Five songs for the broken-hearted on Valentine’s Day
Love songs can take feelings of love and dial them up to 11; however, they can have a similar effect on a broken heart.
Why do songs remind us of lost loves so much?… Well, you don’t often speak feelings of love into existence, at least not when you’re initially falling for someone, and even if you were to, you likely wouldn’t do those feelings justice, and instead, we turn to love songs to help us through these speechless moments and form a real bond with them in the process.
These songs then become an intrinsic part of our memories with someone, which means revisiting them after a break-up can be difficult, and if you find yourself heartbroken this Valentine’s Day and intend on steering clear of any and all references to love or sweet songs that might remind you of a specific person, Far Out have your back.
While there might be some great songs that talk about how meaningful love is, there are equally those which highlight its ridiculousness. This list focuses on the latter, so if you find yourself broken-hearted this February 14th, don’t worry, just listen to these bitter tunes.
The best songs for the broken-hearted:
Beyoncé – ‘Don’t Hurt Yourself’
Beyoncé and Jay-Z are widely considered one of the biggest goddamn power couples in music, as together they have built an empire which other creative minds can only stand and gawk at, but they have had their problems, and Beyoncé previously addressed them in the only way that an artist knows how: with a badass song.
Teaming up with Jack White, Beyoncé managed to create one of the most rock-heavy and cool confrontations of infidelity ever committed to sound. As well as being a song which highlights the fragility of love, it’s also great to listen to, which is the perfect combination if you’re shivering through Valentine’s with a broken heart – remember, if you ever feel like you’re not good enough, even Beyoncé got cheated on.
The J Geils Band – ‘Love Stinks’
Feelings can be silly sometimes, and no holiday reminds you of that more than Valentine’s, and if you’re still in the horrid depths of a broken heart where just the silhouette of a memory is enough to help you crumble, maybe opt for something else, but if you’re past the point of despair and are ready to laugh at the situation, may I offer you ‘Love Stinks’?
Hints of hard rock and glam rock come together to give you what is borderline a celebration of broken hearts rather than something commiserating them – you can truly laugh away the blues with a song like this.
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts – ‘I Hate Myself for Loving You’
If you’re heartbroken, that means that you were also once probably in love, and that means you need music which doesn’t just gloss over your feelings, but allows you to step into them and mess things up, and when you find yourself in a hole, the least you can do is decorate it a little, and a killer song like ‘I Hate Myself for Loving You’ is the perfect way to do it.
Joan Jett came up with the riff of the song, and then took that to Desmond Child, who helped her put the whole thing together. “I had really strong mentors, like Bob Crewe, who taught me how to analyse the structure of songs so that even though you’re emotionally invested in it,” said Child when discussing the songwriting process. “You also have to have a detachment – there can be no ego.”
Silk Sonic – ‘Smokin Out The Window’
When Anderson Paak and Bruno Mars joined forces, everyone suspected that it was a recipe for unshakeable goddamn success, and their debut ‘Leave The Door Open’ confirmed those suspicions, and the duo proved that they weren’t one-hit wonders with their next track, ‘Smokin Out The Window’, which saw them leave the loving longing behind and instead opt for an absolutely cynical approach.
Being heartbroken has never sounded so sexy… gone are the days of melancholy, of emptiness, Silk Sonic usher in a new age of funkadelic bitterness – stop thinking about what you miss about the person who broke your heart, and instead light up your smoke of choice and rejoice in this newfound freedom.
Black Honey – ‘I Don’t Ever Wanna Love’
If you’re going to be heartbroken on Valentine’s Day, you may as well feel pretty cool while doing it, and leaning into the kind of swagger that you only find in romantic gangster flicks, with ‘I Don’t Ever Wanna Love’, Black Honey delivers a call to arms for the love scorned and lonesome.
Black Honey have always been capable of delivering great songs with beautiful vocals and killer guitar, but this track, which adopts a fairly nihilistic approach to love, is a real standout – paired with a glass of wine and a broken heart, it could be a real winner.
