Breakup songs are going to be a part of music for the rest of time. What better way to lament the end of a relationship than with a song? That being said, these three famous breakup songs were written after particularly bitter breakups. And they still give me secondhand anxiety every time I listen to them. Let’s take a look at some teeth-gritters, shall we?
“Abandoned Love” by Bob Dylan (1985)
“My heart is telling me I love you still.”
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This uncomfortably breakup tune from the Bard was actually written and recorded a decade prior to its release on Biograph. In fact, “Abandoned Love” was recorded for the 1976 album Desire but was later dropped. The song was written during Dylan’s tumultuous breakup with his wife at the time, Sara Lownds. It was apparently so personal that Dylan only performed it once. That performance was in Greenwich Village in 1975, never to be heard live again. This one’s a rough ride because it really does feel like a relic left behind in the dust of a destroyed marriage.
“Don’t Speak” by No Doubt (1996)
“Don’t speak / I know just what you’re sayin’ / So please stop explainin’ / Don’t tell me ’cause it hurts.”
This classic alt-rock song is one of No Doubt’s most well-known tracks. And it’s a bit of an awkward one once you realize Gwen Stefani wrote it about the end of her seven-year romantic relationship with Tony Kanal, who is also part of the band. He still is, to this day. Apparently, the track didn’t rub him the wrong way enough to warrant a departure. Though, if my bandmate wrote a breakup song about me and it went Multi-Platinum, I’d probably be fine with it, too.
“Silver Springs” by Fleetwood Mac (1977)
“Time cast a spell on you / But you won’t forget me / I know I could have loved you / But you would not let me.”
Let’s be real. Quite a few Fleetwood Mac songs, particularly from the late 1970s, could have made it to this list of breakup songs that induce anxiety. If you’ve never been done dirty and are currently in a good relationship that you don’t want to jinx, “Silver Springs” will likely make you feel a little uneasy. If those two things don’t apply, though, you’ve probably belted this song on repeat after a particularly bad breakup. “Silver Springs” is one of Stevie Nicks’ finest works, one of several about her tumultuous breakup with Lindsey Buckingham. And it’s a travesty that the band wouldn’t let her include it on the legendary 1977 album Rumours.
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