Available on the Just For Laughs YouTube channel.
"Sad" is one of Bo Burnham’s most iconic tracks from his 2013 special, what. The song is a masterclass in musical comedy, using upbeat, poppy instrumentation to mask dark, absurdist humor that satirizes how we consume tragedy as entertainment. Bo Burnham Sad
While "Sad" is from his earlier work, its themes laid the groundwork for his 2021 special, Inside . Tracks like "All Eyes on Me" (which won a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media ) explore similar territory—the intersection of mental health, performance, and the commodification of "sadness" in the internet age. Available on the Just For Laughs YouTube channel
Bo mentions a "homeless man named Rich" to poke fun at the irony of poverty and how society ignores it. While "Sad" is from his earlier work, its
A comparison of "Sad" to his in Inside . Bo Burnham - Sad Song Lyrics
"I saw a flyer for a lost dog and the dog didn't have any legs" or "a giraffe with a short neck".
The core joke of "Sad" is the subversion of empathy. Bo presents a series of tragic images—from "a depressed onion cutting itself" to "a homeless man named Rich"—and uses them as punchlines. By the end, he reveals himself as a "genius" not for feeling empathy, but for successfully turning suffering into a catchy song for profit. Key: C Major (the "simplest" and most common key in pop).