10 Best Songs With The Word 'Tears' In The Title

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Tears have always carried more than one meaning in rock and roll, from heartbreak and grief to relief, resilience, and reflection. These ten songs move through soul, rock, pop, doo-wop, and R&B, showing how one simple word can carry completely different emotions depending on who sings it. Some are original classics, some are inspired covers, and all of them use tears as a doorway into something deeply human.

# 10 – Teardrops – Joss Stone

The Soul Sessions, Vol. 2 (Deluxe Edition)

Joss Stone returned to the soul-cover concept of her debut with “Teardrops” on the 2012 album The Soul Sessions Vol. 2. The song was written by Cecil Womack and Linda Womack and first became a hit for Womack & Womack in 1988. Stone produced the album with Steve Greenberg and Steve Greenwell, with sessions held in New York and Nashville and orchestral work recorded in Prague. On “Teardrops,” Ernie Isley plays guitar, Pete Iannacone handles bass, Tony Royster Jr. plays drums, Raymond Angry is on organ, and Clayton Ivey adds Wurlitzer electric piano. Stone gives the melody a heavier, earthier soul feel without losing the bittersweet quality that made the original so memorable. The album debuted at number six in the UK, making this cover part of a strong return to the sound that first introduced Stone to a wide audience.

Read More: Top 10 Joss Stone Songs

# 9 – Joy Inside My Tears – Stevie Wonder

“Joy Inside My Tears” is one of the most beautiful deep cuts on Stevie Wonder’s 1976 masterpiece Songs in the Key of Life. Wonder wrote, arranged, and produced the song while handling lead vocals, piano, drums, and bass synthesizer. Greg Phillinganes adds keyboards, while Susaye Greene joins Wonder on backing vocals. The arrangement unfolds patiently, allowing the melody and the emotional weight of Wonder’s voice to carry the song. Even the title captures the strange truth that happiness and sadness can exist at the same time. On an album filled with famous songs, “Joy Inside My Tears” remains one of those tracks that rewards listeners who stay with the record beyond the hits.

Read More: Top 25 Stevie Wonder Songs

# 8 – Tears In Heaven – Eric Clapton

“Tears in Heaven” remains one of the most personal recordings of Eric Clapton’s career. Clapton wrote the song with Will Jennings after the 1991 death of his four-year-old son, Conor, and the studio recording first appeared on the 1992 Rush soundtrack. Russ Titelman produced the recording, keeping the arrangement gentle enough for the lyric and Clapton’s vocal to remain at the center. The single reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of Clapton’s biggest American hits. At the 1993 Grammy Awards, “Tears in Heaven” won Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Male Pop Vocal Performance. Clapton’s later Unplugged performance gave the song another defining version, but the emotional force was already there from the beginning.

Read More: Top 10 Eric Clapton Love Songs

# 7 – Tears Dry On Their Own – Amy Winehouse

“Tears Dry on Their Own” is one of the songs that best captures Amy Winehouse’s ability to place painful lyrics inside music that keeps moving. The track appeared on her 2006 album Back to Black and was released as a single in 2007. Winehouse wrote the song, with Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson also credited because the arrangement uses the musical foundation of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Salaam Remi produced the recording at Instrument Zoo in Miami, turning Winehouse’s original ballad idea into a bright Motown-inspired track. The single reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart. Instead of surrendering to heartbreak, Winehouse sounds like she is already trying to talk herself through it, which gives the song its unusual mixture of sadness and strength.

Read More: Top 10 Amy Winehouse Songs

# 6 – Here Come Those Tears Again – Jackson Browne

“Here Come Those Tears Again” appeared on Jackson Browne’s 1976 album The Pretender and remains one of its most emotionally direct songs. Browne co-wrote the song with Nancy Farnsworth, the mother of his late wife, Phyllis Major. That family connection adds emotional weight, even though the lyric stands on its own as a story about someone returning after a painful separation. Jon Landau produced the track, keeping the arrangement polished without burying Browne’s vocal. Released as a single in 1977, “Here Come Those Tears Again” reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. Browne had always written beautifully about loss and memory, but this one feels especially close to the bone.

# 5 – Tears On My Pillow – Little Anthony And The Imperials

“Tears on My Pillow” is one of the defining doo-wop ballads of the 1950s. Sylvester Bradford and Al Lewis wrote the song, which Little Anthony and the Imperials recorded and released on End Records in 1958. It became the group’s breakthrough hit, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Anthony Gourdine’s lead vocal carries the heartbreak while the group’s harmonies keep the record light enough to float. The arrangement is simple, but that simplicity is exactly what lets the melody and vocals stick in your head. More than six decades later, “Tears on My Pillow” still sounds like the blueprint for a thousand late-night heartbreak songs that followed it.

# 4 – As Tears Go By – Marianne Faithfull

“As Tears Go By” introduced Marianne Faithfull to the charts in 1964 with a song written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Andrew Loog Oldham. The song was created early on, when Jagger and Richards were beginning to establish themselves as songwriters beyond the blues material that had shaped the Rolling Stones. Faithfull recorded it before the Stones released their own version, giving her performance a special place in the song’s history. Her delicate vocals and the orchestral setting give the song a reflective quality that sounded very different from most of the tougher British rock records surrounding it. “As Tears Go By” reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart. The Stones would record the song later, but Faithfull’s version was the first to bring it into the world.

Read More: Top 10 Marianne Faithfull Songs

# 3 – 96 Tears – Garland Jeffreys

Garland Jeffreys - Escape Artist - Epic - EPC 84808, Epic - EPC 9600

Garland Jeffreys took the garage-rock classic “96 Tears” and made it sound like it belonged in the early 1980s. Written by Rudy Martinez and made famous by ? and the Mysterians in 1966, the song already had one of the most recognizable organ hooks in rock history. Jeffreys recorded his version for the 1981 album Escape Artist, bringing more muscle and a sharper new-wave edge to the arrangement. His performance reached number five on the rock chart and introduced the song to another generation of listeners. The cover fits naturally beside Jeffreys’ own mix of rock, soul, reggae, and streetwise New York attitude. This is not a polite remake; it sounds like Jeffreys grabbed an old garage-rock record and drove it straight into 1981.

# 2 – The Tracks Of My Tears – Linda Ronstadt

Prisoner in Disguise by Linda Ronstadt (2014-04-15)

Linda Ronstadt recorded “The Tracks of My Tears” for her 1975 album Prisoner in Disguise, with Peter Asher producing the record. Smokey Robinson, Warren Moore, and Marvin Tarplin wrote the song, and the Miracles had first made it a Motown classic in 1965. Ronstadt brings a country-rock warmth to the melody without trying to imitate Robinson’s original vocal style. Released as a single, her version reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also crossed into the Adult Contemporary and country charts. Her voice gives the song a different kind of ache, bigger and more open than the restrained heartbreak of the Miracles recording. Ronstadt built a career on knowing which songs fit her voice, and this was another inspired choice.

Read More: Top 10 Linda Ronstadt Albums

# 1 – The Tears Of A Clown – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

“The Tears of a Clown” is one of Motown’s greatest examples of happy music carrying a deeply unhappy lyric. Stevie Wonder and Hank Cosby created the music, while Smokey Robinson wrote the words after hearing a circus-like quality in the melody. The song first appeared on the Miracles’ 1967 album Make It Happen before being pulled from the catalog for single release in 1970. It went to number one in the United Kingdom and then topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. The bright arrangement and clown imagery make the heartbreak hit even harder because the singer is smiling for everybody while falling apart inside. That contrast between the sound and the story makes “The Tears of a Clown” a perfect number one for this list.

Updated September 16, 2026.

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