15 Songs About Being Taken Advantage Of & Being Used
Being taken advantage of means that someone has exploited or unfairly benefited from your trust, kindness, or vulnerability. It can happen in various relationships and situations, and it often involves one party manipulating another for their own gain. Here are a couple of songs you can resonate with if you find yourself in such a situation.
1. Beyonce – If I Were A Boy
The song is about the various double standards that exist between men and women. Beyonce explores what it would be like if she did all the things he did to her every day. The woman in the song feels like he is taking her for granted and has destroyed all the trust she has. He keeps putting himself first and doing as he pleases since he knows she will remain faithful as she waits for him to come home to her.
Beyonce finishes by stating that the relationship cannot be salvaged and all his attempts mean nothing to her. If he had expected her to not care, he thought wrong since she was smarter than he thought she was.
2. Rihanna – Four Five Seconds
The chorus of the song talks about how her patience with her partner will run out and she will go nuts. She feels as though all of her kindness has been taken for weakness thus her partner decides to take advantage of her.
Kanye sings about how he was having a good day minding his business until someone ended up ruining his mood. He has tried to be the good guy avoiding pessimists but at some point, he reached his breaking point. He is determined to maintain his pride even if it requires a physical confrontation.
3. Nicki Minaj – Bed Of Lies
The song is about being deceived by your partner with whom you are in a relationship. Nicki Minaj was largely referring to her ex-boyfriend Safaree whom she said took advantage of her rise to success and now she’s calling him out on getting carried away. In an interview with Genius, Nicki Minaj revealed a verse that never made it to the track:
Remember when you promised me the world? / You led me on, I let you in, you led me to your room / When you said forevermore / You pulled the sheets over my eyes, I feel so used
4. Beyonce & Shakira – Beautiful Liar
This is a mid-tempo song about two female protagonists singing about being charmed by the same man but instead of fighting him, they decide he is not worth their time.
The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the first time both women charted together on the same song.
5. Kehlani – Nights Like This
The track is from the album While We Wait (2019) and the first collaboration between the two artists. Lyrically, it talks about themes of dishonesty and misleading relationships. Kehlani sings about a woman whom she thought was the one but in the end, she realizes that she was just blinded by her lies. She trusted the other person to care for her emotions but unfortunately, her faith was misplaced.
6. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep
The lyrics in the song are generally about heartache and resentment towards his partner who is constantly lying to him. He hates what this has made him become. He now cries the whole night and is also looking through his partner’s phone. He is fed up and doesn’t want to lose himself in this relationship.
7. Post Malone – Die For Me
This trap pop banger talks about untrustworthy women and Halsey provides a women’s perspective. Post sings about his partner whom he fell in love with at first sight but she has now turned to be a negative lying person. He is too tired to forgive. In an interview, Post said this about the track:
For anyone who has been through shit with an adulterating spouse or shitty relationship. It is a good reminder to people that you are not alone and shit gets better. Halsey f*ckin’ snapped!
8. Camila Cabello – I Have Questions
In the song, Camila Cabello details her struggles to find genuine friends in her life. In an interview with Elle Magazine, she had this to say about friendships.
I feel like there are instances and circumstances in your life that always change. You can think someone’s your friend, and it could be out of convenience, or there was something in it for them, or whatever and a year later, something happens and you really need help, or all of a sudden they have to stand up for you, and it could be inconvenient for them or not benefit them. And they don’t have your back.
There’s also been so many people—not so many, but a few people who make everything worth it, stick through it, and they show loyalty. And no matter what goes down, seas or rough or calm Sunday afternoon, those are people that are worth it. You die for those people.
9. Lauv & Lany – Mean It
The song describes wanting to mean more to someone who only sees you as a second choice. Lauv starts the track from the perspective of what he thought somebody might want to say to him and then Paul Klein draws inspiration from his former relationship with Dua Lipa which lasted for five months. When it ended she went back to her ex, Isaac Carew, whom she was dating before him. Klein felt like a rebound after what happened.
10. Halsey -Without Me
The track dives into Halsey’s public relationship with G Eazy. She starts out by sharing that she was there for him during a dark time for him and regrets how much of herself she gave to him. In an interview at the Zach Sang Show, Halsey said the song is about many situations and people. It is about being there for many people but not getting any effort back from them.
11. The Weeknd – Call Out My Name
The Weeknd sings about how his last lover didn’t put as much effort into the relationship as he did so she effectively wasted his time. He still wishes that deep down she would need him as much as he needs her.
12. Bruno Mars – Grenade
This is the second single from Bruno Mars’ debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans. He got the inspiration after hearing that one of the guys working in the studio had just gone through a tough breakup and was willing to do almost anything for his ex-girlfriend without getting anything in return. Bruno explained the message in the song:
It’s a heartbreaking, heartbreak song, and I think everyone can relate to that. You’re so in love with this woman and you don’t understand, “ What am I doing wrong? What am I not giving to you? I’ll go as far as putting a bullet in my brain for you, and why can’t I get that kind of love in return?
13. Halsey – You Should Be Sad
This is a country-influenced track about her ex-boyfriend G Eazy. She is glad she was able to leave the relationship without breaking down in the process. She left after multiple instances of G Eazy cheating on her surfaced to the public. She believes he is just selfish and isn’t capable of loving anything unless there is something he is gaining on his end. Halsey had tried to help him see life from a different perspective but he was solely focused on achieving superficial interactions that would benefit him.
14. Jennifer Lopez – In The Morning
During an interview, Jennifer Lopez said that the said is about demanding someone to treat you in the right way. In the video, she uses symbolism where we see a girl who is sinking in water to symbolize getting trapped in a bad relationship. She then grows a mermaid tail and is able to escape.
15. Jordan Suaste – Body
The song is for those who were generally used for their body. The listeners get to hear about how people feel less appreciated and thrown aside when people only want them for their bodies. Jordan stated this about the song:
’Body’ is one of the most honest songs I’ve ever written. It’s about overcoming the idea that no one will ever love me if I don’t look perfect and recognizing that we’re all so much more than our bodies. For a lot of people, it’s become an anthem of surviving sexual abuse, and I’m so grateful that it’s resonated with them in such a powerful way.