If love is the greatest source of good music, the end of love has gotta be the second greatest. I love a good break up songs in several categories. DEFIANCE: "Understand your Man" by Johnny Cash, "Working on My Next Broken Heart" by Brooks and Dunn, "Friends in Low Places" by Garth Brooks, "I will survive" by Gloria Gainer. SWEET: " Different Drum" by Linda Rondstat "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton ABJECT GROVELING: "Somewhere in my Broken Heart," by Billy Dean or Randy Travis, "Crying" by Roy Orbison. "Walk on by" by Dionne Warwick JUST DISSING AFTER ALL THESE YEARS: Carly Simon in You're So Vain, Joan Baez in Diamonds and Rust. Songs like these have helped me through a couple of miserable parts of my life and now I'm feeling nostalgic. Any other suggestions to load on my MP3 player as I revel in the angst I've left behind.
I'm a product of the 80's, so the song that I enjoy listening to, even though it brings back sad memories of when Shelley dumped me, is Jackson Browne's "Got to be Somebody's Baby". But I'm not bitter. Well, just - a look at that girl with the lights comin' up in her eyes. She's got to be somebody's baby. She must be somebody's baby. All the guys on the corner stand back and let her walk on by. She's got to be somebody's baby. She must be somebody's baby. She's got to be somebody's baby. She's so fine. She's probably somebody's only light. Gonna shine tonight. Yeah, she's probably somebody's baby, all right. I heard her talkin' with her friend when she thought nobody else was around. She said she's got to be somebody's baby; she must be somebody's baby. 'Cause when the cars and the signs and the street lights light up the town, She's got to be somebody's baby; She must be somebody's baby; She's got to be somebody's baby. She's so.... She's gonna be somebody's only light. Gonna shine tonight. Yeah, she's gonna be somebody's baby tonight. I try to shut eyes, but I can't get here outta my sight. I know I'm gonna know her, but I gotta get over my fright. We'll, I'm just gonna walk up to her. I'm gonna talk to her tonight. Yeah, she's gonna be somebody's only light. Gonna shine tonight. Yeah, she's gonna be somebody's baby tonight. Gonna shine tonight, make her mine tonight.
Rascal Flats - What Hurts the Most ----- Chick sent it to me after we broke up. Pink - Who Knew? --- I thought it was a breakup up song until I learned it was written about a dead boyfriend. The lyrics work for both cases. There's a good one on high rotation right now, but I don't know the title or artist. It basically says life is so much greater without you than I ever imagined it could be. Bernard
Did it all for the nookie, the nookie, the nookie. So you can take that cookie, and stick it up your... (Actually the song seems to be rife with irony despite the sledge hammer of the refrain.)
"Since You've Gone" (Conway Twitty?) "Return To Me" Dean Martin When I was in the Army in advanced training, there was an old sergeant assigned to a back room in the barracks. He was on his way out, just waiting for his 20 years to be up. Saddest person I ever saw. Every night, he would go out and get drunk and stumble back to the barracks, singing "Return To Me". Always wore sunglasses, even at night. His voice was not bad, probably from the extensive practice.
Yeah, Dylan's "Positively Fourth Street" is hard to beat for a pissed off breakup song, starting with the opening line: "You've got a lot of nerve to say you are my friend..." "Go Your Own Way" is a great song... has a victorious feel to it. If you're looking for tragedy, hard to beat "Nobody's Crying" by Patty Griffin-- epic and gorgeous.
