"When you truly know the meaning of the word 'love', you will also know the meaning of the word 'pain'."
— Javan idiom
Maia: You don't want to get close to anyone, do you?
Kyril: I did once. It... didn't end in a good way.
Kyril: I did once. It... didn't end in a good way.
You love her but she loves him
And he loves somebody else you just can't win
And so it goes till the day you die
This thing they call love it's gonna make you cry
I've had the blues the reds and the pinks
One thing for sure
(Love stinks)"
And he loves somebody else you just can't win
And so it goes till the day you die
This thing they call love it's gonna make you cry
I've had the blues the reds and the pinks
One thing for sure
(Love stinks)"
— The J. Geils Band - Love Stinks
Love is not some victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
— Leonard Cohen (and many, many others), Hallelujah
"You don’t know what love is, little one,” Sophia’s condescending tone rang across the room, "It was a first crush, a little infatuation. Real love is what he had with Glory Girl… that long-term bond that survived through a dozen really nasty fights, and brought them back together again and again. A schoolgirl crush is easy. Real love is hard, something tempered and enduring."
— Worm
"Love don’t make the world go ‘round, it holds it right in place
Keeps us thinking love’s too pure to see another face
Love’s another skin-trap, another social weapon
Another way to make men slaves and women at their beckon"
Keeps us thinking love’s too pure to see another face
Love’s another skin-trap, another social weapon
Another way to make men slaves and women at their beckon"
— Crass, "Smother Love"
Well it's worse than war, it's worse than death
There ain't too many left who ain't been
Eaten by the monster of love
(Don't let it get me)
Buy a dog and that might help
Sometimes though, a dog gets grabbed
And eaten by the monster of love
(Don't let it get me)
It ain't a pretty sight to see the way it leaves 'em
(Don't let it get me)
It chews them up and spits out creatures with those
Goo-gooy-ey eyes, sick sickly smiles
It just isn't right"
There ain't too many left who ain't been
Eaten by the monster of love
(Don't let it get me)
Buy a dog and that might help
Sometimes though, a dog gets grabbed
And eaten by the monster of love
(Don't let it get me)
It ain't a pretty sight to see the way it leaves 'em
(Don't let it get me)
It chews them up and spits out creatures with those
Goo-gooy-ey eyes, sick sickly smiles
It just isn't right"
— Sparks, "Eaten By The Monster of Love"
It's not hard to dream you'll always be my Konstantine
My Konstantine
They'll never hurt you like I do...
My Konstantine
They'll never hurt you like I do...
— Something Corporate, Konstantine
Through the woods a girl came sadly
something broken in her chest
She had dared to love another
Alas, no better than the rest
Up my path a girl came gladly
Something opened up my doors
I longed to stop her bleeding heart
So I drew her to my shores
Those you trust will hurt you badly
something now I'm sure you'll see
So drown your tears in me, my dear
As you drown my dear, in me...
something broken in her chest
She had dared to love another
Alas, no better than the rest
Up my path a girl came gladly
Something opened up my doors
I longed to stop her bleeding heart
So I drew her to my shores
Those you trust will hurt you badly
something now I'm sure you'll see
So drown your tears in me, my dear
As you drown my dear, in me...
— Aetulia, Brütal Legend
Love breaks your heart.
Love takes no less than everything.
Love makes it hard,
And it fades away so easily.
Love takes no less than everything.
Love makes it hard,
And it fades away so easily.
— Vanessa Williams, "Love Is"note
It's gilt-edged, glamorous and sleek by design
You know it's jealous by nature, false and unkind
It's hard and restrained and it's totally cool
It touches and teases while you stumble in the debris.
You know it's jealous by nature, false and unkind
It's hard and restrained and it's totally cool
It touches and teases while you stumble in the debris.
— Eurythmics, Love is a Stranger
And I'd rather be crazy
I'd rather go insane
Than having you stalk my every thought
Than having you here inside my heart.
I'd rather go insane
Than having you stalk my every thought
Than having you here inside my heart.
— The Wanted, "Lose My Mind"
I don't wanna touch you too much, baby
'Cause making love to you might drive me crazy
I know you think that love is the way you make it
So I don't wanna be there when you decide to break it, no!
Love bites, love bleeds
It's bringin' me to my knees
Love leaves, love dies
It's no surprise
Love begs, love pleads
It's what I need
'Cause making love to you might drive me crazy
I know you think that love is the way you make it
So I don't wanna be there when you decide to break it, no!
