Most of us fulfill our need to have a sense of belonging by establishing friendships with either individuals or a group of like-minded people. We develop deep emotional bonds with our friends, sometimes establishing lifelong connections with each other. That’s why losing a friend, whether it’s through irreconcilable differences or death, hurts so much. Thankfully, there are many songs about losing a friend you can find comfort in if you’ve recently experienced the loss of a friend.
When this type of loss inevitably happens, and it will happen more than once, you will need time to emotionally recover from it. Sometimes, putting on some music and having your good cry helps. Here are 100 songs to get you through these difficult and seemingly unbearable times. For those of you who prefer listening to music on Spotify, we have the full playlist at the bottom of the page.
Table of Contents
1. See You Again by Wiz Khalifa (Featuring Charlie Puth)
| Genre | Rap, Hip-Hop |
| Year Released | 2015 |
| Album | Furious 7 (Original Soundtrack) |
Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth wrote this song as a tribute to The Fast and the Furious actor Paul Walker, who died in a car accident in 2013 before Furious 7 was finished filming. The video also holds the record for the most views ever on YouTube, with over 5.7 billion views, and over 39.7 million likes. Because Walker died before the movie was finished filming, they used his brother as a stand-in for scenes where they didn’t have to show his face. The song was played as the credits rolled.
2. Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World
| Genre | Alternative, Pop Punk |
| Year Released | 2001 |
| Album | Bleed American |
Jimmy Eat World wrote this song in memory of their friends Mykel and Carli Allan. The two sisters were avid supporters of the band in their younger days, as well as devoted Weezer fans. Being from Arizona, Jimmy Eat World didn’t have a place to stay when they first moved to Los Angeles. The two sisters opened up their homes and their hearts to the band and allowed them to stay. The title of the song comes from something the two ladies were known for saying. The song was featured in three films.
3. Lance’s Song by Zac Brown Band
| Genre | Country |
| Year Released | 2012 |
| Album | Uncaged |
This ballad from the Zac Brown Band’s “Uncaged” pays tribute to Lance Tilton, a drummer that played with the band a few times. Tilton was killed in a car accident in Northwest Georgia, and was the human embodiment of the old saying “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” As a matter of fact, Zac Brown uses that line in the song to illustrate how much he should have appreciated his dear friend while he was still alive. Still, this song is a beautiful way to pay his respects to his fallen friend.
4. Brendan’s Death Song by Red Hot Chili Peppers
| Genre | Funk Metal, Alternative Metal |
| Year Released | 2011 |
| Album | I’m With You |
When John Frusciante quit the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2009, they hired Josh Klinghoffer to take over guitar duties. “Brendan’s Death Song” from their album “I’m With You” was the first song that the band wrote with their new guitar player. The song was a tribute to the Los Angeles nightclub owner Brendan Mullen, who gave the Red Hot Chili Peppers their start. Mullen died of a massive stroke on his birthday. The vocalist Anthony Kiedis said that the song was meant to celebrate Brendan’s life more than it was to mourn it.
5. One More Light by Linkin Park
| Genre | Alternative Metal, Nu Metal |
| Year Released | 2017 |
| Album | One More Light |
I know that I can’t be the only person who sees the irony in Chester Bennington singing about tragically losing a friend when he committed suicide in 2017, leaving friends and loved ones behind. In the title track of 2017’s “One More Light,” Bennington sings about not being able to be there to take this person’s pains away anymore. Here also gets upset because people tell him that it doesn’t matter if one star is snuffed out when there are over a million stars in the sky. That’s got to hurt.
6. You Should Be Here by Cole Swindell
| Genre | Country |
| Year Released | 2016 |
| Album | You Should Be Here |
Cole Swindell opens this song by describing a picture-perfect day. He’s missing someone who is no longer with him. He also says all the things this person would be doing, like drinking cold beer and taking too many pictures on their phone to show off to family back home. He ends the tune with “Yeah this is one of those moments that’s got your name written all over it, and you know that if I have just one wish it’d be that you didn’t have to miss this.”
7. Black Balloon by The Goo Goo Dolls
| Genre | Alternative Rock |
| Year Released | 1999 |
| Album | Dizzy Up the Girl |
John Rzeznik, the lead vocalist of The Goo Goo Dolls, has gone on record as saying that this song is about a woman who is battling a heroin addiction and her partner, who is staying by her side and helping her through her addiction. In a situation in which art is imitating real life, the subject matter of the song is the ex-wife of bass player Robby Takac, who has overdosed on heroin. This is what more than likely inspired John Rzeznik to write this song, which peaked at the 16th spot on Billboard.
