Country music tells stories of real life. And no genre sings it better when it comes to heartbreak, the loss of love, and divorce.
Looking back to the 1960s and 1970s, there were two songs about splits by country music queens of their day: Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. Lynn sang the classic “Rated X,” which was out in 1972, and talked about what women go through in the public eye after a divorce. It was quite salty at the time it came out.
Wynette is known for the ultimate country music divorce song, “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” which topped the country charts in 1968. It was six years later, in 1975, that she and George Jones got divorced. It was a huge deal at the time because, in their day, they were the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill of country music.
Fast forward to the 2020s, and breakups and heartbreaks leading to divorce still top the country’s music charts. Carly Pearce and Chris Stapleton are close to topping the charts with their GRAMMY Nominated (Best Duo/Group Performance) heartbreak duet about a couple that communicates so little: “We Don’t Even Fight Anymore.”
They say divorce is one of the three most stressful changes in life, next to death, sickness, and losing a job. Sadly, statistics say that 40-50 percent of marriages these days end in divorce. The divorce rate for second marriages is even higher, with approximately 60-67% of second marriages ending in divorce.
In country music, many marriages end in divorce, so when Tim and Faith celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary last year, it really was something to celebrate. They are not the only marriage success in country music as Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, and Keith Urban, and Nicole Kidman are approaching 20 years of wedded bliss.
We look at five country music songs about the loss of love and divorce.
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