22 Songs About An Ex You Still Love

Last Updated on: July 11, 2022

Sometimes after a break up we find it hard to move on hence we always have that ex we have feelings for. If you are caught up in such a scenario, here is a list of songs to resonate with:

1. Usher feat Alicia Keys – My Boo

This is a duet between two of the biggest R&B star and the song was so good it sparked rumors that the two were dating even though that didn’t happen. The song provides both a male and female perspective of a former couple whose feelings for one another still linger despite not being together anymore.

The song was co-written by the two artists together with Jermaine Dupri, Adonis Shropshire and Manuel Seal Jr. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and is part of the album Confessions.

 

2. Mariah Carey – We Belong Together

The song earned the title of the second longest-running #1 song in US chart history after staying in the position for 14 weeks at the time. The video of the song features Prison Break star Wentworth Miller running away with Mariah during her wedding.

Mariah sings about an ex that she still loves and regrets letting him go. She realizes that she was lying to herself that she would be able to live without him. She is now begging him to come back to her.

 

3. Justin Bieber – That Should Be Me

The song was written by Justin Bieber alongside Luke Boyd and Nasri Atweh and Adam Messinger. He sings about regret losing his ex-girlfriend who has moved on to someone else. He now wishes that he was in his place doing all the things they are doing together.

The song was certified platinum by the RIAA on June 29, 2020.

4. Maroon 5 – Whiskey

The song is from Maroon 5’s album Red Pill Blues. The song talks about a girl he fell in love when he was younger. He got a chance but he was too reckless with her and the relationship died. Now much later he feel like he is willing to sell his soul for more time with her.

 

5. One Direction – Infinity

This is the second track released from One Direction’s fifth studio album, Made In The A.M. Many speculated that it may be about Zayn Malik leaving the band but there isn’t much evidence to support this claim.

The title of the song Infinity refers to the time he spends thinking about his lover who left him. The end of that relationship has felt like the end of the world and moving on seems impossible.

 

6. NeYo – Do You

NeYo reminisces about an ex and he is torn by the way things ended. Even though she moved on, he wonders if she still thinks about him the way he does about her. He tries to reach out to his old lover even then he knows that this decision is not the best. He really wants to talk to her in person about their old relationship.

Ne-Yo knows that the relationship is over since his ex moved on to someone else and just gave birth to a baby girl. Despite this, he still wonders if she ever thinks of him. He just wants to know that so that maybe he can get closure.

7. Kygo feat Valerie Broussard – Think About You

The song is about a former couple that had tried to rekindle their love but it didn’t bear any fruits so they have gone for years without talking to each other. The singer reveals that she has gotten rid of the things that the two of them used to share since they bring her memories. However, this still doesn’t work since she still thinks about him almost all the time

 

8. Clean Bandit – I Miss You

The main subject of the song is missing a lover after a recent relationship just ended. Julia seems not to be able to handle to collapse well and now is describing the different ways in which she keeps the memories about her ex alive and how she wishes to be near him. This is by trying to keep the memories of him fresh in her mind and saving all the text messages they exchange in the course of their relationship.

Julia stated that she wrote the song when she was at the height of an emotional rollercoaster. It is part of Clean Bandit’s album ‘What Is Love?’

 

9. Bowwow – Outta My System

Bowwow stated that he is addressing his breakup with Ciara which was rumored to be as a result of Bowwow cheating with Ciara’s friend Ashley R who was also a video video vixen. He shares that he misses Ciara and all the things they used to do together. He also tells her that he is finding it too hard to move on with his life and thoughts of her constantly occupy his mind.

The track is the second single in Bow Wow’s fifth studio album The Price Of Fame. It was certified platinum by RIAA on the week of June 15, 2007 and peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

10. Chingy feat Tyrese – Pullin Me Back

The song is about a relationship where a lover is distressed over the thought of leaving but feels there is something that keeps pulling them back to be in the relationship.

This is the first single from Chingy’s third album, Hoodstar and was produced by Jermain Dupri. It peaked at number 9 on the Hot 100.

 

11. Ed Sheeran – Happier

The track describes Ed’s mindset after learning that a girl he broke up with has already found a new man. In an interview, he explained that this song is him reflecting on his first girlfriend and meeting the man she’s now with years later. He came to the realization that she looks a lot happier than when she was with him since the new man is more suited to her than he ever was and they were never as happy.

In the track, Ed shares the ups and downs of his previous relationship. He tries to show maturity by wanting her to stay with him since he recognizes their relationship was toxic at times and doesn’t blame her for wanting to be with someone else.

 

12. Bruno Mars – When I Was Your Man

This is an emotional song from Bruno Mars’ second studio album Unorthodox Jukebox which was released in 2012. He said in many occasions that this is his most difficult song to perform because of the lyrics and meaning.

