Every genre has its fair share of songs about cheaters, and the country genre is not one to be left behind. The great thing about country songs about cheating is that they’re not afraid to get right down to the details – whether it’s a song from the perspective of the one being cheated on, the one cheating, or the one being cheated with.
Below, you’ll find some of the best country songs about cheating that tell the story from different perspectives.
Carrie Underwood – Before He Cheats
Based on the title, you might think this is a cautionary song about what you need to do before you man cheats on you. In truth, it’s about what to do after he has cheated and what he should consider next time before (if) he cheats again. It’s a violent revenge song, but it’s just angry enough to hopefully deter men from cheating ever again.
Cheatin’ scumbag lyrics: I dug my key into the side
Of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive
Carved my name into his leather seats
I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights
I slashed a hole in all four tires
Maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats
Hank Williams – Your Cheatin’ Heart
Here’s another cautionary tale, this time for the future of cheaters. In this Hank Williams classic, he seems to be warning his ex-girlfriend of what her life will soon be like when she throws away the love of a loyal man to be with another. So Hank tells her that she’ll one day regret what she did because her cheating ways are out to get her.
Cheatin’ scumbag lyrics: Your cheatin’ heart
Will pine some day
And crave the love
You threw away
The time will come
When you’ll be blue
Your cheatin’ heart will tell on you
Linda Ronstadt – When Will I Be Loved
Those wo have been cheated on go through a range of emotions. Usually it starts off with the pain of betrayal, shortly followed by intense anger, which then subsides to abject misery. In this song, Linda sings about the last one. She wonders when she will finally find love after all the men who have cheated on her and mistreated her.
Cheatin’ scumbag lyrics: I’ve been cheated, been mistreated
When will I be loved
I’ve been put down, I’ve been pushed ’round
When will I be loved
When I find a new man that I want for mine
Always breaks my heart in two, it happens every time
Trisha Yearwood feat. Garth Brooks – In Another’s Eyes
At first, you might think that this song paints an idealistic picture about someone who can do no wrong. But then you realize that it’s actually about a cheater whose partner remains blind to their infidelity.
Cheatin’ scumbag lyrics: In another’s eyes
I’m afraid that I can’t see
This picture perfect portrait
That they paint of me
They don’t realize
And I pray they never do
‘Cause every time I look I’m seein’ you
In another’s eyes
Mark Chesnutt – Broken Promise Land
This song is about a man who’s been cheating on his faithful partner time and again. He admits that he’s not new to this whole thing, but he lies and cheats anyway to get a night of fun. But one night, he comes home to find a note and his wife’s wedding band. He thinks his wife is off to do some cheating of her own, but this might just be his way of justifying his won philandering.
Cheatin’ scumbag lyrics: There’s a Bible on the dresser and a sign hung on the door
And a woman in my arms who shouldn’t be
I’m to the point of no returning but I’ve been here before
This cheating life is nothing new to me
There’s someone to be considered so I call her on the phone
And say the job is taking longer than I planned I don’t have the heart to tell her
That a stranger’s turned me on and I’m headed for
The broken promise land
Barbara Mandrell – If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don’t Want to Be Right)
In this song, Barbara sings as the other woman who’s in love with a married man. Her friends tell her that it’s a hopeless love, but she insists on loving him anyway. The whole world knows that what they’re both doing is wrong, but she doesn’t care about any of that.
Cheatin’ scumbag lyrics: I don’t care what my people say
My friends tell me there’s no future
In lovin’ a married man
If I can’t see you when I want
I’ll see you when I can
Lee Greenwood – Ring On Her Finger, Time On Her Hands
This song is about a neglected wife who is unhappy with her married life. Her solution to her loneliness is to run into the arms of another man. She says she may have a ring on her finger, but since her husband does nothing to make her feel like a beloved wife, she spends her time with another man.
Cheatin’ scumbag lyrics: I had a ring on my finger and time on my hands
The woman in me needed the warmth of a man
The gold turned cold in my wedding band
It’s just a ring on your finger
When there’s time on your hands
Alan Jackson – She Just Started Liking Cheatin’ Songs
Call him naïve, but maybe he’s just giving his girl the benefit of the doubt. In this song, Alan Jackson notices that his woman has taken a sudden liking to songs about cheating. He find it odd, though he does consider that maybe she just likes the melody of the songs and not their meaning.
Cheatin’ scumbag lyrics: Cuz, she just started liking cheatin’ songs
And what’s botherin’ me
I don’t know if its the cheatin’ she likes
Or just the melody
Sugarland – Stay
Perhaps one of the saddest songs on this list is one taken from the perspective of the mistress. She hopes his wife doesn’t call him when he’s with her, because that means he’ll have to go away again. She hopes that he’ll leave his wife for her one day, but she’s realistic enough to realize that this might never happen. So in the end, she tells her man that when he feels the urge to leave his wife’s bed, he should just stay there instead.
Cheatin’ scumbag lyrics: You keep telling me, baby
There will come a time
When you will leave her arms
And forever be in mine
But I don’t think that’s the truth
And I don’t like being used and I’m tired of waiting
It’s too much pain to have to bear
To love a man you have to share
The Eagles – Lyin’ Eyes
Lastly, we have this song by The Eagles. Lyin’ Eyes is a song about a girl who’s stuck in a loveless relationship. Restless and desperate to dispel her loneliness, she goes off to the other side of town where a man is waiting for her. However, no matter how well she tries to hide her cheating ways, her lying eyes give her away.
Cheatin’ scumbag lyrics: You can’t hide your lyin’ eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you’d realize
There ain’t no way to hide your lyin eyes
Doesn’t the cheating just grind your gears? Tell us which country songs about cheating hits you the hardest!