Love bites, love bleeds
It's bringin' me to my knees
Love leaves, love dies
It's no surprise
Love begs, love pleads
It's what I need
— Def Leppard, "Love Bites"
You disturb my natural emotions
You make me feel I'm dirt, and I'm hurt
And if I start a commotion
I'll only end up losing you, and that's worse
You make me feel I'm dirt, and I'm hurt
And if I start a commotion
I'll only end up losing you, and that's worse
— Buzzcocks, "Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)?"
Amidst the demise of reason, longing
For a kiss that lingers upon his lips
Like a contagion that devours the life
From the still-beating heart beneath his chest.
For a kiss that lingers upon his lips
Like a contagion that devours the life
From the still-beating heart beneath his chest.
— "The Wanderer
" poem
" poem"'I can't even go to see a film by the Taviani brothers, because Isabella and I had a little courtship on the set of one of their films. I can't ever go back to the island of Salina, where Visconti's The leopard was shot, because we were there. In fact, I can hardly even watch a film by Visconti without growing depressed.'
'By memories or Isabella? ...I've got a movie that can't possibly depress you or bring up any old associations. It's called Say Amen, Somebody, and it's this wonderful documentary about gospel music—'
'Can't see it.' Scorsese was grinning but he was serious.
'Why not?'
'It's distributed by United Artists Classics.'
'You mean you can't see a movie that is distributed by a company that is connected to a woman you once loved?'
He smiled. 'I'd see the United Artists logo and it would ruin the movie for me.'
'Maybe you could come in after the logo had left the screen?'
'I'd know.'
'By memories or Isabella? ...I've got a movie that can't possibly depress you or bring up any old associations. It's called Say Amen, Somebody, and it's this wonderful documentary about gospel music—'
'Can't see it.' Scorsese was grinning but he was serious.
'Why not?'
'It's distributed by United Artists Classics.'
'You mean you can't see a movie that is distributed by a company that is connected to a woman you once loved?'
He smiled. 'I'd see the United Artists logo and it would ruin the movie for me.'
'Maybe you could come in after the logo had left the screen?'
'I'd know.'
— Roger Ebert, interview with Martin Scorsese
"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' or 'how very perceptive' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love."
— Rose Walker, The Sandman
Angelica: After all, I'm playing the most dangerous game of all!
Chuckie: Musical Chairs?
Angelica: No, dummy! Love!
Chuckie: Musical Chairs?
Angelica: No, dummy! Love!
— Rugrats, Angelica's in Love
"Love is poison. A sweet poison, yes, but it will kill you all the same."
— Cersei Lannister, A Clash of Kings
“I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.”
— Pip, Great Expectations
"I wonder on what principle some people are given beautiful Queens to marry and others are given nobody or worse than nobody."
"We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy."
— Maester Aemon, A Song of Ice and Fire
"This is love. When someone drags you from the wreckage when you have given in, ready to just lie there and die. This is love. When someone, no matter what the cost, shows you there is hope, a choice, that you can put down your gun. This is love. Love Hurts"
— Max Payne, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
"I must love him for all eternity, despite how painful, aching, excruciating it is..."
— Yasu, Umineko: When They Cry
"She came with the spring breeze. Why is she here? Why did she come back from my buried memories.....?"
There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.
Egbert: "Guy. You're not pining over that girl?"
Guy: "Pining? Men don't pine. Girls pine. Men just... suffer."
Guy: "Pining? Men don't pine. Girls pine. Men just... suffer."
Patty: He goes out of his way to hurt me.
David: Young men in love are always cruel.
David: Young men in love are always cruel.
Mama told me what I should know:
"Too much candy gonna rot your soul
If she loves you, let her go
'Cause love only gets you down"
"Too much candy gonna rot your soul
If she loves you, let her go
'Cause love only gets you down"
— Mika, "Lollipop"
Only love can hurt like this
— Paloma Faith (from the song of the same name)
Today I ate an orange
But I cried because it was still sour.
It reminded me of myself,
and I couldn't throw away the rest
So I ate it all.
I love you.
It makes me cry.
I love you.
I love you...
But I cried because it was still sour.
It reminded me of myself,
and I couldn't throw away the rest
So I ate it all.
I love you.
It makes me cry.
I love you.
I love you...
— Toradora!, "Orange"
First, you think the worst is a broken heart
What's gonna kill you is the second part
And the third, Is when your world splits down the middle
And fourth, you're gonna think that you fixed yourself
Fifth, you see them out with someone else
And the sixth, is when you admit you may have fucked up a little...
