Songs are cheap therapy at times. A lot of heartache can be solved by popping on your favorite song and letting it wash over your troubles. Many times, an artist will speak to their very situation that we’re in, far more poetically and succinctly than we could ever express it. That’s the case with the three country songs below. These songs are pseudo-therapy sessions that help listeners work through the hard parts of life.
“Wide Open Spaces” — The Chicks
Sometimes you just need to get out. Many of us dream of running away, fully escaping our troubles, and starting fresh—at one point or another. Most of the time, that’s just a fantasy, and few actually go through with it. But, if you need a dose of what following through with that might feel like, there’s always The Chicks’ “Wide Open Spaces” to turn to.
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“She needs wide open spaces / Room to make her big mistakes / She needs new faces / She knows the high stakes,” the lyrics read. It’s catharsis on a deep level to listen to this song. This country track acts as a quick fix to larger problems, but who doesn’t need a dose of instant relief from time to time?
“I Will Always Love You” — Dolly Parton
Sometimes, breakups can be so tough that professional help is needed. And, of course, the professional help I’m talking about is Dolly Parton…Parton has plenty of heartbreak anthems one could prescribe in such moments, but none of them are as highly rated for this sort of job as “I Will Always Love You.”
This song takes a unique stance on heartbreak, especially when compared to other country hits. Parton reads remarkably healed in this song, extending love and devotion to someone who will no longer be in her life. It’s the healed place everyone strives for after calling things off. Few accomplish it, but we can get a few steps closer by keeping this Parton song on repeat.
“Before He Cheats” — Carrie Underwood
Sometimes, rational thinking is not the ticket to healing. Emotional catharsis can be accomplished by letting your mind wander on revenge. It might not be the advice many therapists would suggest, but that’s what’s so great about musicians: they don’t always follow the rules.
Carrie Underwood certainly threw the rulebook out the window with “Before He Cheats.” She busts fenders, breaks windows, and slashes leather interiors all in the aim of healing her heart. This kind of destruction is merely an unfulfilled dream many heartbroken people have, but we can flirt with the idea safely through our speakers.
(Photo by: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
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Picture taken in 1974 in Stockholm shows the Swedish pop group Abba with its members (L-R) Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog and Bjorn Ulvaeus posing after winning the Swedish branch of the Eurovision Song Contest with their song "Waterloo". – Sweden's legendary disco group ABBA announced on April 27, 2018 that they have reunited to record two new songs, 35 years after their last single. The quartet split up in 1982 after dominating the disco scene for more than a decade with hits like "Waterloo", "Dancing Queen", "Mamma Mia" and "Super Trouper". (Photo by Olle LINDEBORG / TT News Agency / AFP) / Sweden OUT (Photo credit should read OLLE LINDEBORG/AFP via Getty Images)







