I love books with songs. Books with Japanese actors, not so much, because I never really got into the Japanese thing even if I love the country. But I was willing to try this, and I wanted feels, so. You can read more about what I thought about this book in my review! :)
So, break-up songs. Or heartbreak songs, when it’s not really a break-up. when I went through something similar (but also not really, haha, long story) to Jill, my best friends supplied me with an entire playlist of sad/heartbreak songs to help me cope. I had them on repeat for weeks, because of course you need a soundtrack when you suddenly burst into tears in the shower! Or when you’re walking! Or…all those things! :D Some songs on my list: Breathe Again by Sara Bareilles, Call It Off by Tegan and Sara, Wanted You More by Lady Antebellum, and Out of My Head by Ben Rector. </3
So today I have Jay E. Tria, author of Songs of Our Breakup, on the blog to talk about her heartbreak songs. Check out her list below!
Top 5 Breakup/Heartbreak Songs
When I was tasked to choose a guest post topic, I jumped on this one figuring it would be easy. I mean people carry heartbreak songs around with them all the time. My karaoke roster for one is usually 80% heartbreak songs, and those are the best ones to sing!
But when I tried to compose the list of my top 5 songs of sadness, I sat there and watched the cursor blink a few dozen hundred times, my head a blank space. I remembered that I haven’t really been keeping up with new releases, relying solely on the millennial magic of Spotify. But I guess that shouldn’t matter much. Breakup songs usually endure.
So here it is: the list of my favorite songs of heartbreak, no recent hit in sight, in no particular order. Hit play, click shuffle, maybe feel a few things, and repeat. Breakup not required.
The Script, Breakeven
- Why it hurts. Because it’s a truth universally acknowledged that love is not given in equal measure, and thus when it is broken, the divide is unequal too.
- The lines that got me. ‘Cause I’ve got time while she’s got freedom /Because when a heart breaks it don’t break even.
Sandwich, Masilungan
- Why it hurts. I like my Sandwich served raw—simple words and a lazy tune that builds into a violent barrage of feelings as Raimund Marasigan screams the gigantic question of why into my ears. Even the video by Quark Henares is awesome in its simplicity too. Shots of faces, profiles, and movement, proving that you don’t always need tears to evoke sadness.
- The lines that got me. Wala natayo/Wala natayo/Bakit wala na tayo?
Ed Sheeran, Photograph
- Why it hurts. You can argue this isn’t technically a sad song, but to me the words are asking someone to hold on to a promise, a blind hope. It makes me think that hope, while a positive thing, can be even sadder than a clean break because it leaves you hanging.
- The lines that got me. We keep this love in a photograph/
We made these memories for ourselves/ Where our eyes are never closing/
Hearts are never broken/And time’s forever frozen still.
Arctic Monkeys, The Bakery.
- Why it hurts. Alex Turner is a fricking lyrics genius. I’d like one hour to see a normal, everyday scene through his eyes. Here he makes the bakery seem like the most romantic setting for a boy pining over a girl. The line that killed my heart is actually the last one, but I’ll let you discover that for yourself. The following were heartbreakers too.
- The lines that got me.The more you keep on looking/The more it’s hard to take/Love, we’re in stalemate/To never meet is surely where we’re bound.
The Smiths, Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
- Why it hurts. I can’t make a list of the best saddest songs without including the Smiths. Morrissey’s MO seemed to be to wrench sadness from the depths of broken hearts and make the display seem like the most beautiful thing. This song is short and simple in the wretchedness it brings, because hasn’t everyone had this dream?
- The lines that got me. Last night I dreamt/ That somebody loved me/ No hope, but no harm/ Just another false alarm.
Songs of Our Breakup (Playlist Book 1)Â by Jay E. Tria
Published on August 22nd 2015
Genre: New Adult Romance/Chicklit
Goodreads | Amazon
Every breakup has its playlist.
How do you get over a seven-year relationship? 21-year-old Jill is trying to find out. But moving on is a harder job when Kim, her ex-boyfriend, is the lead guitarist of the band, and Jill is the vocalist. Every song they play together feels like slicing open a barely healed tattoo.
Jill’s best friend Miki says she will be out of this gloom soon. Breakups have a probation period, he says. Jill is on the last month of hers and Miki is patiently keeping her company.
But the real silver lining is Shinta. Having a hot Japanese actor friend in times like these is a welcome distraction. This gorgeous celebrity has been defying time zones and distance through the years to be there for Jill. Now he is here, physically present, and together he and Jill go through old lyrics, vivid memories, walks in the rain, and bottles of beer. Together they try to answer the question: what do you do when forever ends?