[Old Love Songs] Love songs that recall a love that has ended
There are loves that are still ongoing, and loves that have ended but can’t be forgotten.
In this article, we’re introducing “songs of past love.”
They’re songs that make you remember and feel nostalgic about old romances—sometimes even bring you to tears with a passion that hasn’t cooled.
We’ve gathered a variety, from bright, breezy tracks that feel completely refreshed to bittersweet love songs where the wounds still don’t seem to heal.
If you’re looking for love songs that bring back memories of past relationships, be sure to give these a listen.
Take your time and lose yourself, alone, in the memories of a nostalgic love.
- [Once More…] A lingering-attachment song: a song about a love you can’t forget
- [No Going Back] A Love Song About Regret
- [Lingering Feelings and Regrets] A Love Song for You Who Can’t Forget Your Ex-Boyfriend
- Classic songs that sing about the past. Recommended popular tracks.
- A love song that feels like youth. Love songs you want to listen to—and remember—during your adolescent years.
- Bittersweet love songs to listen to when the person you like already has a girlfriend or boyfriend
- A love song that reminds those in their 60s of a forgotten romance
- Breakup songs recommended for people in their 80s: a collection of classic tracks that capture heartbreaking feelings
- A heartbreak song that resonates in the chest of a man in his 60s: memories of youth woven by classic Showa-era masterpieces
- Bittersweet feelings come rushing back! Recommended love songs for the Yutori generation
- [Remembering the Pain of Love…] Breakup Songs Recommended for People in Their 60s
- From bittersweet tracks to heart-wrenching tunes! Heisei-era unrequited love songs
- Recommended heartbreak songs for women in their 70s. A collection of classic Showa-era breakup masterpieces.
【Old Love Songs】Love songs that recall ended romances (71–80)
Stop this nightJUJU
“I don’t want to break up,” so it flows naturally into “Please Stop This Night.” You can feel a lingering attachment even in the part that says, “I’ll forget about you.” The phrasing “I’ll do it for you” has a condescending nuance—you wouldn’t say that to someone unless you had very strong feelings, right? With the mid-tempo feel, JUJU’s voice, it even makes you sense a love that surpasses lingering attachment.
It can also be taken as lyrics about two people who still truly love each other but choose to part for each other’s sake.
I got a boyfriend/girlfriend.My Hair is Bad
A song filled to the brim with lingering feelings for an ex, “I’ve Got a Girlfriend.” As the title suggests, the song’s protagonist is a man who seems to have found a new girlfriend—someone he can even imagine a future with.
Yet he can’t stop wondering how his ex is doing now.
More than the joy of having a new girlfriend, he feels the sadness of no longer being able to see his ex because he’s in a new relationship.
It’s a plain-spoken song, but for anyone still holding onto regret, it may resonate with a poignant ache.
Current boyfriend, ex-boyfriendNatural Radio Station
This is a recommended song for girls who are dating their current boyfriend but can’t forget their ex.
The lyrics are easy to relate to, like how you want to cherish your current boyfriend but still can’t help thinking about your ex.
It conveys the complex yet meaningful feelings—different kinds of love for both your ex and your current boyfriend—and shows that both are important forms of love.
[Old Love Songs] Love songs that recall a finished romance (81–90)
IfSLOTH
A very heartrending love song woven only from the “what if” of lingering attachment.
Behind the lyrics that say, “If I hadn’t met you, I wouldn’t have felt this sad,” I think there’s also a sense of gratitude: “Because I met you…” That may be why it leads to the hope of believing in a miracle and waiting for you afterward.
It’s a song packed with beautiful words.
Even reading just the lyrics conveys the aching sense of lingering regret.
I wonder if I’d still say it’s too late.Saucy Dog
It’s a heartrending breakup song filled with lingering feelings.
Included on Saucy Dog’s 4th mini-album “Take Me,” this track was released in September 2020.
It portrays the complex emotions of still loving her even while knowing she’s found a new romance.
Because the last line of the chorus ends in a conversational tone, rather than pure sadness, you can keenly feel the frustration of “I was the one who broke up with her, and yet…”.
It’s a song we’d like people who can’t get over a breakup or who have an unforgettable love to listen to.
Street Loveindigo la End
“Toorikoi” is very much a song about lingering attachment.
It depicts unwavering feelings for a former lover.
The track is included on indigo la End’s album “Nureyuku Shōsetsu (A Soaking I-Novel).” Reading through the lyrics, it seems the two were involved in a secret romance.
They couldn’t tell anyone, and perhaps they weren’t even allowed to cling to each other when it ended.
Even so, the fact that they can still say “I love you” suggests it was serious.
People say a new love heals a broken heart, but a love that perseveres like this is valid too, isn’t it?
Regretsumika
When you’re feeling stuck on lingering feelings of love, that’s exactly when you crave songs with a sense of speed, right? The perfect pick for times like these is “Regret.” It’s included on “I co Y,” released by the rock band sumika in 2014.
The track features an upbeat band sound that wraps around lyrics portraying sentimental emotions.
It’s a warm song that brings back happy moments with a lover from everyday life.
A refreshing song about lingering attachment, it’s one I recommend to anyone who “can’t help thinking about that person no matter what they’re doing.”
