Listen to the sound of heartbreak

If you ever had your heart broken in your younger years, you may recall the profound grief that followed. Couldn’t eat, perhaps, or sleep. Or those crying sessions with sympathetic listeners.

A song posted on YouTube has now been viewed by 87 million people. It’s called Somebody That I Used To Know , written by an artist named Gotye but covered in the YouTube viral video by Walk Off The Earth. The five musicians play the song using just one guitar. Indeed, you can find it by searching YouTube for “Five People Play One Guitar.”

But the novelty is not the reason it’s gone viral, I finally realized, after listening to it again and again. The lyrics, the music and the emotions expressed by the musicians plug into that early heartbreak. The grief surfaces once again.