Sad Songs That Sound Happy

• Peter Seeley +3 — This fits the category to a tee and the lyrics are great.
• Regina Scime +2
• SamRobertsND +1 — Excellent pick, we need more S&G in Music League
• Claire +1 — Listening to the lyrics closely this go around, I was struck by this one. It’s more bleak than I think I’d realized previously
• Brad Stalcup +1 — I never knew the lyrics, but it definitely sounds triumphant until you read the lyrics. Good pull.
• shea nowicki +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Is this sad or stoic/dead inside
• ared56 0 —
• fionmul 0 — The guitar riff oddly reminds me of Deja Vu by Olivia Rodrigo lol The words are almost coming through too clearly for the happy song disguise to be effective but I’m so glad for a S&G submission
• Edward James 0 — To me this song sounds upbeat, but not happy. I have a lot of arbitrary conditions for this round, and you're gonna have to deal with them. I think the vibe here makes it clear it's not happy, truly.
• Spicey Riche 0 — Such a great song about a badass, but not happy enough for me.

• Peter Seeley +1 — Fits category and is well done
• SamRobertsND +1 — Wonderful
• Joseph Harvey +1 — Masterful read
• Edward James +1 — Again, a perfect song. Doesn't get better than this. Should be in a time capsule of the 90s. Similar to Hey Ya, you can hear the whole thing, and never even think about the actual lyrics.
• Claire +1 — It’s just such a phenomenal fit for the category, not to mention an incredible song. Would’ve submitted it myself if I hadn’t been beaten to the punch. A part of me thinks that if this really is the same one everyone else wanted to submit, maybe it’s too obvious a choice. But it’s too perfect not to vote
• Spicey Riche +1

• SamRobertsND +1 — Wow, this really nails it. Memento Mori.
• ared56 +1 — How dare you steal my selection for either “what did he say” or “songs to die to”
• fionmul +1 — This is one of the stronger submissions imo
• Edward James +1 — This is the only one of the ones I had heard where I had no idea it was a sad song. To be fair, that's mostly because you can't understand a single thing they're saying. But, I would never have guessed for many reasons. It wins the vote easily.
• Brad Stalcup +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — No song that is 90% obnoxious nonsense words could be that sad
• judd.baker 0 — Indeed I just assumed this song was about something happy and never paid any attention to the lyrics
• Spicey Riche 0 — Awesome happy song that I don’t find that sad.

• Joseph Harvey +2 — This is it. The heartbreak is palpable and it manages to make the sweetness, which could otherwise be happy, intensify the sadness. Masterful
• fionmul +2 — Oof good one “Songs that people sing to babies that are morbid” is its own category within this lowkey
• Claire +1 — Yeah, okay, this one is a good fit
• Regina Scime +1
• Peter Seeley 0 — I think yearny songs aren't quite the vibe
• SamRobertsND 0 — The romance songs don't impress me
• Edward James 0 — A great pick I just liked others more. I feel like people know this is sad but they forget anyway, which is a good hallmark for the round.
• judd.baker 0 — Does not sound happy (except maybe the chorus)
• Brad Stalcup 0 — I'm not sure this one *sounds* happy.
• shea nowicki -1

• ared56 +1
• Edward James +1 — The archetypal submission. I think this fits in a particular way because it's self aware. Literally critiquing that you can make a beat so good people ignore the message, or, as they say "Y'all don't want to hear me, you just wanna dance."
• judd.baker +1 — This is a brilliant submission. The very first listen sort of made me do a double take because I was confused what it was doing on this playlist, has to be rewarded.
• shea nowicki +1
• Peter Seeley 0 — I couldn't hear the sad lyrics over the "yaAaAaAaA"
• SamRobertsND 0 — Starts strong but the end ruins it for this category
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Not especially happy sounding
• fionmul 0 — There’s a version of this from The Voice Holland that she sings it sadly too. I recommend.
• Claire 0 — I feel like this is the obvious example of this category that everyone knows about, and therefore I have deemed it too obvious for a vote even though it’s a generational track
• Brad Stalcup 0 — The quintessence of this kind of song. But I'm afraid it's too obvious.

• Edward James +1 — Perfect submission, stolen from me. Congrats Sammy. Truly one of the best songs of the 2010s. I used to listen to this on repeat in my dorm senior year. To me, this song is like Jimmy Johns. Sometimes you think you don't want it, but then as soon as you take the first bite, you realize you were wrong. I have never listened to this without enjoying it.
• Claire +1 — Feels like an Eddie pick? This was perhaps the one this round I was most surprised by—that is, I really hadn’t ever listened to the lyrics carefully so I had no idea how sad it was
• Spicey Riche +1
• Peter Seeley 0 — Fits category. Good beat
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Lyrics are not sad enough
• judd.baker 0 — Does not sound distinctly happy. However Eddie you never fail to remind me of totally forgotten songs I used to hear on Atlanta’s mid-2010s alternative rock radio station, and for that I thank you
• Brad Stalcup 0 — Didn't much care for the song, but definitely fits the bill. Just ran out of votes.

