Top 10 Unrequited Love Songs
89When They Don't Love You Back
There's a song out there that can encompass just about every human emotion and feeling. A lot of times when you're feeling down music has a way of helping you work through those problems, especially when it comes to heart ache and agony over relationships.
There's plenty of lists about the saddest songs about love - but not too often do you see one dedicated to unrequited love songs. What is unrequited love? As Charlie Brown says it best "Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter like unrequited love." It is when you love somebody, but they just don't love you back.
These are my top 10 picks, in no particular order:
Shiver - Coldplay
This song, with lyrics such as "So I look in your direction, But you pay me no attention, And you know how much I need you, But you never even see me", is all about loving someone who doesn't feel the same way.
Creep - Radiohead
The song starts out saying "You're just like an angel, Your skin makes me cry" and goes into "But I'm a Creep. I'm a Weirdo..."
I Can't Make You Love Me - Bonnie Rait
If you're ever in need of a swooning country song about someone not loving you,, this is the perfect song for you.
All Over You - Spill Canvas
The lyrics to this song couldn't possibly be any more basic about unrequited love with lyrics like "This life is way too short to get caught up in all this stuff when i just want you to love me back...why can't you just love me back?"
Strange and Beautiful - Aqualung
This is an eerily beautiful song about putting a spell on someone to fall in love with you when they don't even know you exist.
You Don't Know Me - Ray Charles
Ray Charles is a musical legend, and it just wouldn't be right to not include this song about loving someone who sees you just as a friend.
Lily - Smashing Pumpkins
I am not certain that this song is about unrequited love - but chances are if you're being arrested for sitting in a tree outside your lover's window it can't be too good of a situation.
Catch the Wind - Donovan
As the name of this song suggests, it is easier to catch the wind than to make someone feel the same way about you as you feel about them.
Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus
This is one of those songs perfect for the teenage boy on love with a girl who's already got a boyfriend.
I Want You to Want Me - Cheap Trick
Another song where the title says it all.
Obviously, these are just 10 songs I can think of off the top of my head - which is why I'd really love to hear any suggestions or favorites of yours in the comments below!
You might also like these hubs I wrote: Composition of a Sad Love Song and Getting Over a Break Up.
Ray Charles
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Exellent!
Thanks for offering such information to us.
I really like your writing!
Some of Jim Croce's songs have lyrics that would make you say, "Ouch! it hurts". Have hubs on Jim Croce songs quotes/lines. You might want to check them too. More power. I like your hubs.
I love it!!!...How could you not love Ray Charles???A true music genius!
These are great songs and indeed sad. I love Radiohead's creep. One other love song that comes to mind is: U2's So Cruel.
One of my favorite songs with the lyrics: "I disappeared in you. You disappeared from me. I gave you everything you ever wanted, It wasn't what you wanted. The men who love you, you hate the most. They pass right through you like a ghost. They look for you, but your spirit is in the air. Baby, you're nowhere. Oh, love, you say in love there are no rules. Oh, love, sweet-heart, you're so cruel."
Great hub. Shiver is a touching song.
Great Hub! =) You have awesome taste in music!
I can't make You Love Me
Awesome Tune.
Great Hub
Jim
I like the Coldplay track
Yea, Creep is very funny song. :)
Great hub, and I really like your picks, especially I Can't Make You Love Me, that's one of my personal favorites. May not be what you were thinking of but Alison Krauss' Let Me Touch You For A While always makes me think of unrequited love.
Great list mate, another great song about unanswered love is Death Cab for Cutie's Tiny Vessels.
Good list - some names and songs I hadn't thought about for a while.
Great list! Music always helps cheer me up and I think these are perfect songs for anyone experiencing unrequited love.
Some really good songs on a really sucky topic. Unrequited love... we've all been through those times haven't we?
Ohhhh, I so loved Donovan. Good hub, and how about Gene Pitney's " Only Love Can Break a Heart "?
I've heard that the writer of "Happy Together" by the Turtles said the famed pop song is of this lyrical type, which explains why he used the eerie minor chord progression throughout the song's verses. As the song opens, "Imagine me and you..." The love he desires to be "Happy Together" is not a real love.
really good song choice
but what about Nature's Law by Embrace
really sad and amazing song about someone who you love but doesn't want you or love you back
''i tried to fight the feeling, the feeling took me down
i struggled and lost the day you knocked me out
now everything's got meaning and meaning brings me down
i'm watching as a screening of my life plays out''
i'd recommened for anyone to give it a listen :)
A Perfect Circle - 3 Libras. A Really Great Song!
