12 Songs About Gay Yearning (That Aren't by Taylor Swift)

Roughly a year ago, I got annoyed about Taylor Swift's release of a song called "You Need to Calm Down", which was being presented as something of a gay anthem at the time despite Swift being straight. I channelled this irritation into making a blog post listing five gay anthems performed by LGBT+ artists to listen to instead. Back then, I thought that was the probably last post I'd ever make about Taylor Swift - it turns out I was wrong.

Recently, my social media feeds have been filled with people discussing Swift's new song "Betty", which apparently can be generously interpreted as a queer love song. I'm holding myself back from going into a full-blown rant about why I think this is not the case (although I would happily do so in a later post if people are interested), because the song itself is not what I want to focus on here.

I've mentioned before that LGBT+ representation created by and for LGBT+ people is very important to me, and the release of "Betty" struck me as the perfect time to recommend some songs which might hold similar appeal to queer listeners (specifically in that they focus on gay yearning, a feeling many of us queers know all too well). The only difference is, these songs are actually by queer artists.

With all of that in mind, I compiled a playlist of twelve songs about gay yearning, all (with the exception of one, which I will explain later) performed by openly queer artists. By all means, continue to listen to Taylor Swift and "Betty", but consider also giving these songs a chance. You might just find your next great anthem for queer longing among them.

I've listed the songs below with embedded links to their YouTube recordings, or you can scroll to the bottom of this post for the Spotify playlist I've made. Happy listening!


"Jenny" - Studio Killers*

My research for this post has led me to conclude that, for many a queer, yearning = being tragically in love with your best friend. Despite its catchy techno beats, lyrically "Jenny" is about just such a situation.  Besides the original Studio Killers version, I would also highly recommend the heartbreaking Lily Sevin cover, which turns the song into a ballad.

Lyric of peak yearning: "I wanna ruin our friendship / We should be lovers instead"


"i wanna be your girlfriend" - Girl in Red

Of course the artist who is so gay that "do you listen to Girl in Red?" has become code for "are you gay?" would have done a song about the being-in-love-with-your-best-friend experience. "i wanna be your girlfriend" is about the singer's longing for their friend named Hanna, and it includes an iconic line which I can't include here in order to keep this post safe for work - you'll just have to listen to the song to find out what it is.

Lyric of peak yearning: "I don't wanna be your friend, I wanna kiss your lips"


Sleepover - Hayley Kiyoko

Another song about being in love with your friend - it's amusingly sad how common an experience this is for all of us. I'm starting to think that Hayley Kiyoko has made it her mission to write a song for every quintessential queer experience, from coming out ("Girls Like Girls") to not being sure if a girl is interested in you romantically or just physically ("Curious"). Either way, "Sleepover" is her take on the unrequited-best-friend-love trope.

Lyric of peak yearning: "Sleeping here right next to me / But will you ever mess with me? No / But at least I got you in my head"


Cherry - Rina Sawayama 

Unlike the previous songs, this one isn't about unrequited feelings for a friend (at least not explicitly). Rather, it's about finally facing up to your feelings for a girl and wondering if you can make the leap into that becoming a relationship. While I've included the original version on the playlist, Sawayama's piano version is definitely worth a listen as well.

Lyric of peak yearning: "Holding on to feelings / I'm not used to feeling / 'Cause, oh, they make me feel alive"


Boys Aside - Sofya Wang

Not only is this a great song about wanting to steal a girl away from the boys who want her attention, it also has a music video which is pure aesthetic goals. It's pastel, pink, and has an adorably tiny kitten in it. I'm not sure what else you could want.

Lyric of peak yearning: "I wanted you to be my baby girl tonight / And all the other boys could just say goodbye"


Flowers for Anna - Ames

This song has a smooth, dreamy sound that I really enjoy. The lyrics in "Flowers for Anna" are a bit harder to decipher than some of the other songs on this list, at least to me, but that just makes it more fascinating. It's also something of a hidden gem, with under 20,000 views on YouTube.

Lyric of peak yearning: "I've always been the weirdo / With flowers in my hands for Anna / Her little brother who liked me / I'd pretend he was her"


Girl - The Internet (ft. KAYTRANADA)

I wouldn't normally use words like "sultry" to describe a song, but this one fits the description perfectly. There is still a hint of uncertainty in the lyrics, though, when the singer tries to persuade the girl she likes that they should be together.

Lyric of peak yearning: "If I told you that you rock my world, I want you around me / Would you let me call you my girl, my girlfriend, my girlfriend?"


She - Dodie

This song goes back to the first step in many a gay journey, when you struggle to recognise your feelings for a girl and/or if it's even okay to have them. It's a little sad, but it's also tender and relatable.

Lyric of peak yearning: "I'd never tell / No, I'd never say a word / And oh, it aches / But it feels oddly good to hurt"


Pretty Girl - Clairo

Not all songs about yearning focus on a positive relationship, or even aspiring to one. "Pretty Girl" is about wanting someone so badly that you'd change yourself to be with them. It may be the negative side of the emotion, but it's yearning nonetheless.

