54 Songs About Secrets and Keeping Secrets

FlourishAnyway believes there is a playlist for just about any situation and is on a mission to unite and entertain the world through song.

Got a Secret? Can You Keep It?

The moment you share a secret, you've lost all control of it. It's no longer yours. That's because it's in people's natures to be tellers, particularly if there is no direct consequence to them.

If you have secrets—and who among us doesn't?—then here's a fun playlist about them to enjoy. We have a long list of pop, rock, and country songs to help you celebrate the intrigue of secret and secret keeping.

1. "Secrets" by OneRepublic

Tired of insincerity, the narrator in this 2009 song decides to open up and be truly authentic. No lies, no secrets, just him. The song has been used heavily to promote both products and entertainment, from the launch of a Ralph Lauren perfume to ads for the Pretty Little Liars television series.

2. "Secrets" by Mary Lambert

What a perfect song to play when you're done hiding from the world! In this 2014 song, the saucy narrator spills her guts and decides to skip the shame. From being bipolar to sharing her homosexuality and family dysfunction, she embraces all the things that make her quirky:

They tell us from the time we're young
To hide the things that we don't like about ourselves
Inside ourselves.
I know I'm not the only one who spent so long attempting to be someone else.
Well I'm over it.

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3. "Secret" by Maroon 5

This 2002 alternative rock song alludes to being out of sync with one's partner during sex. The narrator wants to go faster than his partner, but there is a secret between them creating an unbridgeable distance. It sounds like someone is just going through the motions.

4. "Secret" by The Pierces

Benjamin Franklin once said, "Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead." This 2007 rock song is a twist on that famous quote.

The song contends that we're all compelled to be secret tellers and "two can keep a secret, if one of them are dead." Accordingly, secrets burn our brains and become our own living hell, so we have to reduce the tension and tell someone. The song became the theme song for Pretty Little Liars, a teen mystery-thriller television show.

5. "Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers

This well-known 1966 song portrays the life of a spy as both dangerous and seductive. With his name replaced by a number, our James Bond-type figure must be careful what he says. The upside, however, is that he enjoys the perks of swinging on the Riviera and kissing persuasive lips.

6."Dirty Little Secret" by The All-American Rejects

Imagine being someone's side dish, a lover who is not important enough to be their main squeeze. Then imagine that your secret lover issues veiled threats against revealing your clandestine relationship or else it'll all be over. What would you do? How did you get yourself into this mess?

Clearly, this 2005 hit portrays a relationship with a power imbalance:

I'll keep you my dirty little secret
(Dirty little secret)
Don't tell anyone, or you'll be just another regret
(Just another regret, hope that you can keep it).
My dirty little secret.

7. "Secret Lovers" by Atlantic Starr

Sometimes, people find a more suitable partner after they are already married. In this 1985 pop song, two people who claim to have happy marriages risk it all to be together.

Apparently, however, they aren't ready to leave their marriages; very few affairs end up happily ever after. To protect their secret love affair, they find that they must sneak around and watch the clock during their trysts.

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8. "Live to Tell" by Madonna

This pop ballad from 1986 is about family secrets, deceit, and mistrust. The narrator alludes to the emotional toll that secret keeping can take on a person.

9. "No One Knows" by Queens of the Stone Age

This catchy 2002 song refers to the special gift that the narrator's love interest gives to him: "No one knows the gift that you give to me."

However, the message behind the remainder of the lyrics is apparently so secret that even the band acknowledges they aren't entirely sure of the meaning. (What?) Yep, sometimes songs are like poetry — mashups of words and phrases that blend well. And then there's that video to add to the secret randomness.

10. "Dirty Little Secret" by Sarah Mclachlan

The narrator in this 2004 ballad has been up all night drinking. Her lover has left her after rumors around town revealed a secret about her. She hopes that it's not too late to save their relationship by coming clean about other secrets. But is she too late?

11. "Secret" by Seal

This 2010 is as touching as it is repetitive. It's about owning your secrets and being owned by them. Anyone with a big secret who struggles to keep it knows precisely what that feels like.

