10 Songs About Crushes – Crushing on Someone You Can’t Have
Having a crush on someone is one of the more exciting feelings one can have in the early stages of love. But it can also be a little confusing to deal with, as mixed signals can lead to hurt feelings. Thankfully, there are tons of amazing songs about crushes to help guide us through these fun and sometimes very vulnerable moments.
In this article, I’m going to provide you with a list of some of my favorite songs that deal with the topic of crushes. Hopefully you’ll discover a brand new song from this list, and perhaps even add it to your playlist or vinyl record rotation.
Songs About Crushes That I Love
Let’s begin with the talented Joji.
Slow Dancing in the Dark by Joji
In this Celine Dion-inspired ballad, Joji depicts the struggle of being unsure exactly how he’s even feeling towards someone. The song begins with “I don’t want a friend, I want my life in two” expressing how deeply he feels a connection and how life-changing it could be to experience being with this person.
That’s soon followed by “don’t follow me, you’ll end up in my arms,” almost as if to say it’s better to be apart than to end up in a possibly codependent relationship. As the song bursts into the chorus, Joji then says, “Can’t you see? I don’t want a slow dance in the dark,” like the classically romantic gesture of slow dancing isn’t enough, he wants even more with this person.
I Wanna Be Yours by Arctic Monkeys
This rendition of the song originally by John Cooper Clarke perfectly captures the yearning for a person you’re having feelings for. The original version was created in the 80s and thus has a more upbeat and funky melody.
Vocalist Alex Turner, of the band Arctic Monkeys, recalled one of his teachers showing his class the lyrics and he attributes that moment to a lot of his inspiration to become a songwriter. Turner put his own melancholy twist on the song and tweaked some of the lyrics, particularly “Secrets I have held in my heart are harder to hide than I thought.”
Throughout the song, listeners are impressed with analogies about wanting to be someone’s everything. “I wanna be your vacuum cleaner, breathing in your dust / I wanna be your Ford Cortina, I would never rust” lyrics that perfectly describe knowing the asset you could be to someone and wanting a chance to prove it to them.
Fools by Troye Sivan
Sivan’s take on having a crush in this song is that, well, he shouldn’t. He’s falling for someone, and he can’t control his feelings, but he also feels that it won’t end well.
He reflects on himself heavily and wishes he weren’t so attracted to this person (“My hopes, they are high, I must keep them small / though I try to resist, I still want it all”) but, as crushes usually go, he can’t do much about it.
Throughout the verses of the song, he goes over the ways he’s incompatible with this person (“We’ve got differences and impulses, and your obsession with / the little things, you like stick and I like aerosol”) and whilst he’s aware the two people may not be good for each other, he repeats in a self-critical chorus “Only fools fall for you, only fools do what I do.”
He doesn’t wish to feel this way but can’t control the fact that he does.
Hostage by Billie Eilish
This track off Eilish’s first EP Don’t Smile at Me, released when she was still a teenager, depicts feeling safe around someone and wanting them all to yourself.
The song, rich with her siren-Esque vocals, begins with “I wanna be alone, alone with you, does that make sense?” and delves further into possessive metaphors like “I wanna steal your soul and hide you in my treasure chest.”
Alluding that she wants to protect this person because of how safe and comforted they make her feel and keep them with her. “Let me hold you, like a hostage”. While the song is speaking metaphorically, love and lust can feel entrapping.
Lovers Rock by TV Girl
The instrumentals alone sound like how it feels to swoon over someone, with melodic violins and old-timey-sounding vocals.
The song begins with “Are you sick of me? Would you like to be?” which is a painfully relatable phrase when you’re infatuated with someone and not sure what to do about it. If only it were that easy to ask. The song tells a story of a blooming relationship with mixed signals, repeatedly saying “love can burn like a cigarette”.
The bridge of this song does something unusual and fascinating that perfectly fits the theme of the song; instead of using lyrics, the band sampled dialogue from the 1958 film The Buccaneer.
“Now, how many men have you kissed?”
“Very few.”
“But you offered me a kiss. Why?”
“Such a foolish reason, I’m afraid. I just wanted to kiss you.”
The simple dialogue adds to the song something that wouldn’t have been as admirable if it were traditional lyrics.
Kilby Girl by The Backseat Lovers
This catchy and upbeat song sounds like the perfect soundtrack for a film about two teens falling in love. It begins with a simple scenario; it’s raining, and a girl needs a ride home. Neither of them has anywhere to be so they drive around and waste the day away.
He becomes increasingly entranced with her: “She’s got a fake ID and a nose ring, those kind of girls tend to know things, better than I do.” Touching on how he feels a little intimidated by her, almost starstruck.
The chorus repeats that along with, “I’m dying to figure out what she’s hiding, she’s playing it cool but she’s lying, better than I do.”
A feeling of being certain the connection isn’t one-sided but unsure how to act on it.
Dreamt I Was Gonna Be Your Man by Oberhofer
Probably the most underground on this list, Oberhofer is a band formed in Brooklyn in 2008 (featuring frontman Brad Oberhofer). They have a distinct, cinematic sound deserving of more recognition.
Another more upbeat song about having a crush, Oberhofer goes over how he doesn’t usually get his way, but recalls someone special telling him their life is like a dream. In turn, he had a dream where they were together romantically. If you like feel-good music that has unique instrumentals and lyrics full of food for thought, this is the band for you.
Killer Queen by Queen
This song describes a girl who is comparable to everything expensive and pleasurable in life. She’s mysterious, playful, polite—you get the gist.
To the narrator, she’s perfect. In a literal sense, it’s describing a high-class woman. But in a more figurative sense, it’s like when you become entranced by someone and put them on a pedestal where everything they do is fascinating—and you can’t get enough.
“Insatiable an appetite. Wanna try?”
She’s fancy, fun to be around, and the sort of person you just need in your life.
Your Love is My Drug by Kesha
It would be sinful to not include a mid-2010s classic on this list. While Kesha’s music style has changed substantially since her claim to fame over a decade ago, it has matured quite beautifully.
It’s very much impressive, especially taking into account her abusive relationship with her previous manager who saw to her having multiple radio hits. See a more modern-day Kesha here.
Anyway, the song compares her strong obsession to someone on hard drugs. Everyone’s telling her not to pursue it, but she can’t help it. The rush she feels is incomparable to anything else and when they’re gone she shuts down and itches for them to come back.
Girl Crush by Little Big Town
This song is painstakingly beautiful in its take on having a crush. Upon first listen, even just based on the title, it sounds like a girl being distraught about having her first lesbian experience. Interesting but unsurprisingly, the song probably wouldn’t be as popular if it weren’t for the controversy that stirred up.
The more attention you pay to Girl Crush’s lyrics, the more you hear it’s possibly even more emotionally taxing than that. Her “girl crush” is because she views another girl as someone every man wants, appealing to the male gaze. She has sweet perfume, long blonde hair, and the narrator just wants to be looked at the way she thinks this other girl is looked at.
Its bittersweet lyrics and gentle melody, “I want her magic touch, so maybe you’d want me just as much” and “I want to taste her lips, ‘cause they taste just like you” make you think about feelings many have been consumed by; comparison, jealousy, awe.
Conclusion
Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this article covering songs about crushes. If some of these songs are new to you, try them out. Give one or two of them a legitimate shot. You never know what tune might just become your favorite new song.
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