Top 10 Songs About Unrequited Love By Female Artists

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Our Top 10 Songs About Unrequited Love article defines a concept that we all learn early on in life. We all remember that one person who we fell in love with who didn’t even know we were alive. We would stare at them every day, dreaming of a relationship that we knew quite obviously had even less of a chance than winning the Powerball. Yet, we dreamed and lived in pain. Yes, it starts early and for many never ends……. There are so many of these songs that we decided to break it down into parts as this list will represent the ones recorded by female artists only.

# 10 – My Favorite Mistake – Sheryl Crow

We open up with a great one by Sheryl Crow, who puts a twist on the labeling of unrequited love. She knows her lover doesn’t care anymore, she knows he’s cheating, and yet she can’t help but express how much she still adores him, even though she knows it’s, as the song says, a big mistake, but it’s one she seems to want to continue to make.

# 9 – Linda Ronstadt – Lose Again

Linda Ronstadt breaks our hearts, and she sings with such earnest emotion: “Nothing could break me from this ball and chain,” skips a few lines, and then ends with “Because I love you and lose again.” If that doesn’t hit hard, nothing will. Karla Bonoff composed this classic heartbreaker of a ballad.

# 8 – Love Doesn’t Love – Maria McKee

Maria McKee’s heavily influenced 1960s groove song seems to be digging into a more universal meaning of unrequited love. Is her rant defined by the haunting of multiple failed relationships, which leads her to blame herself for those failures? Or, is she just doomed because the concept of love has just decided she is not worthy of it?

# 7 – Stevie Nicks – If Anyone Falls

This heartbreaking song about a woman who is falling for a man who she knows can’t be true, and who also admits he will run away as soon as he feels trapped, is a very familiar story to many. The song was released on Stevie Nicks’ spectacular 1981 album, Wild Heart.

# 6 – Even It Up – Heart

Well, this one’s a little different, but it does fit. It’s not about being broken-hearted as much as it’s saying hey, if I’m going to love you and do all this for you, like making your breakfast in bed, then I’m expecting a little more in return. It’s an unrequited relationship which works for this concept. It’s the same thing, and in the end, this Heart song is a fun listen.

# 5 – Can’t Leave You Alone

Susan Tedeschi sounds pretty heartbroken on this one. Her man is gone, and she just can’t accept it. This killer track was released on her phenomenal album Just Won’t Burn. She is such a gem as a guitarist and a singer. When someone says there’s no great rock music coming out anymore, tell them to take a listen to the Tedeschi Trucks Band.

# 4 – I Hate Love – Garbage

Shirley Manson of Garbage does not hold back her feelings on this one about loving someone who just does not love you back which is what this list is all about. The song was released on the album Not Your Kind of People.

# 3 – You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me – Dusty Springfield

Oh, boy, this one’s really sad. It’s all about begging someone to come back and letting them know they don’t have to offer any love or commitment as long as they are still around. Dusty breaks our hearts on this one. And yes, we believe her.

# 2 – Nothing But A Miracle – Diane Birch

Why this song wasn’t a number-one hit makes me very sad. It is such a gem. If life were fair, Diane Birch would be a huge musical artist. It speaks volumes about record companies’ failures to promote true artists, as opposed to the nonsense they promote. One of the reasons I started this site was to promote artists who often get overlooked, and Diane Birch may be one of the biggest. Take a listen to this song, please watch the video, and then tell me what you think.

Read More: Top 10 Diane Birch Songs

# 1 – Close To You – The Carpenters

This sensational Burt Bacharach song, “Close To You,” closes out the heartbreaking unrequited love songs list with one of the most-loved songs of all time, which makes sense given the topic. Karen Carpenter’s passionate girl-next-door voice delivered one of her most poignant vocal performances of her career. The video is pretty interesting because Richard Carpenter is playing a Wurlitzer electric piano that sounds nothing like the real piano on the recording.

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