8. Who You’d Be Today by Kenny Chesney
| Genre | Country |
| Year Released | 2005 |
| Album | The Road and the Radio |
Although the person this song is dedicated to isn’t mentioned in the lyrics for “Who You’d Be Today,” CMA and ACM Award winner Kenny Chesney is singing about someone whose time had come up far too soon. He talks about how some days the pain is much harder than others, and wonders who this person he is singing about would be if they were alive today. He also says how unfair it was that they had to die so young. The only thing that gives him hope is knowing he’ll see them again someday.
9. I’ll Be Missing You by Puff Daddy (Featuring Faith Evans and 112)
| Genre | Rap, Hip-Hop |
| Year Released | 1997 |
| Album | No Way Out |
Famously known for sampling the song “Every Breath You Take” by The Police, this song was performed by Puff Daddy and The Family as a way to bid farewell to the late, great Christopher Wallace, otherwise known as the Notorious B.I.G. The song also featured Wallace’s wife Faith Evans and the group 112 on backing vocals, and featured Sean Combs rapping about all of the good times that he and Biggie had together, saying “‘Til the day we meet again, in my heart is where I’ll keep you, friend.”
10. Bad Blood by Taylor Swift (Featuring Kendrick Lamar)
| Genre | Pop |
| Year Released | 2014 |
| Album | 1989 |
When you say that you’ve got bad blood with somebody, it means that you don’t have a pleasant relationship with them. It also means that there are hard feelings of animosity and resentment as well. In this song from Taylor Swift’s “1989,” she talks about how she used to be madly in love with this person, but now there’s bad blood between them. In Kendrick’s verse, he says “I don’t hate you, but I hate to critique, overrate you,” which means they don’t want to give the other person more credit than they deserve.
11. You’re Never Over by Eminem
| Genre | Rap, Hip-Hop |
| Year Released | 2010 |
| Album | Recovery (Deluxe Edition) |
Anybody familiar with Eminem’s music knows that his best friend in the world was. Proof is a young aspiring rapper and a member of his other band D12. Although Eminem has mentioned proof and a few of his songs, this song was written specifically for him. Proof was murdered in 2006, and Eminem keeps his memory alive with the lyrics “You may be gone, but you’re never over.” Eminem says that he must have written at least 8 to 10 songs about Proof, but none of them felt right until he got the beat right.
12. J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva) by Green Day
| Genre | Punk Rock |
| Year Released | 2001 |
| Album | International Superhits! |
Bassist Mike Dirnt wrote this track after losing a friend of his in a car accident. In the song, he says that losing his friend made him come to terms with his mortality. He also says that he has learned to live life on his terms, but he still gives as well. He wonders if his friend lived his life to his fullest potential, and gave all that he had to give. He also knows that his friend is looking down on him, and he’s got to do the right thing.
13. Church Bells by Carrie Underwood
| Genre | Country |
| Year Released | 2016 |
| Album | Storyteller |
Carrie Underwood magnificently performs this song about a young girl named Jenny, who catches the eye of an oil tycoon and marries him. For a while, things go pretty well, until the man has a little too much to drink and decides that it’s okay to put his hands on Jenny. She decides to slip something into his whiskey and poisons him. She vows that he will never hit another woman again. The song incorporates the significance of church bells when they are married when she goes to church, and when he is buried.
14. Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac
| Genre | Rock, Classic Rock |
| Year Released | 1982 |
| Album | Mirage |
Stevie Nicks uses the term “Gypsy” in this song and as the title of the track to conjure images of being carefree, much like an actual gypsy. Originally slated to appear on Stevie Nicks’s solo album “Belladonna,” it ended up on the Fleetwood Mac disc “Mirage” as a tribute to Robin Anderson, a friend of Stevie’s who had leukemia. Not only did Robin have leukemia, but she was also pregnant. They had to take the baby at six-and-a-half months, with Robin dying two days later. She and Robin’s husband grieved together and then got married.
15. Bloodstream by Ed Sheeran & Rudimental
| Genre | Pop, Indie, Alternative |
| Year Released | 2014 |
| Album | × |
While Ed Sheeran may be a good-looking pop superstar, this song is about being lonely and using alcohol as a substitute for finding a suitable partner. This song also reflects an experience that Sheeran had when he was attending a wedding in Ibiza, which was the first time that he tried molly. However, instead of taking it straight, he let it dissolve any bottle of alcohol. This song isn’t necessarily about losing a friend as much as it is about preventing yourself from opening up and gaining new friends because of bad habits.
16. Gone Too Soon by Michael Jackson
| Genre | Pop |
| Year Released | 1991 |
| Album | Dangerous |
On his 1991 hit album “Dangerous,” Michael Jackson wanted to do something to honor his friend Ryan White, who had died due to complications from AIDS. Although the song was performed by Jackson, it was written by the songwriting team of Larry Grossman and Buz Kohan. A beautiful rendition of this song was performed by Usher at Michael Jackson’s funeral, which I think is personally better than the original. However, I chose to go with the original for this article, which was first performed live at the inauguration ball of President Bill Clinton. If you’re looking for songs about losing a friend to death, this is one song I recommend listening to.
