Crush Songs
Thirty-four songs about having a crush. Two different things get searched under this phrase: songs that describe the feeling, and songs you could actually send to someone. Those lists barely overlap, so they are kept apart here.
Updated September 202634 songs
Ten about the feeling
- CrushJennifer Paige · 1998
Insists it is only a crush while sounding like it is not, which is the accurate emotional position.
- I Wanna Be YoursArctic Monkeys · 2013
Adapted from a John Cooper Clarke poem. The song a generation has attached to this exact feeling.
- Sweater WeatherThe Neighbourhood · 2012
Enormously overused for this and still right. Anyone under thirty knows precisely what it means.
- EverywhereFleetwood Mac · 1987
Bright and completely uncomplicated. The happy version of the feeling rather than the anxious one.
- Somebody ElseThe 1975 · 2016
For a crush who is with somebody. Honest about how ugly that feeling actually is.
- DreamsThe Cranberries · 1992
The sound of the first week of it, before anything has gone wrong. Almost no other song gets that.
- BubblyColbie Caillat · 2007
The uncomplicated one. Nothing in it will embarrass anybody who overhears it.
- IrisGoo Goo Dolls · 1998
About wanting to be known. Bigger than most crushes deserve and used for them anyway.
- FallingHarry Styles · 2019
For a crush that is going badly and that you know is going badly.
- Can’t Help Falling in LoveElvis Presley · 1961
The oldest and simplest here. Two minutes, and it has been doing this job since 1961.
Listening to it and sending it are different
A song you play alone can be as dramatic as you like. A song you send is a message, and it will be read as one — including the parts you did not intend. “Iris” is a beautiful record and sending it to somebody you have spoken to twice says considerably more than you probably mean. Work out which of the two lists you are on before you press anything.
If you are sending, the useful range is warm and deniable. Something bright, short and not obviously about longing lets you be affectionate without forcing either of you to define anything. That is where “Everywhere”, “Bubbly” and “Better Together” sit, and it is the register most people actually want.
The one thing not to do is send something enormous with a joke attached. Hedging a big song with “haha this is so random” does not reduce the risk; it just means they cannot respond to it sincerely even if they wanted to. Either send something small and mean it, or send something big and stand behind it.
And if it is not going anywhere, the third group is genuinely useful. Songs about unreturned feeling are among the best in popular music, and the honest ones do more good than a playlist pretending you are fine.
By what you are doing with it
Safe to actually send
Warm, short, and impossible to hold against you. Affection without a declaration attached.
- EverywhereFleetwood Mac · 1987
Bright and old enough to be safe. Reads as good taste rather than as a confession.
- Better TogetherJack Johnson · 2005
Low-stakes affection with nothing at risk. The most sendable song on this page.
- BubblyColbie Caillat · 2007
Uncomplicated and light. Nothing in it commits you to anything.
- Lovely DayBill Withers · 1977
About one person making a day better, which is exactly as much as you want to say.
- Sunday MorningMaroon 5 · 2004
Pleasant and unloaded. Good for someone you talk to but do not know well yet.
- Banana PancakesJack Johnson · 2005
Deliberately unserious. For a crush where the joke is half the point.
- Put Your Records OnCorinne Bailey Rae · 2006
Warm and completely unthreatening. Almost impossible to over-read.
- Good Day SunshineThe Beatles · 1966
Two minutes and cheerful. Sends nothing except that you were thinking about them.
If you are ready to say it
These will be read as a statement. Send one only if you are prepared for an answer either way.
- I Wanna Be YoursArctic Monkeys · 2013
Unambiguous, and a whole generation knows exactly what sending it means.
- IrisGoo Goo Dolls · 1998
About wanting to be known. Enormous, so do not send it casually.
- Can’t Help Falling in LoveElvis Presley · 1961
Two minutes and there is no ambiguous reading available. The sending is the message.
- First Day of My LifeBright Eyes · 2005
One guitar and an admission that the whole thing is strange. Disarming rather than grand.
- SomethingThe Beatles · 1969
About being unable to explain why. If you cannot articulate it either, use this.
- Make You Feel My LoveBob Dylan · 1997
A promise rather than a question. Very large — be certain.
- The LuckiestBen Folds · 2001
Quiet and specific, which makes it more convincing than anything louder.
- At LastEtta James · 1960
The most committed record here. It says the waiting is over, so only if it is.
If it is not going anywhere
Unreturned feeling has produced some of the best songs in popular music. These are honest rather than consoling.
- Somebody ElseThe 1975 · 2016
Honest about how unpleasant it is to still want someone who has moved on.
- FallingHarry Styles · 2019
For knowing it is going badly and continuing anyway. Uncomfortably accurate.
- The Night We MetLord Huron · 2015
About wanting to go back to before it started hurting. Play it once, not on repeat.
- Motion SicknessPhoebe Bridgers · 2017
Angry rather than sad, which is a healthier place to get to and rarely written well.
- Nothing Compares 2 USinéad O’Connor · 1990
The definitive record about an absence. Almost too much, which is sometimes right.
- Skinny LoveBon Iver · 2008
For something that was real and did not work. Quiet and unresolved.
- I Can’t Make You Love MeBonnie Raitt · 1991
The most adult song here, and about accepting the answer rather than arguing with it.
- Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)Green Day · 1997
Written bitter and heard as gracious. For the point where you are ready to put it down.
Three demonstration songs
What a song for them sounds like
We wrote these from made-up answers to the same five questions you would fill in. They are not customer work. The advantage of a written one here is control: you decide exactly how much it says, which is the whole difficulty with sending somebody else’s song.
Start the song- Marguerite at the StopFolk · forty years from a bus stop in the rain2:19
- Danny On The RiverAcoustic · to a brother, after eleven months of silence3:15
- Nadia for Our First DanceR&B · a first dance, written about the two of them3:18
How it works
Three steps. The first one is the only hard part.
- 1Tell the storyFive questions. Who it’s for, the occasion, three details only you two know, the feeling you want, and the names that have to be in it.
- 2Pick the soundCountry, pop, acoustic, R&B, gospel or rock. A man’s voice or a woman’s.
- 3Listen, then unlockA 30-second preview in about two minutes. Pay only if you love it. You get the full song, the lyrics, and a page you can send.
Common questions
- What song should I send my crush?
- Something warm and short that is not obviously about longing — “Everywhere”, “Better Together”, “Lovely Day”. Those let you be affectionate without either of you having to define anything, which is what most people actually want.
- What are the best songs about having a crush?
- “I Wanna Be Yours” and “Sweater Weather” for the modern version, “Crush” by Jennifer Paige for the classic. All three are about insisting it is nothing while behaving as though it is not.
- Should I send a big romantic song?
- Only if you are ready for an answer either way. And do not hedge it with a joke — attaching “haha so random” does not lower the risk, it just makes it impossible for them to respond sincerely.
- What helps when they do not feel the same?
- Honest songs rather than consoling ones. “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and “Motion Sickness” are about accepting the answer, which does more good than a playlist pretending you are fine.
- Can I get a song written for someone I like?
- Yes, and the advantage is control — you set exactly how direct it is. Answer five questions and you will hear a 30-second preview in about two minutes. The full song is $19.