A combination of them all. But, if I had to pick, I guess it would be lyrics.

i say the singer has to have the emotion to sing the song, if that makes sense. they have to feel the song and have the experience

All of them, but the first thing I notice is the melody of the song so...

but i'd say it's a mix of everything

They all usally have deep meaning. But are also really cool!

but also the emotions...

the singer wrote it....with sad feelings

that I was lead 2 believe

That's what makes the song sad.

you can sing sad lyrics in happy voice and music but sound is what makes songs sad

Those three, but the lyrics is the most important I'd say.

But it's horrible to hear a sad song, sung by someone who doesn't have any emotions. Make me wanna hit him/her.

The lyrics & the singer's emotions are tied for me. I find that they are both very important factors in determining if it is a sad song to me. A song that sounds sad- yeah, that doesn't MAKE a song sad, it just HELPS the song to be sad. IMO, anyways.

i always pay attention to the lyrics.

All three, but mostly the lyrics and the emotion

^agree

the sond is most important thing of a song i think

it's actually a combination of all three

yupp

yes

The lyrics.

the lyrics is the best

Lyrics do help but I think that the singer's emotions must be there or else it's meaningless to me. You have to FEEL the emotions in the lyrics.

The singer has to sing with emotion, otherwise you can't feel the message of the song.
The words are important to me; but as I've listened Korean music (which I don't understand) I've noticed how much more the emotions matter.

All three. But I find that a lot of the times I find songs with sad melodies and instruments to create the more powerful emotions.Lyrics very much help though.