Last week I visited my Top Ten Country Love Gone Wrong
Songs. Having tuned into 680 KKYX
I have learned I left out about 50 other great contenders! However, for today I am going to
consider Top Ten NOT Country Love Gone Wrong Songs. Here we go… Please remember I am listing the song name and
artist, not necessarily lyricist.
1) Romeo and Juliet by The Dire Straits-I was first
introduced to this song by my freshman year room mate, Ruth. Sure, I knew I Want My MTV and Walk of
Life but that was the extent of my Dire Straits knowledge. (McAllen was a sheltered little place.) Be that as it may, I was captivated the
moment I heard, “Juliet, when we made love you used to cry. You said, ‘I love you like the
stars above. I love you ‘til I
die,’.” The notion that love just
isn’t enough or that the time could just be wrong was completely foreign to
me. At the tender age of 18 I
figured people just broke up because they didn’t “like” each other any
longer. This was a true coming of
age song for me.
2) After the Storm by Mumford & Sons-This is a
relatively newer “favorite” for me, but a more relevant anthem I have yet to
find. My “love gone wrong” stories
have been nothing BUT storm after storm.
“But there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears. And love
will not break your heart but dismiss your fears. Get over your hill and see what you find there. With grace in your heart and flowers in
your hair.” I am walking up that
hill with 100 mph winds in my face…but I am doing it! I can not wait to see what (or who) is on the other side…and
then I get to wear flowers in my hair!
3) Say Hello and Wave Goodbye by David Gray-So…cheesy, a
little bit. But the lyrics have
always captivated me.
Again…sometimes love isn’t enough.
My sense is these two people come from two very different backgrounds
and couldn’t push through the differences. And it ends…at a cocktail party, I think…in front of
everyone. A scene is made. It just implodes. He just wants “a nice little house wife
who’ll give him a steady life and not keep going off the rails.” My guess…there’s a little addiction in
this relationship and he has to leave so she can heal. They “never knew” each other because
they never allowed themselves the chance to know each other. It was lustful from the get go and
fraught with co-dependence and addiction and altered states of
consciousness. Sure, it was
fun…until it just wasn’t.
4) November Rain-by Guns and Roses-Okay…hear me out on this
one. I first became acutely aware
of this song in the parking lot of HEB on 10th Street in
McAllen. I was 16 years old and
hopelessly infatuated with a VERY WRONG BOY who had, ironically, loaned me his
Appetite for Destruction cassette tape.
(Oh yeah, we are kicking it old school, here.) Here’s the line that stole my heart, “Nothing lasts forever
and we both know hearts can change.
And it’s hard to hold a candle in the cold November rain.” This song is the classic “push-pull” of
a dysfunctional relationship that SHOULD end…but never does. Back and forth, break up and
reconcile. She’s all hot and
wounded and he is going to hang on forever because he thinks she can
change. And if she doesn’t…he’ll
still be in the hell he is in…whether he is with her or without her. There is no line in the sand. It is painful together and it is
painful apart. They are stuck. And if I had to take a guess, they love
the “stuck-ness.” They are in a
co-dependent relationship with the drama of their relationship. “And when your fears subside and
shadows still remain. I know that
you can love me when there is no one left to blame. So never mind the darkness, we still can find a way. Nothing lasts forever, even cold
November rain.” WRONG Axl. Move on…it ain’t worth it. She is nothing BUT COLD NOVEMBER RAIN!
5) Break It to Me Gently by Brenda Lee-OUCH! She begs him to rip the band-aid off
slowly and with compassion and sensitivity. Good luck, Brenda.
A clean break is often the best, albeit terribly painful. Trust me, I’ve been there, sister. When they pretend you fell off the
planet…it really is for the best.
And, you WILL love again! I
promise!
6) Dead Flowers by The Rolling Stones-Mick Jagger and I
rarely see eye to eye and I am fairly certain he could care less. But…I like this song because he knows
he is pathetic and has no business even breathing the same air space as this
somewhat cultured woman he has undoubtedly done (all kinds of) wrong. He is so pathetic he KNOWS he deserves
dead flowers everyday of his life, at his (stupid) wedding (all six of them)
and straight to his US mail box.
The thing is…I hope she doesn’t even give him enough thought to bother
with dead flowers, or anything for that matter. He doesn’t even deserve the ink and parchment she writes
on. But…once she’s dead…he’ll step
up and leave roses on her grave.
How dare you! You finally
step up when she can’t hold you responsible for a decent relationship? You pathetic weasel of an insecure,
disgusting man. But hey…at least you
can admit it.
7) Everything I Own by Bread-In a more recent relationship,
this is the first song he played for me-on vinyl, of course! Imagine the amount of times I played this and cried after the break up. Again…potentially hours of wasted
time. I don’t know…if it hurts, I
suppose just allowing yourself to grieve is the best thing you can do. I am tired of shaming myself for
feeling.
8) I Keep Forgettin’ by Michael McDonald-Oh this one takes
me back! Najla’s mom would blast
this in her peanut butter Honda Accord and command us to “know good
music!” Seriously…we must have
been 5 years old. We still jam out
to this one every time we are in a car together. This song is the reason you CAN NOT remain friends with an
ex!
9) Only the Lonely by Roy Orbison-I mean if you don’t get
how Roy feels then you ain’t never had your heart broke! And if you can’t relate to this
song…leave this blog, now! Never
knowing heartbreak is just unfair and quite frankly, no fun!
10) Here Comes the Night by Van Morrison-And the absolute
worst time for heartache…AFTER DARK!
And she is squirin’ her new guy around town for Mr. Morrison to
watch? Whatever…I really just
picked this song because it is background music in The Outsiders!