31 Songs About Being Lost, Or Feeling Lost

“Machete” by Amanda Palmer

Song year: 2019

Amanda Palmer released “Machete” on her double album, There Will Be No Intermission. Palmer wrote the song after the death of her lifelong friend.

This emotional song is about becoming lost in grief. When you lose someone close to you, like a parent, friend, or sibling, it can be hard to know who you are without them, and it can be hard to figure out how to live without them.

“How It Feels to be Lost” by Sleeping With Sirens

Song year: 2019

From the album of the same name comes “How It Feels To Be Lost” by Sleeping With Sirens.

This song is about depression, despair, and anxiety and how these things make you feel lost. The lyrics describe how mental illness feels in very visceral, physical terms. Relying on striking imagery, this song shows how personal yet relatable it is to lose yourself in depression.

“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2

Song year: 1987

Not only is U2's “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For” off of Joshua Tree a great track to pull up when you're ransacking your house for your keys, but it is also a song about feeling lost.

Despite thoroughly looking for years and years, the singer cannot find what they are looking for. The lyrics could be referring to love, God, or both. It seems implied that there was some promise or expectation here. If he believed in what he was looking for and had faith, he would find it.

But doubt has crept in. He still believes, but until he finds that thing he's looking for, he will be lost, still looking for it.

“Lost” by Meat Puppets

Song year: 1984

“Lost” comes from the Meat Puppets album Meat Puppets II. This song about being lost is one from the band Kurt Cobain loved so much he invited them to share the Unplugged stage with Nirvana.

The lyrics tell the story of someone lost in motion. They are lost on the road and lost on foot. Lost at high speeds and lost at slow. What they're trying to find isn't clear.

This is about getting stuck in the past and the sensation of being lost and removed and becoming increasingly disconnected from the world around you.

“Lost in Yesterday” by Tame Impala

Song year: 2020

Tame Impala's “Lost in Yesterday” from The Slow Rush is about exactly what the title implies.

Getting stuck in the past is dangerous. The lyrics here encourage the listener to hold onto the good memories, to let that nostalgia give you a smile and a warm feeling, but to avoid engaging in bad memories, regrets, and things you would do differently because you can't rewind time.

You can't change the past, but if you're not careful, the past can keep you from moving forward.

“Lost” by Linkin Park

Song year: 2023

Linkin Park recorded “Lost” during the sessions for 2003's Meteroa, but the song was left off the final album. It was, however, included on 2023's 20th-anniversary re-issue of the record.

In “Lost,” the song's speaker gets lost in their pain and regrets of the past and finds that he can't move on. Every time he tries, the memories and the trauma come flooding back, and he cannot change, grow, or find his way.

“Lodi” by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Song year: 1969

“Lodi” is from Creedence Clearwater Revival's landmark album, Green River.

John Fogerty found inspiration for the song from car trips he would take with his father through Lodi, a small town in central California.

“Lodi” tells the story of a failed musician. The musician was on the road and doing great, moving up in the world, and then, it all came crashing down. Now he's back home and doesn't see how to get out.

It's about being lost by being back where you started. It's the feeling of being lost because of regression. You moved forward! You were doing the thing! Then it all went away.

“A Horse With No Name” by America

Song year: 1972

America's “A Horse With No Name” comes from their self-titled album. Singer Dewey Bunnell was inspired to write the song by the California desert air base where his father was stationed.

This song is cryptic and has been made fun of a lot during its time, but it is a great song about being lost that shows the listener that getting lost can be a journey in itself. Being lost isn’t always a bad thing; it can help you grow.

In this song, the singer is lost in a desert and doesn't seem bothered by it. It's not easy, but he's just walking through it, seeing what he sees and going where he goes until he makes it through the desert.

He probably won't be the same on the other side, but without that experience, he would never have the journey to becoming more than he was before.

“Just As Lost As You” by Gomez

Song year: 2011

Gomez's seventh album, Whatever's on Your Mind, brings us to the penultimate song in this list about feeling lost.

“Just As Lost As You” is about a failed relationship. There was a misunderstanding, a failure of communication, or just an incompatibility. Things went wrong for both of them, just in different ways.

The song's speaker is telling the other party that he knows they feel lost in the wreckage of that broken connection, but he does too.

There is an acknowledgment here and a try for company in misery, which, more than forging a connection, widens the cracks.

“Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” by KT Tunstall

Song year: 2006

KT Tunstall's “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” from Eye of the Telescope is a metaphor for good, evil, and choices.

Tunstall found inspiration for the song from a dream and some images she stumbled on during a trip to Greece.

The lyrics here follow a woman who is lost. She finds herself in odd situations and has to navigate them without help to find her way and where she belongs.

It is about learning to make decisions and live with them. If you're going to come out of the woods, you need to do it on your own.

Best Songs About Being Lost, Final Thoughts

It is impossible not to feel lost sometimes. We may not know where we're going. Or we may know where we're going but not how to get there or stay there. We may get stuck in a hole we can't get out of.

Listening to songs about being lost or songs about feeling lost reminds us that we're not alone. Everyone feels this way. It also reminds us that finding your way is possible.

These fantastic songs about being lost tell us that we may feel lost, but we don't have to feel alone.