50 Best Rock Songs About Missing Someone Who Died
Rock Tracks That Hit Hard When Missing Someone Gone
There’s a quiet kind of ache that hangs in the air when a song reminds you of someone who’s no longer here. Not grief in its loudest form, but that low hum that sneaks in when you hear a familiar riff or lyric that hits the soft spot. You could be sitting in traffic or walking home late, and the first few chords drag you somewhere you didn’t plan to go. These tracks don’t reach for comfort or big revelations. They stay in that space where the loss is heavy but oddly familiar, like a conversation that keeps replaying in the back of your head.
Some of these aren’t even written with loss in mind, but they carry it anyway. A few love songs start to sound different once the person they echo is gone. Others hit because of a single line, or the way a voice cracks halfway through a verse. There’s something raw in rock when it leans into absence—the way distortion fills the air, how the sound almost pushes back against silence. You start realizing grief doesn’t stay in one genre either. It bleeds through pop, rock, country, and R&B songs that somehow land in the same emotional neighborhood.
These picks hold onto that feeling without trying to smooth it out. Some tracks come from places of anger, others from confusion or quiet gratitude. It’s messy in a way that feels real, like how people carry memories that refuse to fade cleanly. A few songs might not be literally tied to losing someone, but they still circle that space, still hum with the same kind of ache. Here are the best rock songs for missing someone who died.
Top 10 Grieving Rock Songs
1. 'Tears in Heaven' by Eric Clapton
2. 'My Immortal' by Evanescence
3. 'Hallelujah' by Jeff Buckley
4. 'The Show Must Go On' by Queen
5. 'I Will Follow You into the Dark' by Death Cab for Cutie
6. 'One Last Breath' by Creed
7. 'Candle in the Wind' by Elton John
8. 'Hear You Me' by Jimmy Eat World
9. 'Layla' by Eric Clapton
10. 'Angel' by Aerosmith
Best Rock Songs About Death and Loss #11 to 20
11. 'Mama I'm Coming Home' by Ozzy Osbourne
12. 'See You Again' by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth
13. 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' by Green Day
14. 'Broken Wings' by Mr. Mister
15. 'Black Hole Sun' by Soundgarden
16. 'Dust in the Wind' by Kansas
17. 'High Hopes' by Pink Floyd
18. 'Live Forever' by Oasis
19. 'Landslide' by Fleetwood Mac
20. 'With Arms Wide Open' by Creed
Popular Rock Songs Expressing Grief #21 to 30
21. 'Wish You Were Here' by Pink Floyd
22. 'Stairway to Heaven' by Led Zeppelin
23. 'Shadow of the Day' by Linkin Park
24. 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' by Guns N' Roses
25. 'Come Sail Away' by Styx
26. 'Nothing Else Matters' by Metallica
27. 'Mad World' by Gary Jules
28. 'Free Bird' by Lynyrd Skynyrd
29. 'Into the West' by Annie Lennox
30. 'The Sound of Silence' by Simon & Garfunkel
Rock Songs About Saying Goodbye to a Loved One #31 to 40
31. 'Losing My Religion' by R.E.M.
32. 'Don't Stop Believin'' by Journey
33. 'Where Were You Last Night' by Skid Row
34. 'Rocket Man' by Elton John
35. 'The Drugs Don't Work' by The Verve
36. 'November Rain' by Guns N' Roses
37. 'Fast Car' by Tracy Chapman
38. 'Runaway Train' by Soul Asylum
39. 'Bad Company' by Bad Company
40. 'Behind Blue Eyes' by The Who
Rock Songs About Missing a Deceased Person #41 to 50
41. 'Wonderful World' by Sam Cooke
42. 'Goodbye My Lover' by James Blunt
43. 'Wind Beneath My Wings' by Bette Midler
44. 'Danny Boy' by John McDermott
45. 'Iris' by Goo Goo Dolls
46. 'Hey Jude' by The Beatles
47. 'When I Come Around' by Green Day
48. 'Imagine' by John Lennon
49. 'Everlong' by Foo Fighters
50. 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing' by Aerosmith
© 2025 Carson McQueen
