Piece Together These 15 Songs about Puzzles (2024)

29th April 2024 by Ged Richardson

Puzzles are a fun way to fill the time, either alone or as an activity with friends.

But you might be surprised to hear how often puzzles are used for metaphors in music! Puzzles easily fall apart and fit together, just like relationships, and this comparison is explored in some of the songs on this list.

Other songs come up with unique ways to work puzzles into their narrative—let’s listen and piece together a great playlist of songs about puzzles!

Jigsaw Falling into Place – Radiohead

A quick beat and short, repetitive lyrical ideas set the tone for the drunken and disorderly night the people in this song are experiencing. Like a “jigsaw falling into place,” the two strangers in this song have ended up at the same place at the same time, and all signs suggest that they will go home together.

Related: Have some fun with the best drunk songs.

Jig‐Saw Puzzle – The Rolling Stones

This song has a cool slide guitar in conversation with the acoustic guitar, setting the somewhat off-putting vibe of this song. The lyrics, at face value, are a bit confusing. The narrator describes many misfit characters, each with their own struggles, before saying, “I’m just trying to do this jigsaw puzzle before it rains anymore.”

Stuck on the Puzzle – Alex Turner

The muse of this transportive track is an enigma of a woman. She has such otherworldly magnetism that everyone is drawn to her, including the narrator. He is so infatuated with her that he spends all his time trying to figure her out, singing, “I spent all night stuck on the puzzle.” Comparing this woman to a puzzle drives home the idea of just how unattainable she is.

Related: Wish you could be with someone? Listen to these songs about liking someone you can’t have.

Puzzle Pieces – Justin Young

Acoustic guitar and intimate vocals make this song sweet and simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less emotional! ‘Puzzle Pieces’ finds Justin Young in a rough patch of his relationship, duetting with the woman he’s in love with. They’ve been fighting lately, but each of them is trying to get back to how they used to be when they fit together like puzzle pieces.

Related: Enjoying this acoustic tune? You’ll love the best acoustic songs of all time.

Puzzles – Doobie

Puzzles are normally thought of as a chill and entertaining activity, but Doobie puts a whole different spin on it. Doobie himself has become a puzzle and a broken one at that. He says, “my heart’s in pieces on the floor of my home” because of what his ex did to him. The laid-back yet catchy beat helps to spotlight the raw emotion of the lyrics.

Puzzle Pieces – Saint Motel

The puzzle in this song is a woman’s face. This woman seems to have an addiction to plastic surgery, remaking herself bit by bit until practically every part of her is synthetic. Though she is technically pretty, her face just doesn’t seem quite right. It’s an interesting look at how dangerous beauty standards can be—this woman just can’t accept that her natural looks are good enough.

Related: Hype up your gorgeous self with the best songs about being beautiful.

Jigsaw – Ryan Sheridan

‘Jigsaw’ never actually references puzzles, but based on the title and the lyrics, it seems like Ryan Sheridan is comparing life to a puzzle. You collect pieces of your life and identity as you grow, but very rarely are you able to see the full picture. Sheridan sings “I got lost to find my way” to show how some pieces mislead you, while others are just what you need.

Jigsaw – Conan Gray

Conan Gray compares himself to a jigsaw puzzle in this heartbreaking song. He is so desperate for love that he’s willing to cut up pieces of himself and change them to please someone else. But in the end, all he gets is a messy version of himself that he doesn’t recognize. He tells this person he’s “killin’ parts of myself to fit you,” but it still doesn’t seem to be enough.

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown – Jim Croce

This narrative-style song bounces along with a bluesy feel, telling the story of Leroy Brown and his attempt to win over a woman—a woman who already has a husband! He learns his lesson when the husband beats him up, leaving Brown looking like “a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone.”

Related: This song features on our playlist of famous songs about Chicago.

Puzzles – The Yardbirds

Riffing guitar and retro drums lay the beat for this great song, as The Yardbirds describe an unhealthy relationship full of mind games. The narrator is exasperated with his girlfriend, telling her, “you never talk straight to me. It’s all puzzles to me.” A gritty guitar solo towards the end of the song emulates this kind of frustration.

Puzzle Pieces – Tiger Trap

A quick tempo and upbeat guitars match the exuberant joy of this song. The narrator and her love “go together just right, like puzzle pieces.” This is one of the best kinds of love, where everything clicks and feels just right. There’s no need to doubt the relationship because no one else could fit together in the same way.

Puzzle of My Heart – Westlife

This sweet ballad is full of cinematic strings and passionate vocals. The narrator has found a woman that completes the puzzle of his heart. She soothes all of his worries and takes over every part of him. With lines like “every time we meet, the picture is complete,” this song has a wholesome and heartwarming sentiment.

Puzzle Song (A Puzzle in Song) – Shirley Ellis

A nostalgic song from the 60s, lively horns and groovy bass make ‘The Puzzle Song’ a fun one. The track is truly a sonic puzzle, featuring lyrics that don’t really make sense. Shirley Ellis intends to stump her listeners, though, which is clear with the line “molasses on the table isn’t as hard as trying to figure out the puzzle song.”

Related: You won’t want to miss the best songs from the 60s.

Jigsaw Puzzle – Karli & James

This track is a catchy pop tune with some country twang about a picture-perfect relationship. The couple in this song goes together like a jigsaw puzzle, and even though it’s not always easy, they know that this kind of match is worth fighting for. The duetting vocals also fit nicely together, just like a puzzle!

Jigsaw – Marillion

The relationship in this song is described as a “ricochet” as it is perpetually falling apart and coming back together again. With each collision, the pair seems to hurt each other more. The ebb and flow between the soft acoustic sections and an intense synth chorus create a sonic ricochet for the listener.