50 Best Songs About Not Admitting You're In Love
Songs When You're Pretending You Don't Like Them That Much
There’s a strange kind of stubborn that creeps in when feelings show up uninvited. You catch yourself checking your phone a little too often, rereading old messages, mentally editing replies you haven’t even sent yet. And instead of admitting anything real, you keep it casual. Or sarcastic. Or weirdly cold. That headspace makes people buy matching bracelets for someone they swear is “literally just a friend. It's familiar. It's ridiculous. It's also where a lot of songs live—the ones that catch that mix of tension and denial with a hook that says everything the lyrics refuse to.
These tracks aren’t grand love anthems. They’re not declarations. They sit in the in-between, where it’s easier to make a joke than be vulnerable. Where friends give you side-eyes you pretend not to see. Where your playlist starts tilting toward late-night overthinking and you act like you’re only in it for the beat. Some tracks let the longing seep through the cracks. Others armor up with swagger and sarcasm. The best ones find that spot where you’re clearly into someone and pretending you’re not, and they don’t resolve it—they just leave you spinning in it.
It’s the weirdest kind of performance, and a surprisingly crowded one. People have been writing pop, rock, country, and R&B songs about this exact mess for decades, probably because no one’s immune to it. You know you’re in trouble when you start skipping certain songs because they feel too specific. Or worse—playing them on repeat. These are the ones that know exactly what that feels like. Here’s the list.
Top 10 Love Denial Songs
1. 'I'm Not in Love'—10cc
2. 'We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)'—Ariana Grande
3. 'I'm Not the Only One'—Sam Smith
4. 'Complicated'—Avril Lavigne
5. 'Secret Love Song'—Little Mix ft. Jason Derulo
6. 'Crush'—Jennifer Paige
7. 'Just Friends'—Amy Winehouse
8. 'Accidentally in Love'—Counting Crows
9. 'Denial'—Kastra & Alex Byrne
10. 'Scared to Get Attached'—Bryan Music
Songs About Suppressing Affection #11—20
11. 'It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)'—Merle Haggard and The Strangers
12. 'Boys Don't Cry'—The Cure
13. 'I Can't Make You Love Me'—Bonnie Raitt
14. 'Someone Like You'—Adele
15. 'Love is a Losing Game'—Amy Winehouse
16. 'Stay'—Rihanna
17. 'Un-Break My Heart'—Toni Braxton
18. 'All By Myself'—Celine Dion
19. 'Creep'—Radiohead
20. 'The Winner Takes It All'—ABBA
Songs About Hiding Romantic Feelings #21—30
21. 'A Moment Changes Everything'—David Gray
22. 'Ain't No Sunshine'—Bill Withers
23. 'Always On My Mind'—Willie Nelson
24. 'Chasing Cars'—Snow Patrol
25. 'Don't Know Why'—Norah Jones
26. 'Halfcrazy'—Musiq Soulchild
27. 'Can't Help But Wait'—Trey Songz
28. 'More Than Friends'—Estelle
29. 'Not In That Way'—Sam Smith
30. 'The A Team'—Ed Sheeran
Songs About Unacknowledged Emotions #31—40
31. 'I Will Always Love You'—Whitney Houston
32. 'Hello'—Lionel Richie
33. 'I Want to Know What Love Is'—Foreigner
34. 'Yesterday'—The Beatles
35. 'Fix You'—Coldplay
36. 'Lost Without You'—Freya Ridings
37. 'Someone You Loved'—Lewis Capaldi
38. 'Love Me Like You Do'—Ellie Goulding
33. 'Say Something'—A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera
40. 'I Guess I Just Feel Like'—John Mayer
Songs About Undeniable Feelings #41—50
41. 'Thinking Out Loud'—Ed Sheeran
42. 'Make You Feel My Love'—Adele
43. 'Perfect'—Ed Sheeran
44. 'All of Me'—John Legend
45. 'Can't Help Falling in Love'—Elvis Presley
46. 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'—Queen
47. 'You Say'—Lauren Daigle
48. 'The Only Exception'—Paramore
49. 'Ho Hey'—The Lumineers
50. 'Everything'—Michael Bublé
© 2025 Carson McQueen
