3 Country Lyrics That Understand Your Heartbreak Better Than You Do

Songs do many things for us, but one function we could all benefit from is their ability to teach us hard-won lessons. Songwriters can take the facts of life and distill them for us, making them easier to take in. The three country songs below teach us about heartbreak through their lyrics. These songs know more about how you’re feeling than you do.

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“Justified” — Kacey Musgraves

Sometimes when we’re in the pure devastation stage of heartbreak, we can’t see the forest for the trees. We struggle to see the ways we’re justified in our anger or sadness, though that stage does come in due time. Musgraves found herself in the post-heartbreak part of her divorce in “Justified.”

“Movin’ backwards, hurt comes after / Healin’ doesn’t happen in a straight line,” the lyrics to this country hit read. This realization is hard-earned in the wake of a breakup. If you haven’t come to this conclusion yourself yet, listening to this song will teach you this lesson without all the heavy lifting.

“I Can’t Make You Love Me” — Bonnie Raitt

“’Cause I can’t make you love me if you don’t / You can’t make your heart feel somethin’ it won’t,” Bonnie Raitt sings in this Americana, country classic. This is a hard lesson to grasp. When we want something so badly, we hold out hope of changing hearts. As Raitt found out in this song, that cannot be done.

Raitt’s powerhouse vocals drive the sentiment in these country lyrics home. She really makes them sink in. If you need to be reminded that you can’t control the hearts of others, “I Can’t Make You Love Me” is a good one to turn to.

“Tin Man” — Miranda Lambert

Sometimes our emotions can feel like burdens. We wish we could turn off our hearts whenever we please, but obviously, we can’t. That’s the onus behind Miranda Lambert’s “Tin Man.” She talks to the famous character, telling him he’d better leave his quest for a heart alone. “Every time you’re feelin’ empty / Better thank your lucky stars / ‘Cause if you ever felt one breakin’ / You’d never want a heart,” the lyrics read.

This is a song for when we’re ready to sink into devastation. You have to go through this emotional turmoil after a heartbreak. It’s part of the healing process. Many of us try to bargain our way out of feeling, but Lambert reminds us, it’s no use. The only way out is through.

(Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for Coachella)