Country music has an abundance of songs about falling in love and staying in love. But not all country songs are about being in a relationship. These four songs, all from the 90s by female artists, celebrate the joys of being single.
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“You Can Feel Bad” by Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless includes “You Can Feel Bad” on her The Trouble With The Truth record. Out as a single in 1995, the song is written by Matraca Berg and Tim Krekel.
“You Can Feel Bad” is about realizing the joy of being free from an unhealthy relationship. The song says, “You can feel bad if it makes you feel better / Picture me cryin’ reading all your love letters / Walkin’ around in your old sweaters baby / You can feel bad if it makes you feel better.”
One of Loveless’s biggest hits, “You Can Feel Bad” became a two-week No. 1 hit for her.
“Better Things To Do” by Terri Clark
“Better Things To Do” is Terri Clark’s debut single and her first Top 5 hit. Written by Clark, along with Tom Shapiro and Chris Waters, “Better Things To Do” is about choosing not to wallow in the end of a relationship.
The song says, “I could wash my car in the rain / Change my new guitar strings / Mow the yard just the same as I did yesterday / I don’t need to waste my time crying over you / I got better things to do.”
“How Was I To Know” by Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire includes “How Was I To Know” on her 1996 What If It’s You record. Written by Stephony Smith, Cathy Majeski, and Sonny Russ, the song celebrates the surprising freedom that comes with being alone after a relationship ends.
“How Was I To Know” says, “How was I to know that I’d be okay / Thought I’d lose it all when you walked away / How was I to know I would be the strong / I had what it takes all along / How was I to know.”
“Man! I Feel Like A Woman” by Shania Twain
If there was ever a country music anthem about being single, it’s Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman“. On her Come On Over record, Twain wrote “Man! I Feel Like A Woman” with her former husband, Robert “Mutt” Lange.”
“Man! I Feel Like A Woman” says, “The girls need a break, tonight we’re gonna take / The chance to get out on the town /. We don’t need romance, we only wanna dance / We’re gonna let our hair hang down / The best thing about bein’ a woman / Is the prerogative to have a little fun.”
“That song started with the title, then it kind of wrote itself,” Twain recalls (via Smooth Radio). “The whole expression is a celebration of being a woman these days, I think we’re kind of spoiled in a lot of ways, with the advantages we have. Feminists may not feel that way, but I do. It’s pretty darn fun to be a woman.”
Photo by Pam Francis/Getty Images
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