Positively 4th Street is good but I don't tend to think of it as a breakup song since it never specifically mentions losing romance and could apply to any sort of flaky or backstabbing friend of either gender. My votes would have to go to: Lover, You Should've Come Over - Jeff Buckley It Makes No Difference - The Band
You have to appreciate the subtle pathos of these plaintive words by Harry Nillson You're breakin' my heart You're tearin' it apart So f**k you All I want to do Is have a good time Now I'm blue You wanna boogaloo Run down to Tramps Have a dance or two--ooh! You're breaking my heart You're tearin' it apart But f**k you You're breakin' my heart You're tearin' it apart Ooh!--ooh!-- You stepped on my *** You're breaking my glasses too You wanna drive my car Buy a lot of stuff I've had enough Of you--ooh! I'm goin' insane There's no one to blame So f**k you You've gotta have your way There's nothin' left to say There's nothin' left to do--ooh! You're breakin' my heart You're tearin' it apart So f**k you You've gotta have your way There's nothin' left to say There's nothin' left to do--ooh! You're breakin' my heart You're tearin' it apart But I love you
Goodbye by Air Supply I can see the pain living in your eyes And I know how hard you try You deserve to have much more I can feel your heart and I sympathize And I'll never criticize All you've ever meant to my life I don't want to let you down I don't want to lead you on i don't want to hold you back From where you might belong You would never ask me why My heart is so disguised I just can't live a lie anymore I would rather hurt myself Than to ever make you cry There's nothing left to say but goodbye You deserve the chance at the kind of love I'm not sure i'm worthy of Losing you is painful to me
Stalking after the breakup -- Every Breath You Take - The Police Mr. Brightside - The Killers Sometime Around Midnight - The Airborne Toxic Event --The Link
Sad Eyes by Robert John I had the 45 of this back in 1979, and I played it about 15 times in a row after my 6th grade girlfriend dumped me. My mother was a very very patient woman. The Link
"You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morrissette. I want you to know, that I'm happy for you I wish nothing but the best for you both An older version of me Is she perverted like me Would she go down on you in a theatre Does she speak eloquently And would she have your baby I'm sure she'd make a really excellent mother 'cause the love that you gave that we made wasn't able To make it enough for you to be open wide, no And every time you speak her name Does she know how you told me you'd hold me Until you died, till you died But you're still alive And I'm here to remind you Of the mess you left when you went away It's not fair to deny me Of the cross I bear that you gave to me You, you, you oughta know You seem very well, things look peaceful I'm not quite as well, I thought you should know Did you forget about me Mr. Duplicity I hate to bug you in the middle of dinner It was a slap in the face how quickly I was replaced Are you thinking of me when you f**k her? 'cause the love that you gave that we made wasn't able To make it enough for you to be open wide, no And every time you speak her name Does she know how you told me you'd hold me Until you died, til you died But you're still alive And I'm here to remind you Of the mess you left when you went away It's not fair to deny me Of the cross I bear that you gave to me You, you, you oughta know 'cause the joke that you laid on the bed that was me And I'm not gonna fade As soon as you close your eyes and you know it And every time I scratch my nails down someone else's back I hope you feel it...well can you feel it Well, I'm here to remind you Of the mess you left when you went away It's not fair to deny me Of the cross I bear that you gave to me You, you, you oughta know
"Torn Up", Reckless Kelly (they have a bunch of great ones, Crazy Eddie's, Walk Out Now, Baby's Gone, Eight More Miles, You Don't Want Me Around, etc.) Livin' the Chelsea Avenue life Some still have, some I ain't got Well there's one thing I learned And it still rings true There's nothing more lonely than lonely for you And I'm torn up inside, torn up inside Torn up inside, torn up inside Torn up inside baby, torn up inside Torn up inside over you Over you Well I never knew love until I met you Thought I did once, but that was a fluke Ah, you come along and stole my heart Well you hugged it and kissed and tore it apart Now I'm torn up inside, torn up inside Torn up inside, torn up inside Torn up inside baby, torn up inside Torn up inside Torn up inside, over you Over you I never wined and dined you I didn't show you the world I knew all you wanted was those three little words You didn't want money You didn't need jewels Just honey love And I ****** that up too Now I'm torn up inside, torn up inside Torn up inside, torn up inside Torn up inside baby, torn up inside Torn up inside Torn up inside over you Over you
