A rainy heartbreak song. A collection of bittersweet love songs set against the backdrop of rain.
When you hear the phrase “breakup song,” what kind of track comes to mind?
For example, there are plenty of songs set in specific scenes—like the room where two people spent time together or the park where they often took walks.
When these songs overlap with your own experiences, your sense of empathy suddenly deepens, and you find yourself wanting to listen to them over and over.
Among the scenes often depicted in breakup songs, isn’t rain one of the classics?
Rain is frequently used in imagery to express negative emotions, and it suits that gloomy feeling after a breakup very well.
In this article, we’ll introduce a selection of songs themed around rain and heartbreak.
See if you can find one that resonates with you.
A rainy heartbreak song. A collection of poignant love songs set against the backdrop of rain (1–10)
Rain SongGReeeeN
Sung from a woman’s perspective who feels his feelings slipping away from her, GReeeeN’s “Ame Uta” is heartbreakingly poignant.
It was released in 2013 as the coupling track to the single “Icarus,” and it reached No.
8 on the Oricon Singles Chart.
The lyrics—“The rain that once felt like the happiness of us huddled together now feels like my own tears”—are especially heartrending.
The song starts softly, the chorus grows powerful, and the finale soars in high tones.
rainMoritaka Chisato
In a 2006 “Songs You Want to Listen to on a Rainy Day” ranking conducted by Oricon, the song that proudly took first place was Chisato Moritaka’s “Ame” (Rain).
Released as a single in 1990, it reached No.
2 on the Oricon Singles Chart.
Moritaka’s deliberately understated delivery of the simple melody turns it into a ballad that conveys a sense of poignancy and loneliness.
The song has been covered by many artists, and Moritaka herself released a self-cover version in 2013 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of her debut.
The Rain and Meback number
Back Number’s “Ame to Boku no Hanashi” captures the raw pain that hits right after a breakup.
It’s a track from their 2019 album MAGIC, which hit No.
1 on both the Billboard Japan and Oricon charts.
Known for their highly relatable love songs, the band crafted this breakup song around the theme of rain.
The heartbreak the protagonist feels is something most of us have experienced at least once.
If you’ve just gone through a breakup, I recommend giving “Ame to Boku no Hanashi” a listen.
The Last RainYasushi Nakanishi
Yasushi Nakanishi’s “The Last Rain” is a song about a woman he loved, and his inability to face their breakup.
Released in 1992 as his second single, it was used as the theme song for the Nippon TV variety show “Hitachi Ashita P-KAN Kibun!” Although it peaked at only No.
16 on the Oricon charts, it became a long-running hit, selling 900,000 copies over six years.
The depiction of parting in the rain feels like a scene straight out of a drama.
Nakanishi’s emotionally charged vocals are truly stirring.
rain10-FEET
The B-side track to “goes on,” a single released in 2007 by 10-FEET, a three-piece rock band from Kyoto, is “Ame” (Rain).
It was also included on the following year’s album “VANDALIZE,” and it’s a high-energy rock tune brimming with 10-FEET’s signature drive.
The lyrics, where the smell of rain brings back memories of a former lover, are heartbreakingly poignant.
Their music festival held in Kyoto, “Kyoto Daisakusen,” is also known for often getting rainy due to the season, and this is definitely a song you’ll want to listen to on such days!
April Rainaiko
The song that sings about how, no matter how many years pass, you can still recall the pain as if it were just yesterday is Aiko’s “April no Ame” (“April Rain”).
Released in 2013 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of her debut, the single reached No.
2 on the Oricon Singles Chart.
It was also used in a contact lens commercial.
The song portrays a couple at a crossroads in April, a season of meetings and partings, who walk separate paths yet spend the same time together.
It’s also said that “April Rain” is a love song from Aiko to her fans.
rainKōda Kumi
Rain, a ballad with a memorable acoustic guitar intro, is a track from Kumi Koda’s 2004 album feel my mind.
The slightly exotic sound really feels like her style, doesn’t it? According to Koda, the song depicts the growing distance between her and her boyfriend at the time.
It poignantly recounts rain-related memories from when they were still close.
There’s also an unplugged version included on her 2006 single No Regret, so be sure to give it a listen!
cherry blossom rainJUJU
Sakuraame is JUJU’s 12th single, released in 2010.
It was issued as her first quadruple A-side single and was used as the opening theme for TBS’s COUNT DOWN TV as well as in corporate commercials for RecoChoku.
In the song, “rain” plays various roles: it hides tears, washes away memories of the two of them, and is described in a very poetic way.
Spring, when the cherry blossoms bloom, is a season of meetings and farewells.
Rain that falls in such a season seems to accentuate the poignancy of parting.
refrainSandaime Jē Sōru Burazāzu fromu Eguzairu Toraibu
“Refrain” is the fifth single by Sandaime J Soul Brothers, released in 2011.
It was issued as a single from the album “TRIBAL SOUL” released the same year, and was featured in an H.I.S.
commercial and as the November ending theme for NTV’s information program “Sukkiri!!”.
The lyrics are poignant, depicting lovers who have somehow missed each other and passed the point where things could still be mended, wishing they could meet again if life could refrain and replay.
The line “I just hope you’re not getting caught in the rain right now” painfully conveys the lingering feelings for a former lover.
Helpless RainNakajima Mika
“Helpless Rain” is Mika Nakashima’s fourth single, released in 2002.
It reached No.
8 on the Oricon singles chart and was used as a commercial song for La Parler, a company in the bridal industry.
With a cool R&B-flavored sound, the song portrays yearning for someone who won’t stay close despite overwhelming feelings.
Rain amplifies the sense of poignancy, and “Helpless Rain” is a perfect example of a track where that effect is fully realized.