Harry Kappen’s “The Longing” Holds Too Much To Be Forgotten

Once in a while, you’ll stumble upon a song that makes you stare blankly at the wall because it touches some buried wound you thought you’ve forgotten. This time, that song is Harry Kappen‘s latest single, The Longing.

Harry Kappen is an acclaimed Dutch multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer. Now, he steps on the stage with The Longing, his most ambitious work to date. As the opening piece and fourth single from his highly anticipated new album FOUR, this track offers a seamless blend of quiet atmospheres and hard rock intensity.

The emotional pull is already apparent right from the start, singing “never lost the passion, still longing for your love.” The way it begins feels like opening a discarded letter from the past, the one that holds too much to be forgotten. Kappen’s voice, on the other hand, carries desire and longing in its rawest form. This is also accompanied by compelling guitar notes and intricate arrangement, reflecting his years as a guitarist in Groningen-based rock bands.

But despite its aching force, The Longing never drowns itself in sentimentality. There’s a quiet restraint holding it together, perfectly executing what he really wanted to convey—the tug-of-war between heart and mind we all feel.

It sits between reflection and breaking illusions. And to make it hurt, it doesn’t offer resolve or resolution. It just stays there, hurting and longing. Unlike other tracks, Harry Kappen’s “The Longing” won’t fade into the background. It seeps in, into the walls, into the corners of your room, and in your scars until you sing the exact same words, “only my heart can tell where I should be.”