A song of forbidden love. A heartrending, sorrowful love song.
A forbidden love you can’t tell anyone about.
If you’re reading this article, perhaps you’re experiencing a similar kind of love.
If so, there are probably many painful moments.
I’ve gathered some songs I want you to hear.
They capture the pain of falling for someone who already has a lover or partner and feeling lost, or knowing it won’t come true yet being unable to give up.
When things are tough, try finding one song that stays close to your feelings.
Like when someone listens to you, it might make your heart feel just a little lighter.
- [An Adulterous Love] A love song about a secret affair you can't tell anyone about
- [Adultery Song] A forbidden song about an affair that sings of an impossible love
- A classic song about a forbidden love
- A song of forbidden love. A love song about feelings that can't be stopped.
- [Unattainable Love] A love song about two people who feel the same way but can’t be together
- [Cheating Song] A forbidden love that crossed the line — infidelity song
- "A Love Song I Can't Tell Anyone" — a love song you can relate to when times are tough
- [Empathetic & Tear-Jerking] A love song about an unrequited romance
- A tear-jerking love song. A love song that stays close to a hurting heart.
- “I Want to See You”: A love song that makes you cry when you listen to it while you can’t meet
- [Unrequited Love] Heart-wrenching Love Songs | A Roundup of Tear-Inducing Crush and Breakup Tracks
- Tear-jerking unrequited love songs that will break your heart: timeless classics about unattainable love
- [2026] Japanese love ballads of tragic romance: classic masterpieces of sad love songs
Songs of forbidden love. A heartrending, sad love song (1–10)
ElegyHirai Ken
This is a masterpiece whose poignant love story, told from a woman’s perspective, resonates in the rich vocals of Ken Hirai.
It delicately portrays the feelings of a woman consumed by love, expressing the intense emotions of fixation on her partner and a fierce willingness to embrace even the pain of love.
Released in January 2007 as the theme song for Toho’s film Love’s Crucible, it was also included on the album FAKIN’ POP and performed at the 58th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen.
In 2021, it was covered by Fuyumi Sakamoto on her album Love Emotion, continuing to influence many artists.
It’s a song to listen to on nights after heartbreak or when you’re suffering from thoughts of someone you love.
Never again…BENI
“I just want to hear your voice one more time, but I can’t.” This is BENI’s renowned ballad that sings of a heartbreakingly painful wish.
The lyrics, torn between lingering feelings for an unforgettable lover and the resolve to tell oneself there’s no going back to the past, will squeeze the hearts of anyone bearing the same pain.
There’s even an anecdote that BENI herself unexpectedly shed tears during the music video shoot, which speaks to the depth of emotion poured into this piece.
Released in December 2008 and tied in with a MBS-affiliated TV program, its memorable melody—marked by piano and strings—surely lingers in many listeners’ minds.
Also included on the album “Bitter & Sweet,” this song might be the perfect one to let a few quiet tears fall to.
Crime and PunishmentShiina Ringo
A song by Sheena Ringo whose heartrending cry—wanting nothing more than to hear her own name—pierces the chest.
The figure who seeks only the certain “now,” even at the cost of abandoning the future, seems to portray the agony of a heart falling into a love it knows is forbidden.
This work was released as a single in January 2000 and was also included on the classic album Shōso Strip.
It apparently wasn’t originally slated to be a single, but there’s an anecdote that its release was decided due to strong demand from fans.
When you listen to it at times when your heart feels like it’s about to break between the pure desire to be with someone and the reality that such desire is a “sin,” you may feel as if the song affirms your pain along with everything else.
Songs of forbidden love. Heartrending, sad love songs (11–20)
The strong and fleeting onesCocco
This work is a forbidden affair song about an unrequited love.
Cocco’s distinctive voice skillfully conveys the aching emotions hidden deep in the heart.
It’s heartbreaking to see a man who has gone far away become infatuated with a new love while still suffering from lingering feelings for his past lover.
The music video, which won BEST FEMALE CLIP at the SPACE SHOWER Music Video Awards, also garnered attention.
Cocco’s unique world will resonate deeply with you.
It’s one of her signature songs, one we want to deliver to everyone struggling with love.
A love I can tell no one abouterica
This love song is said to have been made for a fan with an unrequited crush.
Because it was based on real feelings, it has a super realistic vibe.
They fell in love, but the other person already has a partner, and there’s no one they can talk to.
The protagonist regrets having a forbidden love and sinks into terrible self-loathing.
Still, keeping quiet forever is too painful, so they decide to take a step forward.
No matter what kind of love it is, holding it all inside is hard, isn’t it?
COMPLEX BLUE – Only Love Is Too SadTHE ALFEE
This sings of a woman’s sorrow after parting from the man she loves.
He has another partner, and their relationship is forbidden.
She understands that, but she can’t help loving him deeply.
The two love each other profoundly, yet they have no choice but to part.
It’s unbearably painful, but because it’s an affair and they can’t be together openly, she has to give up…
You are a cigarette; I am a soap bubble.Lovely Summer Chan
A melancholic guitar-pop song by Lovely Summer Chan that delicately depicts the end of a bittersweet love.
Featured on her major-label debut album “LSC,” released in November 2016, the track expresses the faint feelings for someone out of reach and the fragility of having no choice but to accept it.
Through the contrast between “cigarettes,” a symbol of adulthood, and “soap bubbles,” which vanish in an instant, it strikingly portrays the distance between two people who can never truly meet.
It’s a highly relatable song that offers comfort to those who strive to move forward even while suffering from an unrequited love.