12. "Our Lips Are Sealed" by The Go-Go's

The protagonist in this 1981 song points out that jealous others are gossiping about the her and her friend. However, she tries to reassure her upset friend that rumors don't matter. She suggests that an effective technique is to simply ignore them and stand strong:

When you look at them
Look right through them.
That's when they'll disappear.
That's when we'll be feared.

13. "Little Secrets" by Passion Pit

In this 2011 song, the narrator has a secret that has caused "salty wounds" and feelings of shame, and it has stolen something intangible but valuable from him. Even worse, his family doesn't support him in his pain. He finds an alternative to allow him to cope with the secret and its effects.

14. "Talking in Your Sleep" by The Romantics

Somniloquy, or sleep talking, is a real phenomenon, although rare. It occurs mostly in children and males and can involve gibberish, complex dialog, or uninterpretable mumbling. Sleep talking can be induced either by talking to the sleeper or it may occur spontaneously.

In this 1983 pop song, the narrator's lover gets awful chatty once she falls asleep. Luckily, the only secrets she's spilling is how much she loves the narrator.

You tell me that you want me.
You tell me that you need me.
You tell me that you love me.
And I know that I'm right
'Cause I hear it in the night.
I hear the secrets that you keep.
When you're talking in your sleep.

15. "Confessions Part II" by Usher

When you're getting extra lovin' on the sly, these things can happen: Unintended pregnancies. Now the protagonist in this 2004 song has to confess to his main squeeze what he's been doing. And he has to live with the consequences of his exposed secret. Someone's in deep trouble with the Mrs.

16. "Secret" by Madonna

Some people have a magical way of making you love and believe in yourself again. The narrator in this pop song from 1994 is grateful that her lover has entered her life. He has a secret way of touching her soul and bringing her happiness.

17. "Diary" by Alicia Keys

The protagonist in this 2003 song pleads with her lover to open up his heart and tell all, like one does with a diary. She promises she won't tell a soul. She seems to be his secret lover.

18. "Secret" by Heart

This 1990 rock song describes the anguish of two lovers who cannot reveal their relationship to the world. They lead very different lives and are torn between attraction and letting go. They feel compelled to keep their secret:

Why do we keep this love together
Didn't we know right from the start
That we would have to keep this secret
Or be doomed to stay apart?

19. "All About You" by Hilary Duff

In this 2015 folk-pop song, the protagonist teases her lover by suggesting that he could be her dirty little secret or her rumor. She offers to meet him anywhere, whether in the backseat or in first class on an airplane. She says she's really into him and wants to show him how much.

20. "Secret Girl" by Alex Goot

If you've ever had a secret crush, then you can identify with the intense longing felt by the guy in this 2010 song. He barely knows his secret girl's name, however he finds himself thinking about her all the time. She's a great distance away and he wants to bridge the gulf that divides them.

Even More Songs About Secrets

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

Questions & Answers

Question: Is "Tennessee Whiskey" by Chris Stapleton a love song?

Answer: That 2015 Country rock song was previously recorded by David Allan Coe as well as George Jones. It is indeed a love song in which the narrator, a recovering alcoholic, praises his partner for rescuing him from "reachin' for the bottom," and brought him "back from bein' too far gone." He describes his partner as smooth, sweet, and warm, and compares her love to whiskey in a number of ways.

© 2016 FlourishAnyway

Comments

FlourishAnyway (author) from USA on May 26, 2020:

Jonas - Thanks for sharing. I wish you the best in your life.

FlourishAnyway (author) from USA on April 28, 2020:

Peggy - I hope you were able to find some new songs that were appealing. Thank you for the visit. Hope you are having a good day!

Peggy Woods from Houston, Texas on April 27, 2020:

Secret Agent Man is the only song title that rang a bell out of this list. In reading the comments, Paula's Beatles song is another one very familiar to me.

Jonas on March 16, 2020:

Well, I'm Transgender and bisexual, my biggest secret of all time. I came out last week tho, so it isn't a secret anymore. But it was a quite huge secret I had

FlourishAnyway (author) from USA on March 04, 2020:

cm - Thanks for sharing your secret with us. We won't tell. Good luck!

cm on March 03, 2020:

I have a secret... I have a “friend” that secretly comes over almost every weekend. We keep it from our friends because we know their reaction will not be pleasant so it’s better to hide it. But I’m afraid I’m becoming restless hiding us away because I love him. Might not stay a secret much longer...

