Love can be a wonderful thing. It's one of the things that motivates and intrigues humans. We see it everywhere, especially in popular culture. There's a whole plethora of songs we can listen to during the highs, songs we can relate to and sing to and that build us up. There's songs we listen to during the lows, the songs we play when we need to eat ice cream in our room alone and cry. It feels good to listen to a relate-able song, doesn't it?
But what I've noticed is that many popular songs fall into one of two categories: "I love this person" or "I hate my ex." Sure that's cool and all, but those aren't the only two situations people are in when they have relationship problems, are they?
As a theatre nerd, I listen to many more showtunes than popular music, and have stumbled upon a number of highly specific, yet relate-able, songs for one of the worst things about relationships: unrequited love. To be honest, my love life has been nothing but shitty, and these songs have helped me through the lows, so now I'm going to share them with you and hope they do the same.
1. "On my Own," Les Misérables
In "On my Own," Eponine walks the streets of Paris alone, expressing her love for Marius, dreaming about how she wished they could be together but knowing that he loves another. She's sad but realistic, and perfectly sums up the thoughts of a person who faces unrequited love.
Favorite Line
I'm going to go with "Without me, his world will go on turning. A world that's full of happiness that I have never known." It's heartbreaking and realistic. And I admire the character Eponine for admitting that to herself. In fact, I sing these very lyrics to myself every day when I see my own crush at school, and they help keep me grounded.
2. "Satisfied," Hamilton
Even more painful that unrequited love can be love that /almost/ worked. Although not all of us may be as selfless as Angelica and sacrifice their love for someone else, I'm sure most of us have had the experience of smiling and trying to be happy as the one who /almost/ worked out walks off happily with someone else.
Favorite Line
"So so so, so this is what is feels like to match wits with someone at your level, what the hell is the catch?" Not exactly a heartbreaking line, but I'm sure you may be familiar with the feeling of meeting the person who it seems you've been waiting for forever... only to realize it will never work out.
3. "Another Day," Rent
Well it's a flat-out rejection. Not much more explanation needed here.
Favorite Line
"Forget regret, or life is yours to miss." What frustrates me most is when a couple doesn't get together because they are afraid of what may happen. Maybe it could have turned out wonderfully. But you'll never know because you were too afraid to take the risk.
4. "All I Ask of You (Reprise)," The Phantom of the Opera
Okay so while the Phantom himself is a little obsessive and out of control, anyone can relate to the feelings in this song of having invested so much in the person you love, only to have them love someone else.
Favorite Line
"He was bound to love you when he heard you sing." This line is so sad because the Phantom is simply admitting that, really, who wouldn't love Christine? In this moment he feels hopeless.
5. "Bad Idea," Waitress
This song is the most humorous but also the most relate-able, in my opinion, and my personal favorite. Another song about love that just can't work out, Jenna and Dr. Pomatter try desperately to quell their feelings for each other, knowing it will lead to nothing good, but continue, leading themselves into a bigger mess. This song is actually quite different than the other four, and I think this one hits close to home for me, which is why I've chosen to include it.
Favorite Line
"It's a bad idea, me and you." This one affects me personally, though, as I've messed around with guys before and ended up with a broken heart. What struck me with this song is every time I did something with a certain guy, one of us would say beforehand, "This is a bad idea." And, ultimately, it was.
Bonus: "The Final Lair," Phantom of the Opera
You can't help but feel bad for the Phantom here, amiright?
Spoiler alert: This is the final song of the Phantom of the Opera, and if you plan on listening to the full musical in the future, I'd skip this song because it contains major spoilers.
What Girls & Guys Said
Opinion
1Opinion
Those are fine songs, but I don't think any of those songs ever move the audience. Like "Satisfied" is a fantastic song (apparently, my Android phone identifies it as my favorite song), but I can't say that anyone actually cries for Angelica. However, whenever Alice Ripley did "So Anyway" in Next to Normal, the audience was left sniffling. You know like "Oh my god, she's really leaving him!".