The loss of a friendship often feels like a canon event. Feelings of mourning, anger and confusion all surround and overwhelm the mind during this hard time. But friend breakups seem to have very little media representation compared to a classic romantic breakup, for which there are thousands of songs, films and shows about.
Shouldn’t the loss of a friend, someone you share a deep bond with, be a major topic for art and entertainment? These connections can sometimes run deeper than those with a romantic partner ever could.
Whether your friendship ended in a big blowout fight or a gradual drift apart, the feelings are all too hard to cope with. A few songs can help soothe the pain.
“Now That We Don’t Talk,” Taylor Swift
A flashback to 1989’s re-release in 2023, Swift’s vault track encapsulates the feeling of seeing your old friend change after growing apart.
Maybe it’s their Instagram story with new friends you remember them disliking, or hearsay of what they’ve been up to. It ultimately comes down to losing the concept of who you thought they were.
“You grew your hair long / You got new icons / And from the outside it looks like you’re trying lives on,” Swift sings.
Listening to this, you can’t help but feel like you can see through the façade your former friend now puts on, especially considering the history you had.
[Taylor Swift enters her flop era on ‘Life of a Showgirl’]
“The Grudge,” Olivia Rodrigo
When you’re stuck in the moment everything fell apart, Rodrigo’s song relates the feelings of anger, resentment and incapacity for forgiveness after being done wrong.
“I try to understand why you would do this all to me / You must be insecure you must be so unhappy,” Rodrigo sings.
This song can help you understand what they did to you is a poor reflection on their part, not yours.
“Hold No Grudge,” Lorde
Speaking of grudges, Lorde’s underrated bonus track on 2021’s Solar Power will be there to comfort you like a soothing breath of beachy air after finally getting out all the rage and resentment of the breakup.
“Hold No Grudge” is an ode to growing older and wiser, reflecting on the situation without the fog of anger. This song brings clarity to the mind and welcomes moving past old situations as you progress into a better place in life.
“No, I don’t keep a list, can’t hold a grudge / Don’t you think that we both might’ve done some growing up?”
It’s not easy to release all the grudges you once held. It might take a million listens to get all the anger out. There will come a day when the bitterness will be replaced with appreciation for the positive changes following the split.
[Lorde stuns with powerful visuals, energy at the ‘Ultrasound’ tour]
“White Flag,” Clairo
The nostalgic fall feel of Immunity reminds you of your hometown, but “White Flag” hits the spot when reminiscing about your high school BFF. Capturing the realization of your past, Clairo puts you in your feelings about how you were treated. Fearing isolation, you settled for dissatisfaction in the friendship.
“Laughing at me, you kick me when I’m down / Oh, how can you pretend you didn’t say that now,” is a lyric that makes you grateful you have more now than that one person you felt wronged you.