Adele's COLD SHOULDER
"...Whenever you look at me I wish I was her..."
Dreams by Brandi Carlile.
"I can't have you, but I have dreams."
I love it.
So. Much.
I wrote an unusual love song about being bitten by a zombie then trying to get my woman to be a zombie with me, or run so I don't eat her. Check out the video "Undead Love Song". It's one of my hubs! Radiohead's "Creep" is one of my favorites of all time.
That Bonnie Raitt song is so very much one of "those" love songs. I played that song over and over when I was a teenager...
Chevelle, Closure: it's a really good song for someone you know you can never get
Perfect Kisses Can Lead to One Night Stands by The Apathy Eulogy is my go to for unrequited love.
"if you would look right through
anything that keeps you from being my being
all that I've been needing
if you would look right through anything that keeps you back
what will it take to make you love me?"
That last line especially breaks my heart
Jewel's "Standing Still"
feels like home - edwina hayes
Nice hub. I haven't heard all of those songs though. I like Coldplay's Shiver
Thanks for sharing!
A great song that fits too is "Love Chained Me Here" by Foolish Things. Not too well known of a band, but really amazing lyrics I know all too well... Hehe.
Fool to Think by Dave Matthews Band.
I know thee are plenty of DMB haters out there but this song just fits perfect.
Cherish - The Association. Best of these songs in my opinion.
Can't Let Go by Landon Pigg
"Without lifting a finger, you're holding me back."
Great song!!
The Starting Line - "The Nightlife"
This line sums it up best:
"You're gasping for air and it's just not fair he gets to be with her. Here you sit, trying hard to forget something you're thinking of."
Thanks so much! I love strange and beautiful :) Its an amazing song
I know showtunes may not be considered cool but "On My Own" from Les Miserables is the best unrequited love song I know.
I agree so much about "On My Own". Best unrequited love song of all time.
Thanks all for your suggestions. Here are some of my own in return. Some are cheesier than others, some more common than others, but parts or all of these help in their own way. I hope you agree.
Brandy - Have You Ever
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dosed
Jeff Buckley - Forget her
Kimya Dawson - So Nice So Smart
this isn't exactly unrequited but somehow it always cheers me up - "A Friendly Goodbye" by Bowling for Soup. Haha I know it doesn't quite sound like it but I think it's ultimately about hurt, but it really makes me think that anyone who isn't loving you back isn't worth it, which is always a nice feeling to have.
And I completely agree with "On My Own" (love that song!Love that show!) and "I Can't Make You Love Me". Aah unrequited love, the most exquisite form of torture...
I listen to most of the songs that you have, will be listening to other songs mentioned in the comments.=)
I agree with Ferris C.
3 Libras by A Perfect Circle is one very beautiful and very painful song about unrequited love.
"Threw you the obvious and you flew with it on your back, a name in your recollection, thrown down among a million same"
The listener would definitely feel the frustration and sadness of the song from the words and sounds as the vocal and music intensifies.
The last few lines go:
"you don't
you don't
you don't see me at all"
You might think it's a little too dramatic and whiny but don't we all get dramatic when we seem invisible to the person we love?
i like maybe by the sick puppies. it kinda goes with my situation of a recent breakup where he said we should just be best friends for now til we figure things out. but i think that it might just be best to leave it all behind. i never thought this would happen and as much as i want to be with him and get back together with him i feel like maybe we've had our last kiss. it isnt unrequited love but it sure helps with a broken heart
You missed Perfect Day by Lou Reed.
I would add Josie And The Pussycats' - "You Don't See Me"
"I wish I was lonely, instead of just only,
Crystal and see-through, and not enough to you."
Heartbreaking..
A recent one out: 'Slow' by Rumer. Absolutely gut-wrenching. Really sums up someone trying to resist making a fool out of themselves by rushing in.
Sorry for not mentioning 'Slow' was originally released by Future Hitmakers. Either way, very touching.
Also Do You Know (The Ping Pong Song) by Enrique Iglesias.... perfect for the subject
one of the lines
"do you know what it feels like loving someone that's in a rush to throw you away
do you know what it feels like to be the last one to know the lock on the door has changed
What a great list, I enjoyed reading through the comments too. Ah, now I can listen to my hearts content.
