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Best Break Up Songs

post #1 of 70
7/20/09 at 9:10pm
Thread Starter 
I usually hate these type of threads but this is the mood I'm in right now. We've all been through them and we've probably all flocked to The Smiths and The Cure. Recently though I've been listening to a lot of Fleetwood Mac, especially Rumours. For some reason You Can Go Your Own Way has been my go to (I guess that's the most popular though). It's such a simple song and pretty identifiable, but it hits all the bases. The feeling of opening up to your significant other but not having that reciprocated.

Go ahead and list away!
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post #2 of 70
7/20/09 at 9:12pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpRmf9xXH7A
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post #3 of 70
7/20/09 at 9:14pm
Thread Starter 
I haven't heard that song in forever. I used to really love it too. Thanks for reminding me.
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post #4 of 70
7/20/09 at 9:19pm
My go-to duo: Clarkson and Timberlake.

So reliable.
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post #5 of 70
7/20/09 at 9:30pm
The Freed Pig by Sebadoh.

It's a break-up song about a band (in this case, Dinosaur Jr). It's all the sweeter knowing that Lou Barlow and J. Mascis eventually buried the hatchet. And it's a brilliant song because it's the rare break up song that scrutinizes both parties fairly harshly.
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post #6 of 70
7/20/09 at 9:33pm
Thread Starter 
Funny enough Sebadoh's Brand New Love, while not exactly a break up song, is something I always listen to after I've gotten out of a relationship. You need something optimistic.
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post #7 of 70
7/20/09 at 9:47pm
You've made this thread filthy.
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post #8 of 70
7/20/09 at 9:49pm
ahahaha
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post #9 of 70
7/20/09 at 9:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by woodsy View Post
Funny enough Sebadoh's Brand New Love, while not exactly a break up song, is something I always listen to after I've gotten out of a relationship. You need something optimistic.
And just to make it a trio of Sebadoh breakup songs, (they do it so well) "Soul and Fire" from Bubble and Scrape. A breakup song so powerful it convinced Barlow's ex-girlfriend to get back together with him. Woof!
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post #10 of 70
7/20/09 at 9:58pm
Beck - Sea Change, and Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago. Both break-up albums.
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post #11 of 70
7/20/09 at 10:03pm
Blood on the Tracks. In its entirety. Just make sure to keep the medicine cabinet locked.
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post #12 of 70
7/20/09 at 10:04pm
Thread Starter 
Strongly agree with both of those. Sea Change is the only Beck album I can fully love. It's All In Your Mind is a favorite of mine. It's just so different from everything else he's ever done.

For Emma is one of my favorite's of the past few years too.
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post #13 of 70
7/20/09 at 10:14pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8ePSJ44Fiw
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post #14 of 70
7/20/09 at 10:15pm
What about Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground by The White Stripes. I always thought it was interesting that they put a depressing and angry break up song at the beggining of an album that actually has some pretty positive love songs.
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post #15 of 70
7/20/09 at 10:17pm
Liz Phair's 'Divorce Song' is intense.
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post #16 of 70
7/20/09 at 10:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Misfit View Post
LOVE that tune. Good call.
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post #17 of 70
7/20/09 at 11:05pm
Almost every second Split Enz song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cvZOGzfqWU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl2dslwQ29w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iYxmHJwXos

I'll throw in a Crowded house for free

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQOlwMKpmvQ
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post #18 of 70
7/20/09 at 11:49pm
God Will by Lyle Lovett or from the other perspective his "Nobody Knows Me"
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post #19 of 70
7/21/09 at 12:06am
Album-wise, I always liked Chris Isaak's Forever Blue.

Songs? The old standby, The Thrill is Gone by B.B. King, and Willie Nelson's I'm Not Trying To Forget You Anymore, off the Spirit album.
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post #20 of 70
7/21/09 at 12:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingfan View Post
What about Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground by The White Stripes. I always thought it was interesting that they put a depressing and angry break up song at the beggining of an album that actually has some pretty positive love songs.
I could be wrong, but...I don't think this is a break-up song.