What's gonna kill you is the second part
And the third, Is when your world splits down the middle
And fourth, you're gonna think that you fixed yourself
Fifth, you see them out with someone else
And the sixth, is when you admit you may have fucked up a little...
— "Six Degrees of Separation" by The Script
"Everyone will tell you small lies, except the people you love, who will tell you large ones."
— Maya, Borderlands 2
"When I left her," Jin said, staring at the table between them, "I heard the laughter of foxes. They were waiting for me to leave, so they could claim her body. So they could tear at her and rip her apart, the way we did."
— The Laughter of Foxes, a House of Flying Daggers fanfic
, a House of Flying Daggers fanfic"Love is ultimately selfish. It demands that one be devoted to a single person, who may fully occupy one's mind and heart to the exclusion of all else."
— Wynne, Dragon Age: Origins
"She told me she loved me. Women, they can do that. They can tell you they love you in the moment and mean it. Men, on the other hand... No, men only really love you in hindsight. When too much distance has built up."
— Pagan Min, Far Cry 4
Lancelot: "Jenny, I - I love you. God forgive me, but I do."
Guinevere: "Then God forgive us both, Lance."
Guinevere: "Then God forgive us both, Lance."
— Camelot
"I love them. I love them and they answer me with pain and torment, be it sin, or not sin. They have betrayed me in their hearts, and that's far sin enough! I can see it in their eyes! I can feel it when they speak! And they must pay for it and be punished! I shall not be wounded and not return it in kind!"
— Arthur, Camelot
"What about their pain and their torment? Did they ask for this calamity? Can passion be selected?"
— Arthur, Camelot
"I never wanted to love you. Your God arranged it. Your God must solve it."
—Guinevere, Camelot
"Love leaves you desperate and feeling a fool
Love makes you ruthless and love makes you cruel
And Love Makes You Crazy with nothing but lies
Love promises nothing and then your love dies"
Love makes you ruthless and love makes you cruel
And Love Makes You Crazy with nothing but lies
Love promises nothing and then your love dies"
— Garbage, "I Hate Love"
"You're not alone, Asuka...I'm here, we're all here for you. You know that...and, yes, this is love. With all the happiness and sadness it can bring to you. Love is like a double-edged sword. One day it can make you the happiest person on earth, and the next day, it can make you cry like you never did before."
— Misato, The Child of Love, chapter 8
How many times heart's gone through the grinder
Wherever you look there's a painful reminder.
Wherever you look there's a painful reminder.
— "Black Sheep", by Sonata Arctica
This love has taken prisoner on my heart
It's got hold on me
There's no escape and there's no breaking free
But darling can't you see
That you're worth fighting for...''
It's got hold on me
There's no escape and there's no breaking free
But darling can't you see
That you're worth fighting for...''
— "Worth Fighting For", by Taylor Henderson
"'Love is weakness' is a cliche. I don't believe there's some inherent fault in those in love and I don't sneer at families or friends, whom love makes stronger. I will say love is an intoxicant. Some people can take it - they're emboldened by it. I have nothing but respect for them. But there are those - and he is one - who drink it in like alcohol and end up messy and sobbing on the floor, useless. The morning won't be kind."
— Yuma Lau, Far Cry 4
Nothing can be as savage as love
One taste is never enough
One taste is never enough
— BT, "Dreaming"
"If this is love, I do not want it. Take it from me, please! Why does it hurt so much!"
— Tauriel, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.
— W.H Auden, "Stop all the clocks"
Love. Such a poorly used word for such a powerful concept. People throw it about everyday without a care in the world about its real meaning, about what truly loving someone can entail. Mokuba was the only person Seto had ever promised such devotion to. It was a huge responsibility, one that he took seriously, and as a child he had promised to be the father that Mokuba desperately needed. He was no fool and to undertake such a task, one that at times no matter all his power and intelligence he felt like he failed to deliver, was a heavy burden that he could only bear for one person.
— Cadence of Her Last Breath, a Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic
, a Yu-Gi-Oh! fanficWhat was it when I looked at you?
What power has chained me through and through?
And binds my heart with links so tight,
I can not live without the sight of you?
What nameless thing has captured me?
And made me powerless to flee?
What thing is it without a name,
That brings my mind ever back the same to thee?
The name of 'love' cannot apply,
Its commonness does not descry,
The haunted, hunted, painful cry that my heart makes for you,
That ever my soul eternal makes for you.
What power has chained me through and through?
And binds my heart with links so tight,
I can not live without the sight of you?
What nameless thing has captured me?
And made me powerless to flee?
What thing is it without a name,
That brings my mind ever back the same to thee?
