Sad and Beautiful World (2025) – Mavis Staples

There are two things I find so alluring about this meditative and sombre song. Firstly, Mavis Staples’ vocals carry profound emotional depth and feel timeworn and soulful, shaped by decades of lived experience. Critic C.J. Fox once described it as “a voice as warm and welcoming as a mama’s hug.”
Secondly, the sparse instrumentation – particularly the interlacing slide guitar – evokes a deep sense of nostalgic Americana – visions of breezy air and open terrain, adding rich texture to the song’s melancholy mood.

Together, the music and Staples’ voice embody the song’s oxymoronic title – sad and beautiful at the very same time. She finds beauty even amid the grief over everything that’s been lost.

Sad and Beautiful World was original written by Mark Linkous a.k.a. Sparklehorse. It is the title track from Mavis Staples 14th studio album released in November 2025.

Martin Anderson from WNCW 88.7 said this about the album:
The album spans seven decades of the American songbook – a range nearly as vast as Mavis’ career – and includes reinventions of timeless songs as well as original music. It also includes cameos by artists who have become part of Mavis’ world, many of whom are legends in their own right: Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Jeff Tweedy, Derek Trucks, Katie Crutchfield, MJ Lenderman, Justin Vernon, and others shine a light on her while Mavis does what only she can do. Embracing vulnerability, she sings close and deep here, drawing the listener into a circle filled with her unforgettable presence.

Mavis Staples is an American singer born on July 10, 1939, in Chicago, Illinois. She began her career singing gospel music with her family group, The Staple Singers, formed by her father Roebuck “Pops” Staples. The group gained national attention in the 1950s and later moved into soul and folk music during the 1960s and 1970s, recording songs that reflected social and political themes of the civil rights era. Mavis Staples launched a solo career in 1969 and has continued recording and performing into the 21st century. She has worked with a wide range of artists and producers across gospel, soul, R&B and folk music.

[Verse 1]
Sometimes I get so sad
Sometimes you just make me mad

[Chorus]
It’s a sad and beautiful world
It’s a sad and beautiful world

[Verse 2]
Sometimes I just won’t go
Sometimes I just won’t say no

[Chorus]
It’s a sad and beautiful world
It’s a sad and beautiful world

[Verse 3]
Sometimes days go speeding past
Sometimes this one seems like the last

[Chorus]
It’s a sad and beautiful world
It’s a sad and beautiful world

References:
1. Mavis Staples – Sad and Beautiful World – WNCW 88.7

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“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand