Talking Heads
A family gathers around a newborn and, with a mix of adoration and casual selfishness, decides to keep waking him up because…
infantilization and possession domestic joy selfishness disguised as love
Free
This is a bare-bones jealousy anthem built around a menacing catchphrase — a working man warning off a rival who's been sniffing…
jealousy and possessiveness masculine pride working-class self-assurance
Queen
A piano ballad structured as a direct plea to a departing lover, built almost entirely on repetition rather than narrative…
romantic loss supplication and pleading possessiveness in love
SZA
SZA narrates an affair with candor rather than shame, positioning herself as the intermittent, exciting alternative to a primary…
infidelity and complicity self-worth vs. self-sabotage possessiveness and jealousy
Nina Simone
A catalogue of natural images -- birds, rivers, blossoms, stars -- builds into a declaration of personal liberation and renewal.…
renewal freedom self-possession