Pretty much all of the Road to Ensenada.Who Loves You Better Late nights in musty motel rooms Stale lives left by someone else White lies I wish I could tell you And questions I ask of myself Why do I do the things that make me sorry Why do I do the things that make you cry Will I lose your love to another Who loves you better than I It Ought To Be Easier I know you don't believe me And I know you don't understand But honey the way that you treat me I can't even tell who I am And you tell me I'm the one you're not to blame And you tell me I make you feel the same way And we talk in circles but we never say It's just out of weakness that both of us stay I Can't Love You Anymore This Georgia road is red The Georgia sky is blue And it looks just like the sky That carried me to you The good Lord up in heaven knows What I've been going through And he's whispering to me That I'll get over you My angel in distress You look OK to me I'll send you my address I could easily stay with you On your side of heaven's door 'Cause I don't love you any less But I can't love you anymore Promises Promises given And promises broken Words stain my lips Just like blood on my hands And words are like poison That sinks down inside you And some things you do You just don't understand I offer no reason I ask for no pity I make no excuse For the way that I am And words are like poison That sinks down inside you And some things you do You just don't understand If God is my witness Then God is my savior But if you are my judge Then I'm already damned
Two from Jackson Browne (circa 1974) maybe in the sweet category:Late for the Sky The words had all been spoken And somehow the feeling still wasn't right And still we continued on through the night Tracing our steps from the beginning Until they vanished into the air Trying to understand how our lives had led us there Looking hard into your eyes There was nobody I'd ever known Such an empty surprise to feel so alone Now for me some words come easy But I know that they don't mean that much Compared with the things that are said when lovers touch You never knew what I loved in you I don't know what you loved in me Maybe the picture of somebody you were hoping I might be Awake again I can't pretend and I know I'm alone And close to the end of the feeling we've known How long have I been sleeping How long have I been drifting alone through the night How long have I been dreaming I could make it right If I closed my eyes and tried with all my might To be the one you need Awake again I can't pretend and I know I'm alone And close to the end of the feeling we've known How long have I been sleeping How long have I been drifting alone through the night How long have I been running for that morning flight Through the whispered promises and the changing light Of the bed where we both lie Late for the sky And the follow up Fountain of Sorrow Looking through some photographs I found inside a drawer I was taken by a photograph of you There were one or two I know that you would have liked a little more But they didn't show your spirit quite as true You were turning 'round to see who was behind you And I took your childish laughter by surprise And at the moment that my camera happened to find you There was just a trace of sorrow in your eyes Now the things that I remember seem so distant and so small Though it hasn't really been that long a time What I was seeing wasn't what was happening at all Although for a while, our path did seem to climb But when you see through love's illusions, there lies the danger And your perfect lover just looks like a perfect fool So you go running off in search of a perfect stranger While the loneliness seems to spring from your life Like a fountain from a pool Fountain of sorrow, fountain of light You've known that hollow sound of your own steps in flight You've had to hide sometimes, but now you're all right And it's good to see your smiling face tonight Now for you and me it may not be that hard to reach our dreams But that magic feeling never seems to last And while the future's there for anyone to change, still you know it's seems It would be easier sometimes to change the past I'm just one or two years and a couple of changes behind you In my lessons at love's pain and heartache school Where if you feel too free and you need something to remind you There's this loneliness springing up from your life Like a fountain from a pool Fountain of sorrow, fountain of light You've known that hollow sound of your own steps in flight You've had to hide sometimes but now you're all right And it's good to see your smiling face tonight Fountain of sorrow, fountain of light You've known that hollow sound of your own steps in flight You've had to struggle, you've had to fight To keep understanding and compassion in sight You could be laughing at me, you've got the right But you go on smiling so clear and so bright
Break Up Song Greg Kihn The Breakup Song We had broken up for good just an hour before Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh Now I'm staring at the bodies as they're dancing 'cross the floor / uh uh... And then the band slowed the tempo when the music took you down / ... It was the same old song with the melancholy sound / ... {Refrain} They don't write 'em like that anymore They don't write 'em like that anymore We been living together for a million years / ... But now it feels so strange out in the atmospheres / ... And then the jukebox plays a song I used to know / ... And now I'm staring at the bodies as they're dancing so slow / ... {Refrain} Now I wind up staring at an empty glass / ... 'Cause it's so easy to say that you'll forget your past / ... {Refrain to fade}