The Union Forever, however...
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post #21 of 70
7/21/09 at 12:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark T View Post
Blood on the Tracks. In its entirety. Just make sure to keep the medicine cabinet locked.
Yes, a million fucking times, yes. I'd like to add The Park by Feist. For some reason it hit me after I got dumped two years ago. And before any one asks, yes, I feel like a woman for writing that.
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post #22 of 70
7/21/09 at 1:07am
Crestfallen by the Smashing Pumpkins gets to me every time with Corgan lamenting over and over again toward the end, "You were never meant to belong to me."

Happy Now? by No Doubt

Ex-Factor, When It Hurts So Bad, I Used To Love Him by Lauryn Hill

Oh Well by Fiona Apple

Most of Back to Black by Amy Winehouse.

Sea Change is a given.
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post #23 of 70
7/21/09 at 1:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker View Post
I could be wrong, but...I don't think this is a break-up song.

The Union Forever, however...
Quote:
dead leaves and the dirty ground
when I know you're not around
shiny tops and soda pops
when I hear your lips make a sound
when I hear your lips make a sound

thirty notes in the mailbox
will tell ya that I'm coming home
and I think I'm gonna stick around
for a while so you're not alone
for a while so you're not alone

if you can hear a piano fall
you can hear me coming down the hall
if I can just hear your pretty voice
I don't think I need to see at all
don't think I need to see at all

soft hair and a velvet tongue
I wanna give ya what you give to me
and every breath that is in your lungs
is a tiny little gift to me
is a tiny little gift to me

I didn't feel so bad 'til the sun went down
then I come home
no one to wrap my arms around
wrap my arms around

well any man with a microphone
can tell you what he loves the most
and you know why you love at all
if you're thinking of the holy ghost
if you're thinking of the holy ghost
Other than that last bridge there, nothing about this song really seems like a break-up song.
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post #24 of 70
7/21/09 at 1:26am
"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" - Bob Dylan
"Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" - U2
There are others that'll come to me with time.

And I have to throw my support behind Sea Change. That album knocked me on my ass when I first listened to it.
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post #25 of 70
7/21/09 at 1:29am
The entirety of The Mountain Goats' "Get Lonely" album helped me through a particularly bad break-up. Even though it's incredibly depressing, I find it helpful to wallow in it for a while.

Quote:
On the morning when I woke up without you for the first time
I felt free and I felt lonely and I felt scared
And I began to talk to myself almost immediately
Not being used to being the only person there

The first time I made coffee for just myself, I made too much of it
But I drank it all just cause you hate it when I let things go to waste
And I wandered through the house like a little boy lost in the mall
And an astronaut could've seen the hunger in my eyes from space

And I sang
Oh, What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?
What do I do without you?

On the morning when I woke up without you for the first time
I was cold so I put on a sweater and I turned up the heat
And the walls began to close in and I felt so sad and frightened
I practically ran from the living room out into the street

And the wind began to blow and the trees began to pant
And the world in its cold way started coming alive
And I stood there like a buisness man waiting for the train
And I got ready for the future to arrive

And I sang
Oh, What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?
What do I do without you?
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post #26 of 70
7/21/09 at 1:35am
"What'll I Do" by Rosemary Clooney is a pretty, sad break-up tune.
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post #27 of 70
7/21/09 at 1:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Ripoll View Post
Other than that last bridge there, nothing about this song really seems like a break-up song.
I always thought of it as a song about a guy on tour. He's just fucking lonely. I could be wrong, I guess....but it seemed like a rock n'roll dude on the road missing his lady. The breakup comes later in the album, in form of a raging mad rockin' rollin' Charles Foster Kane.

This thread wouldn't be complete without that Mountain Goats song. Good god, that's a brutal one.
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post #28 of 70
7/21/09 at 1:45am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Ripoll View Post
The entirety of The Mountain Goats' "Get Lonely" album helped me through a particularly bad break-up. Even though it's incredibly depressing, I find it helpful to wallow in it for a while.
I've finally come to respect this album. For a while I found it to be too much and wished for the days when Darnielle wrote songs about everything but himself. It's amazing how much a bad break-up can change everything.
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post #29 of 70
7/21/09 at 2:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Francis Wolcott View Post

Good call. Another great one by The Vandals is "The New You". In the same spirit, "Razor Burn" by Lagwagon is a cool, more comedic one.

