A tear-jerking love song. A love song that stays close to a hurting heart.
Love isn’t always fun, is it?
You might mustered up the courage to confess your feelings only to be rejected, be led on and strung along, or realize from the start it was a love that could never come true… Chances are, you too have experienced a painful love.
In this article, we introduce tear-jerking love songs that sing about that kind of heartbreak.
If you’re hurting right now, why not try finding a song that stays close to your feelings?
Listening to songs about the same situation might help you find clues for facing that love.
- "A Love Song I Can't Tell Anyone" — a love song you can relate to when times are tough
- [Tear-Jerking Breakup Songs] A curated selection of love songs that gently comfort a wounded heart!
- [So touching it makes you cry] A heartbreakingly wistful and sad song that tightens your chest
- A song of forbidden love. A heartrending, sorrowful love song.
- A tear-jerking love song that gently stays by your heart
- [Empathetic & Tear-Jerking] A love song about an unrequited romance
- For When You Need a Good Cry: Soul-Soothing Tearjerker Classics — Life, Love, and Work
- [Heartbreak Songs] A selection of poignant love songs that pierce the heart of those with unrequited love
- [Female Heartbreak Song] A soul-stirring song dedicated to you, who loved with all your heart.
- [Today’s Heartbreak Song] A poignant love song that gently wraps your wounded heart
- Heal your heart with love ballads: A collection of pure love and heartbreak songs.
- Breakup songs that are easy to sing at karaoke. Recommended classics and popular hits.
- [For when you want to cry] A ballad love song. A heartbreaking love song.
Tear-jerking love songs: Love ballads that comfort aching hearts (121–130)
sympathetic tearsHitoto Yo

A debut work by Yo Hitoto that delicately portrays people’s emotions in our lonely modern society.
Amid an information-saturated daily life, the protagonist searches for a place to belong, gently expressing the warmth of a heart that empathizes with others’ tears and stays by their side.
Its original sound weaves together elements of gospel, R&B, and oriental influences, beautifully harmonizing with her crystal-clear vocals.
Since its release in October 2002, the song reached No.
4 on the Oricon weekly chart.
The following year, it won the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist and was performed on the NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen.
It’s a song I sincerely want to share with those struggling with human connections or those who feel the urge to be there for someone.
So she’s not your girlfriend, huh?Ueno Yūka

A poignant breakup ballad by Yuuka Ueno that portrays the final moments of a couple who have decided to part and arranged to meet one last time.
Crafted by Yohei Hashiguchi of wacci, this song is included on the mini-album “Konya Atashi ga Naite mo,” released in March 2020.
With great care, it traces the feelings of a woman who holds dear memories close to her heart as she tries to accept reality, conveying both the loneliness of no longer being able to be with the one she loved and her resolve to face forward even while lingering attachments remain.
Ueno’s gentle vocals and the warm melody quietly encourage those who, while confronting the pain of farewell, are ready to take a new step forward.
I don’t want to see you; I want to see you.Ueno Yūka

A ballad by Yuuka Ueno that sets painfully bittersweet scenes of heartbreak—so vivid they make your chest ache just remembering—against a simple, piano-led melody.
Six months after the breakup, the protagonist’s heart is still tangled in conflicting emotions born from being unable to forget their former lover: aching to see them, yet not wanting to.
Included on the January 2019 album “Sukina Hito wa Anata datta” (“You Were the One I Loved”), this song is sure to resonate deeply with anyone who has gone through a breakup and still hasn’t sorted out their feelings.
When they suddenly come to mind in a quiet moment, why not listen to this track and face your true feelings?
just a littleIgarashi Haru

A song whose heartrending, soul-stirring vocals move every listener.
With delicate wording, it weaves a poignant love swayed by the whims of fate—encounters that come at the wrong time.
Haru Igarashi is a singer-songwriter with the unusual background of being a former police officer.
Released in March 2024, this work has drawn major attention, topping the Billboard JAPAN Heatseekers Songs chart for two consecutive weeks.
The line about pretending to like what the other person likes just to stay by their side is so earnest it tightens the chest.
Tear-jerking love songs: love songs that stay close to a hurting heart (131–140)
habit of laughingIgarashi Haru

A song that portrays the ache of a love too deep to forget, even as time passes.
In this track, Haru Igarashi delicately captures the frustration of how trivial everyday moments turn into special memories, and the poignancy of nights spent with those memories when you can’t move on.
Even the way the other person laughed and their gestures remain vividly etched in the mind, and the feeling is so intense that you find yourself praying to God, “Please let me forget everything.” Released in March 2025, this work will gently accompany those whose hearts are filled with memories they can’t forget, no matter how hard they try, and those who are still unable to accept parting from someone dear.
motion sickness from proximitywanuka

This song delicately portrays a sweet yet bittersweet love and the emotions of a woman who can no longer contain those feelings.
Wanuka’s gentle vocals beautifully capture both the strength of her longing and the frustration of being unable to express it.
With this hit, Wanuka—known for a distinctive musical style and worldview—became widely recognized.
Since its release in February 2021, the song quickly gained attention, especially on social media, and as a track included on the album “Aonisai,” it has come to symbolize the poignant love stories of today.
It is a song that offers comfort to those who keep their love a secret and to those who swallow their feelings.
Being lovedKazuki

A ballad by Kazuki, released in February 2025, that delicately portrays the pain of heartbreak and lingering attachment.
Based on lyrics written during a high school class, it tells the story of a couple who loved each other but, unable to be honest, ended up parting ways.
If they had never met, they might not have felt lonely—but once they learned what tenderness feels like, it never faded and remained in their hearts.
This song will resonate deeply with anyone carrying such bittersweet feelings.
A must-listen for those who struggle to be honest with their emotions or who have lost someone they dearly loved.


