Songs for the broken-hearted on Valentine’s Day

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October 3, 2005---Foo Fighters at All-State Arena in Rosemont---Sun-Times photo by Tom Cruze

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Valentine’s Day means love, and that’s rotten for single folk who’d rather spend the day with someone special. Even if you don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day because it’s cheesy and sappy and triggers the gag reflex, it’s nice to have the option.

So, for those who are feeling the sting of being single this Valentine’s Day, I present to you a list of favorite break-up songs I compiled from suggestions made by readers, some who are single and some who are married. I threw in a few of my favorites, too.

“Everlong,” by the Foo Fighters. Larry Gross, of Northbrook, listened to this when he got dumped. An avid cyclist, Gross said he found he was spending too much time on the bike and not enough time with the girl he thought was “the one.” “The line that really hit home was ‘Gotta promise not to stop when I say when,’ because I pretty much did say when, in my own way, and she did stop,” he said.

“You Were Meant for Me,” by Jewel. Wendy Donohue Mazurk, of Deerfield, said this was the song she listened to when she broke up with a cheating boyfriend. “I think that song was meant for me,” she said.

“Norwegian Wood,” by the Beatles. “In a bizarre way, I consider ‘Norwegian Wood’ by the Beatles a break up song,” said Gary Gand, of Deerfield. “My mom explained to me, as a kid in 1965, that when John Lennon sings, ‘I lit a fire. Isn’t it good Norwegian wood?’ in the last refrain, he has set the house on fire, after the girl in the story goes off to work. Paul McCartney has confirmed the song was written about an affair that John was having. The Norwegian wood was a fad at the time when young girls were decorating their apartments with it. Lennon and McCartney wanted to spoof this, but thought ‘Cheap Pine’ wasn’t a good song title. When I hear the song on the radio (anybody know what a radio is?) I always think of how harsh a break up is between a married man and his mistress. So harsh that the guy burns the house down!”

“Long Way Down,” by Pete Yorn. There’s some anger in this song, which is quite blunt with the lyrics — “I don’t love you, so why should I compete with other guys.” But there’s one line that makes me wonder if he really does still love her and he’s just saying all this out of anger: “I don’t miss you, still I would take a car to be with you.”

“Straight into Darkness” and “Change of Heart,” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. These two songs are back-to-back on Petty’s “Anthology: Through the Years” album, which I find interesting. In the first song, Petty sings about a relationship that died because he fell out of love, but offers this glimmer of hope: “I don’t believe the good times are over/I don’t believe the thrill is all gone/Real love is a man’s salvation/The weak ones fall, the strong carry on.” But, in “Change of Heart,” he’s done: “I’ll get over you, it won’t take long/I’ve stood in your gallery/I’ve seen what’s hanging from the walls/You were the moon and sun/You’re just a loaded gun now/It gets me down.” You have to be strong to listen to them one right after the other.

“Losing You,” by Randy Newman but sung by Mavis Staples. Ugh! This one hurts. She’ll never have any peace from this heartbreak.

“Come Back,” by Pearl Jam. Even if you don’t like Eddie Vedder, you feel for the guy in this soulful song. He hopes he dreams about this lost love because it’s the only way he can see her. And when he pleadingly wails, “Come back,” it feels like it just might be powerful enough to make her change her mind. If only she could hear it.