I'd like to add I'm Not That Girl by Idina Menzel - it's from the Wicked Musical I believe. It's pretty heartbreaking:
"He could be that boy
I'm not that girl"
"She's winsom, she wins him
Gold hair with a gentle curl
That's the girl he chose
And Heaven knows
I'm not that girl"
"Don't wish, don't start
Wishing only wounds the heart
I wasn't born for the rose and the pearl
There's a girl I know
He loves her so
I'm not that girl"
Stuff like that. Yeah, it's a downer... but it's sang really beautifully, you can't help but love it.
I'd also recommend Teardrops on my Guitar by Taylor Swift (not too girly and actually really good :)
Love the list and the comments!
Some recommendations:
Secret Love by JoJo: All about a girl who loves a guy who only thinks of her as a friend.
The man who can't be moved by The Script: A very touching song about a man who is waiting at the corner of a street for a woman he loves, in case some day she misses him. The line "How can I move on if I'm still in love with you" sums it all up.
You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift (since Teardops has been mentioned already) : Okay a little high school but it's about a girl who loves this guy who's dating a very beautiful girl but someone who doesn't love him as much as she does.
"If you could see that I'm the one who understands you, been here all along so why can't you see? You belong with me.."
Two songs I love about unrequited love:
True by Ryan Cabrera: This song is about a guy who is in love with a girl who doesn't even notice him.
"You don't know what you do, every time you walk into the room.. I'm afraid to move."
If I Don't Tell You Now by Ronan Keating: This song almost made me confess my feelings to this guy who I know doesn't love me back! It's about a guy who has kept his feelings inside for too long and wants to take a chance and tell her how he feels.
"Maybe I'm only gonna make a mistake
And there's a chance maybe my heart can break
But if I don't tell you now
I may never get the chance again.."
You have to include "are you lonesome tonight"...made famous by Elvis.
Pearl Jam - Black
"I know some day you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a star in somebody else's sky, but, why, why, why can't it be mine?"
What about "Layla" by Eric Clapton? He wrote that song about Patty Boyd, who was at the time married to his best friend George Harrison. He was so hung up on her that he was dating her sister as a surrogate. When the sister heard the song she realized what Clapton was doing and broke it off with him. Clapton and Boyd would end up married...then divorced.
you missed always by bon jovi
;D
Blowers daughter by Damien Rice is one of my personal favourites. Also What If by Bombay Bicycle Club, not exactly about unrequited love but fits my mood right now perfectly
Great songs! But one of my favourites is Please Dont Leave Me by Pink, great song which describes the way I feel about my best friend, Charlie, who doesnt love me any where near as much as I love him.
Maroon 5 - she will be loved
maroon 5 - misery
maroon 5 - this love
Live - Heaven (this is more platonic love which is what I'm looking for, thought I'd share)
All I Have To Do Is Dream - Roy Orbison / Everly Brothers
Annie's Song - John Denver
Back to Black - Amy Winehouse
Burn - Tina Arena
Complicated - Carolyn Dawn Johnson
Does He Love You (Like He Loves Me) - Linda Davis & Reba McEntire
Don't You Love Me Anymore - Joe Cocker
Dreaming Of You - Selena
Even Now - Barry Manilow (Editor's Pick)
Find a Way To My Heart - Phil Collins
From the Bottom of My Broken Heart - Britney Spears
Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac
Gloomy Sunday - Billie Holiday
Have You Ever - Brandy
hello - Lionel Richie
Hello It's Me - Todd Rundgren
He Loves You Not - Dream
How Do I Get There - Deana Carter
I Can Love You Like That - John Michael Montgomery
I Don't Have to Wonder - Garth Brooks
If I Can't Have You - Yvonne Elliman
If Only - Goldfinger
If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot
If You Were Mine - Mya
I Know It's Over - The Smiths
I'm Gonna Make You Miss Me - 3LW
Invisible Man - 98 Degrees
It Don't Matter To Me - Bread
It's Only Make Believe - Conway Twitty
I Wanna Be With You - Mandy Moore
I Want You - Elvis Costello
I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston
Just To Hear You Say You Love Me - Faith Hill
Layla - Eric Clapton
Love Bites - Def Leppard
More Than That - Backstreet Boys
More Than Words - Extreme
Mrs. Steven Rudy - Mark McGuinn
My Eyes Adored You - Frankie Valli
Possession - Sarah McLachlan
Out Of Your Shoes Tonight - Lorrie Morgan
Run To You - Whitney Houston
Sad Eyes - Robert John
