You can love a thing—just as you can love a person—with whom you fundamentally disagree. I love this song. But in the grip of a desperate, reckless heartbreak, the singer begs her unrecoverable beloved not to love anyone else. She knows it’s too much, that asking a person not to love is an unnatural enshacklement, a leap too far, no matter how devastated one may be. She knows that she’s been nothing short of a disaster. And she weaves close harmonies like the tines of a fine comb, converting her yearning and aching sadness into elegant, naked beauty.

Jazmine Sulllivan, "Lost One," written by Jazmine Sullivan & Dave Watson, 2020.

This post is part of Music 100, a love letter to songs. 100 words on 100 songs in 100 days, running from Groundhog Day to early June, 2025.

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