These 10 good rock songs about heartbreak include rock classics and some little-known, but tasty tunes by well-known bands. While the country music genre is best known for tunes about heartbreak, rock also has notable classics. Heartbreak and lost love are natural topics for popular tunes. Nobody enjoys singing about lost love than someone who recently went through the event. Somehow the song makes the pain a little less.
- “Love Hurts.” A classic heartbreak tune by a number of soloists and groups including The Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons, Rod Stewart, Nazareth, Roy Orbison and Emmylou Harris. The rock song was penned by the late, great songwriter Boudleaux Bryant that, despite his longtime marriage, was no stranger to songs about heartbreak. The title says it all for this top of the ten good rock songs about heartbreak.
- “Heartbreak Hotel.” Elvis, The Pelvis, Presley sang this popular song in 1956, but a host of other musicians also loved the tune and kept the legacy alive. It was Elvis’ first big hit and the title of the song is tied to the Elvis legacy so much that a real life hotel takes the name of the tune. A film directed by Chris Columbus in 1988 by the same title created a fictional tale of kidnapping the singer to bring him back to meet up with a teen’s mother who is down on her luck.
- “I Fall to Pieces.” Patsy Cline makes this tune come to life. The song became Ms. Cline’s signature piece. No dealing with heartbreak in this song, the singer falls to pieces. Not just once, she falls to pieces whenever she thinks about the romance. While Ms. Cline owned the song, it was actually written by noted songwriter Hank Cochran, the man who also penned other hits including “I Want to Go With You” and “She’s Got You.”
- “Unchained Melody.” The Righteous Brothers made this tune a popular classic in 1965, but the song was a popular tune also released by Les Baxter, Al Hibbler, Roy Hamilton and Jimmy Young. The tune was written by Alex North and Hy Zaret.
- “Everybody Hurts.” R.E.M. recorded this song on the “Automatic for the People” released in 1992. The chorus repeats “Don’t let yourself go, because every day cries and everybody hurts sometimes.”
- “She’s Gone.” The duo of Daryl Hall and John Oates wax about lost love and heartbreak in this rock classic recorded in 1973. The lyrics lament the Daryl Hall’s divorce from Bryna Lublin. The two were married only three years before they separated. The tune explains that everyone tells him how to deal with the breakup, but he’s simply not ready to be consoled.
- “Long Distance Love.” The late, great Lowell George, front man for the group Little Feat, asks the question in this musical ditty, “Does she know she hurt me so?” George gives the listener a taste of his sorrow as he sings, “All I ever get from her is long distance love.” Add a slow, slide guitar accent and there’s nothing but heartbreak in this good rock song.
- “I Don’t Love You.” My Chemical Romance takes on heartbreak with a bit of false vibrato and the repeating line “You’re still a good-for-nothing I don’t know.” As with the song by Hall and Oates, if the group didn’t still love the woman, there wouldn’t be a song.
- “Every Rose Has Its Thorn.” Before Brett Michael’s diversion into fashion and reality television, he helped Poison rock this tune about a love that has a down side. While the members of Poison wrote the song, it’s been covered by the likes of Miley Cyrus. The classic ditty of heartbreak includes the line “Love’s a game of easy come and easy go.”
- “Viva La Vida.” Coldplay featured this tune on the 2008 release of the same name with the subtitle of “Death and All His Friends.” The song laments the loss of the feelings that love brought. The singer no longer has the power of kings or rules the world. Instead, “Now in the morning I sleep alone.” It’s a song of heartbreak with a world view.
