Songfacts®:

• The Cars seventh album, Move Like This was released on May 10, 2011 and was the American rock band's first record of new material since 1987's Door to Door. The record featured all of the original band members except for bassist and vocalist Benjamin Orr, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2000. This is the first single from the album, which was released to radio on March 1, 2011.
• Frontman Ric Ocasek explained the inspiration for the song in an interview with Spinner UK: "That song's a little bit topical, I guess. The lyrics in the song, it's all about 'heartache's waiting to strike' and 'too many screamers wearing a mask,' which is all kind of a sad scenario. But it's got happy music and a happy melody. It's almost like 'Just What I Needed,' where you're looking for someone to bleep and you don't realize the song is not really that positive. Sometimes it's just subconsciously things pull you in. It can be a sad song that pulls you in subconsciously. The lyrics to 'Sad Song' are a sad state of affairs and you just get pulled along with them all. Maybe it's media, maybe it's the general ambiance of life."