The name of 'love' cannot apply,
Its commonness does not descry,
The haunted, hunted, painful cry that my heart makes for you,
That ever my soul eternal makes for you.
Shinji thought about that, and about what Asuka said regarding them never losing their mothers, and how when she made him talk about her he had felt so dejected until she took his hand and shared her own pain with him. And then he realized that even though he badly missed her, he was also glad he could remember her. Her memory remained strong in him because he loved her, and the day he stopped missing her was the day he stopped loving her.
"Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work - a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you - especially the truth. Only then does it yield rewards."
— Cupid/Eros, The Heroes of Olympus, House of Hades
That was the last time I saw Richard. Tonight I know what it is to be human. Tonight my super skin is still invulnerable, but my Richard is never coming back, and my heart is broken into a million pieces.
Quark: Ah, but as a plant, you can never love.
Ficus: Yes, but as an animal you must endure the pain of love.
Quark: That's true, Ficus, but the pain of love is what makes love so endearing.
Ficus: Following your logic, Commander, the pain of a toothache would make a toothache endearing. The more painful, the more endearing.
Quark: Starnote — I've just argued over the concept of love with a plant...and lost.
Ficus: Yes, but as an animal you must endure the pain of love.
Quark: That's true, Ficus, but the pain of love is what makes love so endearing.
Ficus: Following your logic, Commander, the pain of a toothache would make a toothache endearing. The more painful, the more endearing.
Quark: Starnote — I've just argued over the concept of love with a plant...and lost.
— Quark, "May The Source Be With You"
Who told you love is the Alpha and Omega?
And that your heart will lead you to the only one?
It's a curse, it's the hammer that will break you
It's a poison hidden in a bon bon
Don't you know love is stronger than Jesus?
Don't you know love can kill anyone?
Bring it on; wars and diseases
You know that love can do you like a shotgun...
And that your heart will lead you to the only one?
It's a curse, it's the hammer that will break you
It's a poison hidden in a bon bon
Don't you know love is stronger than Jesus?
Don't you know love can kill anyone?
Bring it on; wars and diseases
You know that love can do you like a shotgun...
— A Camp, "Stronger Than Jesus"
Lisa: (crying) I had my first crush, and all it did was make me do terrible things, and then break my heart!
Marge: Lisa, welcome to love. It's full of doubt and pain and uncertainty. But then, one day, you find a man you love so much, it hurts.
Homer: (jealous) Who is he?
Marge: You, Homie.
Homer: Woo-hoo! In your face, imaginary guy!
Marge: Lisa, welcome to love. It's full of doubt and pain and uncertainty. But then, one day, you find a man you love so much, it hurts.
Homer: (jealous) Who is he?
Marge: You, Homie.
Homer: Woo-hoo! In your face, imaginary guy!
—The Simpsons, "Dude, Where's My Ranch?"
He loved her. And she loved him. And in such bliss does devastation grow.
—Roshani Chokshi, The Star Touched Queen
Iva Kann: You Earthers. Your emotions as corrupted as that of Captain Mar-Vell. You think by a heart-bonding with another individual, you can make them stay. How idiotic. Best to have one's way with them, and let them go.
Carol Danvers: We don't think that, Iva. Sure, our loved ones are going to go. Everybody goes, you know that. But the love-bond is so important to us that we risk the pain to forge it. Like the pain you have to go through in a battle to win it. It's like that, Iva. Very much like that.
Carol Danvers: We don't think that, Iva. Sure, our loved ones are going to go. Everybody goes, you know that. But the love-bond is so important to us that we risk the pain to forge it. Like the pain you have to go through in a battle to win it. It's like that, Iva. Very much like that.
The diaries were frustratingly incomplete. Gaps, missing pages ... Of the love there was little doubt. With First-Husband Dev-Em there could be no mistake about that at all. Love and passion for him poured from the pages of Kara's diary like a river.
Dev... Dev... Dev... Kara's diaries were full of his smiles, the sound of his voice calling her name. The feel of his body and the labyrinth of his mind and heart. No, all this was plain for any and all to read. What was less clear was what happened to him.
Something had sent a grieving Kara Zor-El fleeing back to Rokyn, wounded in spirit and bleeding from the only place she was truly vulnerable: her heart. Something terrible had happened. And yet the diaries did not name the cause. Whether this was because there were parts of it missing ... or because Kara Zor-El could not bring herself to speak of it was difficult to know. The only thing that was sure was that, beyond a certain point, the name of Dev-Em was never spoken.
