Tear-jerking unrequited love songs that will break your heart: timeless classics about unattainable love
Have you ever had a night when your chest tightens with the weight of feelings that can’t reach the one you love? The power of bittersweet unrequited love songs is that they gently speak the words you can’t say.
The more you think about the person you like, the more the ache grows—and even knowing the love won’t come true, you still can’t stop your feelings.
Finding a song that stays close to such a wavering heart can quietly give you a push after the tears.
In this article, we’ll introduce a wealth of gems that portray the pain of unrequited love with unflinching honesty.
We hope you’ll find the one song that resonates perfectly with how you feel right now.
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A heart-wrenching unrequited love song that will break your tear ducts. Masterpieces about unattainable love (141–150)
short-sleevedImai Miki
Released in 1990, it’s a song by Miki Imai about an unattainable love.
It conveys the anguish and resolve of a woman who has fallen for a man with a wife and child.
She must have witnessed him cherishing his family.
Even knowing he will not love her, you can feel her wavering feelings as she tries to keep loving the man she loves.
loveOku Hanako
This is a song by Hanae Okumura that conveys feelings toward a beloved person who chose to be with someone else, as well as the pain of not being chosen.
The sound is composed solely of piano throughout, highlighting the vocals and delivering the anguish with stark directness.
The lyrics pierce the heart with a straightforward depiction of love’s pain—the reality that no matter how deep your feelings are, they may never reach the other person.
Even knowing it won’t come to fruition, the lingering love that can’t be discarded and the suffering it brings are portrayed from start to finish, making it a track filled with lingering attachment and regret.
unrequited loveOku Hanako
A life-sized unrequited-love song from a woman’s perspective.
In this song, the woman’s crush already knows how she feels.
He’s more friendly than before, but she still doesn’t know what he truly thinks.
She doesn’t mind, though—she just hopes that even a little of her feelings will reach him.
That’s how much she loves him, and she can’t let go of those feelings…
The person I had a one-sided crush on for a long timeyamazaru
A song whose wistful melody and straightforward, love-struck lyrics seep into the heart.
It vividly portrays a girl who can’t suppress her yearning, single-mindedly thinking about her upperclassman.
The more she sees him, the more she falls for him, and even though she knows she shouldn’t go on like this, she can’t cut off her feelings.
It’s impossible not to empathize with the burning ache of such unrequited love.
Included on “Aikotoba 10,” this track is sure to give courage to everyone struggling with love.
Will you confess your feelings before graduation—or…? What choice will you make?
Unrequited loveHamada Shogo
Shogo Hamada’s “Kataomoi” is a quiet, sorrowful ballad that recalls an unfulfilled love.
No matter how much you wish, the love won’t come true; if carrying the pain means holding on, you’d rather just forget it.
Yet even thinking that, the feelings were so strong that you simply can’t forget.
The song gives voice to that poignant, aching emotion.
esperanzaNishino Kana
A bittersweet unrequited love song about a hopeless crush.
The person I like already has someone they love.
I’m just a close friend, the one they confide in.
The more I care about him, the sadder I feel wondering why he loves someone who isn’t me.
If only we had met sooner, maybe I could have been his girlfriend… That’s a thought that often comes up when you’re in a one-sided love.
They say love is all about timing, but it makes me wish I could turn back time and trade places with my rival.
I don’t want to let go.T-BOLAN
It feels like a song about a man who can’t let go of his ex-girlfriend—who still thinks about her every day and dreams of somehow getting back together.
The lyrics seem to pour out his love, as if he knows deep down it’s impossible but still can’t help wanting to tell her how he feels.