Top 10 Tragic Love Songs of Musical Theatre

by: Tabitha Garnica

What do you get when you fall in love?  You only get lies and pain and sorrow.”~ Promises, Promises

Musical theatre has such a vast array of love songs and characters.  The love songs that seem to have the most emotional effect on me are the ones which are tragic.  A tragic love song could be a song in which a character is expressing their love, but instead of being romantic and joyful, it gives off a sense of sadness and hopelessness.  It could be because the lover is not being treated right, love is lost, love is forbidden, or love is unrequited.  No matter the reason, the song pulls on your heart strings because it reminds you of those times when love is not all roses. 

So ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to present to you, my top ten tragic love songs of musical theatre!

10. Hopelessly Devoted to You- Grease

Poor Sandy.  After a seemingly perfect summer, the boy she has been in love with has turned into a jackass.  She feels like she does not know him anymore and he no longer seems interested. However, her heart still beats for him even though it goes against all logic.  But do not feel too bad for her.  SPOILER ALERT: she gets him in the end J

 9. Lonely Room~ Oklahoma!    

Jud Frye: love him or hate him?  It seems to depend on how he is portrayed.  Either way this song completely illustrates his sadness and his desperateness.  The only thing that stops us from being completely sympathetic towards him is how creepy he is….so Jud….tone it down a notch, stop being a stalker, find a girl who actually likes you, and get out of that disturbing room! 

8.  I’ll Never Fall in Love Again ~ Promises, Promises

This song always has and always will have a special place in my heart.  When I first heard it on a Broadway CD, I thought it was so sad.  These two characters are expressing all the pain that love has caused them.  When I saw the actual show on Broadway with Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth, I saw it in a whole new light.  It was still sad, because I had fell in love with these characters and neither of them deserved the pain that love caused them.  However, in the show it has an element of sweetness because the characters are falling in love with each other as they are singing about the horrors of love! It’s okay! You two are perfect for each other! It will be alright J

7. Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man of Mine ~ Show Boat

Julie truly is a tragic lover.  She is head over heels for her husband, who goes out gambling all night and does not treat her the way she is meant to be treated.  He does lover her, but he is not the best at showing it, and he eventually leaves her, which causes her to become an emotional wreck.

6. What’s the Use of Wonderin’ ~ Carousel

It is very difficult not to love Julie Jordon.  She is the sweetest and even maybe the most tragic wife ever portrayed in musical theatre.  Her husband, Billy Bigalow, is lost in his desperate need for money.  He blames her for his failures to the point of even beating her.  Everything he touches seems to break and he speaks to her as if she were his servant.  Either way, she loves him deeply and would come running to him any time he would call.

5. I’m Not that Girl~ Wicked

Elphaba expresses the feelings of every girl that has ever had the “Taylor Swift Syndrome.”  Fiyero has won her heart, yet she feels she has no chance against the perfectly beautiful Galinda.

4. As Long as He Needs Me~ Oliver!

I have never actually seen this musical, however I have heard this song so many times, and each time it makes me cry.  This song is about a girl so resolved in her love for a man that she is committing herself to him ‘As Long as He Needs’ her.  Again, it seems as though he is not showing her the same love.

3.  We Kiss in a Shadow ~ The King and I

Oh, forbidden love.  This song is absolutely beautiful.  These two love each other in secret.  This love is so strong that they are willing to risk being found and killed for it.

2. This Nearly was Mine ~ South Pacific

One of the main reasons I am in love with the character of Emile DeBeque is because of this song.  All through the show, his love for Nellie has seemed so beautifully perfect and romantic.  Yet, she slipped through his fingers because of racial intolerance.  He is a loving man with a past, and all he desires in the world is the love of his woman. 

1.      On My Own ~ Les Misérables

For me at least, this song was the obvious winner.  Any girl who has ever felt invisible to the man she loves can relate and be touched by this song.  Eponine would do anything for Marius, even if it led to her death. …There are not enough words.