Shameless - Garth Brooks
Someone You Used To Know - Colin Raye
Spanish Guitar - Toni Braxton
Stranger In My House - Tamia
That's As Close As I'll Get To Loving You - Aaron Tippin
That's Why (You Go Away)- Michael Learns to Rock
The Hardest Thing - 98 Degrees
To Make You Feel My Love - Garth Brooks
Two Out of Three Ain't Bad - Meat Loaf
Until You Love Me - Reba McEntire
Untouchable Face - Ani DiFranco
Vermillion, Pt. 2 - Slipknot
Water From the Moon - Céline Dion
We All Fall in Love Sometimes - Elton John
What Do I Have To Do? - Stabbing Westward
What She's Doing Now - Garth Brooks
Whenever You Come Around - Vince Gill
Wherever You Will Go - The Calling
Why Do You Want Him? - Green Day
You Dont Know Me - Jann Arden
You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling - Hall & Oates
hello you fool i
check out krystal on youtube.com just look up defeated-wynwood krystal by 143 wynwood and dont forget to commentrd on her.........
I'm surprised that these two haven't been mentioned so far:
Apocalyptica - I Don't Care (to me the song is as direct a description as you can get of the ultimate frustration that comes from unrequited love.. but.. everyone hears something different)
Jaymay - Grey or Blue
"She's like Wind" by Patrick Swayze
Correction: "She's like the Wind" :)
On My Own Les Miserable
On my own
Pretending he's beside me
All alone
I walk with him till morning
Without him
I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way I close my eyes
And he has found me
In the rain the pavement shines like silver
All the lights are misty in the river
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight
And all I see is him and me forever and forever
And I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself and not to him
And although I know that he is blind
Still I say, there's a way for us
I love him
But when the night is over
He is gone
The river's just a river
Without him
The world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangers
I love him
But every day I'm learning
All my life
I've only been pretending
Without me
His world will go on turning
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never known
I love him
I love him
I love him
But only on my own
Almost every song on Adele's album '19' is about unanswered love. Great album.
Great list. You could have added REM "Losing my religion". I'm not english, but I suppose that's what the song's about. "I thought that I heard you laughing/I thought that I heard you sing/I think I thought I saw you try".
:-)
Nice music taste you got great!!
It's an oldie but a perfect unrequited love song:
Long Long Time... by Linda Ronstadt
Lyrics:
Love will abide, take things in stride
Sounds like good advice but there's no one at my side
And time washes clean love's wounds unseen
That's what someone told me but I don't know what it means.
Cause I've done everything I know to try and make you mine
And I think I'm gonna love you for a long long time
Caught in my fears
Blinking back the tears
I can't say you hurt me when you never let me near
And I never drew one response from you
All the while you fell all over girls you never knew
Cause I've done everything I know to try and make you mine
And I think it's gonna hurt me for a long long time
Wait for the day
You'll go away
Knowing that you warned me of the price I'd have to pay
And life's full of flaws
Who knows the cause?
Living in the memory of a love that never was
Cause I've done everything I know to try and change your mind
and I think I'm gonna miss you for a long long time
Cause I've done everything I know to try and make you mine
And I think I'm gonna love you for a long long time.
How about. 'you don't know my name' Alicia Keys. Such a beautiful song. Also reminds me of unrequited love.
Three days grace - Over and Over > Mine fav.
ascultati : Just a dream-by nelly :((
Great list!! "Creep" is most definitely one of the best songs for this category & THANK YOU for putting Aqualung's "Strange & Beautiful" on the list. Such a beautiful song. I love Aqualung & Matt's voice can sing anything.
I can't believe no one has mentioned Jack Johnson - Sitting Waiting Wishing. Classic song with lyrics like "Lord knows that this world is cruel, and I ain't the Lord, no I'm just a fool, Learnin' lovin' somebody don't make them love you..." This song inspired me to learn guitar!
nice list... can totally relate...
you could also try:
not like the movies by kc concepcion (
Catch the Wind by Donovan is a great song. I feel that way about someone. This person knows how I feel and told me they don't feel the same way about me. Donovan wrote this song that perfectly expresses the feelings that I couldn't put into words.