Side note: great list! Found some new songs to relate to :)

FlourishAnyway (author) from USA on April 13, 2017:

Paula - That's one great way to keep secrets. In one ear and lost forever. Thanks for reading! Have a great Easter.

Suzie from Carson City on April 13, 2017:

Is that "The Beatles" I hear?? "Listen.....do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell? Ohhhh, closer, Let me whisper in your ear~~say the things you long to hear...."

Another great song hub. What can I say except it's terrific and I love it.

I've gotten sooo good at keeping secrets since I turned 65 a few years back. What you tell me, stays with me.....or it goes somewhere because what ever you told me, I've forgotten!

Peace, Paula

FlourishAnyway (author) from USA on April 13, 2017:

Anthony Tower - My lips are sealed. I promise not to tell. Promise. Have a great week!

FlourishAnyway (author) from USA on April 13, 2017:

Anthony Tower - Your secret is safe with us. We won't breathe a word. I've found that when parents make a crush off-limits, they make that person seem irresistable to their son or daughter.

Anthony Tower on April 12, 2017:

I have a crush that I keep trying to talk to that my parents are trying to stop speaking to. Happy Wednesday! Don't tell anybody

FlourishAnyway (author) from USA on November 29, 2016:

pstraubie48 - Everyone has secrets, some people juicier than others! Thanks for reading. Hope you are well!

pstraubie48 on November 28, 2016:

O my.....the dangers of secrets...I will never tell...once another, just one other knows the secret....that is when things get complicated, maybe.

You have a collection of songs that all secret keepers, no doubt, listen to and chuckle, perhaps.

Angels are once again on the way ps

FlourishAnyway (author) from USA on November 14, 2016:

Gypsy Rose Lee - So many secrets to keep, secrets to tell. Some folks burst at the seems rather than keep them!

Gypsy Rose Lee from Daytona Beach, Florida on November 14, 2016:

A most impressive hub. I didn't know there were so many songs about secrets. Thanks for sharing.

FlourishAnyway (author) from USA on November 13, 2016:

MartieCoetser - I've often imagined what it'd be like to be able to "see" people's hidden secrets, floating above their heads like labels as they walk in public. It would be entertaining and interesting, probably a bit horrifying as well. Thank you for visiting. Have a good day, my South African friend.

Martie Coetser from South Africa on November 13, 2016:

So many songs about secrets?! Interesting too, most secrets have something to do with sex. I bet there are more adulterers than criminals in this world. Lol! Thank you for this list, Flourish!

FlourishAnyway (author) from USA on November 11, 2016:

LInda - Thank you for taking a look! Hopefully you found a new song or two that you enjoyed. Have a lovely weekend!

Linda Crampton from British Columbia, Canada on November 10, 2016:

I don't know any of the songs, but as usual I enjoyed the descriptions. Your ability to repeatedly produce great playlist articles is impressive!

FlourishAnyway (author) from USA on November 09, 2016:

MsDora - Mary Lambert's song is one of my favorites! She has a beautiful voice. Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful week.

Dora Weithers from The Caribbean on November 09, 2016:

I love the Mary Lambert attitude and the Paul Tournier quote. Those secret lovers are bound to get into trouble.

FlourishAnyway (author) from USA on November 08, 2016:

Bill - Ha! Thanks for reading! Now you have a list of 50 songs about secrets in case you ever need it! Have a great week ahead.

FlourishAnyway (author) from USA on November 08, 2016:

Heidi - Happy Tuesday to you too! Thank you for stopping by! Have a great rest of your week!

FlourishAnyway (author) from USA on November 08, 2016:

Larry - That's a great suggestion! I'm adding it as #50. Thanks so much for stopping by and for offering your input. Have a great week!

Larry Rankin from Oklahoma on November 08, 2016:

What about "Ace in the Hole" by George Strait?

Another wonderful list:-)

Heidi Thorne from Chicago Area on November 08, 2016:

Love Madonna's "Secret." And, of course, it's no secret that you've got these playlist posts nailed! :) Happy Tuesday!

Bill Holland from Olympia, WA on November 08, 2016:

God, I couldn't think of one song having to do with secrets. Good thing you're writing this series and not me. :)