Like the jaded evil twins of love songs, breakup anthems run the full gamut of emotion. Sadness and grief, sure, but like the events that inspire them, breakup songs come in all flavors. Some are righteous cries of joy following the end of a rough union. Others are pensive meditations on human connection.
And some just want to burn the very concept of love to the ground.
1. “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“And I know it’s long gone and / That magic’s not here anymore / And I might be okay / But I’m not fine at all.”
2. “Red Light” by David Nail
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“So this is how it ends / This is where it all goes down / This is what ‘I don’t love you’ feels like.”
3 “Stronger” by Sara Evans
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“It doesn’t happen overnight but ya turn around / And a month’s gone by and you realize you haven’t cried / I’m not giving’ you a hour or a second or another minute longer / I’m busy getting’ stronger.”
4. “Since U Been Gone”by Kelly Clarkson
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“But since you’ve been gone / I can breathe for the first time / I’m so moving on.”
5 “Same Old Lang Syne”by Dan Fogelberg
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“We drank a toast to innocence / We drank a toast to now / And tried to reach beyond the emptiness / But neither one knew how.”
6 “The Song Remembers When” by Trish Yearwood
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“After driving’ out the memory of the way things might have been / After I’d forgotten all about us / The song remembers when.”
7 “Back to December” by Taylor Swift
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“And then the cold came, the dark days / When fear crept into my mind / You gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbye.”
8 “The Scientist” by Coldplay
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“Nobody said it was easy / Oh it’s such a shame for us to part / Nobody said it was easy / No one ever said it would be so hard.”
9 “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“Our memories, well, they can be inviting / But some are altogether mighty frightening / As we die, both you and I / With my head in my hands, I sit and cry.”
10 “I Will Remember You” by Sarah McLachlan
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“I’m so tired but I can’t sleep / Standing’ on the edge of something much to deep / It’s funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word / We are screaming inside, but we can’t be heard.”
11 “Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“We only said goodbye with words / I died a hundred times / You go back to her / And I go back to / I go back to us.”
12 “Yesterday” by The Beatles
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play / Now I need a place to hide away / Oh I believe in yesterday.”
13 “Champagne Problems” by Taylor Swift
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“But you’ll find the real thing instead / She’ll patch up your tapestry that I shred / And hold your hand while dancing / Never leave you standing.”
14 “It’s Too Late” by Carole King
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“And it’s too late, baby now, it’s too late / Though we really did try to make it / Something’ inside has died, and I can’t hide / And I just can’t fake it.”
15 “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“But listen carefully to the sound / Of your loneliness / Like a heartbeat drives you mad.”
16 “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” by Phil Collins
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“So take a look at me now / Well there’s just an empty space / And there’s nothing left here to remind me / Just the memory of your face.”
17 “Barely Breathing” by Duncan Sheik
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“Cause I am barely breathing / And I can’t find the air / I don’t know who I’m kidding / Imagining you care.”
18 “Jar of Hearts” by Christina Perri
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“It took so long just to feel alright / Remember how to put back the light in my eyes / I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed / Cause you broke all your promises.”
19 “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“I knew I loved you then / But you’d never know / ‘Cause I played it cool when I was scared of letting go / I know I needed you / But I never showed / But I wanna stay with you until we’re grey and old / Just say you won’t let go.”
20 “What About Us” by P!nk
Most Heartbreaking Lyrics:
“What about us? / What about all the broken happiness ever afters? / What about us? / What about all the plans that ended in disaster? / What about love? / What about trust? / What about us?”