25 Great Songs About Long-Distance Relationships
Long-distance relationships have produced some brilliant music because distance gives songwriters everything they need.
Longing.
Uncertainty.
Travel.
Phone calls.
Time zones.
Missing somebody.
And the slightly ridiculous things people will do to see each other again.
With PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson’s “Stateside” back in the conversation, here are 25 songs that approach distance from very different directions.
1. PinkPantheress + Zara Larsson – Stateside
A modern starting point.
Rather than describing an established relationship suffering through distance, “Stateside” captures the excitement of being willing to cross borders for a new crush.
2. The Proclaimers – I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
The least subtle long-distance solution ever written.
Walk there.
3. Plain White T’s – Hey There Delilah
Probably one of the most recognisable long-distance relationship songs of the 2000s.
4. Bruno Mars – Talking to the Moon
Distance becomes almost cosmic here.
A song about desperately trying to reach someone who feels impossibly far away.
5. John Denver – Leaving on a Jet Plane
A classic built around departure.
6. Rihanna – California King Bed
Physical closeness and emotional distance can coexist.
That’s arguably worse than being geographically separated.
7. Snow Patrol – Set the Fire to the Third Bar
A beautiful song about measuring the physical distance between two people.
8. 3 Doors Down – Here Without You
Peak early-2000s longing.
9. Michael Bublé – Home
Sometimes the glamorous life isn’t particularly glamorous when the person you want isn’t there.
10. Journey – Faithfully
Touring musicians know a thing or two about long-distance relationships.
“Faithfully” is one of rock’s definitive songs about that problem.
11. Taylor Swift – Come Back… Be Here
A relationship begins just as geography gets in the way.
12. Ed Sheeran – Photograph
Memory becomes something you can physically carry while somebody is absent.
13. Oleta Adams – Get Here
Plane, train, walking — the method doesn’t matter.
Just arrive.
14. Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting
One of the great power ballads about separation.
15. The Beatles – All My Loving
Written from the perspective of leaving someone but promising continued affection.
16. Jason Mraz – Lucky
A gentler take on loving someone who isn’t always physically present.
17. Avril Lavigne – When You’re Gone
Distance makes ordinary things suddenly feel enormous.
18. Mariah Carey – Whenever You Call
A classic reassurance song: distance doesn’t remove emotional availability.
19. Death Cab for Cutie – Transatlanticism
The Atlantic Ocean becomes a metaphor for emotional separation.
20. Dire Straits – So Far Away
The title does most of the explaining.
21. The Police – So Lonely
Not specifically a travel song, but perfect for the emotional consequences of separation.
22. Carole King – So Far Away
Another song with the same title and a completely different emotional texture.
23. Nickelback – Far Away
A huge mid-2000s rock ballad about time, distance and regret.
24. Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
The optimistic version.
Distance doesn’t matter.
25. The Cure – Lovesong
Simple, direct devotion that works whether the other person is across the room or across the world.
Why are there so many songs about distance?
Because separation intensifies otherwise ordinary emotions.
Missing someone for one evening is normal.
Missing them for six months changes how you experience every message, goodbye and reunion.
Technology has changed the mechanics.
Letters became phone calls.
Phone calls became FaceTime.
But music about distance keeps working because the underlying feeling hasn’t changed at all.