A divorce comes with so many mixed emotions that it’s almost impossible to capture them all in one song. One the one hand, you might feel happy that you’re finally leaving a marriage that isn’t working out. But on the other hand, you’ll also feel miserable about ending a relationship you’ve worked so hard on.
For those of you who are going through a divorce or have gone through a divorce, this playlist is for you. 
Roxette – It Must Have Been Love
Let’s start this list with a song that can apply to both a divorce and a breakup. It Must Have Been Love was one of Roxette’s biggest hits, and we can’t blame people for loving the song because of how easy it is to relate to. It Must Have Been Love is a song about looking back at the times when your relationship was happy and finally accepting that it’s all gone now.
Divorce lyrics: It must have been love but it’s over now
It must have been good but I lost it somehow
It must have been love but it’s over now
From the moment we touched till the time had run out
The Platters – Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes is a song about once believing in the strength of your relationship and then realizing that it has all gone up in smoke. In the song, the protagonist is chided by her friends about how she’s blindly in love with someone. She laughs them off, but eventually learns that they were right to doubt her relationship. This is the perfect “I told you so” song for those who refused to believe that they’re in a bad relationship.
Divorce lyrics: Now laughing friends deride
Tears I cannot hide
So I smile and say
“When a lovely flame dies,
Smoke gets in your eyes.”
Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse of the Heart
You can’t have a song about divorces and breakups without this classic hit by Bonnie Tyler. After all, how many of us have experienced the absolute joy of being happily in love before it all goes dark on us? This is the ultimate divorce song for people who are still in love with their ex spouse.
Divorce lyrics: Once upon a time I was falling in love
But now I’m only falling apart
And there’s nothing I can do
A total eclipse of the heart
Once upon a time there was light in my life
But now there’s only love in the dark
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart
Usher – Papers
Now let’s move on to songs that are explicitly about divorce. In this song, Usher isn’t talking about money. Instead, he’s talking about the papers he’s signing because his soon-to-be-ex-wife’s attitude leaves him no choice. The ex-wife he’s singing about in this song is actually Tameka Foster-Raymond, whom he divorced in 2009.
Divorce lyrics: I’m ready to sign them papers, papers, papers
I done took all I can take but you leave me no options girl
I can’t deny how much I love you, I done gave up everything I had to
As hard as it is I’m afraid I gotta say
I’m ready to sign them papers, papers, papers
I done took all I can take but you leave me no options girl
Boyz II Men – End of the Road
Did you know that End of the Road was actually inspired by the divorce of the two people who wrote this song? It was written by Babyface and Daryl Simmons, who had been through a divorce and was going through a divorce respectively. They poured all their emotion into a song that describes just coming to terms with the end of a relationship.
Divorce lyrics: Although we’ve come
To the end of the road
Still I can’t let go
It’s unnatural
You belong to me
I belong to you
Although we’ve come
To the end of the road
Still I can’t let go
It’s unnatural
You belong to me
I belong to you
Gwen Stefani – Truth
Going through a divorce has a happy side as well, as evidenced by this song by Gwen Stefani. Truth was inspired by Gwen’s divorce from fellow singer Gavin Rossdale. But despite the heartbreak of the divorce, she was still able to find truth and happiness with her new love, Blake Shelton.
Divorce lyrics: Oh it’s unexplainable and it’s so weird
Woah it’s so strange, confusing and I’m so scared
But maybe I deserve this boy after all that I’ve been through
How can all of this be true? Swear
Rodney Atkins – Honesty
Honesty is a song about a man and a woman who are about to separate. The man asks the woman to list down what she wants out of the marriage. Instead of writing down assets, she writes down a list of things like honesty, sincerity, tenderness, and trust. And since this is all she has ever wanted out of the marriage, the man tearfully considers all the things he failed to give her.
Divorce lyrics: He said: “Just think it over, and write me a list,
“So we can figure out what we both deserve.”
She hardly could believe it, that their love had come to this:
Dividing an’ deciding his and hers
The Avett Brothers – Divorce Separation Blues
Perhaps no other song tackles the idea of divorce as pragmatically as this one. Divorce Separation Blues is a song from the perspective of someone going through a tough divorce – from the feeling of aloneness to just trying to get through the day to trying to keep the gossip at bay.
Divorce lyrics: Well I’m gonna wash the dishes
Pay the bills and watch the news
I’ve got the tough education
No celebration
Divorce separation blues
Blink-182 – Stay Together for the Kids
A divorce affects not only the two people separating, but also their children. This song was written by Tom DeLonge when he was 16 and learning for the first time that his parents are about to divorce. The song itself may seem naïve and angry, but those are extremely realistic emotions to expect from a teenager whose parents are about to separate.
Divorce lyrics: Their anger hurts my ears
Been running strong for seven years
Rather than fix the problems
They never solve them
It makes no sense at all
I see them everyday
We get along, so why can’t they?
If this is what he wants
And this is what she wants
Then why is there so much pain?
ABBA – The Winner Takes It All
This song was written by ABBA member Bjorn Ulvaeus after separating form his wife and fellow ABBA member, Agnetha Faltskog. The song is about wanting to cling desperately to the marriage despite agreeing to divorce. He recalls how odd it was to write a song that his ex-wife would be singing. However, Agnetha went along with it as sang it perfectly, perhaps because she knows that it’s about her.
Divorce lyrics: I don’t wanna talk about things we’ve gone through,
Though it’s hurting me, now it’s history
I’ve played all my cards and that’s what you’ve done too,
Nothing more to say, no more ace to play
The winner takes it all, the loser standing small
Beside the victory, that’s her destiny
Divorce may be the end of a relationship, but it can also be the beginning of a new and happier life. We hope this playlist helps you through your ordeal.
