If you’ve ever paid attention to Snow Patrol’s lyrics, you’ll find a lovelorn soul yearning for forgiveness and unconditional love.

Such is the muse of Gary Lightbody, the achingly honest voice of a band that matches his pathos with its own brand of driving shimmer.

Asked if he’s a helpless romantic, Lightbody replies, “I’m definitely hopeless in the romance department. But I’m getting better. Much better.”

The Irish band’s past two albums, 2004’s Final Straw and the platinum-selling follow-up, Eyes Open, deal almost exclusively with Lightbody’s breakup from what he considers his one true love. But he has no regrets sharing his psychological pain with the rest of the world.

“It’s one of those things where I’ve never been very good at relationships and I don’t write about politics, so apart from love and politics what do people write about?” he asks.

Addressing his amorous hang-ups also seems to have given him some solace.

“It’s definitely made me better at dealing with relationships by getting out all the demons I’ve had in other relationships,” Lightbody says. “I’ve caused most of the disharmony in my life. But I feel a lot stronger these days, and a lot happier.”

Snow Patrol’s lofty power-pop continues to resonate with an ever-increasing audience. They’ve been one of the top-selling acts in the United Kingdom for some time now. Use of their songs “Open Your Eyes” and “Chasing Cars” last year on ER and Grey’s Anatomy catapulted the group in popularity among iTunes circles.

“Lots of people tell me they’ve been through the same things,” Lightbody says of his subject matter. “They’ve heard the songs at a friend or family member’s funeral or wedding, or when a child was born. It’s meant something to them. The songs seem to be about pivotal moments in people’s lives. That’s an incredible honor — to be the soundtrack to people’s lives.”