10 Songs About Marriage Struggles & Problems

Marriage is not always smooth sailing. Unfortunately, sometimes one gets veered off the happily ever after path and your marriage starts struggling. Below is a list of songs that talk about marriage problems & struggles:

1. Casting Crowns – Broken Together

This is the 5th track on Thrive, released in 2014. It was certified gold by the RIAA on October 30th, 2020. It is about a married couple who reveal that they started fighting a lot after getting married and now they wish they could go back to the days when things were much easier.

The couple realizes that if they stay together they will remain broken and if they want to stay together they will have to persevere through all the fighting.

 

2. Adele – Woman Like Me

This is a diss song by Adele to her now ex-husband Simon Konecki. It shows the events that happened towards the end of their marriage and gives a glimpse of the struggle she was going through. She went at him for being complacent, lazy, insecure and wasting the potential of their relationship.

“Woman Like Me” is part of the album 30 which was released in 2021. Adele revealed it is the only track she wrote when she felt rage following her divorce.

 

3. Ne-Yo – Mad

The music video of the song starts out with a couple arguing over a text message that was found and everything goes downhill after that. In the first verse of the song, Ne-Yo sings about how the two of them are not on talking terms because each time they start to do so it turns into a screaming match to the point they lose touch of what they were arguing about.

Ne-Yo just wants his spouse to understand that sometimes things will be rough in their relationship and they will end up fighting but for him, he doesn’t want to end the day without burying the hatchet. He further adds that even as they fight no one is going to emerge the winner and they end up falling into a position where no one wants to stand down thus turning into an endless loop.

 

4. Jennifer Lopez – Ain’t Your Mama

In this track, Jennifer Lopez seems fed up with her husband who appears to be lazy and doesn’t want to help in the house. She compares the current state of the relationship to what was there before and has concluded that he has changed and become too comfortable in their relationship. He now expects her to do all the chores and housework but she isn’t having any of it. She deserves more than that.

The song was certified gold by the RIAA on March 15, 2017.

 

5. Pink – Just Give Me A Reason

The song looks at two different perspectives of a relationship. One thinks it is falling apart after hearing things that she didn’t like so she starts to lose feelings. The other thinks it’s just a bad period so the relationship hasn’t hit a dead end. It’s just a rough patch that is uncomfortable but if they really want to be together they can overcome it.

The song is from the album The Truth About Love which was released in 2012.

 

6. James TW – When You Love Someone

James TW  looks at the topic of divorce in this ballad. He was inspired by a young boy whom he was teaching drums. He had discovered that the boy’s parents were contemplating on getting divorced but had not informed the boy about it. He thus composed a song to break the news in a way that he would understand since he was just 11 years old at the time. He wanted it to be easy for someone who knows nothing about relationships or love and in the end feel better about the situation.

Lyrically, the song breaks down how sometimes parents fall out of love and how things will be much happier if they lived in two different homes. He won’t have to worry about having to move his room at the house he stays since he will be going away during weekends only. He shouldn’t avoid coming home or make it hard for people to connect with him.

 

7. Beyonce – Hold Up

This is an assertive ode to her partner Jay Z. She reassures him that she loves him physically and emotionally but she still wants to figure out where his loyalties lie even if it means she may go insane in the process. There are hints of cheating throughout the song and she is asking him to stop and think about who really has his back as compared to the groupies that follow him around.

The song is part of the album Lemonade which was released in 2016.

 

8. Beyonce – Jealous

“Jealous” is one of Beyonce’s vulnerable songs on the album Beyonce which was released in 2013. Lyrically, she sings about her husband who is ever busy and rarely at home. This makes her feel lonely and craving for attention. She then explains how the balance of promise isn’t equal in the relationship. He lies and makes excuses but their chemistry in bed together makes it so hard for her to leave him.

 

9. Pink – Family Portrait

The track is mainly about a broken home. Pink’s parents got a divorce when she was nine years old and this explores their problems from a different perspective as a child. She revealed that it was from a poem that she wrote when she was 9 after her dad left. Both her parents cried when she showed them.

Lyrically, it is about a child trying to mediate between her parents so that they can still stay together and continue being a family. She knows they are about to break up so she is desperately trying to hold it all together. She doesn’t want to have to do things separately with each parent.

 

10. Sam Smith – I’m Not The Only One

The song is about Smith’s slow realization that his lover has been cheating on him and lying about it when he voices his suspicions. He put in so much into the relationship that his heart won’t let him stop loving him if he wants to stop.

The song is part of the album “In The Lonely Hour” which was released in 2014.