The song starts with Bruno Mars stating the different changes he has felt since his ex left and the heartbreak he feels each time their friends talk about her. He goes into how he regrets not doing enough for her when he had the chance and ignoring the things she desired. She now moved on to someone else who is doing those things. He feels he will never be able to make things right for her and this haunts him everyday.

Even though he still desires his ex, Bruno hopes that the new man his ex is seeing make her happy the way he should have done when he was with her.

13. Adele – Don’t You Remember

This is the fourth single from Adele’s album 21. It talks about Adele’s admission of her personal flaws as she begs her to recall why he initially fell in love with her. She tred to give him as much space on his own as possible in order to allow him to think through hoping he would find his way back to her. Unfortunately, he ended up chosing to break things off completely.

The inspiration for this track came about when Adele became aware that her bitterness after the breakup ended up negatively altering her perspective of the relationship with her ex-lover. In an interview with The Sun, she said that she was thinking how her entire body would just shiver if her ex touched her to say hello.

 

14. Passenger – Let Her Go

The song was from Passenger’s third album All The Little Lights. It received massive commercial success topping many charts internationally. At the time, Passenger was an upcoming musician who mainly played street gigs and traveling around making no money since he played at tiny venues and tiny pubs around Europe and Australia. The song ended up being featured in a 2014 Budweiser commercial that aired during the Super Bowl XLVIII and was also used in season 7 finale of CBC’s Heartland.

Passenger sings about his previous life that he had to sacrifice so that he can be a full time street performer. He was in school, had a stable job, money and friends. The hook of the song communicates an intimacy with that longing. People tend to take their possessions for granted and only desire them once they are lost.

 

15. Billie Eilish – Six Feet Under

Billie sings about not being able to fully recover from a heartbreak. She misses her ex despite knowing he is not good for her and a part of her mind wants to know if they can rekindle the relationship. She also acknowledges that should they get back together, thing would probably not end well for them.

Billie uses the expression “six feet under” to refer to a person or thing that is dead and in a grave. This was in reference to the relationship.

16. Kygo – Not Okay

Chelsea Cutler stated that the inspiration behind Not Ok is a combination of hitting rock bottom and finding strength from that experience. She stated that it takes a lot of strength to admit that you need somebody or you’re missing them. You get lost in the midst of a breakup and lose sight of the tangibles.

Chelsea also reveals that she drunk calls people that she misses and wants to talk to.

 

17. Drake – Marvin’s Room

The title of the song is a reference to Marvin Gaye’s studio which is popularly known as Marvin’s Room. It is where Drake recorded the track.

In the song, we see Drake deciding to call his ex while drunk to vent the feelings he still has for her. He shares how lonely he is, how in love he is still with her, reminisce the times they had and goes further to try to get her to leave her new man.

 

18. Olivia Rodrigo – Happier

Olivia wishes the best for an ex-lover and their new relationship but on the other hand, hopes to remain a significant memory in their life. She openly admits that she is selfish and won’t ever let him go. Even if he found someone new, she wishes that they are not as happy as compared to when he was with her.

Olivia want him to know that even though she is letting him go, she wants him to remember that she was the best he could ever get. She reminds him that all the sweet things the is telling his new girl, he told her first.

19. Olivia Rodrigo – Drivers License

This is Olivia’s first single and third track on her debut album SOUR. It is accompanied by a music video of Olivia driving aimlessly, longing for an ex-love. She stated that she came up with the track after going through a heartbreak that was confusing to her. The song debuted at #1 on the Hot 100 and earned over 76 million streams in its first week.

The single is rumored to be about Joshua Bassett. He helped Olivia learn how to drive and this motivated her to get her first driving license. The two ended up breaking up and Joshua started dating Sabrina Carpenter.

 

20. Paula DeAnda – Walk Away

This is one of Paula’s biggest songs and it ended up peaking at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, #4 on Billboard’s To 40 Mainstream chart and #10 on the Billboard Pop 100.

Lyrically, Paula compares her ex’s new girlfriend to herself in terms of things they do for him. She tells him that even though his new girlfriend is very attractive she would never match up to her.

 

21. Kehlani – Again

‘Again’ is a single released in 2018. It is about the struggle of still having feelings for a lover even after breaking up.

 

22. Ed Sheeran – Way To Break Your Heart

The song was done by Ed Sheeran and Srillex and is the 14th track on his No 6 Collaborations Project. Ed talks about how deeply he is in love with someone and how being away from her breaks his heart. He first reflects on the memories they created when they were together then reveals that he just wants answers on whether he was the problem or she found someone else.