Nice melancholy break-up songs: Mighty Mighty Bosstones "So Sad to Say" and "Defeat You" or "Making Friends" by Lagwagon.

In recent years, I don't think anyone's made better break-up songs than The Unlovables. Standouts include "Feelin' All Emo (Since I Broke Up With You)", "Inconsolable", "Leave Me Alone", and "Let You Go".

For uplifting break-up songs, there's "Pep Talk" by The Descendents and "Great American Sharpshooter" by Less Than Jake.
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post #30 of 70
7/22/09 at 12:02pm
That Mountain Goats song is fantastic.

Ryan Adams - Come Pick Me Up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM0mjukDGRw

Live version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRnoh86FD2A

Also, Tegan & Sara - Where Does the Good Go? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RDdmfWsrsw
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post #31 of 70
7/22/09 at 12:45pm
many shades of black - the raconteurs

love brendan benson's vocals on that song
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post #32 of 70
7/23/09 at 2:22am
"Train in Vain" by The Clash is one of my favorites. It's so energetic and jingly, but the way Joe Strummer's voice hangs on simple lines always clicks with me.
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post #33 of 70
7/23/09 at 2:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SmellsLikeNostalgia View Post
"Train in Vain" by The Clash is one of my favorites. It's so energetic and jingly, but the way Joe Strummer's voice hangs on simple lines always clicks with me.

its mick jones
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post #34 of 70
7/23/09 at 2:38am
"Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)" by Jim Croce kills me once in a while. "There's something in my eyes/You know it happens every time/I think about the love that I thought would save me." Love that shit.
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post #35 of 70
7/23/09 at 3:07am
bel biv devoe- Poison
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post #36 of 70
7/23/09 at 3:15am
"Effect & Cause" by The White Stripes. A lot of songs on Icky Thump, actually.
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post #37 of 70
7/23/09 at 3:56am
Ben Folds is always good.

Song for the dumped

Bitch went nuts
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post #38 of 70
7/23/09 at 4:48am
Not applicable for every break up, but it was certainly spot on for my last one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McHyLKw5mHc
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post #39 of 70
7/23/09 at 5:15am
Maps

Wait...
They don't love you like I love you

Denial, Revisited

Come on, don't say it..
We'll try again
And if I just hold you..
We could last

But she stands softly..
Tears down her face
Hitting me, oh god
This is the end
I'd wait here for you..
But there's nothing more now I can do..

It's All Over but the Crying

Everything you think you know, baby..
Is wrong

It's all over but the crying..
Fade to black, I'm sick of trying
Took too much and now I'm done..
It's all over but the crying

Baby we're done

Modern Romance

Time, time is gone..
It stops, stops who it wants..
Well, I was wrong.
It never lasts..
There is no..
This is no.. modern romance

And if you're sheer class even during a breakup

One for my Baby (And One More for the Road)

Were drinking my friend..
To the end.. of a brief episode
So make it one for my baby
And one more.. for the road

I know the routine..
Put another nickel.. in the machine
Feeling so bad..
Can't you make the music.. easy and sad?
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post #40 of 70
7/23/09 at 5:18am
Have to agree with song for the Dumped, and would also add You Can Still Ruin My Day, and Nothing Between Us by Jon Brion. The latter being especially crushing for me, personally.

The studio version of the song used to be up, but it looks like it's been taken down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lLXR1Ev6o0

Sound quality's sorta raw....

ETA: Can't believe I forgot to mention Todd Rundgren's Can We Still Be Friends. Ultimate sad bastard break-up song.

Also, For No One by the Beatles (Revolver), She's Gone by Hall and Oates, and Pet Name by They Might Be Giants, off the oft-overlooked Factory Showroom Album.

God I love break-up songs.
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post #41 of 70
7/23/09 at 5:25am
Local Arizona band when I was in college named The Sand Rubies had the song that I listened to for a month after my worst breakup. Simply titled "Goodbye".

