When Eyes Closed by Halsey came on the radio today, and the lyrics “Now if I keep my eyes closed he looks just like you” played, I couldn’t help but think “I hate that this is relatable.”
& It isn’t just Halsey who puts those feelings into words either.
Cassadee Pope sings “So don’t ask me if I wake up in the mornin’ wishin’ that your arms were the ones that were holdin’ me” in Don’t Ask Me.
Taylor Swift sings “he just might make me smile, but the whole time I’m wishing it was you instead” in Haunted
Sinead O’Connor sings “I could put my arms around every boy I see but they’d only remind me of you” in Nothing Compares 2 U.
Clay Walker sings “But she ain’t done one thing wrong, o don’t expect me just to walk out of the door
I still love her, but I love you more” in Holding Her
Katy Perry sums it all up when she sings “when I’m with him I am thinking of you” in Thinking of You.
I don’t hate these songs. In fact, they’re some of my favorite songs. I hate the fact that we sing along to them, like with all great songs, and can picture how our own lives are in tune with the music. I hate that while we can love the person we are with, they’re just a placeholder in our hearts that long for someone else.
What I hate most about how these songs are so relatable isn’t that I have personally experienced this feeling. It’s that anyone could be the “other” guy/girl and never know. It hurts me to think about the number of people singing along to these songs in the car, while the person they claim to love has no idea what is really going on. It isn’t fair to them, but we can’t help how we feel.
So, I love these songs… but I hate what their lyrics say, because they’re painfully true.