The break up song post

Ahh, the break up songs. Oddly, I am in a somewhat stable and somewhat faithful relationship but I do love break up songs.  The songs we listen to when we are struggling with regret, sadness, and the classic "it's not you, it's me". We like to think that we are irreplaceable when it comes to a break up-and we are, in some ways. I'd like to think that every ex I've had in my life has taken away something beneficial from our relationship-though if they wanted to see me stabbed to death by Michael Myers-I can't blame them either.

1. You Can Go Your Own Way-Lindsey Buckingham is an underrated guitarist. Sure, he was in the quintessential pop band of the 70's, Fleetwood Mac-but that doesn't take away from his talent. I've always liked this song a great deal because it swaps the genders. When Lindsey says to Stevie Nicks "Shacking ups all you want to do" he's expressing his desire to get married-and her fear of commitment. Many, many women have accused me of having one masculine trait-a fear of commitment. "If I could-baby I'd give you my world" stings a little bit to hear, because you know Lindsey is telling the truth. What's holding him back? Her refusal to take it.

2. Your Gonna Miss Me-13th Floor Elevators-High Fidelity. Not a week goes by when I don't think of this book. I knew I would love the movie when they played this song. It's like a Ramones song without the punk sound. I don't care if the listener doesn't believe it himself.  This is the best break up song when you really want to convince yourself that "Hey, this gal/guy didn't know what they had."

3. Blurry-Puddle of Mudd "And everybody's empty and everything is so messed up. Pre-occupied without you I cannot live at all my whole world surrounds you I stumble then I crawl" And here we go without another one that hits home. Among my personal favorite songs (When I saw Puddle of Mudd live several of us were crying when they preformed this) this one tells the story of all encompassing love gone wrong. Whenever we break up with someone the initial blast is a shake from the ordinary-we lose someone we've been talking to for a long time-and many of us become preoccupied with them. We have the constant taken away from us, and my God does life become "blurry". One of the greatest break up songs ever, bar none. 

4. Don't Speak-No Doubt. "You and me-I can see us dying, are we?" If you have never been a in a failing relationship and not sure when to pull the plug, ignore this post and go on. Like the above mentioned "Blurry", the speaker in this song was in an all obsessing relationship. "We used to be together, every day together" and it's about over, yet no one can pull the plug. This song also hits on particularly sad note-"I really feel like I'm losing my best friend, I can't believe this could be the end". In relationships you not only lose a boyfriend/girlfriend-you also lose your best friend. 

5. Ruby Soho-Rancid-This one is a bit of an odd break up song. Even in the best cases, break ups aren't pleasant. No matter what the reason, you still wonder "Am I doing the right thing? What'll happen next? Will I get my video games back from her place?" With this one, it's about a girl not being fully supportive of her boyfriends musical career. Her name is apparently Ruby (And trust me-I'm working on a "best song with a girls name in the title" list, and this will be on there too. I just flat out love this song) and with a tear in her eye, she says good bye to her boyfriend who wants to pursue his dreams of musical stardom. It's not exactly the worse case scenario for a break up (Always get a supportive partner-I can't tell you what that means. Love you hun and thank you!) but it's a great song and a great story.

6. Cold-Crossfade-I don't like this band much either, but this is among the most honest break up songs out there. The speaker in this song knows they've messed up-and they've tried to hide it from their lost love. I'm sure I'm not alone in this-but after the initial shock wears off you begin to think "Where did I go wrong?" It takes some of us longer to get to that stage than others-myself included. With my ego at first I think she's doing nothing but moping around, crying and wanting me back-but in reality she's probably sipping champagne and telling her friends she's trashed that loser. "I never really wanted you to see, the screwed up side of me that I keep, locked inside of me so deep, it always seems to get to me." For all of us who self sabotage relationships, this is the most autobiographical lyric out there.