Go Ahead. Sing Your Sad Song

Sometimes in a coaching session a singer will almost apologize the being attracted to mostly sad songs. I say, “Go ahead and sing the sad songs.” Lament isn’t a weakness, it is honoring something deeply important.  When it’s sung in truth, the singer and listener connect, time stops and there is healing.

Go ahead. Sing Your Sad Song.

Some pain doesn’t ask to be erased. It asks to be remembered.

In a world that hurries us past heartache, it’s easy to forget that sorrow has value too. But if you’ve ever loved deeply—someone, something, some dream—you already know: when it’s gone, it doesn’t disappear without a trace. Love leaves a mark.

It’s not always visible. It might show up in the way your voice falters when a certain song plays. Or in the way your breath catches when you walk past where someone once stood. Sometimes, it’s in the silence—the empty chair, the unopened message, the quiet after a goodbye.

That mark isn’t something to be ashamed of. It’s proof you showed up. That your heart was in it. That what you carried mattered.

For centuries, people have found ways to honor this. Lament wasn’t a weakness—it was wisdom. They sang their grief, gave it shape, let it breathe. And we do the same. When we turn to sad songs, it’s not to dwell in pain—it’s to honor what mattered. To stay near to the love that shaped us.

That’s what sad songs do. They don’t pull us down; they sit beside us. They whisper, “You’re not alone.” In those notes and lyrics, we’re reminded: grief is not a problem to be solved. It’s a truth to be carried. And we’re allowed to carry it slowly.

Whether the ache you feel today comes from a student who moved on, a dream you laid down, or the deep ache of someone you loved and lost—your sorrow doesn’t make you weak. It makes you real.

Some find comfort in the presence they sense in those moments—gentle, unhurried, quietly near. Others find strength simply in the act of remembering. Either way, the mark that love leaves behind? That’s not something to wipe away. It’s something to treasure.

So if your heart is heavy, don’t rush it. Let the memory stay a while. Go ahead and sing the sad songs.

Discover You Voice… Live Your Dream

RiverSong Reflections

~Patrick Cunningham