14 Songs About The End Of A Relationship
Not all relationships last forever. They end due to a wide variety of reasons and most times there are signs and catalysts that lead to the ending of them. Love alone isn’t always enough to make a lasting relationship work. Below is a list of songs that talk about the end of a relationship:
1. Gone West – I’m Never Getting Over You
The track is part of the album Canyons (2020). Lyrically, the singer sings about walking out of a relationship because he feels he broke the heart of his partner. However, he emphasizes he still loves her and will never get over her.
2. Taylor Swift – It’s Time To Go
On the track, Taylor depicts situations where relationships have turned sour and consequently ended. In the first verse, she describes a friendship that failed after betrayal from a friend whom she considered her ‘twin’. This is most likely referencing her friendship with model Karlie Kloss. In the second verse, she talks about being at a job for 20 years and the promotion is given to the boss’ son. She also mentioned her parents who divorced in 2011. They had tried to stay together for their kids but this just broke their hearts more.
In the final verse, she sings about her relationship with Big Machine Records, the record label she was first signed to as a teenager. After she left the label, the owner didn’t give Taylor a chance to own her masters but instead sold them to Scooter Braun.
3. Mariah Carey feat NeYo – Angels Cry
The song is part of Mariah’s 12th studio album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. Lyrically, they are singing about the different regrets they had for letting a relationship end without making an effort to save it.
4. A Great Big World – Say Something
The song is about the struggle of someone giving up on a relationship but still pleading to their significant other to make an effort to try and save the failing relationship.
The track reached #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became a Grammy winner in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category.
5. Usher – Moving Mountains
In an interview with EW, Usher explained that the concept of the song is that it is about a guy who makes a mistake and cheats on his significant other. They have an understanding that it’s okay and they should move on from the mistake. However, she didn’t really forgive him and trying to get her to get over it is like moving a mountain. The guy gets tired of it all and is just ready to leave.
6. James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover
James Blunt stated that he recorded the song while he stayed with Carrie Fisher in LA in her bathroom where she had a piano. At the time he was at an indie record label and had no money to find a decent studio. He did it to cut costs. The album which the song is part of went ahead to be certified 10x Platinum.
Lyrically, James sings about him saying goodbye to his lover who is walking out of their relationship. He states how much he still loves her and how he was willing to spend a lifetime with her.
7. Lady Gaga – I’ll Never Love Again
Lady Gaga spoke to Entertainment Weekly and stated that she recorded this ballad moments after she found out her good friend, Sonja Durham, had passed away.
My very, very, very dear friend Sonja died of cancer that day. We were supposed to shoot in, like, 30 minutes, and I left the set because her husband called me and I could hear her in the background and I just got in the car and drove. I missed her by 15 minutes and she died. I literally laid with her, with her husband, and their dog, and his son…. When I came back, Bradley was so gentle with me and we got through it. I performed the song. He was like, ‘You don’t have to do it again. It’s okay.’ All I wanted to do was sing. I’ll never forget that day. It was really a special scene, and I’ll always remember that moment.
8. Chris Brown – Say Goodbye
In this track, Chris tries to find the best time to break up with a girl. He has to do so because if he doesn’t he will just detach himself emotionally from the relationship and start acting differently. He tells the girl that he isn’t in the right headspace and can’t ascertain what he really wants in romantic relationships.
‘Say Goodbye’ is Chris Brown’s third top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
9. Adele – Go Easy On Me
Adele generally sings to her son about her divorce from her ex-husband Simon Konecki. She starts out by recalling how her relationship had reached the breaking point. She tried to make the marriage work but in doing so she ended up no longer finding value in her life in that state. She then explains how their relationship was stuck and beyond repair despite her undeniable efforts. Speaking to Vogue magazine, Adele had this to say about the track:
If I can reach the reason why I left, which was the pursuit of my own happiness, even though it made Angelo really unhappy—if I can find that happiness and he sees me in that happiness, then maybe I’ll be able to forgive myself for it. […] He said to my face, ‘Can you see me?’ And I was like, ‘Uh, yeah.’ And he was like, ‘’Cause I can’t see you.’ Well, my whole life fell apart in that moment. He knew I wasn’t there. That’s when I started sharing with him. He has so many simple questions for me that I can’t answer,
10. Justin Timberlake – What Goes Around
Justin basically sings about karma after his relationship comes to an abrupt end. He feels betrayed by his ex after she left him for another man despite giving her anything she ever wanted. He is in disbelief that the relationship ended that way. Later on he reveals that the guy she cheated on him with cheated on her and started ignoring her.
11. Usher – Burn
The track is from the album Confessions. It tops the charts in a number of countries around the world such as United States, UK and New Zealand.
Lyrically, it is about a breakup. Usher and his significant other have grown apart and he feels it’s best for him to leave since he is just hurting in the relationship. He hates the though of her being with someone else but the relationship has reached its end and he feels he should just let it die.
12. Taylor Swift – Midnight Rain
Taylor sings about ending a relationship since it seems they want different things in the relationship and different expectations. Pain has been used to mean pursuing new dreams and embarking on a new journey while her partner doesn’t really want to change things the way they are and prefers a more comfortable status quo.
13. Adele – Someone Like You
The track was inspired by the broken relationship that inspired most of the album 21. Lyrically, Adele comes to terms with the end of a relationship and wishes the best to her ex as he moves on with someone else. Adele had this to say about the track:
It’s just sort of about, you know… I met the love of my life, and I’ll never find anyone like him again, but we just weren’t right for each other then, and I think we just destroyed it too much to ever be able to go back to it again in the future. And it was me sort of imagining being a spinster, and being single forever, and going looking for him and he’s married with kids and stuff like that.
14. Sugarland feat Taylor Swift – Babe
Many believed the track is about Jake Gyllenhaal, who was one of Taylor’s exes. She wrote it together with Pat Monahan and gave it to Sugarland to record. The singer is angry that her partner was unfaithful to her and she goes ahead to declare that they aren’t getting through this rough patch in their relationship but will instead end it.