Friday marks the anniversary of the death of St. Valentine, but outside of clergy and the most devoted Christian followers, I doubt that anyone is primarily focusing on the memory of a 3rd-century Roman priest who made a career of tending to persecuted members of the faith and was himself martyred for it. Instead, people the world over will be exchanging love notes, sending flowers and chocolates, and making dinner reservations at fancy restaurants – even Waffle House takes out white tablecloths for the occasion. This is terrific for happy couples everywhere, and I wish you all the best that Valentine’s Day can offer.
But what about everybody else? I’ve personally never been much for chalk hearts with sappy messages that must have been written by a Prince wannabe, but for the last couple of years I got to spend the day with a woman I cared about quite a bit and enjoyed an opportunity to make the most of a cold day in the middle of the worst month. Now that she and I are no longer as close, I am back to disregarding whatever import anyone places on February 14th. Plenty of others feel the same or worse toward this day that flaunts saccharine sweethearts at their most unbearable to us singles operating on our own. Maybe you’re eager to celebrate a Galentine’s or Palentine’s day with your friends, but I’d wager that somewhere deep inside you is frustration for your status as a loner that will build with resentment of the couple swooning at each other across the bar.
Sometimes we all need to channel this pent up energy through a cathartic release via belting out a fitting song. Think of Adam Sandler’s Robbie Hart in The Wedding Singer when he makes the most of his time with the microphone to hijack the joy of the newlyweds’ celebration to express his own romantic hopelessness:
The song is “Love Stinks” by J. Geils Band, a classic for the heartbroken. Perhaps you can use it to mend your own misery, but in the event that it doesn’t do the trick for you, then I have a few other options that may:
“Love Hurts” by The Everly Brothers – Much mellower than the Nazareth cover.
“Ain’t That A Shame?” by Fats Domino – Heartbreak aside, this is one of the essential hits from one of the best early rockers.
“50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” by Paul Simon – For when you need a chill snare drum to get funky to get out of a funk from a bad relationship.
“Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” & “Your Time is Gonna Come” by Led Zeppelin – Another couple of “this isn’t working out” songs from the first album of the greatest hard rock band there ever was. I love the organ work on “Your Time is Gonna Come”!
“Bye Bye Love” by The Cars – Not to be confused with another Everly Brothers song of the same name.
“Bye Bye Bye” & “Tearin’ up My Heart” by NSYNC – Some more “see you later” songs and a boy band breakup ballad.
“Bad Blood” (featuring Kendrick Lamar) & “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” & “I Knew You Were Trouble” by Taylor Swift – T Swizzle has successfully shed the stereotype as someone who only sings about breakups, but while it certainly isn’t all she can do, it is something she can do well.
“Big Girls Cry” & “Elastic Heart” & “I’m Not Important To You” by Sia – Another trifecta from another pop star who is much more than her hits and has plenty to say on the matter of battered hearts.
“Boys Don’t Cry” & “Pictures of You” by The Cure – Robert Smith reminds us that (despite the title of one of the songs) girls aren’t the only ones who cry. This pair of songs also remind us that for whatever ails you, Smith and crew have The Cure.
“Bleeding Heart” by Jimi Hendrix – The most rock and roll heartbreak one can feel.
“The Damage You’ve Done” & “Even the Losers” & “You Don’t Know How It Feels” By Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Tom Petty knew so much about hearts breaking that he named his band after it.
“Bulletproof” By La Roux – A pick yourself back up dance hit. And if you want to keep dancing….
“Dancing On My Own” by Robyn
“Dancing With Myself” by Billy Idol
I’ll let you explore most of the rest of these on your own, partly because they can speak (or sing) for themselves, and mainly because I pulled a lot of them for this list.
“Clean Sheets” by Descendents
“Day Tripper” & “I Should Have Known Better” & “Not A Second Time” by The Beatles
“Demon Woman” & “Not Crying” by Flight of the Conchords
“The Denial Twist” & “I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet)” & “There’s No Home For You Here” by The White Stripes
“Cold Shot” by Stevie Ray Vaughan
“Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve?)” by The Buzzcocks
“Cry, Cry” by Mazzy Star
“Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M.
“Cryin'” by Aerosmith
“Feel A Whole Lot Better” by The Byrds
“Femme Fatale” by The Velvet Underground
“Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding”by Elton John -This tandem of songs is amazing. My favorite from Elton John.
“Sit Around and Miss You” & “Next Girl” by The Black Keys
“Don’t Speak” by No Doubt
“Good Lovin’ Gone Bad” by Bad Company
“Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” by Green Day
“Handle With Care” by Traveling Wilburys
“If You Leave Me Now” by Chicago
“Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis Presley
“Heartache Tonight” by Eagles
“Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” by The Smiths
“Help Me, Rhonda” by The Beach Boys
“Gone Daddy Gone” by Violent Femmes
“X Offender” by Blondie
“I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor
“You Don’t Miss Your Water” by Otis Redding
“My Baby Left Me” by Creedence Clearwater Revival
“Owner of a Lonely Heart” by Yes
“Nobody Loves Me”by Albert Collins
“Same Old Love” by Selena Gomez
“Where Did Our Love Go?” by The Supremes
“Tears of a Clown” By Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
“These Eyes” by The Guess Who – Hey, it’s Jimmy’s brother!
“Somebody to Love” by Queen
“We Used To Be Friends” by The Dandy Warhols
“You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi
“Where Were You When I Needed You” by The Bangles
“One of Us” & “The Winner Takes It All” & “Hey, Hey Helen” & “So Long” by ABBA – When I started this list , I did not expect ABBA to rack up so many songs! Their versatility is always a pleasant surprise, and this selection is a great example. “One of Us” and “The Winner Takes It All” are obvious additions to this list, with the latter being memorably performed in both the stage and film versions of Mamma Mia. However, don’t sleep on “Hey, Hey Helen” and “So Long”, which are some of my favorites from the Swedish supertroupers. “Hey, Hey Helen” is a tale of a modern woman (of the 70s and beyond) picking herself back up after divorce – and it is a solid rock jam! “So Long” is another rocking tune that is the auditory equivalent of a woman rolling her eyes and walking away from a man trying in vain to win her over with money.
If you’re looking for more heartbreak hits from ABBA, try “Knowing Me, Knowing You”, and if you’re looking for some disco era cat clothing, try IKEA.
“Good Enough For Now” & “I’m So Sick of You” & “One More Minute” & “Since You’ve Been Gone” & “You Don’t Love Me Anymore” by Weird Al Yankovic – If you thought ABBA had a lot to say on love, then you haven’t heard Mr. Yankovic.
“Why Am I Still Here” by The Journeymen – If you want some more funny, this song from the Superego gang’s country singing alter egos led by Jeremy Carter’s Shunt McGuppin will provide the sustenance you require. Amidst the polished improvisation is a wonderfully poetic introspective take on the failure of the focal relationship: “Bein’ with you’s like bein’ alone.”
“You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette – This is the ultimate anthem of being dumped but propelling yourself back up and unleashing your anger with a take-a-look-at-me-now swagger.
“Whipping Post” by The Allman Brothers Band – Like Alanis Morissette, sometimes you just need to shout it out, and this is my absolute favorite I’m-feeling-blue blues song do that with. The desperation in Gregg Allman’s voice and the wail of his brother Duane’s guitar hit just right to serve as the standard song for me to wail along to in order to get through any tough time.
Thanks for reading and listening! I hope that you have a happy Valentine’s day and enjoy these songs regardless of your relationship status. No matter what your Friday plans are, I hope you make visiting this site a regular Monday routine.
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