Tear-jerking unrequited love songs in Western music: recommended classics and popular tracks

Do I Wanna Know?Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys – Do I Wanna Know? (Official Video)

You want to know how the other person feels, but you’re afraid of the truth.

Everyone’s felt that kind of dilemma.

This song by the UK rock band Arctic Monkeys captures exactly that late-night struggle.

The heavy, resonant guitar riff feels like the turmoil swirling in your chest.

If you’ve ever spent a night wide awake, desperate to reach out but unable to, you’ll feel this all too well.

The repeated line, “I’d crawl back to you,” conveys a raw urgency—wanting them so much you’d cast aside your pride.

Even if the answer scares you, you can’t hold it in anymore.

Maybe this song is the very embodiment of that knife-edge state of unrequited love.

Bad ReligionFrank Ocean

Bad Religion

This is a song by American artist Frank Ocean that likens unrequited love for someone he can never be with to a “bad religion.” Structured as a confession to a taxi driver, the lyrics ache as he sings that his feelings for the other person are like a kind of faith.

Even knowing it won’t be returned, the inner conflict of loving as if in prayer will resonate painfully with anyone who’s been there.

Set against a solemn soundscape, his candid monologue conveys the helpless loneliness and sanctity of this love.

Perhaps that anguish is something no one else can truly understand.

Call Out My NameThe Weeknd

The Weeknd – Call Out My Name (Official Video)

This is a song by The Weeknd, a singer from Canada.

It expresses an unbreakable attachment and poignant lingering feelings toward a former partner.

Even while knowing she’s no longer his, he vows to drop everything if she ever calls for help—a one-sided devotion.

Such feelings, with nowhere to go, tighten the heart.

His vocals, like a cry from the soul, and the ethereal, beautiful melody pierce deeply into the chest.

Anyone who has suffered the pain of still thinking about someone even after the relationship has ended will likely empathize acutely with this feeling.

It might be a song that stays by your side until the very moment this love truly ends.

Make You Feel My LoveAdele

Adele – Make You Feel My Love (Official Video)

This is an unrequited love song by Adele, the new diva of the world who has cemented her presence with her distinctive vocals and overflowing originality.

The bittersweet yet passionate lyrics pair perfectly with the texture of her voice, resulting in a powerful work.

ShiverColdplay

Coldplay – Shiver (Official Video)

A track released in 2000 by the British rock band Coldplay.

It is said that frontman Chris Martin wrote the track inspired by Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia and a girlfriend he dated in his early twenties.

Laugh, I Nearly DiedThe Rolling Stones

Laugh, I Nearly Died – The Rolling Stones

A track included on the album A Bigger Bang, released by The Rolling Stones in 2005.

The album was acclaimed as “their best in years,” reached the Top 10 on charts around the world, and was certified platinum in four countries.

C’etait Toi (You Were the Only One)Billy Joel

Billy Joel – C’etait Toi (You Were the One) [Audio]

A track by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel.

It is included on the 1980 album Glass Houses.

The album reached the Top 10 on charts around the world and won both a Grammy Award and an American Music Award.