19 Songs When You Can’t Move On After A Break Up
Breakups happen every day and the feelings that come with heartbreak can wreck your balance. Sometimes moving on is the hardest thing for someone to do and trying to get back with your ex to fix what is broken is the only thing that seems logical. Here are some songs to resonate with those feelings.
1. Charlie Puth feat Selena Gomez – We Don’t Talk Anymore
This is the second single from the album Nine Track Mind. The main topic of the song is bemoaning the regrets after a breakup. The phrase “We don’t talk anymore” came from a conversation Charlie had with a friend after his friend broke up with his girl.
Lyrically, Charlie and Selena portray themselves as exes. Charlie might get back with Selena if she makes the first move since he is too afraid of rejection. Selena on the other hand thinks he has moved on with another girl but she still can’t stop thinking about him. They don’t talk anymore like they used to so they don’t know much about each other.
2. Justin Bieber & Blood Pop – Friends
Lyrically, the main message is about staying amiable after a breakup. Justin requests his ex-girlfriend whether they can remain good friends even after badly parting ways romantically. He tries to convince her that he doesn’t have any ulterior motives and that the only reason for him wanting to continue having some form of relationship is that they had something good.
3. Cher Lloyd – Want You Back
The song is about how Lloyd broke up with her boyfriend who at the time seemed not to be good enough for her. However, after he finally decides to move on she sees how valuable he was and now wants him back. She gets jealous because whatever he used to do with her, he is now doing with his new girl.
It is the first track off her album Sticks and Stones which was released in 2011.
4. Post Malone – Better Now
Post Malone sings about a past relationship and believes that his ex has feelings just as he does yet they are both masking the fact. He states that he tried to keep her happy by offering her a number of materialistic items to make her stay. He adds that if they met up again there is a possibility they could hook up again.
The track peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 chart and spent a total of 52 weeks on the charts. It is part of the album Beerbongs & Bentleys (2018).
5. 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.
6. Calum Scott – You Are The Reason
The lyrics in the song show that even if the relationship is undergoing difficult times, the love may never go away. Calum sings about feeling hopeless when he is away from his ex and wants them to come back. He is willing to climb any mountain or swim across every ocean so as to be with his lover. He wishes he could turn back the clock so as to go back in time and fix the problems they had.
The track makes you realize that you only start missing a person when they are gone from your life. We forget about the things that are more important and focus on the meaningless things.
7. XXXtentation – Sad
X sings about the struggle of letting go of a loved one and the feeling of depression that comes with it. His romantic insecurity was thought to be caused by his relationship with Geneva Ayala, his former girlfriend. He once rapped about his inability to let her go despite the pain she had caused him.
Ever since Genever claimed that X abused her, he has felt very one-sided in the relationship as he continues to love her.
8. Rihanna – Stay
The song is off Rihanna’s 7th studio album Unapologetic. Rihanna sings about a relationship that is in a never-ending cycle of breaking up and getting back together. She is tired of the uncertainty and wants them to stop the cycle. They should either be together or just move on.
However, Rihanna feels like she loves him so much and can’t live without him. She doesn’t know why this is so but she just wants him to stay.
9. Gnash – I Hate U, I Love U
Gnash describes the track as missing someone sucks but it’s important to feel. Olivia feels used by a person and relationship but still misses them and keeps thinking about them all the time. He has moved on but she is still in the same emotional place as when they broke up.
The duo also sings about the happy-sad feeling of knowing what you miss might not be good for you but accepting that either way no amount of time will make things feel better.
10. Rihanna, Ne-Yo – Hate That I Love You
This is an uptempo duet between Rihanna and Ne-Yo that talks about conflicted love.
11. Pink – Please Don’t Leave Me
This is a song from her fifth studio album and is a mid-tempo track that talks about a love-hate relationship. It is about not being able to let go of a person who may have a bad effect on you.
12. Drake – Marvins Room
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.
13. Juice WRLD – Robbery
In this track, Juice WRLD deals with themes of love and heartbreak. He sings about how after he broke up with his girlfriend he felt like he had been robbed of his ability to love. She claims that she put him in a state of insanity and he doesn’t want her to leave. He tries to entice he into loving him by buying her expensive watches and designer clothes.
The track is the lead single in Juice WRLD’s sophomore album Death Race for Love. It peaked at #27 on the Hot 100.
14. Taylor Swift – Right Where You Left Me
Taylor Swift sings about the aftermath of a breakup where she was left feeling stranded after her ex-lover moved on. Things are changing around her but she is still stuck in the same feelings of the relationship. She stayed forever in the exact spot where her heart was broken.
The song is a bonus track on the standard issue of Evermore.
15. Naill Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
This is the second single from his sophomore album Heartbreak Weather. At the time of writing the song, he had just gone through a breakup. Lyrically, he sings about his thoughts about his past lover and his yearnings for her.
16. Charlie Puth – Cheating On You
On the track, Charlie mainly questions his decision to leave his partner and despite having a new girlfriend, he feels like he is cheating on his ex by being with this new girl. He thought he would be better when he found someone new but he realizes that he is still in love with his ex.
Charlie now regrets breaking up with his ex since he thought he would get her back anytime but it turns out he was wrong and realizes that he shouldn’t have been cocky. He now realizes that her love was everything.
17. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You
The track is his highest-ranking career debut and first top 3 hits with an opening ranking of #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song is about his ex-partner Camilla Cabello. It seems that he cannot live without the relationship nor do anything without thinking about her.
18. Mariah Carey – Without You
The track was originally sung by Badfinger and later Nilsson back in the 70s. Mariah did her own version which ended up peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart in 1994. Lyrically, the song is about wanting an ex back after letting them go and feeling like you can’t live without them.
19. The Script – Rain
This is the first single released from The Script’s album No Sound Without Silence in 2014. The main topic of the song is generally the aftermath of a breakup. The singer feels like he is living in the dark ever since his ex left him. He feels like his life has become dull and uses the metaphor of everyday raining to symbolize the dark period in his life. He even tried to be with someone else to overcome his love sickness but later realized that it was not helping.