Given that romance has been a staple topic in rock music since its inception, it stands to reason that the genre would tackle the end of these relationships as well. When thinking of breakup songs, our minds usually go to somber ballads or pop hits that cut right to the heart. But, on the harder end of the sonic spectrum, rock musicians have their fair share of commiserative hits as well.
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Check out our picks for the Top 10 rock n’ roll breakup songs, below.
10. “You Oughta Know” (Alanis Morissette)
We’re starting off with the queen of ’90s alt-rock herself: Alanis Morissette. Breakup songs come in several shades. “You Oughta Know” comes exclusively in seething red, as Morissette delivers an unrelenting broadside to her ex. Every time you speak her name / Does she know how you told me / You’d hold me until you died, she sings through gritted teeth. They say there are 7 stages to grief. “You Oughta Know” is for those stuck firmly in the “anger” phase of their breakup and show no signs of easing up anytime soon.
9. “She’s Gone” (Hall & Oats)
Hall & Oats’ “She’s Gone” is a heartbreaking lament disguised as a buoyant yacht rock tune. Released in 1973, “She’s Gone” finds the duo at the end of their breakup, learning to accept their newfound single status. While the lyrics will be a painful cut to the heart for anyone in a similar predicament, the jazz-stepped instrumentation will put a bandage over your wounds, kiss them better and hold your hand for as long as you care to hit the replay button.
8. “Black” (Pearl Jam)
We Were laid spread out before me as her body once did / Now the air I tasted and breathed has taken a turn, Eddie Vedder sings in the opening verse of “Black.” One of Pearl Jam’s most intimate songs, Vedder penned this song about life after love and all the empty holes that are left as a result. Vedder felt the song was too emotional to be released as a single. “Fragile songs get crushed by the business. I don’t want to be a part of it. I don’t think the band wants to be part of it,” he once said.
7. “Angie” (The Rolling Stones)
While the lyrics to this song see Mick Jagger reminisce over a relationship with a girl named Angie, it was actually his ex-girlfriend Marianne Faithful that was on his mind (per Genius). With no loving in our souls and no money in our coats / You can’t say we’re satisfied but Angie, I still love you, baby, Jagger sings with a marked pain.
6. “Already Gone” (Eagles)
The Eagles’ “Already Gone” takes a different approach to a breakup song. Instead of a lover leaving Glenn Frey heartbroken, it’s he who is the one to leave. This song gives the same rush as driving down the highway in summer, with the windows down, and not a care in your mind. If you’re lucky enough to leave a relationship without any hard feelings, this is the song for you.
5. “Time For Me To Fly” (REO Speedwagon)
Similar to “Already Gone”, REO Speedwagon’s “Time For Me To Fly” speaks to escaping a toxic relationship. Oh, I make you laugh / And you make me cry / I believe it’s time for me to fly, frontman Kevin Cronin sings in the chorus. This song is for those bittersweet breakups when you know it’s the right thing to do but, you’re having trouble walking out the door.
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4. “You Give Love a Bad Name” (Bon Jovi)
Shot through the heart and you’re to blame / Darling, you give love a bad name…it doesn’t get any plainer than that. Jon Bon Jovi boils breakups down to their bare bones in “You Give Love a Bad Name.” Bon Jovi doesn’t make a play for reconciliation on this song. He instead accepts his fate with a marked dejection. The song earned Bon Jovi one of their first No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, so who got the last laugh really…
3. “I Hate Myself For Loving You” (Joan Jett And The Blackhearts)
In “I Hate Myself For Loving You” Joan Jett sings about one of the worst catalysts for breakups: infidelity. With a hammering guitar line and raucous energy, Jett sings her blues away and chides her cheating partner in the same breath. I wanna see you begging, say forget it just for spite / I think of you every night and day / You took my heart and you took my pride away, she sings.
2. “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” (Led Zeppelin)
Robert Plant tells it how it is in “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You.” I said, Baby, you know I’m gonna leave you / I’ll leave you when the summertime comes a-rollin, he croons out in the opening verse. There’s something to be said for someone who doesn’t beat around the bush—especially when it comes to a breakup. It’s candid, it’s sultry, and it’s quintessentially Led Zeppelin.
1. “Go Your Own Way” (Fleetwood Mac)
You can’t make a list of rock n’ roll break-up songs and not include Fleetwood Mac—it’s their whole deal. Written by Lindsey Buckingham in response to his breakup with Stevie Nicks, “Go Your Own Way” has become one of the band’s signature songs with lyrics that are sharply pointed at Nicks.
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“I very much resented him telling the world that ‘packing up, shacking up’ with different men was all I wanted to do,” Nicks once said. “He knew it wasn’t true. It was just an angry thing he said.” We all have been guilty of saying out-of-turn things mid-breakup, it’s just that most of us don’t document those thoughts on a timeless album for the world to listen to for decades on end.
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