It’s Feb. 14 again, which can only mean one thing.
Agony.
Oh, sure, today may be a delight for people who are happily in love, although they’re probably not as delighted as those in the greeting card and confection industry. For the rest of us, however, Valentine’s Day is The Cruelest Holiday.
If you’re among the ranks of the romantically challenged, take heart (or vent spleen), knowing that you’re in–and presumably doing better than–some illustrious company. From Oedipus and Jocasta to Sera and Ben (the tragic couple in “Leaving Las Vegas”), the dark side of love has fascinated artists through the ages.
Certainly that fascination extends to music. Finding a happy love song that rises above the level of “Love Will Keep Us Together” can be a challenge. But there’s no lack of fine songs that address failed love with humor, anger, insight and compassion. Frankly, love gone wrong makes for better material.
Here, then, are excerpts from some of the most unloving love songs ever recorded. If you’re feeling left out of the hearts-and-happiness hype, take comfort and gratitude in knowing that it could be worse. You could be in Elvis Costello’s shoes. Or Robert Johnson’s. Or PJ Harvey’s. Or Roy Orbison’s. Or Aretha Franklin’s. Or . . .
Round up the usual suspects,someone has broken my heart again
” . . . darling what can I do
When you don’t love me
And I’ll always be
Crying over you.”
“Crying,” performed by Roy Orbison (written by R. Orbison/J. Melson)
“I cried for you, what a fool I used to be.
But I found two eyes just a little bit bluer,
I found a heart just a little bit truer.
I cried for you, now it’s your turn to cry over me.”
“I Cried for You,” Billie Holiday (A. Freed, G. Arnheim, A. Lyman)
“It makes no difference, everywhere I turn
I can’t get over you and the flame still burns
It makes no difference, night and day
Your shadow never seems to fade away.”
“It Makes No Difference,” The Band (J.R. Robertson)
“I’ll close my eyes, then I won’t see
The love you don’t feel when you’re holdin me . . .
Cause I can’t make you love me if you don’t
You can’t make your heart feel something it won’t.”
“I Can’t Make You Love Me” Bonnie Raitt (M. Reid, A. Shamblin)
Ever fallin’ in love with someone you shouldn’t have fallen in love with?
“You never had any time for me
Whenever I need you you’re not there
You’ve never been true and it’s plain to see
The fact is you never even cared.”
“Promises,” the Buzzcocks (P. Shelley/S. Diggle)
“She’s the kind of girl who puts you down when friends are there
You feel a fool
When you say she’s looking good she acts as if it’s understood
She cool.”
“Girl,” the Beatles (J. Lennon, P. McCartney)
He shouts, she bites, they wrangle through the night
“Some words flew out
And made a crash landin’
No love survived
Not a trace could be found.”
“Tip Of My Tongue,” John Hiatt
“Wanda was looking out the front door
At the trees blowing in the wind
She said, `Maybe someday I’ll blow out that door
And I won’t blow back again’
Duane was staring out the bedroom window
At the leaves falling from the trees
He said, `Maybe someday I’m gonna jump out this window
And I won’t say goodbye when I leave.’ “
“Wanda and Duane,” Dave Alvin
“You’re a bum
You’re a punk
You’re an old slut on junk
Living there almost dead on a drip
In that bed
You scum bag
You maggot.”
“Fairytale of New York,” the Pogues with Kristy MacColl (S. MacGowen/J. Finer)
“. . . she says
You could take me to dinner
And you could buy me some clothes
If you make all that money man
Make damn sure it shows . . .
. . . And he says you could put on some makeup
And you could pile up your hair
And at least try to do something
With what you’ve got there.”
“What Do You Do,” Lyle Lovett
I can’t do it anymore and I’m not satisfied
“I do everything I’m supposed to do
If something’s wrong, then it must be you
I know the ways of a woman
I’ve read about love.”
“Read About Love,” Richard Thompson
“I woke up this morning
And all my shrimps was dead and gone
. . . I got dead shrimp blues
Someone’s fishing in my pond.”
“Dead Shrimp Blues,” Robert Johnson
“I will carry her across the threshold
I will make dim the light
I will attempt to spend my love within her
But though I try with all my might
She will laugh at my Mighty Sword.”
“A Wedding in Cherokee County,” Randy Newman
Betrayal takes two
“While you’re lyin’, cheatin’ on your woman
There’s something you never even thought of
Who’s making love to your old lady
While you’ve been out making love?”
“Who’s Making Love?” Johnnie Taylor (H. Banks, B. Crutcher, D. Davis, R. Jackson)
“I picked up the phone, you were both on the line
Your words to each other frozen in time
A lifetime between us just burnt on the wires
Dissolved in a dial tone, consumed in your fires.”
“Paralyzed,” Roseanne Cash
“Everybody knows that you love me baby,
Everybody knows that you really do,
Everybody knows that you’ve been faithful,
Give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you’ve been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows.”
“Everybody Knows,” Leonard Cohen (L. Cohen/S. Robinson)
Hasta la vista, baby
“Don’t go be bad
Cause you been had
Don’t go away sad
Don’t go away mad, just go away.”
“Just Go Away,” Blondie (D. Harry)
“When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I’ll be gone
You’re the reason I’ll be traveling on . . .”
“Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” Bob Dylan
“When the train it left the station
With two lights on behind
Well the blue light was my blues
And the red light was my mind.”
“Love In Vain,” Robert Johnson
It’s all over now
“Golden ring, with one tiny little stone
Cast aside, like the love that’s dead and gone
By itself, it’s just a cold metallic thing
Only love can make a golden wedding ring.”
“Golden Ring,” George Jones and Tammy Wynette (B. Braddock/R. Vanhoy)
“The broken dates, the endless waits,
The lovely loving and the hateful hates,
The conversation with the flying plates,
I wish I were in love again.”
“I Wish I Were in Love Again,” Frank Sinatra (R. Rodgers, L. Hart)
“And if
You don’t love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you saying
You would never break the chain.”
“The Chain,” Fleetwood Mac
I don’t wanna be your lover, I just wanna be your victim
“Love hurts
Love scars
Love wounds
And mars.”
“Love Hurts,” the Everly Brothers (B. Bryant)
“You’re a no good heartbreaker
You’re a liar and a cheat
I don’t know why I let you do these things to me.”
“I Never Loved a Man (the Way That I Love You)” Aretha Franklin (R. Shannon)
“I don’t care if you use me again
I don’t care if you abuse me again.”
“You’re All I’ve Got Tonight,” the Cars (R. Ocasek)
I had the worst taste in my mouth that I ever knew
“I wanna be around to pick up the pieces
When somebody breaks your heart
Some somebody twice as smart as I
A somebody who, will swear to be true,
As you used to do with me.
Who’ll leave you to learn, that misery loves company.”
“I Wanna Be Around,” Tony Bennett (J. Mercer, S. Vimmerstedt)
“Don’t say you love me when it’s just a rumor
Don’t say a word if there is any doubt
Sometimes I think that love is just a tumor
You’ve got to cut it out.”
“Lipstick Vogue,” Elvis Costello
“Idiot wind
Blowing through the dust upon our shelves
We’re idiots babe
It’s a wonder we can even feed ourselves.”
“Idiot Wind,” Bob Dylan
And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make
“You cry out in your sleep,
All my failings exposed.
And there’s a taste in my mouth,
As desperation takes hold,
Just that something so good just can’t function no more.
But love, love will tear us apart again.”
“Love Will Tear Us Apart” Joy Division (I. Curtis)
