"A Love Song I Can't Tell Anyone" — a love song you can relate to when times are tough

playing loversmakaroni enpitsu

Macaroni Enpitsu 'Pretend Lovers' MV

A heartrending song that depicts the end of an unstable relationship where “I’m home” and “Goodbye” intersect.

Performed by Macaroni Empitsu, a band made up of music conservatory graduates, it was released digitally in February 2020 and was also featured in a Spotify campaign.

Though the relationship is essentially over, the two continue to act like lovers.

As the line “Just one more time” repeats, the protagonist’s exhausted heart drags the relationship along, and their pain comes through vividly.

It’s a song that makes you acknowledge the part of yourself that wants to forget but can’t—the flawed self living with that conflict.

For those who can’t break free from a lingering, regret-filled love.

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Yokan

This song, which depicts an unbreakable love for a woman who already has a partner, is one of the tracks on the digital single “love,” released in December 2020.

Precisely because it was born during a time when the world was shrouded in anxiety, the personal and intensely written lyrics by Shiiki sink deep into the heart.

Progressing like a story, the piece leaves a profound afterglow, as if you’ve just watched a short film.

The emotionally charged band performance unfolding at a mid-tempo is also superb—the quiet intro building to a chorus where feelings overflow is a must-hear.

It’s perfect not only for those nursing the pain of an impossible love, but also for nights when you want to quietly immerse yourself in a world of storytelling on your own.

I wish I were the one you liked.Te ga kuriimu pan

I wish I were the one you love / Hands Like Cream Bread (Wishing I’m her / tegacreampan) [Official Music Video]

Getting the person you like to like you back is really difficult, isn’t it? But wanting them to fall for you is something anyone in love feels.

That bittersweet, painful feeling in the chest is captured in Tegakuri-mupan’s “I Wish I Were the One You Like.” With its simple instrumentation and understated vocal delivery, the song overflows with the sorrow of unrequited love.

You truly want to confess your feelings and become mutual lovers, but the fear of it not going well makes you hesitate to take that first step…

Many people can probably relate to the dread of a future where love doesn’t come true, and to this situation where, despite that, you just can’t suppress your feelings.

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SAKI

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I want to be loved.Oku Hanako

I want to be loved.

A song that tenderly embraces the earnest wish to be loved.

Created by singer-songwriter Okuhanako, it appears on the album “vol.best,” released in April 2005 during her indie days.

The piece gives voice, over a quiet piano melody, to a piercing question: can we keep living by clinging to the memories of being loved, even when we feel hollowed out by loneliness? Her voice—praised as one that can move you to tears on sound alone—seems to gently scoop up feelings that words can’t express.

The song distills the power of her music, which speaks straight to the heart—this is the artist who once sold 488 CDs in a single day at a street performance.

On nights when you long to be loved deeply by someone, listening alone in silence may kindle a warm light in your heart.

the absolute worstMarushii

Marcy – The Worst of the Worst (Official Music Video)

What words would you cry out when you realize that the heart of the lover you were laughing with until yesterday is no longer turned toward you? Released digitally in March 2022, this song by Marcy captures the complicated mix of anger and lingering attachment toward a fickle partner, set against a fast-paced rock sound.

It was also included on their first album, “Memory,” released in June 2022, and the music video featuring Naenano drew attention.

While venting the frustration of betrayal, the protagonist suffers from being unable to completely hate the other person—perfectly voicing the feelings of someone fresh off a heartbreak.

It’s a song that can support your heart when you’ve gone through a breakup so painful that just remembering it makes your chest tighten.

366 daysHY

HY – 366 Days (Official Music Video)

This is a ballad that delicately portrays the bittersweet feeling of a love once deeply cherished that never fades from the heart, even as time passes.

The protagonist, unable to stop thinking about the person they parted with all day long, is gently and vividly depicted through Izumi Nakasone’s powerful yet tender vocals.

Included on the 2008 album “HeartY,” it was also used as the theme song for the film “Thread of Red (Akai Ito).” There’s also a well-known anecdote that the songwriter temporarily broke up with their partner at the time in order to write the lyrics.

It’s a song that quietly sits beside those whose heartbreak hasn’t healed, or on nights when you find yourself reminiscing about a past love.

I’m really sorry.≠ME

≠ME (Not Equal Me) / 9th Single c/w “Gomen, Majide” [MV full]

This song beautifully captures the feelings of a heartbreaking unrequited love.

The lyrics convey the struggle of staying just friends while being unable to confess your feelings to the person you like.

Even knowing they’re drawn to someone else, you can’t suppress your own emotions—that complex state of mind really hits home.

Included on ≠ME’s 9th single “Because Summer Has Come,” this track feels like peeking into the diary of a girl in love.

It’s perfect for those troubled by a more-than-friends, not-quite-lovers relationship or anyone mustering the courage to confess.

Give it a listen, and take that step to share your feelings!