{"id":34969,"date":"2023-11-20T13:57:16","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T12:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cc04cc4f-fdb8-4125-8c18-dc0d903c4747"},"modified":"2023-11-20T14:39:58","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T13:39:58","slug":"break-up-songs-ten-best-songs-about-heartbreak","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/break-up-songs-ten-best-songs-about-heartbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"Break-up songs: ten best songs about heartbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Hannah Nepilova\n <\/p>

Published: Monday, 20 November 2023 at 12:57 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Even if you’re the strong and silent type, there’s nothing like the catharsis of listening to a song – slushy or otherwise – to help you through a break-up. But which are the best break-up songs? Here is our list of the ten best, plucked from the worlds of classical and jazz music.<\/p>

‘Donde lieta usci’ from Giacomo Puccini’s La boh\u00e8me<\/em><\/h3>
This aria from Act III of Puccini\u2019s La boh\u00e8me <\/em>is sung by Mimi just after she and Rodolfo agree to part. Rodolfo attributes the break-up to their frequent arguments. In reality, he is terrified by Mimi\u2019s sickness, the prospect of losing her and his inability to care for her, owing to his poverty and humble living conditions. Translating as \u2018from here she happily left\u2019, the song\u2019s title suggests an amicable break up, but the pain underpinning it is clear from the gut-wrenching music.<\/p>
\u00a0<\/p>
<\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-love-songs\"><strong>Best love songs: 10 of the most famous love songs of all time<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 id=\"h-you-don-t-know-what-love-is-dinah-washington\">‘You Don\u2019t Know what Love Is’ \u2013 Dinah Washington<\/h3><p>Though written by Don Raye and Gene de Paul, this 1941 break-up song was made famous by Dinah Washington, whose bright, clear voice lends a poignant touch of innocence to its message about the cost of love.\u00a0 Since then it has been interpreted by artists ranging from Nina Simone and Billie Holiday. Many would call it a sad song; for me it\u2019s more multifaceted: as much a tribute to the optimism of love as to the pain of losing it.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe title=\"" You Don't Know What Love Is "\u3000Dinah Washington\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AYAkqtDMhek?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/saddest-songs\"><strong>Sad songs: 10 of the saddest songs in history<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 id=\"h-addio-del-passato-from-guiseppe-verdi-s-la-traviata\">\u2018Addio del passato\u2019 from Guiseppe Verdi’s <em>La traviata<\/em><\/h3><p>It\u2019s one of those classic \u2018just-too-late\u2019 moments: Violetta, the consumptive heroine of <em>La traviata, <\/em>is about to die. She receives a letter from the father of her lover Alfredo, saying that the latter has discovered why she lied about her love for him and that he is coming to her.\u00a0 But she knows that there isn\u2019t enough time. This aria is her sobbing farewell to Alfredo and the happiness she experienced with him.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe title=\"La Traviata: \u201cAddio, del passato\u201d\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Vt5gFBP9s-w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/famous-opera-songs\"><strong>10 of the most famous opera songs<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 id=\"h-these-foolish-things-remind-me-of-you-billie-holiday\">‘These Foolish Things (Remind me of You)’ \u2013 Billie Holiday<\/h3><p>This break-up song, in which the narrator is surrounded by reminders of a lost lover, was not immediately popular. Eric Maschwitz – then head of Variety at the BBC – wrote the lyrics in 1935, allegedly inspired by the cabaret singer Jean Ross, with whom he had had a youthful love affair. He dictated the words over the phone to the composer Jack Strachey, who wrote the music. Then\u2026.tumbleweed. Nobody showed any interest, until, in 1936, the famous West Indian singer and pianist Leslie Hutchinson (better known as \u201cHutch\u201d) discovered the song on top of a piano in Maschwitz\u2019s office at the BBC. He liked it and recorded it, creating an instant hit. Since then, scores of jazz musicians have made their mark on the song, most famous of them being Billie Holliday, whose version drives home the haunting quality of the words.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Billie Holiday - These Foolish Things\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2_20tKuKtF8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/best-jazz-songs\"><strong>Best jazz songs: 9 classics you will listen to again and again<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 id=\"h-addio-fiorito-asil-from-giacomo-puccini-s-madama-butterfly\">\u2018Addio, fiorito asil\u2019 from Giacomo Puccini’s <em>Madama Butterfly<\/em><\/h3><p>You could say this song about break-up is the operatic equivalent of dumping someone by text. Having abandoned Butterfly, and taken her child into the bargain, Pinkerton has now come to bid his former lover farewell. But he realises, on arrival, that he can\u2019t face it. So he makes do with saying goodbye to the house where they spent many happy times together. The music suggests that he feels pretty bad about it. But for some reason it\u2019s hard to feel too sorry for him.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe title=\"Pl\u00e1cido Domingo - Puccini - Madame Butterfly, Addio fiorito asil (Official Video)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ySdwrEQLcSQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/songs-about-death\"><strong>Death songs: 10 of the most powerful songs about death<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 id=\"h-cry-me-a-river-julie-london\">‘Cry Me a River’ \u2013 Julie London<\/h3><p>Written by the American songwriter Arthur Hamilton for Ella Fitzgerald, this song was meant to debut as part of the score for the 1955 film <em>Pete Kelly\u2019s Blues. <\/em>In the event, however, the song was dropped from the film and ended up being debuted by the singer Julie London – whose sultry voice had a completely different flavour from Ella Fitzgerald\u2019s. As a BBC Legends episode put it: \u2018Some singers sing as though they are addressing a crowd; some sing as though they are in a bar with a lot of people\u2014[London] sings as though she’s in one room, with you\u2014and that’s the difference.\u2019 It was just the right flavour for this mournful song about heartbreak, which is perhaps why, despite being interpreted by many singers over the years, not least Michael Bubl\u00e9, London\u2019s version remains the most famous.