128 Songs About Unrequited Love

Author:
FlourishAnyway
Updated date:
Dec 22, 2021

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

If you love someone you cannot have, yearn for a lover who is out of your league, or covet a love interest who is just not that into you, make an unrequited love playlist of pop, rock, country, and R&B songs.
Devon Divine via Unsplash, Free Domain, modified by FlourishAnyway

Songs About Loving Someone You Can't Have

Ah, the sweet misery of unrequited love! It's about as subtle and tender as hitting your thumb with a hammer. Some people say you can't help who you love, and unfortunately, you are utterly charmed with someone who is:

out of your league
just not that into you
unaware of your existence
unavailable (i.e., married, in a serious relationship)
an inappropriate love target (e.g., teacher)

Every fascinating detail of your beloved's existence races through your mind. You create excuses to be near them. You want to listen to their important opinions, breathe their rarefied air, and perhaps "accidentally" brush against their sweet skin (don't get weird on us). You lose your train of thought in their presence, your pulse quickens, and there's no controlling your goo-goo eyes.

In return, however, it's clear that the object of your desire doesn't share your enthusiasm. This is a one-way love affair. Welcome to one of the worst types of self-doubt: why can't you love me? If this is you, then grab a pint of ice cream and nurse that wounded pride and dejected spirit with a playlist of pop, rock, country, and R&B tunes about unrequited love. We have a long list of favorites to start you out.

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1. "Not In That Way" by Sam Smith

Deep down dwells the hollow realization that this love flows in only one direction. The narrator in this crushing 2014 pop ballad holds back a wall of pent-up emotion, and you expect them to start sobbing at any moment.

They are afraid to express romantic love for a friend because they fear the truth that their friend loves them ... but not in a sensual way. They intuit they'll be rejected, so no reason exists to verbalize their feelings. That would only create additional awkwardness between the friends. Thus, in silent misery, the narrator continues to pine away. Grammy Award-winning singer Sam Smith announced they were nonbinary (they/them) in 2019.

2. "The Heart Wants What It Wants" by Selena Gomez

Have you ever coveted the love and attention of someone who doesn't have your best interests at heart? Selena Gomez knows a thing or two about that, both in real life and in this sultry 2014 pop/R&B song. The globally popular tune features a woman who waits on her lover to call and in so doing acknowledges to herself that the guy isn't good for her.

Sadly, she's in love with a player who enters and exits her life at will, thus creating for her a cycle of excitement, abandonment, and disillusionment. How terribly unhealthy. This dude is calling all of the shots in their relationship, and she's allowing it. While the narrator wastes a lot of time waiting on him to come around, the lovesick woman remains uncertain about any future together with him. And what's her excuse for not emotionally taking care of herself? She reasons:

But the heart wants what it wants
The heart wants what it wants.

Gomez dated pop star Justin Bieber on and off from 2011-2018. The Canadian bad boy suddenly married model Hailey Baldwin in 2018 after a two-month engagement, surprising fans, Gomez, and probably even himself.

3. "Everything You Want" by Vertical Horizon

Love isn't something that can be forced. The spark of romantic attraction is either there or it's not. In this chart-topping 1999 alt-rock song, the narrator is enthralled with his best friend. His amorous feelings aren't reciprocated, however.

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4. "Can I Be Him" by James Arthur

The man in this 2017 pop ditty has laid eyes on his heart's desire, and suddenly she has made him whole. As he listens to her sing, it's as if she wrote the lyrics just for him. Although she doesn't notice him, the narrator yearns with every breath to be the one she tells her stories about. Her partner doesn't deserve this ethereal angel. Oh, if only he could be the one she loves.

5. "Call Out My Name" by The Weeknd

Fans of The Weeknd knew right away that this 2018 R&B song referenced his failed relationship with pop songstress Selena Gomez. The two dated for 10 months in 2017. The Weeknd laments falling for his sweetheart and feels used ("Guess I was just another pit stop").

