The blues hits hard when you think about that one ex. It's incredibly hard to throw yourself back on the market. Sometimes, you just want to dwell . Country specializes in this department.
Sure, you have plenty of thick skulled jock jams about brews and girls. Additionally, there's the crowd that masquerades their toughness in outlaw stories and bullish posturing. But country thrives as a byproduct of the blues, whether it be in life or in love. Nashville has an abundance of heartbreakers at their disposal.
It's important to distinguish this from breakup songs to help you get over your ex. We already cover that niche for you. Additionally, I think the best solvent to get over an old flame is to just blast George Strait's "All My Exes Live in Texas" at ignorant volumes. But I digress. Wide Open Country has you covered for all your yearning needs.
10 Country Songs For People Yearning for Their Ex
George Strait- "A Fire I Can't Put Out"
Speaking of George Strait, he really does it all. I love "All My Exes Live in Texas" as much as the next man. Sometimes, all you want is to dust off the old ex in your life, to run off and find new flames. However, other times find us flatly disinterested in the rest of the crowd. We have someone who lights us up at every opportunity.
George Strait emphasizes this painful inner turmoil best on "A Fire I Can't Put Out." He restlessly seeks new ways to shake the person he loves most. Ultimately, he finds solace in the fact that the love he has for that lost love will burn bright for a long time. "At least I'm happy knowing what love is all about. You'll always be a fire I can't put out," he croons.
Morgan Wallen- "7 Summers"
Morgan Wallen really takes the mantle for country music's greatest yearner. It probably helps that he spends most of his music behind the liquor bottle and an ocean of beer cans. He's one of those that cracks open several cold ones when he's missing an ex.
"7 Summers" best reflects this in some of his most powerful writing. Specificity is the name of the game; euphoric places where summer lasts all year round and rounds of Coke and Southern Comfort circulate. The brutal turn where you realize there's no way it'll ever work hits far too close. It's even worse when they know better. Young, dumb, finite love that feels like heaven. Then, all you're stuck with are the 'what ifs.' All we have is the 7 summers ago.
Sam Hunt- "23"
Similar to Wallen, Sam Hunt dwells on the wistful nature of lost love. Here, he remembers being 23 years old with that angelic ex, where real love exists amidst the turbulence of real life. All he has is to grasp on the memories of who she once was, the version of her he truly knows. Maybe she's still that same person. Regardless, he's glad he knows her then and that portrait of her will be the same forever. He can't be 23 with anyone else.
Ed Bruce- "You're The Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had"
The worst pain is thinking you really found the one just to lose them in the end. Miraculously, Ed Bruce finds peace in this pain. He knows that love never promises itself and it could always be worse.
What gives Ed Bruce the power in this record is in his weary voice. When he recalls his journey with other lovers where the relationships are fruitless, you can sense the exhaustion. Moreover, it feels helpless to keep trying for new love if the end result is the same. Still, he gives up when the new flame in his life helps him believe in love again. Even if it crashes and burns, he's grateful all the same.
Randy Travis- "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart"
This is an interesting twist in grieving the loss of an ex. Randy Travis actually deserves to be left behind by his partner. He implies that he cheats in the first verse. At the very least, he screws up so bad where his partner doesn't even want to entertain his pleading.
Then, Travis spends the rest of the song trying to negotiate. This is a brutal part of mourning the end of a relationship. Stubbornly, we try and barter our ways back into a relationship when we do something unforgivable. The alternative is to never have them again. Randy refuses to go out like that. If a relationship ends and the grieving is still fresh, this is a great song to play over and over.
Tessy Lou Williams- "Midnight Arms"
Tessy Lou Williams really captures the hopelessness that roots in us as we try to leave an ex behind. She anxiously tries to keep busy, desperately hoping something changes. Maybe if they call, it'll only be a few short moments until they hold each other into the distant night. Sadly, it's a devastating pattern. She'll do this as long as the circumstances allow. Tessy laments at the end of the hook, "But if it's not forever, I can't say I'll never wind up in your midnight arms again."
Freddy Fender- "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights"
It's a maddening endeavor to attempt to find clarity with an ex who leaves you. All you could ever really ask is 'why?' Sometimes, the answer isn't as satisfying as you wish. Oftentimes, you find yourself scrambling to try and change. You'd rather salvage what's there than be left alone to your own devices. Freddy Fender really accentuates this with a pained howl in his delivery. He echoes throughout the song, "Why should I keep loving you when I know you're not true?"
Keith Whitley- "Homecoming '63"
Keith Whitley specializes in those long nights thinking about the one that got away. Something about his tendencies to weld soft rock tendencies with his country crooning makes for addicting melancholy.
What makes "Homecoming '63" so special is that he distinctively recalls that special night with fondness. He doesn't wallow in the past, wishing it could go back to the old days. Rather, Whitley remembers the beauty of that special night. He ruminates on all the eyes on the beautiful couple, the blushes and chest swelling as they held each other close. Love never guarantees an eternity. Consequently, we need to cherish the moments we do have while we have them. Then, they only becomes memory.
Chris Stapleton- "Whiskey and You"
Chris Stapleton calls on the familiar spirit of old, withered cowboys grappling with heartache like Ed Bruce. Similarly, they hold that leathery heft in their voices that add another dimension to the songwriting. On "Whiskey and You," Stapleton covers Tim McGraw to a much quieter simmer. He doesn't play it as straight as McGraw. Rather, he strips everything back to a bare bones, gravelly guitar. Then, he mostly mutters through the pain, exclaiming certain lyrics to exert that frustration. Whiskey breath blows out as he sits alone, missing an ex that won't come back.
Brooks & Dunn- "Neon Moon"
The quintessential song for missing your ex. Where else would a country boy go to drown his sorrows than the bittersweet, relieving glow of a bar? "Now if you lose your one and only, there's always room here for the lonely," they echo in the chorus.
The most painful part of dwelling too much on an ex is the lies we tell ourselves. 'Maybe I'll call her, we can fix this.' We fruitlessly convince ourselves that the special person we desire will come back in the end. Perhaps they do. But the pattern repeats itself until we finally let go. Thankfully, the neon moon glows the same every night. It'll all be better there.
