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10 songs that feel like Suffer the Children

Matched to Suffer the Children by Tears for Fears on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

Suffer the Children
The song you love
Suffer the Children
Tears for Fears
moderate 42/100 intensity 115 BPM
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Standing Around Crying — Muddy Waters moderate 105 BPM

A 95% feel-match — carries the same emotional pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100).

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Ms. Jackson — Outkast moderate 92 BPM

94% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (44/100). Same layered texture.

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I Can't Stand the Rain — Tina Turner moderate 92 BPM

Keeps the same emotional pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (44/100). Measured 94% alike.

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Tears of a Clown — Iron Maiden moderate 112 BPM

Measures 94% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (45/100). Same layered texture.

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Good God Damn — Arcade Fire moderate 105 BPM

A 98% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100).

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Can't You Hear Me Calling — Bill Monroe safe 120 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (45/100). Same layered texture.

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Mother Stands for Comfort — Kate Bush moderate 110 BPM

Keeps the same emotional pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100). Measured 95% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (110 BPM).

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World Without Tears — Lucinda Williams moderate 85 BPM

Measures 93% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (43/100). Same layered texture.

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Still Doin' Time — George Jones moderate 92 BPM

A 93% feel-match — carries the same emotional pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (44/100).

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Nobody's Diary — Yazoo moderate 129 BPM

95% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (47/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when Suffer the Children is more than you want right now.

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When All Is Said and Done — ABBA safe 102 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it stays in our safe band start to finish. Intensity 39/100, down from 42.

That's All by Genesis
That's All — Genesis safe 104 BPM

It stays in our safe band start to finish, so it lands at 40/100 — the pull without the edge.

If I Were a Boy by Beyoncé
If I Were a Boy — Beyoncé safe 92 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 28/100.

Speed of the Sound of Loneliness by John Prine
Speed of the Sound of Loneliness — John Prine safe 85 BPM

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 16/100, versus the original's 42.

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The Tree of Forgiveness — John Prine safe 90 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 21/100, down from 42.

Honky Tonk Blues by Hank Williams
Honky Tonk Blues — Hank Williams safe 90 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 25/100 — the pull without the edge.

Touching Home by Jerry Lee Lewis
Touching Home — Jerry Lee Lewis safe 85 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 24/100.

It's Too Late by Carole King
It's Too Late — Carole King safe 126 BPM

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 24/100, versus the original's 42.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Suffer the Children” by Tears for Fears?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Standing Around Crying” by Muddy Waters, “Ms. Jackson” by Outkast, “I Can't Stand the Rain” by Tina Turner — the top match scores 95% alike. Matching is by how the songs actually move (intensity, dynamic range, texture, tempo, predictability, vocal force), not by genre tag or popularity.

What songs are like “Suffer the Children” but calmer?

“When All Is Said and Done” by ABBA, “That's All” by Genesis, “If I Were a Boy” by Beyoncé keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Suffer the Children”?

It measures 42/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 5/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 115 BPM.

How do you decide which songs are similar?

Every song in our catalog is measured on 8 dimensions — intensity, dynamic range, tempo, sudden changes, texture, predictability, vocal force and fine sound detail. Similarity is the distance between two songs across those measurements, so matches cross genres and eras. Shared mood tags break ties.

By the numbers: how this song compares

Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.

Where it sits in 19,000 songs

On our 19k-song scale this lands in the middle band — more energetic than 38% of songs, calmer than the other 62%. Its intensity reading of 42/100 comes from a dynamic range of 5/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and dynamic vocals. It shares this stretch of the spectrum with thousands of other tracks, so the finer fingerprint below is what really separates it.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is an unusually steady, even volume: more extreme on that axis than 88% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.

Feels almost identical to

Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.

What it’s good for

Sleep5/10
Focus8/10
Workout3/10
Dinner8/10
Party / hype5/10

Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.

1983 in context

The 242 songs we’ve measured from 1983 average a dynamic range of 6.5/10. At 5/10, this track is gentler and steadier than its year.

Mixes smoothly with

Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.

The fingerprint

Intensity42
Dynamics44
Tempo42
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability0
Vocal force75
Trigger load25

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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