A classic song about a forbidden love
Adultery dramas we often see in dramas, movies, and TV talk shows—the love that can never come true.
We’ve gathered songs about these “forbidden loves.” There are many beautifully portrayed dramas that make your heart race, but what if you yourself were to fall into a love that isn’t allowed…? Here, we’ll introduce plenty of songs that capture the bittersweet feelings of such forbidden love.
From songs told from a woman’s perspective to those from a man’s point of view, there are more tracks about forbidden love than you might think.
Perhaps that’s because many people are secretly suffering over a love that shouldn’t be….
- [Adultery Song] A forbidden song about an affair that sings of an impossible love
- [Cheating Song] A forbidden love that crossed the line — infidelity song
- A song of forbidden love. A love song about feelings that can't be stopped.
- [Unattainable Love] A love song about two people who feel the same way but can’t be together
- Unattainable Love: A Heartbreaking Love Song About Falling for a Married Person
- [Empathetic & Tear-Jerking] A love song about an unrequited romance
- [An Adulterous Love] A love song about a secret affair you can't tell anyone about
- A song of forbidden love. A heartrending, sorrowful love song.
- [Unrequited Love] Heart-wrenching Love Songs | A Roundup of Tear-Inducing Crush and Breakup Tracks
- Favorite Songs for Women in Their 50s: A Curated Selection of Sweet and Bittersweet Love Ballads!
- [Jealousy & Possessiveness Songs] A curated selection of popular tracks to listen to when possessiveness feels overwhelming!
- A roundup of love songs themed around homosexuality and LGBTQ+
- “I Want to See You”: A love song that makes you cry when you listen to it while you can’t meet
Masterpieces about forbidden love (41–50)
Through countless nightsCHEMISTRY
It’s a CHEMISTRY track that puts an aching poignancy front and center, depicting someone who keeps singing feelings that will never reach their destination.
The distinctive, floating sound seems to express a sense of emotional instability.
With its simple arrangement—wavering organ tones and vocals—the message embedded in the singing and lyrics feels all the more emphasized.
It powerfully conveys the pain of thinking about a beloved person who has gone away, and of piling up unreachable wishes within oneself.
A Place in the SunHamada Shogo
A heart-stirring ballad that portrays an illicit love affair.
Included on the album “Before the Generation of Love,” Shogo Hamada’s work gently embraces the aching feelings that slumber deep within the heart.
Since its release in March 1981, it has continued to profoundly move countless listeners.
While depicting a love in the form of an extramarital relationship, it conveys, throughout, the loneliness of hiding from prying eyes and the inner conflict of not wanting to ruin the other person’s life, giving it a depth that goes beyond a simple love song.
It is a gem of a track that quietly stands by the hearts of adults who carry the weight of family, work, and life itself.
WRONGyukaDD
This song captures the inner conflict of a woman who can’t bring herself to hate him, even though she knows his heart is drifting away.
The title “WRONG” means “mistake.” Many people experiencing a love that likely won’t come true will painfully understand the feeling of wanting to believe that their feelings for him are a mistake, trying to convince themselves of it.
You can really feel the heartache of the moment she realizes his true feelings.
This song was also chosen as the theme for the drama “When a Marriage Breaks.”
StrangersMatsutōya Yumi
Unknown Strangers is a song written by Yumi Matsutoya as the theme for the drama Mothers in Love.
The drama’s story is told from the perspective of women engaged in extramarital affairs.
Because it was written specifically for the show, the song carries a fitting atmosphere.
While it includes strong declarations about ending a relationship, the lyrics also reveal that she’s still in love deep down.
It’s not exactly a tear-jerking melody, but it evokes a sense of mature romance and quietly resonates in the heart as you listen.
PuzzleBAND-MAID
A connection that felt like destiny, yet a relationship that could never be.
This BAND-MAID song portrays the struggle of a forbidden love.
The way the narrator tells themselves it’s okay not to be someone special to the other person may resonate painfully with anyone in an unrequited love.
These helpless emotions are sung with delicacy over powerful beats and a passionate sound.
The track is included on the album “Just Bring It,” released in January 2017.
Even knowing it won’t be reciprocated, the feelings won’t stop—this is a work that stays close to that complex state of mind.
No PromiseChara
A song by Chara that portrays the aching feelings of a woman torn by a relationship without promises.
She longs to hold on to someone who seems about to leave, yet she can’t secure any promise for the future.
That inner conflict is delicately rendered in a whisper-like vocal.
Featured on the album “Soul Kiss,” released in July 1992, the song captures the frustration of being unable to stop loving someone—knowing it won’t be reciprocated, yet unable to let go—which perhaps only those who’ve experienced it can truly understand.
A love in which only one person suffers is something that, at some point, we probably ought to bring to an end.
nightSakamoto Maaya
This is a song by Maaya Sakamoto that evokes the protagonist’s aching emotions in a room after their lover has gone home.
Even as they desperately try to grasp the lingering fragrance of those happy moments, the memories slip through their fingers and vanish.
That elusive, fleeting quality seems to symbolize the poignancy of a forbidden love, making a deep impression.
The track is included on the acclaimed 2003 December release “Shōnen Alice.” Created during a period when Maaya Sakamoto was honing her expressive power as a stage actor, her vocals here exquisitely portray delicate emotions.
If you’re troubled by a relationship you can’t tell anyone about and find yourself savoring the loneliness of a solitary night, you’ll surely resonate with the protagonist’s solitary heart.