Even so, the singer recalls treating his ex lovingly by putting her on a pedestal during their courtship. Gomez received a kidney transplant during the time that she dated The Weeknd. Ultimately, the organ was donated by her friend, actress Francia Raisa. He insinuates that he "almost" gave her a kidney, but that claim has been soundly refuted.

The Weeknd took this relationship bust-up harder than Gomez did. Shortly following the couple's split, she was spotted publicly smooching with on-again-off-again love interest Justin Bieber.

6. "Stephen" by Kesha

Oh, Kesha! Kesha has her eyes locked on Stephen from across the room. Our gal is in a bar, and she's so lit that she's coming on to another girl's boyfriend. Apparently, they all know one another. The crazy, obsessive narrator in this 2010 pop song is a masterful game player whose usual charms aren't working this time, and she's not at all happy about it.

It's a one-way attraction, and as Kesha waits for him to call her, rejection builds, making her feel pathetic and frustrated. Self-doubt dances through her mind, and she fancies hiding the object of her affection under her bed. Stephen, you aren't safe!

7. "Anymore" by Travis Tritt

In this country classic from 1991, Travis Tritt is still carrying a torch for a previous lover. Although he has tried to move on from their failed relationship by pushing down and denying his true feelings for her, he remains emotionally stranded. He's been pretending he doesn't love her anymore. Now he's ready to make one last appeal to win her heart.

8. "Almost Lover" by A Fine Frenzy

Love is all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Partners may have different relationship goals or be at different junctures of their lives. Ultimately, the result is bittersweet reminiscence.

In this 2007 pop ballad, a woman recalls being led on by a romantic attachment. Their romance was adventurous in the moment, but the relationship had different meanings to each of them. Now it's just a memory. While she is heartsick, does he even remember her?

9. "I Hate Myself for Loving You" by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts

This 1988 infectious rock tune portrays a woman who has lost both her heart and her pride to a man who gives her the runaround. It is one of Joan Jett's signature songs. Word on the street is that her disrespectin' beloved is a no-good two-timer. At 1:45 a.m., she still waits for him to show, and it's finally sinking in that those rumors are true. She's beating herself up for letting this jerk treat her so badly—another fool in love.

10. "Grenade" by Bruno Mars

In love and in life, we tend to be either care givers or care receivers. The narrator in this 2010 pop song is a giver and a pleaser who has been taken for granted by a woman who doesn't love him back. All he wants is to be loved, but that's a request too steep.

Now he views his ex as an evil woman who has led him on. Even so, he'd still do anything to protect her or prove his love, including:

catch a grenade
take a bullet through his brain
jump in front of a train
throw his hand on a blade

Sadly, however, this is a one-way love affair.

11. "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman

The lady in this 1977 disco chart-topper is barely getting through life because the object of her affection doesn't return her feelings. No matter how much this gal cries, her dreams of a shared life with him aren't panning out. As a result, she's painting the worst picture ever of how she'll get through this (i.e., she thinks she'll go crazy and her life will end). Seriously, some people have absolutely zero coping skills. This song about unrequited love appears on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and was also later recorded by the Bee Gees.

12. "I Can Love You Like That" by John Michael Montgomery

This 1995 country song is a heart melter. It's about a man who dearly loves a woman who has been waiting on love with someone else. Perhaps he's her best friend or a coworker who secretly pines after her. Believing himself to be the Prince Charming to her Cinderella, the narrator tries to convince his love interest that if given a chance he could give her the love and the life she deserves:

I can love you like that
I will make you my world
Move heaven and earth
If you were my girl.
I would give you my heart
Be all that you need
Show you you're everything
That's precious to me
If you give me a chance
I can love you like that.

13. "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" by Meat Loaf

I want you, I need you
But there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you
Now don't be sad
'Cause two out of three ain't bad.

You can't give someone what you don't have. Sadly, the narrator in this woeful 1978 rock classic already gave his heart to someone years ago, and that person didn't love him back. Because he's incapable of loving anyone else, he'll inflict the same pain on his current romantic partner.

