Yearning hurts. A lot.
Pining after someone or something is grueling, but it seems to be a universal human experience. It is for that reason that there are countless songs that perfectly convey the type of pain that comes with desperate longing, and here are ten I recommend adding to your next playlist.
- “The giver” by sarah kinsley
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I had been anxiously awaiting the release of this song after Sarah Kinsley posted a snippet of it on Tik Tok this past summer, and she finally released it!
“The Giver” is about waiting for a person and letting them use you in the hopes that eventually they’ll come around and give you as much as you give them. Ouch! Kinsley’s specific and beautiful lyricism will surely break your heart: “But I’m a giver and he’s immune / He is hungry for someone but doesn’t know who.”
- “ur so pretty” by wasia project
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This song is just gorgeous. The feeling of being absolutely enamored with someone while terrified that they’ll leave you is always a gut punch!
“‘Cause you’re so pretty / When you smile, it kills me, oh / You’re the only person left so hold me, don’t leave me.” This song gets me every time.
- “Hunger” by florence + the Machine
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This is easily one of my favorite songs of all time. The entire album is brilliant, and “Hunger” articulates the idea that we all have some emptiness or deep longing, a “hunger,” that lives inside of us.
In a “Rolling Stone” interview Florence Welch stated that “Hunger” is about “The ways we look for love in things that are perhaps not love, and how attempts to feel less alone can sometimes isolate us more.” I’m certain this song can resonate with everyone on some level, and I cannot recommend it enough.
“Don’t let them get you down / You’re the best thing I’ve seen / We never found the answer, but we knew one thing / We all have a hunger.” Just stunning.
- “Angela” by flower face
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The feeling of desperately missing someone you were once in love with is beautifully expressed in “Angela.” This song also emphasizes the idea of always carrying those we love with us. The use of imagery is also great! It is set in Montreal and Flower Face does a lovely job painting a picture for listeners.
“Your softness still haunts me / Someday I’ll find my way out of here / If you don’t change your mind my dear / I’ll take you with me.”
- “all i ever asked” by rachel chinouriri
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Asking someone you love for the bare minimum and realizing they’re incapable of giving that to you is heartbreaking. Rachel Chinouriri hit the nail on the head with this one.
“Just a little more time, was it really that hard to do? / It was all I ever asked of you.” Say it louder!
- “gold star” by quinnie
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Quinnie went viral after releasing “Touch Tank” this past July. “Gold Star” is one of her earlier releases and it is the perfect acoustic indie heartbreak song.
This song captures the feeling of desperately trying to earn the attention, approval, affection, love, etc. of a certain someone: “Talk to strangers in the elevator so you think I’m friendly like you / Make my bed for you for when you finally come through / Do I write these sad songs just to sing them to you?”
- “Steal my heart away” by The paper kites and ainslie wills
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The Paper Kites adopt an ambient synth 80s pop vibe in “Steal My Heart Away,” and I absolutely eat it up.
It is just such a beautiful love song: “I’m walking around in some kind of dream / I can’t help wondering at the feeling that we’ll / Never know if we don’t say what we mean / ‘Cause you steal my heart away.”
- “waiting room” by Phoebe Bridgers
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Nothing destroys me the way “Waiting Room” does, especially the lyric “Wanna make you fall in love as hard as my poor parents’ teenage daughter / She’ll be the best you ever had if you let her.”
Phoebe Bridgers fully embraces the pain of unrequited love in this song, making the point that she’d suffer just for the chance that the object of her desire will notice her. Her lyricism never fails to amaze me.
- “Pressure to party” by julia jacklin
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There is no one “right” way to deal with a breakup, and in “Pressure to Party” Julia Jacklin details the pressure she felt to “get back out there” after a failed relationship.
Her lyricism highlights the longing and whirlwind of emotions that often accompanies the end of a relationship: “Out on the dance floor with my body back / Meeting a stranger, touching his face / I don’t want anyone to ever take your place.”
- “I’d Have to think about it” by leith ross
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I am a Leith Ross fan through and through until the day I die. The specificity and eloquence of their lyrics always hits home, and “I’d Have to Think About It” will always be one of my favorite songs.
It puts into words the experience of always having a place in your heart for someone, of being unable to completely shake them off: “And if you come to me when I’ve promised to commit / If you told me that you loved me / And asked me for a kiss / Well I’d at least have to think about it.”
This is your invitation to cry it out and feel everything. Happy listening!