Country music is packed with breakup songs.
Whether you’re trying to get a red wine stain out of your favorite dress or taking a Louisville slugger to both headlights, there’s a country song out there for anyone getting through a split. Some heartbreak anthems might make you shed a tear, while others might even take on a fun vibe as the singer ditches a relationship that wasn’t good for them in the long run.
Many artists in the genre take a deep dive into tough emotions following a split. Carly Pearce candidly reflects on 29 as “the year that I got married and divorced,” and delved into her heartache in several other tracks included on her smash album, 29: Written In Stone. Similarly, Kacey Musgraves — who previously explained that her latest full-length project is more than “a post-divorce album” — dropped the highly-anticipated star-crossed in 2021.
Morgan Evans opened up about his divorce when he debuted “Over For You,” the ballad he wrote following his split from fellow singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini, who directly responded to her ex-husband's single in one of the tracks on her deeply personal EP, Rolling Up The Welcome Mat. The powerful collection, sharing Ballerini's story of heartbreak and healing after divorce, resonated so strongly with her fans that she released an extended version months later, titled Rolling Up The Welcome Mat (For Good).
One of Jason Aldean’s smash-hit singles in recent years is “Trouble With A Heartbreak,” examining the struggles fresh off a breakup (though the country giant is happily married to wife Brittany Aldean). Ironically, Cole Swindell, who is engaged, dropped a heartbreak track that doubles as a party anthem, marking the first track from the extended version of his fourth studio album.
Looking for a relatable song to get you through a split? Here are 25 country breakup anthems:
“Blindsided (Yeah, Sure, Okay),” Kelsea Ballerini (warning: language)
“Rich,” Maren Morris
“Mercy,” Brett Young
“You and Tequila,” Kenny Chesney with Grace Potter