Why Break-Up Songs Are Better Than Love Songs

In the first weeks of a break-up, your only intention all day is to listen to miserable, melancholic music with a big bowl of chocolate ice-cream in your PJs.

But why are we so engaged to listen to the same dejected three songs on your playlist the entire day? Is it because heartache in song helps us to understand that we’re not alone, and that what we’re experiencing has been experienced by plenty others before?

Or is it because the over-dramatic, emotional music fits precisely with our current mood, creating a special connection between us and the tune?

Music dealing with break-ups have a larger impact on us than love songs due to the deepness of the emotions being portrayed (especially if the listener is able to connect his or her mood to the lyrics of the melody). Heartbreak comes with numerous feelings such as anger, sadness, forgiveness, regret and grief, unlike love, which predominantly inspires happiness. Therefore, break-up songs explore a wider range of emotions. (Break-up songs are also much more realistic than the clichéd fairy-tales of love songs.)

Heartbreak songs are better than love songs, as listeners can more easily relate and feel as if the sole purpose of the song is to comfort them during their misery. The listener may also find themselves empathising with the musician and feeling less alone, appreciating the emotion in the sadness and maybe feeling thankful they’re not in the artist’s shoes, by comparison. (Not so much, with loves songs.)

So, next time you go to plug in your headphones to blast Adele for the rest of the day, keep in mind why, and remember that it may help you to get over your loss easier.

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Photo: AdeleVEVO / YouTube.