release, Stipe explained its deeper meaning: “‘Losing My Religion’ is about someone who pines for someone else. It's unrequited love.”

Originally written by Gwen Stefani and her brother, former No Doubt member Eric Stefani, “Don’t Speak” was intended to be a jazzy, upbeat love song. However, when No Doubt’s bassist Tony Kanal ended the seven-year relationship between him and Gwen Stefani, the band’s frontwoman reworked the lyrics to mirror the circumstances. In 1996, it became the most frequently played song on American radio. 

Naturally, tensions in the band were high, and they considered breaking up only days before the music video was to be filmed. Instead, to remedy the strain, the band followed through with filming, even depicting the uncomfortable reality of the band falling apart.