Dev... Dev... Dev... Kara's diaries were full of his smiles, the sound of his voice calling her name. The feel of his body and the labyrinth of his mind and heart. No, all this was plain for any and all to read. What was less clear was what happened to him.
Something had sent a grieving Kara Zor-El fleeing back to Rokyn, wounded in spirit and bleeding from the only place she was truly vulnerable: her heart. Something terrible had happened. And yet the diaries did not name the cause. Whether this was because there were parts of it missing ... or because Kara Zor-El could not bring herself to speak of it was difficult to know. The only thing that was sure was that, beyond a certain point, the name of Dev-Em was never spoken.
Wart: Heh, heh. There, now you see? I'm not a squirrel, I'm a boy.
Girl Squirrel: Chicook?
Wart: I tried to tell you...I'm a boy...a human boy.
Girl Squirrel: *sniffles*
Wart: Aww...if you could only understand...
Girl Squirrel: *scampers away crying*
This thing you do, Sumika… you're very caring, but it's annoying. I think I at least know how to fall in love with people on my own. I don't need someone micromanaging every little thing I do. Crying because you've been left behind is just another part of love.
— Nene, Yuri is My Job!
Love... hurts so bad
But still... saved my soul
— Quiet's Theme, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
"Love doesn't care what you want. Love doesn't care if it's convenient. Love pursues its own agenda, and there's no bullet in the world that can take it down. More's the pity."
— Jonathan Healy, InCryptid: Half-Off Ragnarok
"Loving too much is just as bad as not loving at all. Maybe it’s worse. People who don’t have anything to lose never have to worry about the inevitable."
— Alice Price-Healy, InCryptid: Tricks for Free
"If we'd ever had a choice about whether or not we fell in love, the human race would have died out centuries ago. It always hurts us in the end. That's what love is for."
— Alexander Healy, InCryptid: "The Star of New Mexico"
Agent J: You know what they say. It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
Agent K: Try it.
Agent K: Try it.
"As soon as I meet someone I'd like to spend the rest o' my life with, God chucks a banana skin in me path."
— Sharon Theodopolopodous, Birds of a Feather, "A Brush with the Law"
You can never break the chain.
There is never love without pain.
There is never love without pain.
—Rush, "Secret Touch"
I was never afraid before you showed up.
—Bill, The Last of Us (2023)
Well, I walk upon the river like it's easier than land
Evil's in my pocket and your will is in my hand
Oh, your will is in my hand
And I'll throw it in the current
that I stand upon so still
Love is all, from what I've heard,
but my heart's learned to kill
Oh, mine has learned to kill
Oh, I said I could rise
From the harness of our goals
Here come the tears
But like always, I let them go
Just let them go
Evil's in my pocket and your will is in my hand
Oh, your will is in my hand
And I'll throw it in the current
that I stand upon so still
Love is all, from what I've heard,
but my heart's learned to kill
Oh, mine has learned to kill
Oh, I said I could rise
From the harness of our goals
Here come the tears
But like always, I let them go
Just let them go
—The Tallest Man on Earth, "Love is All"
We all commit to love
That makes you cry
We're all making love
That kills you inside
We must kill this love
Yeah it's sad but true
Gotta kill this love
Before it kills you too
Kill this love
Yeah it's sad but true
Gotta kill this love
Gotta kill let's kill this love
That makes you cry
We're all making love
That kills you inside
We must kill this love
Yeah it's sad but true
Gotta kill this love
Before it kills you too
Kill this love
Yeah it's sad but true
Gotta kill this love
Gotta kill let's kill this love
— BLACKPINK, "Kill This Love"
"Of course, I'm sick. Sick with... sick with love! I love him."
— Aunt Una, Please Turn Over
"So this is love. In the books I read... love was a more bright and cheerful thing. It belonged to a whole separate world from me. We're more alike than we realized. Her sister and I. We both love Kaori. That's why we worry so much. And that's why... we've been hurting so bad, for so long, alone."
— Shizuku Hoshikawa after having a Love Epiphany for Kaori Asaka, The Summer You Were There
"Happiness is a trap. It can't last forever. Let's say you meet the love of your life. Well, it's still gonna end. It's inevitable, whether by the slow pull of a disease, or the shock of loose footing on a hiking trail. Whether it be the corrosion of two personalities that reshape each other until they're incompatible, or maybe the old stranger in a bar who says the things that need to be said, to that person, that night. The point is, happiness always ends. Best-case scenario. Think about this. Best case is that you die at the same time. Yikes."
—The Fear Hole, Rick and Morty
