11 Songs About Abuse Survivors

An abuse survivor is an individual who has experienced physical, emotional, psychological, or any other form of abuse and has managed to endure and overcome the trauma associated with those experiences. Abuse can take various forms, including but not limited to domestic violence, sexual abuse, emotional manipulation, verbal abuse, and bullying.

Survivors of abuse often display immense resilience and strength in coping with the aftermath of traumatic experiences. Overcoming the impact of abuse can be a challenging and ongoing process that may involve therapy, support from friends and family, and personal growth. Below is a list of songs about abuse survivors:

1. Carrie Underwood – Church Bells

This is the fourth single from Carrie’s fifth studio album Storyteller (2016). It is generally about a young woman named Jenny who marries a rich man who appeared to be treating her well plus showering her with gifts during the early point of their relationship. However, she later learns that he has a drinking problem and he began to abuse her when he was drunk.

Jenny ended up with bruises that she had to constantly cover with makeup and sunglasses. She decided to take drastic measures in order to end her misery. She put poison in his whiskey which killed him without tracing it back to her.

 

2. Kelly Rowland – Dirty Laundry

In this track, Kelly is expressing some damaging things that happened to her that she was going through behind the public eye. At the time, she was in Destiny’s Child and they had a #1 single plus their album Simply Deep was widely successful. Her ex-boyfriend was physically abusing her. She had to use makeup to hide her bruises and she had to tell herself to get it together and keep her composure so that people wouldn’t know she was being abused. She kept giving him another chance and asking him to get it together.

 

3. Martina McBride – Concrete Angel

The track is about a little girl who is being abused at home but doesn’t let anyone know what is happening to her. She hid her bruises by covering them up with clothes whenever she went to school. The teacher knew something was up but she didn’t want to get involved. The neighbors also ignore her cries in the middle of the night. She ends up feeling like the abuse will never end and ends up taking her life.

 

4. Christina Aguilera – Oh Mother

The song is part of the album Back To Basics (2006). The subject of the song is Christina Aguilera’s mother and the abusive relationship she had with her father. She got married when she was young and at the time her marriage seemed perfect but suddenly he turned into a monster since he physically abused her. In an interview, Christina had this to say about the song:

There’s a song on the record, yeah, called “Oh Mother” dedicated to my mother. Basically thanking her for getting us out of the abusive situation that we went through together and for staying out because it’s so hard especially as a as a single mom as a single parent period to support your child on your own and raise that child.

 

 

5. Carrie Underwood – Blown Away

This is a vengeful tale of a young girl with an abusive, alcoholic father. In an interview with NPR’s Guy Ruz, Carrie had this to say about the song’s meaning:

The song is a story about a girl and her father,“ she said. “The song describes him as a mean old mister. And you can kind of make that as bad, I guess, as you want it to be. You know, the daughter wishes that, you know, she can feel a storm coming, and she just wishes it would wash her past away, and in doing so, you know, take her father along. So it’s a very, you know, just deep, dark story and so visual, this song is. You know, when you hear the words and you hear the music, you can just see it all happening in your head.

 

6. The Chicks – Goodbye Earl

The track was initially recorded by the band Sons of the Desert for an unreleased album in the late 1990s and was recorded by the Dixie Chicks on their fifth studio album, Fly.

Lyrically, the song starts with two best friends, Mary Anne and Wanda, who go their separate ways after graduation. Wanda met Earl and they got married. Shortly into the marriage, he starts abusing her. She had to put on dark glasses, long-sleeved blouses and makeup to cover up bruises. She tried to get a restraining order but he ended up beating her to the point she ended up at the ICU. Mary Anne flew in to see her and together they decided they had to get rid of Earl.

7. Christina Aguilera – I’m OK

It has been termed as one of her most personal songs and was assisted by Linda Perry on how to let out all the emotions into the song. It is about the abusive household Christina grew up in together with her mother (Shelly) and sister. Her father frequently physically abused her mother and Christina. This made the home a very scary place to come back to.

Christina stated that the experience made her become a stronger person:

It made me so determined that I would not back down for anybody, I would never feel helpless to a man, I would make for myself, I would do for myself, and nothing was going to stop me or get in my way.

 

8. Martina McBride – Independence Day

The song was recorded by McBride in 1994 and at one point it was deemed as one of the 100 greatest country songs of all time by Rolling Stone. It won the CMA’s Video of the Year award and Song of the Year in 1995.

Lyrically, it tells a story from the perspective of an 8-year-old girl who has witnessed her alcoholic father physically abusing her mother. Independence Day here is a personal day of independence when her mother frees herself from her oppressor.

 

9. Suzanne Vega – Luka

The track was written about child abuse told from the perspective of a 9-year-old boy named Luka. Vega stated that it was based on a real-life experience:

Luka was a boy I used to see in my old neighborhood, although it’s not necessarily about him. It is his name, I did get his character, but this is not really the situation that he was in, and actually it could be about almost anybody who has been abused in some way.

 

10. Lady Gaga – Til It Happens To You

This is a song of empathy written for the 2015 film The Hunting Ground and it gained an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. The Hunting Ground is a documentary-style movie that follows sexual assault cases and rape crimes committed on college campuses across the United States. Lady is also a victim of sexual assault.

 

11. Matthew West – Broken Girl

This is a song of comfort to young girls who are abuse survivors. Matthew encourages them that they are not worthless and there is still hope out there for better love. He assures them that healing is coming their way.