When relationships don’t work out, you can count on rock songwriters to pen a tune or two about their lost love. Whether you’ve been done dirty by your ex or long for the one who got away, these six songs that rock stars wrote about their exes will help you headbang through the tears.
1. “So Sad” by George Harrison
This track is on the gentler side of rock songs that musicians wrote about their exes. The Beatles’ George Harrison is often considered the most underrated songwriter of the bunch, and the 1974 track “So Sad” is a great example of his talent. Harrison penned this song after starting divorce proceedings against his wife Patty Boyd, who was already in a new relationship with fellow songwriter Eric Clapton. This song marks the loss of love as well as the loss of a muse.
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2. “Snuff” by Slipknot
Slipknot is the kind of metal band you wouldn’t expect to produce a sad love song. However, Slipknot’s Corey Taylor dug deep to write “Snuff”. This song was allegedly inspired by a woman he had a thing for years before he wrote the song. His romantic desires were not reciprocated, so he wrote this sad ballad about her unhealthy life choices and his own need to cope with them. Today, the band dedicates the song to the late Slipknot bassist Paul Gray at their concerts.
3. “Talk Tonight” by Oasis
In the wake of Oasis’ infamous disaster set at Whiskey A-Go-Go in Los Angeles in which most of the members performed while visibly on meth, Noel Gallagher was quite over it. He left his bandmates and basically ran away to San Francisco. There, he reconnected with an old girlfriend named Melissa Lim. He hasn’t said much about this relationship, other than it made him want to break up the band for good. Instead, Lim convinced him to keep Oasis together, and the two parted ways. “Talk Tonight” is more or less his “thank you” to Lim.
4. “Songbird” by Fleetwood Mac
When it comes to rock songs about exes, Fleetwood Mac takes the cake. Most of their discography is full of songs the band wrote about each other’s affairs. “Songbird” is just one example, this time from the band’s underrated songwriter Christine McVie. She penned this tune after divorcing the band’s bassist John McVie.
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5. “Monkey Wrench” by Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is usually associated with funky fun alt-rock. That doesn’t mean they can’t write a heartbreaking song or two. “My Hero” still brings a tear to this writer’s eye. “Monkey Wrench”, similarly, is on the more serious side of Foo Fighters’ discography. Grohl penned this tune after the death of Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain and the deterioration of his first marriage. It’s a nerve-wracking and relatable song, to say the least.
6. “Good Riddance” by Green Day
Punk rock ballads are pretty rare, but Green Day managed to make a sappy breakup song sound like a tried and true punk track. “Good Riddance” was written by Billie Joe Armstrong about his ex-girlfriend Amanda. After drifting apart through the years, he wrote the song as an angry and sad goodbye to that relationship. If you graduated from high school in the late 1990s, you probably heard this song played at your graduation ceremony.
Photo by Barry Brecheisen
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