An estimated 10 million Americans experience seasonal depression, or Seasonal Affective Disorder. Whether you’re part of that group or the weather just simply has you down, you need the perfect sad girl autumn playlist, one that lets you sink into your feelings and gives you a true moment of catharsis. Here are my top song recommendations and the lyrics that make them essentials:
“All Too Well (Sad Girl Autumn Version) [Recorded at Long Pond Studios]” — Taylor Swift
You can’t have a sad girl autumn playlist without the namesake herself. This is the first song I’d add to any fall playlist, no question. This version of “All Too Well” somehow hits even deeper than the original, touching the soul in an almost unbearably heartbreaking way. If you love the original but haven’t heard this version yet, trust me when I say your life is about to change.
Favorite lyric: “Time won’t fly, it’s like I’m paralyzed by it. I’d like to be my old self again, but I’m still tryin’ to find it.”
“Pain Is Cold Water (Live From Fenway Park)” — Noah Kahan
This might be one of Noah Kahan’s best songs, which is saying something, considering he doesn’t really miss. To me, it perfectly embodies fall and all the emotions that come with it. I usually don’t prefer live versions, but the raw vocals and the sound of the crowd at just the right moments does it for me. The following lyric is one of those that really just makes me envious that I didn’t think of it first.
Favorite lyric: “And, if love was contagious, I might be immune to it. Pain’s like cold water, your brain just gets used to it.”
“Sidelines” — Phoebe Bridgers
Honestly, almost any Phoebe song works on this playlist, but this one feels especially fitting. It had its viral moment on TikTok a few months back, but let me clear something up: this song is my song. No one else is allowed to listen to it BUT me. Kidding, obviously (sort of). I think everyone knows that feeling when one of your favorite songs goes viral, and now all of a sudden everyone’s either “the biggest fan” of that song or calling it “TikTok music.”
Honestly, it probably cracks the list of the bottom five worst feelings. That was me with “Sidelines.” But as much as I want to gatekeep it…things go viral for a reason. This song is really, really good. Sometimes I’m convinced Phoebe Bridgers placed cameras in my house or a microchip in my brain and used my life as inspiration, because every lyric hits exactly where it hurts.
Favorite lyric:
“Watching the world from the sidelines, Had nothing to prove,’Til you came into my life,
Gave me something to lose…”
“Last Goodbye” — Jeff Buckley
While “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” 110% deserves its flowers, “Last Goodbye” from the same album, Grace, is wildly underrated. Even though it’s often overlooked, I truly believe it holds its own with Buckley’s familiar way of writing breathtaking, yet devastating lyrics.
Favorite lyric: “Kiss me, please, kiss me. But kiss me out of desire, babe, not consolation. Oh, you know it makes me so angry, ‘Cause I know that in time, I’ll only make you cry.”
“Black Friday” — Tom Odell
There were so many songs I could’ve chosen for this final spot, but “Black Friday” needed to be here. Odell has a way of being unkind with himself, and that self-critique hits hard for me, and likely anyone who’s ever felt not-enough.
Favorite lyric: “I wanna better body, I want better skin. I wanna be perfect like all your other friends.”
This is one of those songs you absolutely cannot listen to when you’re in a good mood because it will ruin that mood in seconds (in the best way possible).
I could add at least 100 more songs to this playlist, but these five capture what I believe to be the true heart of “sad girl autumn.” As the season gets colder, remember: it’s okay to feel sad. It’s okay to let yourself feel it fully. But also remember that the sadness you’re feeling now is temporary, no matter what it seems like. Warmer days always come back around.