The 22 best breakup songs to scream into the void this Valentine’s Day
‘And every time I scratch my nails down someone else’s back I hope you feel it’
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Wail in a corner, scream into the void, remain stoic save for a single tear sliding down your cheek – whatever your preference, there’s a song for every breakup. Here are our favourites to help you make it through Valentine’s Day this year.
There’s absolutely nothing I love more than a savage breakup track. Preferably sung by a thoroughly pissed off woman with a three-octave vocal range and a point to prove.
While listening to, ya know, “happy music” is nice, there’s something about an emotionally laden, heart-stricken ballad that just hits different. And it’s these tracks I find myself returning to over and over again, no matter my frame of mind.
But as we draw ever-closer to Valentine’s Day, these bangers become even more necessary. And as Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas skyrockets to first place every time December comes around, so too do the likes of Single Ladies, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and No Scrubs.
So, with less than a week until this loaded holiday arrives (purpose-built to make single people panic, make those in happy relationships feel smug, and unhappy relationships freak the hell out), here are some of the very best breakup songs to see you through, no matter your relationship status.
The best breakup songs to listen to this Valentine's Day
All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) – Taylor Swift
“And you call me up again just to break me like a promise. So casually cruel in the name of being honest”
Ms Swift’s magnum opus. My lifeblood. All Too Well chronicles a short-lived relationship with an older man *cough* Jake Gyllenhaal *cough*, that did an absolute number on her. The 10 minute version of this song is the ultimate breakup song, touching on love, heart ache, sadness, and anger. Timeless. Flawless.
Good 4 U – Olivia Rodrigo
“Maybe I'm too emotional, or maybe you never cared at all”
Does anything hurt more than an ex moving on with total ease after a Category Five breakup? No. No it doesn’t. Olivia Rodrigo taps into a realm of almost crazed devastation, set to a thoroughly catchy beat – you’ll have this one on repeat
Oscar Winning Tears. - Raye
"No string section, no tiny violin
For the last time, I'm your audience"
For when you want a really good scream. We're feeling absolutely no sympathy for that ex, they can 'go ahead and cry' knowing you're not going back.
because i liked a boy - Sabrina Carpenter
"Who knew cuddling on trampolines could be so reckless?"
Someone's got to be the bad guy in a breakup and you never think it's going to be you. For when you don't get to tell your side and wonder if the short-lived relationship was worth it.
The Hardest Part – Olivia Dean
"Even if I could, wouldn't go back where we started
I know you're still waiting, wondering where my heart is"
It's okay to be grieving the relationship you know you've outgrown. Olivia gets it.
The Worst Person Alive – G Flip
"Last year I was the love of your life
Now I'm the worst person alive"
It hurts when you hear what your ex is telling people about you. Scream about it.
Free Now – Gracie Abrams
"We're collateral here man, we got hit
Hope you find somewhere safe for your baggage"
Gracie's entire The Story of Us album deserves a spot on this list, but the rage and acceptance you feel when the chord changes at 1:46 is guaranteed to bring you closure. Get ready to belt.
Flowers – Miley Cyrus
“I can buy myself flowers
Write my name in the sand
Talk to myself for hours
Say things you don't understand
I can take myself dancing
And I can hold my own hand
Yeah, I can love me better than you can”
The greatest ‘screw you’ of all time is announcing to the world that you fulfil yourself far better than your bloody ex could. Especially when the song is released on said ex’s birthday. Self-love is the one true salve for a broken heart, and Flowers dishes it out in spades.
You Oughta Know – Alanis Morissette
“Well I'm here, to remind you
Of the mess you left when you went away
It's not fair, to deny me
Of the cross I bear that you gave to me
You, you, you oughta know”
It seems almost untenable that the love you had for someone can then cease to exist. And even worse, that it could be felt by someone else. Alanis Morissette was the voice of a generation of women slighted by their shitty exes, and the line “And every time I scratch my nails down someone else’s back I hope you feel it” will forever be my break-up credo.
Speechless – Lady Gaga
“I'll never talk again
And I'll never love again
I'll never write a song
Won't even sing along
I'll never love again”
Lady Gaga sings from the bottom of her heart in this melancholy ballad, and we feel it in every line. Many of us will have been in a position where we’ve offered up everything to an ex, only to have them still walk away. Hopefully you haven’t offered to never speak again
I’m To Blame – Tove Lo
“I can't face what I know
Pulling us apart is all I'm good for
Left our love to die”
Sometimes breakups are your own fault! And that sucks too. I’m To Blame is Tove Lo’s confession booth, a swan song to a relationship she destroyed, which has ultimately left her alone. Ouch.
