[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] Depressing Songs to Listen to When You're Stuck after a Breakup or Relationship Issues (41–50)
to yell, telephone, downpourChatto Monchī
A song whose storm of emotion—woven from the sound of rain and a voice on the phone—won’t leave your ears.
Included on their major-label debut full album Miminari, released in 2006, this track uses the symbolic motifs of a breakup phone call filled with shouts and a fierce downpour to portray emotions that can’t be contained.
The protagonist, who keeps apologizing even while knowing it’s over, embodies the very hesitation we all feel at the moment of parting.
With anger and lingering attachment colliding, this song is sure to resonate when you need to let your feelings out.
[Relatable Lyrics] Depressing Songs to Listen to When You're Stuck in Heartbreak or Relationships (51–60)
scattered; in pieces; all over the placeHoshino Gen
The idea that everyone can become one, or should become one, is just a misconception.
People are alone—and that’s okay.
This song carries that message.
It’s an early track by Gen Hoshino.
Although he’s strongly associated with upbeat music, some of his early works also express a rather brooding, introspective side.
I want to forget.wacci
This is a song by wacci that poignantly sings of the pain of wanting to sever memories of an ex but being unable to.
Released in July 2024, it was produced as the third installment of a three-part love song project.
It portrays a protagonist who, even while spending time with someone new, suddenly sees traces of their former lover—and the more they try to forget, the more vividly the memories return, conveying a deep sense of heartache.
If you’re nursing the pain of a breakup, it will surely hit home.
I didn’t want to know, if it meant losing it.atarayo
This piece portrays the emotional struggle of someone hurt by a lover’s betrayal, yet tormented by feelings that won’t fade.
Released by Atarayo in January 2022, it was produced as an advance single for the album “Gokuya ni Oite Tsuki wa Katarazu.” Born from a collaboration with the platform Jun-Aidan, which features real-life romance stories, the song is based on a story selected from over ten thousand submissions.
Even after being lied to repeatedly by someone you trusted, and knowing in your head that you should break up, you still can’t stop loving them.
It’s a song that will resonate with anyone carrying those contradictory feelings.
MetronomeYonezu Kenshi
It’s a poignant song by Kenshi Yonezu that depicts the growing mismatch of feelings between two people who matter to each other.
It’s included on his 2015 album Bremen.
The lyrics liken two metronomes that initially tick in the same rhythm but gradually fall out of sync over time to a relationship drifting apart, offering solace to the pain of loss that everyone experiences.
The gentle tempo and piano tones are soothing, and you can’t help but be drawn in.
It’s a song I especially want those grieving the loss of someone dear to listen to.
A love on the verge of witheringSuzuki Suzuki
This song poignantly portrays a couple who, after their youthful days end and they enter the working world, gradually drift apart until their relationship ends.
It’s sure to resonate with anyone in college who feels distance growing with someone important.
Released by Suzuki Suzuki in April 2021 as the final installment of their love-themed trilogy, it’s characterized by beautiful harmonies.
The lyrics, in plain and realistic language, capture the fragility of a relationship where busy days lead to fewer meetings and dwindling contact.
Its mellow tones will stay close by your side.
excuseSha ran Q
It was the theme song for a drama about an affair.
The song rhythmically portrays the sorrowful feelings of a man who’s being toyed with by the woman he loves.
It’s painful when you realize you’re serious and the other person is just playing around.
Singing it at karaoke when you’re feeling lonely might help blow some of that loneliness away.