On the eve of the independence day
I’ve a few things I’d like to say
For all the times you put me down
For all the times you weren’t around
You’ll look to me
And I won’t be found

For all the times you set me up
For all our hope that you gave up
For nearly crushing all of my dreams
And all the real life in between
You’ll see you better

Realize
I’m only here to say goodbye

For using me and all I own
For your neck dressed in another man’s cologne
I’m sure my catalogue’s incomplete
You little creep
You better

Realize
I’m only here to say goodbye

For driving my car into a lake
For never baking my birthday cake
For all the men who took off your clothes
For all my money you put up your nose
For every excuse you ever made
For all the bills I always paid
For every moment of every day
This is the last one I’m glad to say
In every way you’re gonna

Realize
I’m only here to say goodbye
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post #42 of 70
7/23/09 at 6:14am
If the sex was still good till the end: What's Love Got To Do With It, Tina Turner

If you were wearing a wifebeater when the breakup happened: This Love, Pantera

If you can blame her parents: Exit Music For A Film, Radiohead

If you went clubbing within 48 hours of the breakup: Destiny's Child, Survivor

If there were more than eight goths at that club: Sin, Nine Inch Nails

If you own a pickup truck with a CD player: I Used To Love Her, Guns N Roses

If you have access to enough shrooms to try and spiritually reconcile the pain, you pretentious bastard/bitch: Pushit, Tool
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post #43 of 70
7/23/09 at 7:21am
Muse - Uno

This song got me through my first ever "big break up", and I love it for expressing the frustration I felt with the girl for not even trying anymore. The bitch.

This means nothing to me
'Cause you are nothing to me
And it means nothing to me
That you blew this away


'Cause you could've been number one
If you only found the time
And you could've ruled the whole world
If you had the chance


You could've been number one
And you could've ruled the whole world
And we could've had so much fun
But you blew it away


You're still nothing to me
And this is nothing to me
And you don't know what you've done
But I'll give you a clue


You could've been number one
If you only had the chance
And you could've ruled the whole world
If you had the time


You could've been number one
And you could've ruled the whole world
And we could've had so much fun
But you blew it away


You could've been number one
And you could've ruled the whole world
And we could've had so much fun
But you blew it away
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post #44 of 70
7/23/09 at 10:45am
Song: "Tilted." Artist: Sugar. EP: Beaster.
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post #45 of 70
7/23/09 at 12:08pm
I kinda forgot about this one, but I think Of Montreal's The Past is a Grotesque Animal is the ultimate break-up song. It's endlessly long, embarrassingly painful, brutally honest, a touch scary, full of pretentious shout-outs and literary allusions (you know, to prove how smart you are) and just plain ol' sad.
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post #46 of 70
7/23/09 at 12:19pm
Specifically for the drunken self-pity angle: "Goddam Lonely Love" by Drive-By Truckers, and "Taking My Business Elsewhere" by Richard Thompson.

Actually, Thompson's a veritable font of such misery, with tunes like "I Misunderstood" ("I thought she was saying 'Good luck'; she was saying 'Goodbye' "), or "For Shame of Doing Wrong" ("I wish I was a fool for you again...").
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post #47 of 70
7/23/09 at 12:44pm
I have to echo the Ben Folds sentiment. Divorce last year went nicely with Time, Trusted, and Cologne. As I started to think about getting back into the dating pool, Landed was pretty great.

And, of course, if I want to reopen old wounds, I can always throw on The Luckiest (first dance at wedding)...
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post #48 of 70
7/23/09 at 12:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker View Post
I kinda forgot about this one, but I think Of Montreal's The Past is a Grotesque Animal is the ultimate break-up song. It's endlessly long, embarrassingly painful, brutally honest, a touch scary, full of pretentious shout-outs and literary allusions (you know, to prove how smart you are) and just plain ol' sad.
Definitely one of my fave tunes of the decade.
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post #49 of 70
7/23/09 at 12:55pm
Far from Me by John Prine ("Will you still see me tomorrow?/ No, I got too much to do. /Well, a question aint really a question/If you know the answer too")
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post #50 of 70
7/23/09 at 12:58pm
Jimmy Buffett has a ton of great break up songs. I always got a kick out of 'If the Phone Doesn't Ring, It's Me.'
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