The Smiley Smile Message Board

What are some of the best songs - and the first songs that come to mind - which deal with unrequited love?

I've just been through a bad case of this, and am a little shattered, so....

Layla by Derek and the Dominoes

I'm not quite sure if The Warmth Of The Sun by The Beach Boys count.... But surprisingly enough, I listened to it this morning and by the end of it my eyes were wet.... It was the first time I had ever cried to a song.....

Sorry to hear that, LSoN.

First that comes to mind (perhaps erroneously) is "Killing Me Softly" by Roberta Flack.

Then there's the sub-genre of age difference related unrequited love, as in "Born Too Late" by The Poni Tails...

I checked out a bunch of great songs on the subject but just about all relate to a broken relationship, not to a (for whatever reason) non-relationship.

This one fits the bill, looking at the lyrics. But oddly, it's decidedly upbeat. Stlll, it's from the age of discomania and in fact was used in the movie Saturday Night Fever:     


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlFAn8-kytM

Not sure if this fits the bill entirely. I heard it, possibly for the first time, in a documentary about the band Genesis a couple of days ago. It seems Phil was all over the 1980s----my only problem at the time was sorting out Genesis songs from Phil songs. According to Wikipedia, Collins claims "the song was modelled after The Beach Boys' 'Sail On, Sailor', Sly and the Family Stone's 'Hot Fun in the Summertime' and Toto's 'Hold the Line'." One Youtuber heard the Toto song in it but my first thought was of "Hot Fun". I think it's lovely, if rather sad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mCeEGNbM-U

Not to date myself, but how about 'RUNNING BEAR AND LITTLE WHITE DOVE'?

Great song (and yes, you are dating yourself) but it's more of a hopeless love thing than a one-sided love thing.

I suppose there's always this one (which certainly dates me) from Fats Domino:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSElj-qm5Jc

Hey Labe, heart on the mend now, is it?

Hopeless love thangs are such a downer. No pain no gain. If you still have the capacity to be truly hurt, congratulate yourself. It means you're a healthy human. I don't know the details of your situation, how close you really got, but I hope you didn't hear it through the grapevine. At any rate, there's a great song in there somewhere.

Eh, well it's getting better by the day. A close friend of mine as it turns out also went through a rough break-up the very same day, so there's been a lot to deal with.

I've Got My Mojo Working by Muddy Waters is another terrific song that fits the topic BTW

The Temptations' "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)":   https://youtu.be/71iFRPjgeqM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_My_Imagination_(Running_Away_with_Me)

Unrequited Love by Masked Intruder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb42JK8BFRM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb42JK8BFRM)

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the obvious one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgMTGPFLkvg

Radiohead is one of those bands that has passed me by entirely. Coldplay is another.

An interesting subgenre of unrequited love songs is the wedding night/honeymoon gone wrong:

Used to own this tear-jerker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y0uPRvUEYg 

This one is incredibly upbeat considering the circumstances: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daxiMb0rITA

 

My whole life's soundtrack is unrequited love. That might be changing now...or it might not. Heart of mine, be still. You can play with fire, but you'll get the bill.

Many of Daniel Johnston's songs are about unrequited love (specifically for a girl he knew in high school named Laurie, who dated and later married an undertaker)

(https://s16.postimg.io/7q8uel2ed/karenn.jpg)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jixeE8gkT-s

edit: wrong thread.

Along with "Those Good Old Dreams", my favorite The Carpenters song. Missed this post by friend 1st time around.

A lot of people hate it, but my favorite heartbreak album is easily Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak. That means so much to me that I can barely speak about it. It's my Blood on the Tracks.

Can't promise I'll like it, Ovi, but I've got it lined up for listening after I finish with Tales from Topographic Oceans. I expect the difference between that and 808s & Heartbreak to be considerable. ;D

Cool, I need to hear Tales as well for curiosity sake. I'm not a big Yes fan at all.

There's a lot of it! But there are lots of interesting things going on. But as I say, it's l o n g . . .

If you just want one Yes track, I would suggest the title track off Close to the Edge, which is probably their masterpiece (it starts very quietly):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51oPKLSuyQY

I like parts of Close to the Edge. But my favorite Yes album is Fragile by far where I think they're both technically impressive and accessible/rocking.

Also, about 808's I think you kinda need to be a Kanye fan to even understand where it comes from. Do you like his early stuff? Otherwise I wouldn't recommend 808's as a starting point at all.

Oh my goodness then I think I have a problem, lol. I hardly know who he is----I'm certainly not familiar with his music. Although people around me are saying he's really good. Where would you suggest I start?

1. Leave all preconceptions at the door
2. The College Dropout, his excellent soul-infused debut. Then proceed forwards chronologically if you like what you hear.

 ;D

Thanks, Ovi. It's lined up for the coming days....

Teenage Kicks
Teenage Kicks
Teenage Kicks
Teenage Kicks
Teenage Kicks
Teenage Kicks
Teenage Kicks
Teenage Kicks
Teenage Kicks
Teenage Kicks
Teenage Kicks
Teenage Kicks

Larry posted "Take Me For A Little While" by The Koobas in his blog. Believe it or not, didn't hear this song before, any rendition. But since I like comparing, I did what Larry said, checked the versions by Evie Sands, Trade Martin (songwriter), Cher, Dusty Springfield etc. Evie sings with desperation, like she really means what she says, really going to get the guy back - not good, dislike too expressive leads usually. Dusty sings like she's crying - too degrading, dislike also (btw, don't like her voice - hers, Urge Overkill's & "Surf Rider" were the 3 bad songs during "Pulp Fiction". The remainder's great). Trade's OK. Cher's indifferent - gotta say, I don't like her voice (don't care for Sonny either). Doesn't help it's got that foul "snore" percussion. The others - girl groups which I'm no fan at all.
The Koobas did it nicely, it's faster & catchier but funnily, despite liking harpsichord, I didn't like it here. The song's not my bag. Why add the ethereal "oohs"? Wish at least smb. didn't include it. Alas, it's important in this type song, isn't it? ::) Besides, the (pre-)chorus Larry describes as "the kind of dramatic tension perfect for soul balladry" is precisely the thing I hate (rare disagreement with the blogger :)). Anyhoo, just some song I found that fits the topic.