BE MINE - ROBYN
That you never were and you never will be mine
No, you never were and you never will be mine
BE MINE - ROBYN
That you never were and you never will be mine
No, you never were and you never will be mine
love your choice of songs! i'm always looking for songs that relate to how i'm feeling and i definately found a great selection in you're suggestions. awesome!
A few that no one mentioned but I love and they bring me to tears!
If I'm Not The One by Daniel Bedingfield
Still by Frankie J
I Wish You Loved Me by Tynisha Keli
You Told Me You Loved Me by Cinematic Sunrise (?!!!!!)
One more I forgot
Wait For You by Elliot Yamin ? I cry to this song every time.
Also Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler (My break up song)
You're Beautiful
She is The Sunlight by Trading Yesterday
Love Song Requiem by Trading Yesterday
Congratulations by Blue October (Very moving)
Used to by Daughtry If he or she has a girlfried or boyfriend and you two used to be good friends.
Ashes and Wine by A Fine Frenzy is perfect!!
Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield
This Pefect Thing by Honestly
Blind by Lifehouse (kind of)
Everything by Lifehouse is great too for this situation.
Miserable at Best by Mayday Parade
"And I got the point that I should leave you alone But we both know that I'm not that strong" Isn't it true?
She(For Liz) by Parachute
Under Control by Parachute -If you feel like telling him or her. "Because I kept my heart under control, but lady, all this time is taking its toll."
The Mess I Made by Parachute -It's 'bout regretting not doing things to kept your belove. Sounds pretty familiar to me.
Between The Lines by Sara Bareilles -It's a song about two friends who missed their chance because he felt in love with someone else.
Breathe Again by Sara Bareilles is about moving on.
Deadman Walking by The Script
Long Gone And Moving On by The Script
Already Gone by Kelly Clarkson (About moving on, too.)
Yes, my love is unrequited as you can see. Anyway, and my personal favorite: "3 Libras by A Perfect Circle"
Totally agree with you!! You should definitely check out Bon Iver's cover of I Can't Make You Love Me....just that more touching. Great Hub!
Alone by heart. About wanting to be loved by someone, but they don't even know you love them at all.
Don't forget "wasted time" by me chelle n dechello. Sp?
good list. i was lookin 4 more of a song where the girl does know you exist but doesnt like you...at all...life sucks
Dragostea Din Tei (The "Numa Numa" song") is actually a very poignant unrequited love song in the original translation:
"You want to leave, but you don't want to, don't want to take me ... Your face and the love from the linden trees, and I remember your eyes."
Here is the Youtube lyrics video I watch when I want the translation on screen: http://youtu.be/Bk7Sxpmr7wI
Sure changes the mood of the song knowing what it's original meaning is, yeah? I will note that it's one of the very few unrequited love songs I know of that really just throws it's heart into the ring without any sense of demand whatsoever.
Good list, but you missed REM losing my religion, the lyrics goes a little like this: consider this, consider this the hint of the century. Consider this, the slip that bought me to my knees, failed. What if all this fantasies comes flailing around, now I've said, too much" great song, total raw pain. Another one would be kate nash, nicest thing, lyrics: All l know is that you're so nice, you're the nicest thing l've seen, l wish that we could give it a go, see if we could be something." a bit girly the words but pire genius.....
OMG...you have to hear Letting go by M.O.B. Michael Olivieri band...My favorite song about letting go of someone who doesnt love you anymore!
"Cry me a river, and build a bridge...and I'll get over it!!!" I love it! http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/song_details/12
This is an awesome list and the added suggestions are great. I'm making a fantastic playlist for wallowing in sadness to. I'd like to add one more: "Lonliness is Worse" by Veruca Salt. The line "Don't you wanna be happy with me?" kills me every time.
Mazzy Star Fade Into You, should be in the list
I don't nessecarily like the song but it is exactly what your looking for. Invisible by Taylor Swift. It mentions a guy liking another girl when while the first girl likes him. "I just wanna show you, she don't even know you. She's never gonna love you like I want to."
Anastacia: I'm Outta Love
elisabethkcmo 2 years ago
perfect!
there's nothing like a song about drowning in your own sorrow to get those tears flowing, isn't that what they call catharsis??
love your hub, great idea!