Lyric of peak yearning: "It's getting harder to understand, to understand / How you felt in my hands, in my hands"


She's so Lovely - The Butchies

No, this isn't the Scouting for Girls song. This "She's so Lovely" is by The Butchies, a queercore band from America. Lyrically, it's about the ecstatic, urgent longing for a person you have a crush on.

Lyric of peak yearning: "She's a rocker dressed like a killer / She's got lips like wine not sugar / I'm running running into timing / Got a watch it's stuck in shining"


Bestie - Sizzy Rocket

You thought we'd reach the end of the list without another song about liking your best friend? I'm afraid not, my dear reader. This song focuses on the more physical side of things, and I should say that it's definitely not safe for work in terms of lyrics.

Lyric of peak yearning: "I wonder what, what, what does she want / What, what, what does she want"


What's It Gonna Be? - Shura

It may or may not be about a best friend, but either way this song is about having feelings for a person and not being sure whether to tell them. The music video is also a cute story of romance and friendships that takes on the archetypes of "The Jock, The Nerd, The Dork, The Popular Kid" - but with a queer twist, of course.

Lyric of peak yearning: "Do I tell you I love you or not? / Cause I can't really guess what you want / If you let me down, let me down slow"



*In terms of queerness, Studio Killers is a grey area because they're actually a virtual band, and I can find little-to-no information on the real-life artists behind the characters. However, it seems that the band's lead singer avatar, Cherry, is pansexual, so we'll just say this counts.

My Top 5 Albums of 2019

Just as I did last week, I'm taking this weekend off from the 30-day book challenge, as I feel I need the time to rest and get a head start on the posts for next week. However, I still wanted to write a little something less demanding for this blog today.

So as a break from the more serious, book-related posts, today we're going to do something completely different: a list of my favourite musical albums released in 2019. Although I've posted plenty of lists on blogs before, I don't normally write much about music, as I feel it's not a topic I know much about - unless of course I'm feeling angry about Taylor Swift, which prompted me to write my last music-based list post. So this post will just be my favourite albums of the last decade, not necessarily the ones I think are objectively the best (if there even is such a thing). It's also a bit late in the month to be doing an annual roundup, but ignore that. As someone once famously said, it's my blog and I'll post what I want to.

Now, let's get into the list. I've put these in ascending order, so number one is my ultimate favourite album of the year.

Top 5 Albums of 2019

5. Clarity - Kim Petras

I mentioned Kim Petras briefly in my aforementioned previous music post, and I stand by my cringy-but-true statement that "she makes absolute bops". There are plenty of fun, danceable tracks on this album, as you would expect from such a reliably catchy artist, like "Clarity" and "Got My Number". On the other hand, songs like "Icy" and "Personal Hell" look at the emotional vulnerability that can exist underneath a cool façade. Come for the infectious rhythms, stay for the feelings.

Favourite song: "Personal Hell"

4. Cuz I Love You - Lizzo

This album contains several of Lizzo's recent hits, including "Juice" and "Truth Hurts" - both memorable tracks, beloved for their messages of self-love and positivity. Yet songs like "Crybaby" and "Exactly How I Feel (ft. Gucci Mane)" don't shy away from the fact that even Lizzo has her bad days. Still, she always comes back to her signature theme of acceptance and confidence, making this one of my favourite feel-good albums. 

Favourite song: "Jerome"

3. Love + Fear  - MARINA

Love + Fear marks MARINA's return to music after a three year hiatus that started in 2016, after the release of her last album Froot. She might be performing under a different name now (the artist was previously known as Marina and the Diamonds), and the scope of her music has at times broadened to include the whole of humanity (as in "To Be Human"), but her music is as unique and deeply-felt as ever.

Favourite song: "You"

2. Norman Fucking Rockwell! - Lana Del Rey

This has been one of Lana Del Rey's most critically-acclaimed albums to date, and for good reason. It's got the classic glamour-coated melancholy we know and love, this time presented in a little over an hour's worth of musically-gorgeous songs with some truly brilliant lyrics.

Favourite song: "Fuck it I love you"

1. Dedicated - Carly Rae Jepsen

If the only Carly Rae Jepsen song you know of is still "Call Me Maybe", you need to catch up. Since the release of her album Emotion in 2015, she's been consistently putting out songs that perfectly mix contemporary and retro pop into a combination that I honestly believe marks the zenith of modern music. I thought Emotion couldn't possibly be topped, but Dedicated proved me wrong.

Favourite song: "Want You in My Room"

So, those were my favourite albums of 2019. There are two conclusions to be drawn from this exercise: 1. Even if 2019 was not a good year for the general state of the world, it was great for music; and 2. I love pop music. If you'd like to listen to these albums for yourself, an easy way to do so is to listen to the Spotify playlist I created that contains all five of them in one easy-to-listen-to collection. See the bottom of this post for the link.

Finally, If anyone reading this wants to share their favourite album(s) of 2019 with me, I'd be very interested to hear them. You can let me know either by commenting here or by messaging me directly, as I know most of you who read this have a way of getting in touch with me personally. 

Have a good weekend, everyone!