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)
worst; minimum; the lowest; awfulren
Carried by a piano melody where poignancy and fragility melt together, Ren’s translucent voice resonates throughout.
Portraying the anguish and heartache of a protagonist who can’t forget their feelings even while their lover keeps secrets, this work lays bare the inability to say anything to someone who’s crying, as well as the anxieties and frustrations lodged in both hearts.
Released in October 2022, it sparked major buzz, with a short video set against Tokyo’s night skyline—posted on social media—surpassing one million views.
With lyrics and a melody that speak to Gen Z, this song gently embraces listeners struggling with impossible love, such as affairs or unrequited feelings.
Timeless songs about forbidden love (51–60)
Shitsuren feat. MatsuriTakase Tōya
A duet song by Toya Takase and Matsuri that delicately portrays the emotions of two people consumed by a forbidden love.
Within a relationship so dependent that they can’t even bring themselves to part, the contradictions and inner conflicts born from caring too much for each other are expressed with aching tenderness.
Released in June 2024, the song has resonated especially with Gen Z.
It’s a moving track that offers solace to those experiencing a bittersweet love—longing for someone while suffering under the weight of those very feelings.
Only the two of us in this worldano
It’s a heartrending love song about a secret romance.
Brimming with the kind of emotional nuance characteristic of ano, it was released in February 2025.
The lyrics and composition were done by ano herself, with arrangement by Regal Lily.
Incorporating elements of alternative rock, it portrays a special world shared by just two people.
While wrestling with the complications of the relationship, it conveys the desire to cherish those moments when true love can be felt.
Highly recommended as a song that stays close to the hearts of those in love.
selling oneselfRosu
A beautiful tragic love song that portrays the heartrending emotions of a woman living in the night city.
Amid a dark, mysterious atmosphere, the protagonist gives herself to a man she does not even love, while continuing to harbor unwavering feelings for the one she truly longs for.
In a darkness without even a single ray of light, the searing emotions of a woman consumed by an impossible love are vividly expressed through Ros’s protean vocals.
Released in March 2022, the song is also included on the album “Yoru no Shizu.” It is a track that deeply resonates with those pained by unrequited love or troubled by a forbidden romance.
Cinderella BoySaucy Dog
This song is included on Saucy Dog’s mini-album “Lazy Sunday,” which weaves a heart-wrenching love story that tightens the chest.
It portrays a bittersweet, inescapable dependence, even while suffering the agony of being torn apart by the other person’s lies.
Coupled with a melodious rock sound and written from a female perspective, it leaves a lingering aftertaste where sorrow and affection intermingle.
Released in August 2021, it also drew attention for its animation-style music video by Miku Masuda.
In 2022, the band appeared on Music Station.
It’s a recommended track for those struggling with complex feelings toward someone they love or seeking empathy in the subtleties of human relationships.
You are a cigarette; I am a soap bubble.Lovely Summer Chan
A melancholic guitar-pop song by Lovely Summer Chan that delicately depicts the end of a bittersweet love.
Featured on her major-label debut album “LSC,” released in November 2016, the track expresses the faint feelings for someone out of reach and the fragility of having no choice but to accept it.
Through the contrast between “cigarettes,” a symbol of adulthood, and “soap bubbles,” which vanish in an instant, it strikingly portrays the distance between two people who can never truly meet.
It’s a highly relatable song that offers comfort to those who strive to move forward even while suffering from an unrequited love.
Sleepless nights are because of you.MISIA
A wistful medium-tempo ballad released in August 2002.
It portrays the inner turmoil of being drawn to someone you shouldn’t love, set against the loneliness of the night and fragile hopes.
The earnest feelings—sleeplessness when memories surface, the desperate wish to see them even if only in a dream—are delicately woven through MISIA’s rich expressiveness.
Included on the album “KISS IN THE SKY,” the song was used in Kirin Beverage’s “RAKUDA” commercial and served as the theme song for the Fuji TV drama “Love Quotient” (Ren’ai Hensachi).
Recommended for those who want to connect with the bittersweetness and depth of romantic feelings.