Hidden hearts: Secret Valentine's songs

Gracie Moore, Lifestyle Editor, reveals the songs that don't wear their hearts on their sleeves...

A large proportion of songs over the decades have very overtly presented the themes of love, relationships and heartbreak, but there are some which appear slightly less obvious or even not obvious at all. This can make songs more interesting and up for interpretation; below are some of my firm favourites!

‘Anti-Hero’ by Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift’s hit song in the charts, and on TikTok, more subtly tells of her insecurities in both her private and public life. This includes the theme of depression and her desire to remain antisocial. Also, she explains in the lyrics that she often feels like everyone around her is a “sexy baby” when she is just “the monster on the hill.” We can see from this that the song relates to Taylor’s lack of self-love and inability to see herself as worthy of love. It is quite a relatable feeling for many of us to not feel worthy of love, so ‘Anti-Hero’ becomes veiled with heartbreak.

‘Does Your Mother Know?’ by ABBA

Although still evidently about a relationship, this song is portrayed a little differently, mainly because of the frequent mentions of the girl’s mother in the lyrics and the title itself. Only when we move through the cool dance beat and inspect the lyrics can we really tell that this song tells the story of someone who experiences sexual or romantic desire for a girl much younger than them. It can be argued for this reason that the song conveys the theme of forbidden love and compatibility between couples transcending age barriers. It is less conventional, and the constant reference to the girl’s mum adds a slight comedic tone.

'Normal Girl’ by SZA

The second song on this list which deals with self-love or a lack thereof, ‘Normal Girl’ highlights a pining to be the ideal romantic candidate for someone and being frustrated about not being “normal” enough. It is heart-breaking to listen to as, again, it feels oddly relatable for most people, feeling like they are not enough. Therefore, despite being evidently about love and heartbreak, it is interesting when reading into the lyrics that this is about a lack of compassion for oneself rather than about someone who has upset SZA.

‘My Type’ by Saint Motel

Again, despite being more clearly about love, the true meaning of this song is masked pretty well. Throughout the lyrics, it is stated, “You’re just my type. You have a pulse and you are breathing” and sarcastically states “I’m a man who’s got very specific taste.” You have to read the lyrics to realise that this song is about hidden bisexuality, and that the singer refers to having no type with regard to gender. It’s covert enough so that it remains a question as to whether that is true, but is a nice representation of non-heterosexual love — without being too cliché.

This is a non-exhaustive list of songs which are less obviously about love and relationships. They are either more discreet with their portrayal of these themes, or simply tell a story of a different kind of love. It is refreshing to have music like this because it helps to avoid clichés and increases representation for different people and different types of love.