“Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol
This is probably the most memorable song in Grey’s Anatomy history, so much so that it’s almost like an unofficial theme song. “Chasing Cars” plays right after Denny’s death, when Izzie has discovered his body and won’t let them take him down to the morgue. Eventually, Alex is able to pull her off and carry her away, just as the song starts to swell.
“Grace” by Kate Havnevik
Arguably one of the worst deaths in Grey’s Anatomy is that of Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Everything goes well with his heart transplant — after Izzie (Katherine Heigl) cuts that LVAD wire to get him to the top of the list — but it’s a blood clot that tragically does him in. This one’s two-pronged: “Grace” is the song that plays when Denny actually passes away, but there’s another, more recognizable song that plays when the doctors pull Izzie away from her dearly departed love . . .
“Off I Go” by Greg Laswell
This is the song that plays during the death of George O’Malley (T.R. Knight), way back in season five, episode 23. George is unrecognizable after a tragic bus accident, and everyone realizes it’s him just a little too late.
George isn’t the only one who’s dying, either. Izzie is also on the brink, and in some fantastical purgatory, she wears her prom dress from season two and rides the elevator. She comes face to face with George, who’s dressed in full military garb. Izzie doesn’t get off the elevator, the doors close, and George dies and Izzie survives.
“She Went Quietly” by Charlie Wilson
How can we forget the gut-wrenching death of Henry Burton (Scott Foley)? He dies on the operating table at the hands of Cristina (it’s not her fault, his body has completely deteriorated and he’s beyond saving). The worst part is that Cristina doesn’t even know it’s him until after he’s dead. This is the song that plays when she finds out.
“Skin” by Zola Jesus
Henry has been dead for nearly an episode by the time we get to this part, but it still bears inclusion. This is the scene where Teddy (Kim Raver) visits Henry’s body and comes to terms with his death.
“Without You” by One Two
Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) does survive the devastating plane crash at the end of season eight, but not for long. At the beginning of season nine, he slips into a coma, and Callie eventually makes the decision to take him off of life support. This is where “Without You” comes into play, and it’s heart-wrenching.
“Into the Fire” by Thirteen Senses
This song pops up quite a few times during the full Grey’s anthology. It actually plays during the pilot episode (!), but one of its most recent inclusions comes during the death of Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). In this case, it’s a cover.
As we all know, Derek gets blindsided by a truck in season 11, and thanks to a late doctor and an ill-equipped hospital, he dies. The true horror comes from his voiceover: he’s conscious the whole time, aware of how badly they’re f*cking up, but there’s nothing he can do about it.
“Chasing Cars (Cover)” by Sleeping at Last
While the above song is what we hear when Derek is officially declared brain-dead, this is the one that plays while Meredith pulls the plug. Ah, “Chasing Cars,” an old standby. If the song wasn’t already sad enough, this somber cover makes it even harder to listen to — that, and the fact that Meredith is sobbing over Derek’s dead body.
“You Were Supposed to Be Different” by Aron Wright
Here’s a strange thing: there are actually two different versions of Derek’s death scene. While Netflix has “Chasing Cars,” the iTunes version of the episode plays this equally sad song when Meredith finally pulls the plug. Great, now we can experience this devastation two different ways.