17. Nothing Else Matters by Metallica
| Genre | Heavy Metal |
| Year Released | 1991 |
| Album | Metallica |
If you ask married people who their best friend is, several of them will tell you that it’s their spouse. That’s exactly how Metallica’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield must have felt when he wrote “Nothing Else Matters.” Featured on the band’s first number-one album of their career, this ballad was written by Hetfield to express how much he misses his wife when he’s out on tour. However, this song doesn’t have to apply to that particular situation. It can fit multiple scenarios, like if a friend moves or passes away.
18. Life After Death by Notorious B.I.G
| Genre | Rap, Hip-Hop |
| Year Released | 1997 |
| Album | Life After Death |
While this is only the intro to Notorious B.I.G’s posthumous album of the same-day name, it says more in a minute-and-a-half than most songs that are triple its length. The song starts with where the track “Suicidal Thoughts” left off, with Notorious B.I.G. bragging about sleeping with a young lady whom he shouldn’t have slept with. In the second part, we hear a gunshot and Puff Daddy mourning the death of Notorious B.I.G. Sean Combs was Biggie’s best friend and made sure this album was released.
19. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
| Genre | Progressive Rock, Classic Rock |
| Year Released | 1975 |
| Album | Wish You Were Here |
By now, most people have heard the tale about how the Grammy Award-winning band Pink Floyd had to fire their lead vocalist Syd Barrett because of his substance abuse and concerns about his mental health. With guitar player David Gilmour taking over lead vocal duties, the band experienced a sonic shift in their sound. This can be heard on the title track to 1975’s “Wish You Were Here.” The title track from this album was dedicated to Barrett, with the band expressing the sentiment that they wished he could be there with them.
20. How Come by D12
| Genre | Rap, Hip-Hop |
| Year Released | 2004 |
| Album | D12 World |
Despite the rumors that this song was about the discontent D12 had amongst its members, this song is just each vocalist taking a turn in their verse to air grievances that they had with people whom they had been friends with at some point in the past. For example, in Eminem’s verse, he is talking about problems he’s currently facing with someone who was a childhood friend of his. In Kon Artis’ verse, he’s rapping about a friendship that ended over a woman. In Proof’s verse, he raps about people jealous of his success.
21. So Far Away by Avenged Sevenfold
| Genre | Heavy Metal |
| Year Released | 2010 |
| Album | Nightmare |
Avenged Sevenfold is one of the most respected and beloved bands in heavy metal, and they have been for over two decades. The band, who has been nominated for four Loudwire Music Awards, made a lot of noise in 2010 when they released their album “Nightmare.” In the middle of all of the heavy metal Madness was the power ballad “So Far Away,” which what’s a way of saying goodbye to all of the friends they’ve lost, especially their brother, their bandmate, their drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan, who died of an overdose.
22. Hollow by Pantera
| Genre | Groove Metal |
| Year Released | 1992 |
| Album | Vulgar Display Of Power |
It’s not often that we get any emotion from Pantera’s lead vocalist Phil Anselmo besides anger, but this track from their double-platinum record “Vulgar Display Of Power” is certainly an exception. In this song, Anselmo is singing about a friend of his who was in a car accident that put him in a coma. Phil is saying how much he misses the person his friend used to be. Sadly, that person is gone forever, and his best friend is a sadly hollow shell of the person he used to be before the accident. This is one of my personal favorite songs about losing a best friend of all time because I’m a huge Pantera fan.
23. Say Hello 2 Heaven by Temple Of the Dog
| Genre | Grunge |
| Year Released | 1991 |
| Album | Temple Of the Dog |
As the story goes, Temple of the Dog was formed for Chris Cornell to pay tribute to his dear friend, Andrew Wood. Andrew was the lead vocalist for the Seattle band Mother Love Bone and died in 1990 of a drug overdose. Mike McCready, Stone Gossard, and Jeff Ament were in Mother Love Bone with Wood, and Eddie Vedder had flown up from San Diego to audition for their new band. He started singing the background vocals on “Hunger Strike,” and had instant chemistry with Cornell. Thus, Temple of the Dog was born.
24. Fall To Pieces by Velvet Revolver
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 Hi, my name is Kevin and I’m from Butler, Pennsylvania. I’ve been obsessed with music and audio gear for as long as I can remember. I started this website to help people find professional advice related to a wide range of audio topics. We have a number of Audio Engineers on our team who have been designing and fixing audio gear for decades. |