“Normal People” is one of my favorite shows, and the kind of show that hurts quietly.
It follows Marianne and Connell, two young adults who ache for each other but are never fully able to love without fear. Their relationship stretches from high school into college, and the insecurities they both carry follows them. Marianne’s story in particular is one of wanting deeply while believing that on some level, she does not deserve to be chosen fully.
The shows soundtrack guides viewers through the relationship as it unfolds, capturing the moments where love, self-doubt and silence collide. Here are some songs that I wholeheartedly believe would’ve added to the gut-wrench factor.
- “The Giver” by Sarah Kinsley
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“I’m a giver. He says, ‘Me too.’ He is hungry for someone but doesn’t know who. I’m a giver, or am I a fool?”
If you have ever loved someone who only wanted you in private, this song will hit immediately. Marianne gives herself to Connell completely, even when it costs her dignity. She wants him so badly that she convinces herself that being hidden is better than being alone.
Yes, Connell cares for her, but not enough to risk how others see him. Marianne’s conflict lives right there, in the space between knowing she deserves more and accepting less just to stay close to him.
- “Touching God” by Daniel Caesar
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“I was going so crazy, couldn’t run. I know there’s a God that’s withholding his help. I know you made me, but I hate myself.”
As Marianne grows into herself in college, it is easy to assume she has healed. She has friends, she has confidence and has gained her own sense of style. Internally, however, she is still carrying the weight of a childhood where love was conditional and often cruel.
Connell’s secrecy in high school only confirms what she already believes about herself, that she is not worth choosing openly. This song captures that contradiction so painfully well. Marianne can look strong, but she’d always feel fundamentally broken when it comes to love.
- “Out” by Olivia Dean
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“Sometimes you want me, sometimes you don’t. You look straight through me, I can feel you letting go”
This song captures that hollow feeling that sets in after you realize something meant more to you than it ever did to them. When Marianne asks Connell if he ever considered taking her to the dance, and he says no, it is not just rejection.
It is the slow, painful understanding that you were never really an option. She was there when it was easy, visible only when it mattered. Marianne carries that feeling with her, questioning whether she is asking for too much or just asking someone incapable of showing up for her.
- “What Are We” by Lizzy McAlpine
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“I don’t think we’re wasting time, but if you do I’m sorry. If spending every night in your bed has no meaning, then what are? Just a sorry excuse for love?”
Marianne and Connell were emotionally intimate long before they were ever emotionally secure. They shared their bodies, secrets and entire versions of themselves, yet avoided naming the relationship out loud.
For Marianne, this lack of definition only confirmed her deepest fear. If it is never labeled, it can never fully be lost. Lizzy McAlpine captures that desperation of wanting reassurance so badly, but being afraid to ask for it.
- “Casual” by Chappell Roan
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“I thought you thought of me better. Someone you couldn’t lose. You said we’re not together”
I feel like almost every girl knows this song and can relate to the idea of magnifying your place in someone’s life, so much to the point that when it all comes crashing down, you realize that this entire time you were looking at someone like they were everything.
They were looking at you as someone they didn’t care to lose, and you realize what felt so serious to you was casual for them all along.
So, though the “Normal People” soundtrack is already beautiful, these are some songs I believe would fit perfectly into the show.