2025: Heartbreak songs in Western music — tearjerkers to listen to when love ends

Wish I Could ForgetSLANDER & blackbear & Bring Me The Horizon

SLANDER & blackbear & Bring Me The Horizon – Wish I Could Forget (Official Music Video)

The work “Wish I Could Forget,” a collaboration between the popular rock band Bring Me The Horizon and music producers Sarander and blackbear, blends alternative rock with electronic elements and depicts lingering feelings for a lover one broke up with out of selfishness.

While the melody is sharp and punchy, it still conveys a genuine sense of heartbreak—arguably the standout appeal of the track.

Fix YouSam Smith

Sam Smith – Fix You (Live)

Coldplay, the rock band that Britain proudly presents to the world, released Fix You in 2005.

Its delicate melody and prayer-like lyrics are exquisitely beautiful, and it’s also famous for being performed live by frontman Chris Martin as a keyboard-and-vocal solo.

In 2020, fifteen years after its release, fellow British singer-songwriter Sam Smith—one of the defining artists of the 2010s and beyond—covered the song and released a studio live video.

Smith’s version carries an even more hymn-like atmosphere, making the positive lyrics—promising that salvation will surely come, even as one struggles with the despair of losing someone precious—pierce the heart all the more.

It’s a superb cover that fans of the original should especially lend an ear to!

Now You’re Not HereSwing Out Sister

Swing Out Sister – Now youre not here No Scrub LIVE

I think everyone has felt, after breaking up with someone they deeply love, that they want to quickly forget their feelings for that person.

I really like lyrics that seem to speak on behalf of people with those feelings.

I think it’s a song that many girls can relate to.

LovefoolThe Cardigans

The Cardigans – Lovefool (Official Music Video)

A famous song by The Cardigans that sparked the Swedish pop boom.

From the vibe you might think it’s a happy tune, but be careful—the lyrics are about an impending breakup.

The woman’s obsessive feelings in the lyrics are a bit scary, aren’t they? (lol)

Six Degrees of SeparationThe Script

The Script – Six Degrees of Separation (Official Video)

There are lyrics that painfully capture the heartbreak, the hurt, and the feeling of not knowing what to do next.

The song portrays the raw, aching emotions right after a breakup, but from there it reflects on one’s own actions and shows a shift in feelings toward the other person, moving toward recovery.

I thought those lyrics were beautiful.

Malibu NightsLANY

LANY – Malibu Nights (Official Video)

LANY is an American rock band known for pop rock styles such as indie pop, synth-pop, and dream pop.

They’ve remained at the forefront from the mid-2010s to the present.

A breakup song by them that I highly recommend is Malibu Nights.

Centered on the unbearable pain that strikes after a breakup, the song impressively portrays the protagonist’s anguish as they try to numb that suffering.

November RainGuns N’ Roses

Guns N’ Roses – November Rain

We should have taken the time to think about each other.

If we had, maybe I could’ve felt that you were mine and you could’ve felt that I was yours.

It’s like a heartbreak song, or rather, it doesn’t feel like they’ve fully broken up yet.

But it’s a track where the guy seems to have already made up his mind to end things.