[Relatable Lyrics] Emo songs to listen to when you're stuck after a breakup or relationship troubles
Heartbreak, relationships, work, school—sad and painful things can happen in so many parts of life.
You might find yourself hating someone, lamenting your bad luck, or even feeling self-destructive at times.
Here are some “dark” songs to listen to in those moments.
Because these lyrics are written and sung by artists who have been through a lot, they’re raw and real enough to sit with your feelings—and I’m sure you’ll relate.
I’d be happy if listening to the songs I’m about to introduce helps lift your spirits, even just a little.
- [Melancholy] For when you want to sink all the way. Masterpieces that depict various kinds of gloom.
- [Yami Song] Fight darkness with darkness!? Deep tracks that stay close to your pain
- [Unrequited Love] Heart-wrenching Love Songs | A Roundup of Tear-Inducing Crush and Breakup Tracks
- [Yami Song] A mental breakdown track that sings the true feelings of a melancholic heart
- [For High School Students] Melancholy Songs That Stay Close to Your Feelings [Tough Times]
- [Dark Songs] A carefully curated selection of deeply dark tracks and heartbreaking songs that accompany you in tough times
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- [Trash Songs] A carefully curated selection of tracks about the lowest, worst kind of loser—and hidden gems!
- My heart aches with bittersweet pain! Breakup songs I’d recommend to Gen Z
- [Female Heartbreak Song] A soul-stirring song dedicated to you, who loved with all your heart.
- A breakup song with great lyrics. A beautiful message that lingers in the heart.
- For When You Need a Good Cry: Soul-Soothing Tearjerker Classics — Life, Love, and Work
- Gently staying close to a wounded heart… A Reiwa-era heartbreak song
[Relatable Lyrics] Emo Songs to Listen to When You're Stuck in a Breakup or Relationship (1–10)
Even if it’s one of a kindNEW!kujira
That sudden sense of loneliness, the impatience that comes from comparing yourself to others.
KujiRa’s “Even If I’m an Only One” gives voice to those feelings that have nowhere to go.
Released digitally in July 2025, the track is also included as the coupling song on the CD single featuring the opening theme for the anime “Shabake.” The lyrics, which capture fragments of contemporary life, and the light yet somehow wistful melody slip right into your heart.
We all have those nights when we worry we’ll never become anyone at all, don’t we? In those moments, KujiRa’s distinctive choice of words is sure to gently loosen a heart grown stiff.
cellNEW!satou
This work by singer-songwriter Sato draws on the curious fact that the human body completely renews itself every few years.
Its message—like reexamining oneself in a changing city—is delicately woven together with the sound of an acoustic guitar.
Released in July 2024, it marked the finale of a seven-month run of consecutive releases.
It’s also included on the album “Like a Newborn’s Cry.” Sato is a rising figure known for the hit song “3%” and the anime theme “Rourou.” When you’re unsettled by changes in your environment or unsure of who you are, listening might just lighten your heart.
How about lending an ear alone on a quiet night?
Biting the second handNEW!zutto mayonaka de ii no ni.
A striking debut by ZUTOMAYO, perfect for when you’re weighed down by a nameless haze you can’t put into words.
ACA-ne’s delicate yet energetic vocals and the addictive melodies co-written with Nuyuri, also known as a Vocaloid producer, give voice to complex emotions.
When the music video dropped in June 2018, it quickly became a sensation and has since surpassed 100 million views.
Its sound, fusing funk and rock, and lyrics that lay bare restless feelings are sure to pierce the listener’s heart.
When you’re struggling with relationships or the future and feel utterly lost, why not surrender yourself to this song?
[Relatable Lyrics] Depressing Songs to Listen to When You're Stuck in a Breakup or Relationship Issues (11–20)
lipstickKato Miria
Singer Miliyah Kato rose to popularity with lyrics that resonate particularly with women.
Her 2015 release “Lipstick” serves as something of an answer song to one of her signature tracks, “Dear Lonely Girl,” depicting events ten years later.
The lyrics, centered on a woman devastated by a breakup, radiate an intense, almost obsessive determination.
palmMr.Children
This is the 25th single by Mr.Children, the four-piece band affectionately known as “Misuchiru.” The lyrics were originally themed around war, with a central message that even if we’re born in different places and raised in different environments, we can still respect one another.
The same applies to our everyday relationships, too.
It’s a song that makes you reflect on how closely you can empathize with someone other than yourself.
Reason(s) I can’t ask/listenMioyamazaki
The song’s protagonist remains in an ambiguous relationship where she can’t even ask when they’ll meet next.
There are so many things she wants to ask the person she loves, but she’s overwhelmed by negative feelings—the fear that asking might make them dislike her, that the answers won’t match her hopes, or that the relationship might end—so she can’t ask anything at all.
Mio Yamazaki’s heartrending voice, singing of the anxieties a woman feels, resonates deeply in the heart.
magic mirrorOmori Seiko
If you’re looking for a “yami song” that actually lifts you up, I recommend Seiko Oomori’s Magic Mirror.
When people say “yami song,” it often means a theme of heartbreak and the pain that follows, but this track sings about loneliness in life.
The lyrics, where Seiko Oomori struggles in her own way to save lonely people, are truly encouraging.