13 throwback emo lyrics that broke your heart
When this style of music was first coming out, “emo” was saddled with a handful of negative connotations. It was generally looked down upon by the mainstream who saw the budding genre as distasteful, whiny teenage angst. But for those of us who clutched these albums close to our chests and put ourselves to sleep with lyrics that sympathized with the pain we were going through, emo was much more than that.
You may have moved on from these records. Your taste in music may have shifted entirely. But your heart will always respond to these words.
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1. Taking Back Sunday – “Ghost Man On Third”
“It’s a shame I don’t think that they’ll notice/It’s a shame I doubt they even care”
Let’s be real: Virtually all the lyrics from Taking Back Sunday’s landmark record Tell All Your Friends could be on this list. “Ghost Man On Third,” though, is one of the saddest, most self-deprecating songs on this 2002 record. This track is saturated with feelings of neglect, worthlessness and isolation.
2. Dashboard Confessional – “Screaming Infidelities”
“I’m reading your note over again/There’s not a word that I comprehend/Except when you signed it/‘I will love you always and forever’”
Lyrics don’t have to be blatantly negative to set your heart sinking. Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba was always skilled at toeing the line between sad and sweet. Every hopeless romantic had “Screaming Infidelities” on lock.
3. Jimmy Eat World – “Hear You Me”
“A song for a heart so big/God wouldn’t let it live”
Possibly one of the most tear-jerking songs in the English language, Jimmy Eat World’s “Hear You Me” reached both commercial and cult success. This gentle serenade for the dead is so peaceful, it tears the heart in two.
4. Mayday Parade – “The Last Something That Meant Anything”
“I’ll be OK/Is that what you want me to say?/It’s called ‘breakup’ ’cause it’s broken”
No 2000s breakup was real unless there was a Mayday Parade song playing somewhere in the background. Most people point to 2007’s A Lesson In Romantics as their first encounter with Mayday, but the band’s 2006 EP Tales Told By Dead Friends is where it all began.
5. Secondhand Serenade – “Fall For You”
“You always thought that I was stronger/I may have failed but I have loved you from the start”
If you’re reading this, then “Fall For You” was probably your and your significant other’s relationship song when it came out. Backed by simple piano riffs and lyrical clichés (e.g. “A girl like you is impossible to find”), this Secondhand Serenade song is admittedly way sappy, but all these years later, it still pulls on the heartstrings.
6. Hawthorne Heights – “Saying Sorry”
“Saying goodbye this time/The same old story/Seeing you cry/Makes me feel like saying sorry”
What makes “Saying Sorry” unique in its sadness is the sense that this farewell has happened many times before and seems inevitable. While many emo songs focus on a specific incident or instance of loss or pain, this Hawthorne Heights single is cyclical, making it a different kind of heartache.
7. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – “Your Guardian Angel”
“I will never let you fall/I’ll stand up with you forever/I’ll be there for you through it all/Even if saving you sends me to heaven”
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus may have hit it big with “Face Down,” but the mostly acoustic “Your Guardian Angel” was the song you desperately wanted your crush to sing to you. It’s the quintessence of selflessness and love.
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8. Silverstein – “Giving Up”
“How can I say ‘I love you’ back/You never made me happy”
Silverstein sure do know how to write a stinging one-liner. Most recently the band dipped into metalcore with Dead Reflection, but for the majority of their musical career, they’ve delivered scene-defining emo like a mailman on anti-depressants. “My Heroine” and “Smile In Your Sleep” are two other Silverstein classics that could’ve easily made this list.
9. Paper Mache – “The Vaccine”
“And I pray to God for an angel to save me/And an answer, it came in the form of a friend/And he saved my life/Well, I couldn’t save his”
If you’re searching for grating, whiny teen angst, Paper Mache’s “The Vaccine” is the perfect pick. The same qualities that many people disliked about emo are exactly what make this song a favorite. It’s good because it doesn’t sound perfect. In fact, it shouldn’t sound perfect; it should sound painful because it is painful.
10. Armor For Sleep – “Car Underwater”
“I didn’t care that you left and abandoned me/What hurts more is I would still die for you”
The hit single from Armor For Sleep’s 2005 record What To Do When You Are Dead is one of the crown jewels of 2000s emo. It’s the perfect example of how bands of that era were able to be depressing and catchy at the same time.
11. The Used – “Blue And Yellow”
“Should’ve done something, but I’ve done it enough/By the way your hands were shaking/Rather waste some time with you”
The moment this the Used song begins, so too do tears begin to well up. Both the simple instrumentals and Bert McCracken’s signature vocals make this song simultaneously so gentle yet so desperate.
12. Blue October – “Hate Me”
“Hate me today/Hate me tomorrow/Hate me for all the things I didn’t do for you”
Blue October vocalist Justin Furstenfeld is living a much healthier life now, but for years he struggled with severe drug addiction. “Hate Me” is a song that sees him at rock bottom. This song addresses self-pity and not being able to be the person you should be for the ones you care about. Guilt can be a brutal heartbreaker.
13. Kill Hannah – “The Songs That Saved My Life”
“I remember, I remember everything/All the times when no one ever came to get me/All the nights when I was scared/And when it got too weird/It was the song that saved my life”
There are countless reasons for heartbreak. The feeling of being completely alone is one of them. This Kill Hannah track is a tribute to the songs that are there for you when no one else is, and the pain of being ignored or forgotten can be soothed by listening to a song.
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