Before He Cheats – Carrie Underwood
“I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive
Carved my name into his leather seats
I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights
I slashed a hole in all four tires
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats”
Spoiler: he’s already cheated. And Carrie is mad. And I am mad. Lean into the rage if you’ve ever been screwed over with this country-meets-pop anthem.
Hold up – Beyonce
“Something don't feel right
Because it ain't right
Especially comin' up after midnight
I smell your secrets, and I'm not too perfect
To ever feel this worthless
How did it come down to this?
Scrolling through your call list
I don't wanna lose my pride, but I'ma fuck me up a bitch
Know that I kept it sexy, you know I kept it fun
There's something that I'm missing? Maybe my head for one”
Beyonce’s Lemonade album was groundbreaking for a number of reasons, and her smashing cars with a baseball bat in a mustard yellow gown is just one of them. In Hold Up, Beyonce smells a rat, and she wants to “f**k me up a b*tch” – as she should.
Someone Like You – Adele
“Never mind, I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you, too
"Don't forget me, " I beg
I remember you said
‘Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead"
Is any list of breakup songs complete without this soul-crushing ballad from Adele. Someone Like You speaks to all of us who still have an open wound in our hearts, searching endlessly for a love that resembles another, to no avail.
Somebody That I Used to Know – Gotye (feat. Kimbra)
"Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it was always something that I'd done"
Ah. We love gaslighting. Somebody That I Used to Know sees Gotye duet with Kimba in a beautiful mishmash of perspectives and a whole lotta pain. An alternative beat and a belter of a chorus make this track one for the ages.
Since You Been Gone – Kelly Clarkson
“But since you been gone
I can breathe for the first time”
When a breakup feels like an exhale you know you’ve done the right thing. Kelly Clarkson details the freedom she feels since she walked away from a dysfunctional relationship in possibly the catchiest chorus of all time.
Don’t Start Now – Dua Lipa
“Don't show up, don't come out
Don't start caring about me now
Walk away, you know how
Don't start caring about me now”
It’s great when an ex starts caring after they’ve totally messed you around. Dua Lipa is having none of it in Don’t Start Now, and tells her ex to go back to where he came from (hell).
Go Your Own Way – Fleetwood Mac
“If I could
Baby, I'd give you my world
How can I
When you won't take it from me?”
Unrequited love is an exquisite sort of pain, and there’s nothing more frustrating that someone not realising how good it could be. But you can’t change how you feel, and sometimes, it’s better just to walk away.
Here With Me – Dido
“And I won't go, I won't sleep
I can't breathe, until you're resting here with me
And I won't leave and I can't hide
I cannot be, until you're resting here with me”
Sometimes life seems actually inconceivable without that one person in it. This is a great sentiment to tap into on Valentine’s Day. In Here With Me, Dido lies alone and can’t bear to move a muscle, in case she risks distorting the memories from a relationship. This one evokes tears and wailing, the very best kind of V-Day tune.
Happier Than Ever – Billie Eilish
“And I don't talk shit about you on the internet
Never told anyone anything bad
'Cause that shit's embarrassing, you were my everything
And all that you did was make me f**king sad”
It’s funny how you can trick yourself into thinking confusion and loneliness equate to love, but boy oh boy have we all done it. This two-part song by Billie Eilish speaks to the relief of a relationship ending in tandem with the overwhelming hurt and anger she feels.
Special mentions:
Liability – Lorde
“The truth is I am a toy that people enjoy
'Til all of the tricks don't work anymore
And then they are bored of me”
Lorde serves up some of the most heartbreaking lyrics of all time in this sorrow-laden track, where she details relationships coming to and end because partners deem her ‘too much.’ Ouch.
England – The National
“Someone send a runner through the weather that I'm under
For the feeling that I lost today”
A great one to end your Valentine’s Night night with: wistfully dreaming of a lover on the other side of the world. An ode to the one that got away – we hope they’re happy, but we wish they’d never left.
Listen to the full playlist on Body+Soul’s Spotify.
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Originally published as The 22 best breakup songs to scream into the void this Valentine’s Day
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