• judd.baker +1
• Brad Stalcup +1 — Excellent pick
• Spicey Riche +1 — Any Blues Traveler song will get me vote no matter the round.
• SamRobertsND 0 — I'm assuming Judd is responsible for this Gen X slop
• Edward James 0 — I have heard this song maybe 100+ times and it was only deep in my review for this round that it even hit me that it's actually sad. Obvious on a re-listen, but I think that's what makes it great. You don't even care enough to notice, because it's so happy-sounding.

• judd.baker +1 — I almost skipped voting for this because it seems like perhaps the most obvious submission for the category (it was the first one I thought of but it was already swiped). But upon relisten I can’t resist voting, it really is perfect for this. Such an incredible bop and it’s funny because it doesn’t even try to disguise how agonized the lyrics are, it wears the discordance on its sleeve
• Spicey Riche +1
• shea nowicki +1
• Peter Seeley 0 — See comment on the above sound
• SamRobertsND 0 — The romance songs don't impress me
• Joseph Harvey 0 — This is following the tropes of a certain kind of pop song closely enough that it doesn’t feel truly or authentically sad. I don’t feel like I’m hearing about a real human experience.
• Edward James 0 — I love to hate and hate to love this song. It fits though, I can't argue with that.
• Brad Stalcup 0 — I thought about submitting this one.
• fionmul -1 — Not really sad in the way I was looking for here. I think the music goes with the meaning.

Peter Seeley: Just a fun song about people taking the train to work .... in the South African goldmines.

• SamRobertsND +1 — Fantastic! The real ones will hear the word "stimela" in here
• fionmul +1 — I have heard this lmao I think mens choir did it in college and I didn’t know the context which is indeed sad. Me gusta the song.
• Regina Scime +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Refuse to translate
• Edward James 0 — I ain't translating that. Banger though. There's something deeper here though, similar to American slave songs.
• Spicey Riche 0 — Not a happy sounding song. Just enjoyable.
• ared56 -1
• Brad Stalcup -1 — Man, it was hard to downvote this song. But a song of encouragement and perseverance isn't sad. Maybe the situation is depressing but the song sure isn't. Sorry.

• ared56 +1
• judd.baker +1 — Brad you like cool songs I’m glad ur in music league
• shea nowicki +1
• fionmul 0 — I liked this angle but the song itself is sorta insufferable so I can’t vote for it from a musical standpoint
• Edward James 0 — This one is a bit too obvious. I like when the title doesn't give it away. Did briefly consider submitting "Sell Out" tho.
• Brad Stalcup 0 — People are going to think i submitted this, but really I didn't because he's better off without her.
• Joseph Harvey -1 — Truly awful
• Regina Scime -1

• Joseph Harvey +1 — Phenomenal song and captures this well. Makes the nostalgia seem depressing
• Brad Stalcup +1 — Wow, did not expect BFS. Tremendous pull. This song is definitely depressing.
• Peter Seeley 0 — Is this sad? Sometimes dreams have to die.
• SamRobertsND 0 — I love Bowling For Soup
• fionmul 0 — I liked this take but doesn’t seem sad enough
• Edward James 0 — If you made this song today with the same "age gap" between it's release and 1985, it would be about 2007. Inspired pick, just so very narrowly beat by Hey Ya for me.
• Claire 0 — I’ve loved this song for decades and tbh I’ve never actually found it super sad. I feel like it’s okay to be a little too fond of the movies and music of your youth. But I almost want to give it a vote just for the massive serotonin hit I got when it came on
• Spicey Riche 0 — Sad song until I think about teenagers not thinking their mom is cool. That’s not sad, that’s right and just.
• judd.baker -1 — Up-tempo is not the same thing as sounding happy and this song actually sounds somewhat tortured

• ared56 +1
• Peter Seeley 0 — Not particularly happy sounding
• SamRobertsND 0 — good song
• Joseph Harvey 0 — In order for a song to sound happy it needs to sound like anything at all
• Brad Stalcup 0 — Maybe it's the guy's voice, but this song never really sounded happy.
• Edward James -1 — This didn't sound all that happy to me...
• Spicey Riche -1 — Not happy

• Edward James 0 — I like the instrumentals in this, but otherwise didn't speak to me
• judd.baker 0 — I really really enjoyed this but it doesn’t really hit the mark as far as sounding happy, kind of emotionally neutral in terms of sound
• Brad Stalcup 0 — This is the least happy sounding song on the playlist. Gives me chicago vibes, though.
• Spicey Riche 0 — Not a happy song
• Peter Seeley -1 — Doesn't sound happy to me
• SamRobertsND -1 — Downright wistful!
• Claire -1 — Sorry, this just isn’t distinctly happy sounding enough imo. A couple chords in I was already pretty sure this was gonna be my downvote