Ironically, his girlfriend finds herself in the same position that he faced many years ago: a one-way love relationship that ends because the emotional demands for reciprocity become too much. The narrator is brutally candid that he just isn't feeling it. How crushing that he expects her to accept the truth and understand. Two out of three ain't bad, he reasons. But doesn't she deserve better?

14. "Whenever You Come Around" by Vince Gill

The weak-kneed narrator in this 1994 country ditty is swooning over the woman he loves, and like a preteen boy, he just can't find the words to confess to the cherub-faced beauty how he feels. The poor fella loses his nerve around his coveted sweetheart, going silent because he's scared to death of sharing his feelings. Unless he can overcome his anxiety, this affair of the heart will always be unrequited.

16. "Hello" by Adele

It's more than a touch creepy that the woman in this somber 2015 soul ballad has called "a thousand times" to apologize for breaking her ex-lover's heart and to verbally ruminate about their long-defunct relationship. It's been ages since they talked, and you would think she'd get a clue that he's, like, never home when she calls. Unrequited love indeed. Years ago when the narrator left him heartbroken, she never anticipated that the tables would turn and she'd be pining for him now.

The song was a worldwide smash hit for Adele and debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In addition, the songstress won Grammy Awards in the following three categories, a rare achievement: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance.

16. "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" by Sophie B. Hawkins

If you've ever zeroed in on a sexy stranger and had lustful thoughts about getting frisky with them, then this spunky 1992 pop-rock hit is singing your tune. Many people back in the day assumed the female narrator is addressing a man in the song. (Decades ago, there weren't many songs about sexual love between women.) However, the narrator goes full lesbian in, "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover." She's pining for an abused woman she sees, wishing she could rescue the stranger and ease her pain in a hero-worship psychosexual kind of way. It's powerful and edgy, but alas, the love connection never materializes.

17. "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt

Blues singer Bonnie Raitt recorded this 1991 gut-wrenching pop ballad in one perfect take. In addition to being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the song was included on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

The track describes the raw pain of love that is unreturned. Knowing that her partner doesn't share her amorous feelings, a woman wants to spend one last intimate night together before they part ways for good. (Frankly, I don't know why she would put herself through such torment.) Although she must be asking herself why she isn't enough, the narrator accepts his rejection:

Cause I can't make you love me if you don't
You can't make your heart feel something it won't.

18. "Un-Break My Heart" by Toni Braxton

As emotionally searing and authentic as this chart-busting R&B ditty from 1996 is, there's something that's just so embarrassing about listening to another person begging for love. Unrequited love often dissolves self-respect. A romantic breakup has left the narrator in this song shattered in pieces. You can just picture her bloodshot eyes, her face all a mess with tears and snot as she lays in bed for days at a time calling her ex to implore him to please just come back.

19. "To Be with You" by Mr. Big

Based on a true story, this 1991 rock hit features a teenage boy who pines away for his female friend. His secret sweetheart is a promiscuous young woman with a long line of boyfriends. Whereas those other guys disrespect her and spread talk about her, the song narrator has dreams of being the one who can genuinely love her and treat her with kindness. In real life, the songwriter never won the romantic attention of the girl.

20. "Drivers License" by Olivia Rodrigo

You'd think that a teen with a new driver's license would be happy, but for the girl in this 2021 power pop ballad it's a reminder that she has loved and lost. Sad and lonely, she now cruises through town using that driver's license that her former boyfriend encouraged her to get. They had both been looking forward to her being able to drive to his house. Now all she can do is drive through his neighborhood and reminisce. She wonders about her competition, an older blonde girl, and how he can move on so easily. Lop-sided love hurts like hell.

"When you give someone your whole heart and he doesn't want it, you cannot take it back. It's gone forever." - Sylvia Plath
Free Domain via Pixlr, modified by FlourishAnyway