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe title=\"Cry me a river - Julie London\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MkD_kYkRk3c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/best-jazz-singers-ever\"><strong>15 best jazz singers ever<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 id=\"h-when-i-am-laid-from-henry-purcell-s-dido-and-aeneas\">‘When I am Laid’ from Henry Purcell’s <em>Dido and Aeneas<\/em><\/h3><p>This aria from Purcell\u2019s 1688 opera <em>Dido and Aeneas <\/em>finds Dido<em>, <\/em>distraught at Aeneas\u2019s betrayal, preparing to stab herself. But what makes it so uniquely effective? Perhaps it\u2019s the yearning melody, or the chromatically descending ground bass, or that sense of distilled despair in the text. For all its surface simplicity, Dido\u2019s lament is full of musical sleights of hand. Those leaning appoggiaturas in the vocal part, the ornamentation in the strings: all conspire to make this one of the most tragic songs of heartbreak in the history of English opera.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe title=\"Purcell - Dido & Aeneas - When I am laid in earth (Dido's lament) Elin Manahan Thomas\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uGQq3HcOB0Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-funeral-songs\"><strong>Best funeral songs: the most popular songs for saying goodbye to loved ones<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 id=\"h-i-d-rather-go-blind-etta-james\">‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ \u2013 Etta James<\/h3><p>Etta James, the singer who first recorded \u2018I\u2019d Rather Go Blind\u2019 in 1967, wrote in her autobiography <em>Rage To Survive<\/em> that she heard the song outlined by her friend Ellington \u2018Fugi\u2019 Jordan when she visited him in prison. Despite writing the rest of the song with Jordan, she then gave her songwriting credit to her then-partner, Billy Foster, citing tax reasons. Still, James is synonymous with this song, whose heartbreaking lyrics (\u2018I’d rather be blind, boy \/Than to see you walk away\u2019), have been widely interpreted as autobiographical.\u00a0 Some have even read them as a metaphor for James\u2019s heroin addiction.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe title=\"Etta James - I'd Rather Go Blind\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/u9sq3ME0JHQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/female-jazz-musicians\"><strong>Greatest female jazz musicians: 16 of the best<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 id=\"h-ich-hab-ein-gluhend-messer-from-gustav-mahler-s-lieder-eines-fahrenden-gesellen\">‘Ich hab ein gluhend Messer’ from Gustav Mahler’s ‘Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen’<\/h3><p>Written around 1884\u201385 in response to Mahler’s unhappy love for the soprano Johanna Richter, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen telescopes the process of getting over a lover into twenty minutes of impassioned song. This third movement from the cycle is probably the most visceral. It likes the pain of lost love to having a metal blade piercing one\u2019s heart. With its driving music, full of tonal instability, it is pretty agonised and agonising stuff. No less than you would expect from a composer widely considered to be one of classical music\u2019s greatest drama queens.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe title=\"Hermann Prey "Ich hab ein gluhend Messer" Gustav Mahler\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rKisJP5dnis?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/what-are-lieder\"><strong>What are Lieder?<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 id=\"h-mon-dieu-edith-piaf\">‘Mon Dieu’ \u2013 Edith Piaf<\/h3><p>Speaking to that universal desire to cling onto love, even if only for a little while longer, this 1960 song ranks amongst the most famous in Edith Piaf\u2019s repertory, which is saying something. Yet, when its composer Charles Dumont originally presented it to Piaf, the chanteuse was not impressed. \u2018The music is very beautiful, but the text is completely impossible. What is the name of the song?\u2019, Piaf allegedly asked. \u2018Toulon-Le Havre-Anvers\u2019, answered Dumont. \u2018Grotesque\u2019, said\u00a0 Piaf. \u2018Completely ridiculous and stupid. Who wrote this?\u2019 \u2018Michel Vaucaire\u2019. So in the middle of the night Piaf called Vaucaire and asked him to bring her a new text the next day. <\/p><p>He duly obeyed, gave his new version to Charles Dumont who played it and sang it – much to Piaf\u2019s approval. \u2018Toulon-Le Havre-Anvers\u2019 had become \u2018Mon Dieu\u2019.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe title=\"Edith Piaf - Mon Dieu (My God)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/x0oMQu2id6I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p>\u00a0<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/who-was-edith-piaf\"><strong>\u00c9dith Piaf: who was the much-loved 20th-century French singer?<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Hannah Nepilova Published: Monday, 20 November 2023 at 12:57 PM Even if you’re the strong and silent type, there’s nothing like the catharsis of listening to a song – slushy or otherwise – to help you through a break-up. But which are the best break-up songs? Here is our list of the ten best, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":34970,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"6"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/11\/break-up-songs-ten-best-songs-about-heartbreak.jpg",640,640,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/11\/break-up-songs-ten-best-songs-about-heartbreak-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/11\/break-up-songs-ten-best-songs-about-heartbreak-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/11\/break-up-songs-ten-best-songs-about-heartbreak.jpg",640,640,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/11\/break-up-songs-ten-best-songs-about-heartbreak.jpg",640,640,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/11\/break-up-songs-ten-best-songs-about-heartbreak.jpg",640,640,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/11\/break-up-songs-ten-best-songs-about-heartbreak.jpg",640,640,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Hannah Nepilova Published: Monday, 20 November 2023 at 12:57 PM Even if you’re the strong and silent type, there’s nothing like the catharsis of listening to a song – slushy or otherwise – to help you through a break-up. But which are the best break-up songs? Here is our list of the ten best,…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/34969"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}