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So Mel Gibson is getting divorced, and it could be the most expensive in Hollywood history. The event got us thinking about divorce songs. Divorce is usually a bummer, but it’s inspired some great music.
1. “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” Tammy Wynette
A classic-country tearjerker about spelling out the bad word so the kids won’t understand.
2. “She Got The Goldmine, I Got The Shaft” Jerry Reed
Another country song, this time from a man’s perspective—Reed’s sarcastic delivery should lighten the mood.
3. “Ode To Divorce” Regina Spektor
This one’s about a miserable divorcee. She sees her ex kiss another woman—watching from inside his mouth (a dramatic effect that only Spektor could pull off).
4. “Don’t Renege On Our Love” Richard and Linda Thompson
This album was recorded while Linda was pregnant—and released as the Thompsons’ marriage was coming to an end.
5. “Guess I’m Doing Fine” Beck
Though it’s not technically about divorce, this beauty should appear on any breakup-related playlist.
6. “Wedding Day” Rosie Thomas
Comparing the freedom of leaving to the wedding day—ouch.
7. “Jezebel” 10,000 Maniacs
“Before I say that the vows we made weigh like a stone in my heart / Family is family, don’t let this tear us apart”—and it only gets sadder from there.
8. “Grounds For Divorce” Wolf Parade
This one seems to be about the tedious arguments partners have—and how they eventually take a toll.
9. “Album Of The Year” The Good Life
I threw in a so-emo breakup song for good measure. It ends with packed boxes and a woman dividing up the record collection.
10. “The Grand Tour” George Jones
A man walks around the house after his wife left him and points out the bed, her clothes and the nursery, remembering their life together along the way. When I first heard the song, I got a little teary at this part: “As you leave you’ll see the nursery / Oh she left me without mercy / Taking nothing but our baby and my heart.” Wow.
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Nice choice on Jezebel.
You missed Gordon Downie's "Vancouver Divorce." That one hit home a few years ago.
Now that we've hammered the last spike
and we've punched the railroad through,
thought there'd be more to say
thought there'd be more to do.
I love your paintings-don't take your colors away.
I've grown more fearful of them every day.
Swimming up their dark rivers to discover your source,
a source of strange and unrequited remorse.
I think my song, "I Won't Talk About It", included on my debut CD, "Spiral Staircase" could be a contender for this category. I invite you to check it out and judge for yourself via my website or CDBaby.
"options" - pedro the lion ?
Nickel Creek's "Why Should the Fire Die?" is what immediately comes to mind for this one. And such a beautiful song!
Even though I hate The Eagles, what about Hotel California?
How did you guys miss Lucille by Kenny Rogers? Jeeze! Who's running editorial over there?
My pick would be the Spin Doctors' "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong." Poignant sentiments throughout.
Um... how could you possibly miss "Divorce Song" - Liz Phair
"Her Town Too" - James Taylor (co-written & with backup vocals by J.D. Souther. one of the most poignant on the subject):
"Well, people got used to seeing them both together
But now he's gone and life goes on
Nothing lasts forever, oh no
She gets the house and the garden
He gets the boys in the band
Some of them his friends
Some of them her friends
Some of them understand"
How about William Fitzsimmons' entire album "The Sparrow and The Crow?" That whole thing is one big letter to his ex-wife about the divorce. Especially "I Don't Feel It Anymore (Song of the Sparrow)"
no liz's divorce song? seriously? wow.
and the license said you had to stick around until i was dead
but if you're tired of looking at my face
i guess i already am
heartbreaking.
I agree with the other Liz Phair supporters. Your list isn't complete without "Divorce Song" on it.
Ty Tabor (of King's X) did a solo album about his divorce. It is one of the saddest albums I've heard, and he blames himself for the divorce. In the liner notes he says he left the more personal songs off the album?! He has some more personal than this?
It’s a thing I can’t assess
I admit I am a mess
She’s unable to profess
And it leaves me in distress
She is patient in excess
I’m unable to progress
She’s a frozen baroness
I am rendered meaningless…
She will never love me, but she won’t leave me
I’m better to be on hold
She will never feel me but she won’t leave me
I’m better to be on hold.
It gets sadder from there
Without a doubt: "No Children" by The Mountain Goats
I hope that our few remaining friends
Give up on trying to save us
I hope we come up with a failsafe plot
To piss off the dumb few that forgave us
I hope the fences we mended
Fall down beneath their own weight
And I hope we hang on past the last exit
I hope it's already too late
And I hope the junkyard a few blocks from here
Someday burns down
And I hope the rising black smoke carries me far away
And I never come back to this town
Again in my life
I hope I lie
And tell everyone you were a good wife
And I hope you die
I hope we both die
I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow
I hope it bleeds all day long
Our friends say it's darkest before the sun rises
We're pretty sure they're all wrong
I hope it stays dark forever
I hope the worst isn't over
And I hope you blink before I do
Yeah I hope I never get sober
And I hope when you think of me years down the line
You can't find one good thing to say
And I'd hope that if I found the strength to walk out
You'd stay the hell out of my way
I am drowning
There is no sign of land
You are coming down with me
Hand in unlovable hand
And I hope you die
I hope we both die
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPy_fiv3sAw
For something on the more comical side of the divorce song, this one makes me laugh. It is by the Lost Dogs, a faux country group made up musicians from alternative bands: Mike Roe (the 77s), Terry Scott Taylor (Daniel Amos), Gene Eugene (Adam Again), and Derri Daugherty (The Choir).
If You Loved Here, You'd Be Home by Now
A freeway runs right past my home
It's the home where you left me to live alone
And I admit I feel good knowin' you feel hurt
Every time you pass by on your way to work
Got a sign on my roof it's twenty feet high
Read it and weep when you drive by
A daily reminder that you broke our vow
Reads: If You Loved Here, You'd Be Home By Now
The fact that you're angry 'cause you're stuck in a jam
Brings a little bit of comfort to this lonely man
But what's better than this is the pain you must feel
Every time you gotta drive your automobile
It's standin' tall to remind you of all you're missin'...
If you'd be home right now
We'd be lovin' and huggin' and kissin'
If you loved here...
You thought you found a new love but it didn't come through
Yeah, he's long gone now
He's a cheater too
And that long long drive it's two hours plus
You've got a lot of time to think and it's gotta be rough
When you see that sign that's twenty feet high
You must read it and weep as you drive by
This daily reminder that you broke our vow
Reads: If You Loved Here, You'd Be Home By Now
As a recently divorced man, I like that new Bob Mould song "I'm Sorry, Baby, But You Can't Stand In My Light Any More'
I almost forgot about "What about the Bond" by Bruce Cockburn.
OK, this reminds me of that lame Top 10 baseball movies list the other day. Here, the walk-off home run goes to the heart-rending "No Such Thing As Divorce" by Bob Bennett and it's paired on the same recording (1991's Bright Avenue) with the hilarious "Our Co-Dependent Love" (Your inner child just punched mine in the face -- POW!) A grand slam in any Divorce League.
A stunning runnerup: "To Feel This Way" by Michael Been