Country music has plenty of sweet love songs, but it's also been known to sing about heartache and lost love. There are a lot of songs within the genre that are about devastating heartbreak. We picked four of our favorite breakup songs that both soothe and burn at the same time.
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1. "Tequila" by Dan + Shay
Dan + Shay's Dan Smyers wrote "Tequila" with Nicolle Gaylon and Jordan Reynolds. The song, from their self-titled third album, is about someone who is doing fine, until they taste tequila.
"But when I taste tequila / Baby, I still see ya," the duo sings. "Cuttin' up the floor in a sorority T-shirt / The same one you wore when we were / Sky high in Colorado, your lips pressed against the bottle / Swearing on a Bible, baby, I'd never leave ya / I remember how bad I need ya / When I taste tequila."
"In typical Nashville songwriter fashion, we made it as confusing as possible for the listener," Smyers tells The Boot. "Instead of writing a feel-good, uptempo kind of thing, we were like, 'Let's go to the Dan + Shay wheelhouse. Nostalgia zone!' We used the idea of tequila as a trigger to go back to a relationship. Get really specific with the details, really tell a story."
"Tequila" is also the first Dan + Shay country song that hit Top 25 on the pop charts.
2. "Mercy" by Brett Young
Brett Young and Sean McConnell wrote "Mercy" for Young's eponymous freshman record. The song is a literal beg for mercy. It comes from someone who can't say no to their former flame, who keeps returning again and again.
"So if you're gonna break my heart, just break it," the song says in part. "And if you're gonna take your shot, then take it / Take it / If you made up your mind, then make it / Make this fast / If you ever loved me, have mercy."
Young is now happily married to his wife, Taylor. He reveals that "Mercy" was inspired by his own ex-girlfriend, the same one who inspired his "You Ain't Here To Kiss Me."
"Every time we've played it out, it's all people want to talk about after the show," Young tells Taste of Country. "And I think the reason is, it's about going through a breakup, and having that person kind of just continue to poke their head in their life and not let you move on."
3. "Miss Me More" by Kelsea Ballerini
Talk about a twist on a break-up song. Ballerini wrote "Miss Me More" with David Hodges and Brett McLaughlin, for her sophomore Unapologetically record. It was with "Miss Me More" that Ballerini showed her edgy side, and her ability to rise above any man who tried to control her.
In "Miss Me More," Ballerini sings, "I thought I'd miss you / But I miss me more / I miss my own beat, to my own snare drum / I miss me more / Miss my own sheets in the bed I made up / I forgot I had dreams, I forgot I had wings / Forgot who I was before I ever kissed you / Yeah, I thought I'd miss you / But I miss me more."
"In a lot of young relationships, you fall in love for the first time and you give every part of yourself to make it work," Ballerini says (via Songfacts). "But sometimes, when it's not treated right, that's how you lose yourself. I think it's really a beautiful moment when you get to the other side, and you're looking in the mirror and you're like, 'Huh, I thought I was going to miss him but - actually - I miss me!'"
Not only was "Miss Me More" a hit at country radio, but it was also a Top 20 pop hit.
4. "What He Didn't Do" by Carly Pearce
Pearce includes "What He Didn't Do" on her 29: Written in Stone album, detailing her split from Michael Ray. Written by Pearce, along with Ashley Gorley and Emily Shackleton, Pearce reveals it's the things her ex didn't do that made their relationship end.
"I ain't gonna go and tell you what he did," Pearce sings. "But I'll tell you what he didn't do / Treat me right, put me first, be a man of his word / Stay home 'cause he wanted to / Always fight for my love, hold on tight like it's something / That he couldn't stand to lose / The devil's in the details, I won't tell the hell that he put me through / All I know is in the end, it wasn't what he did / No, it was what he didn't do."
"I wrote 'What He Didn't Do' at a time when I needed to be reminded of my worth and that I deserved better," says Pearce (via MusicRow). "I knew it was special from the moment we wrote it. It is a song about hope, reminding yourself what you deserve moving forward. Out of all of my singles, this one I am most proud of. I am thankful that country radio wrapped their arms around it to allow fans to hear the message."
