Think aloud
Unfortunately, a lot of us can relate to songs about toxic relationships.
It’s not just that we get into toxic relationships, we often stay in them a lot longer than we should. Maybe you’re even in one right now.
Listen to these songs about toxic relationships to remind yourself that you deserve better.
Leaving an unhealthy relationship can seem hard…
When you love a person, you always hope that you can make things work between the two of you.
Let these songs about toxic relationships remind you that leaving is actually the only option you have.
You need a reliable, trustworthy partner who’ll show you that love isn’t supposed to hurt.
These songs about toxic relationships will remind you that these romances are all about lack of trust, fighting, and betrayal.
Often, they include frequent breakups and plenty of drama.
Do you know the scary truth about why we love toxic people?
Being attracted to a person who’s definitely not good for you can be edgy and exciting…
It’s not the safe, stable feeling you need in a relationship, though.
Maybe you feel alone because your family and friends don’t support your relationship.
It might seem like they just criticize you and refuse to understand you.
Listening to some songs about toxic relationships will help you realize that you’re not the only person who gets it.
At some point in our lives, we’ve all been there…
We loved someone we shouldn’t have and it caused us a lot of pain. We’re still here, though, and we’re even better than ever!
You can be too, but you need to let go of the person who clearly isn’t right for you.
Read some toxic relationship quotes to help you let go, but play a good song while you read.
Among these songs about toxic relationships, find the verses you most relate to.
I’m sure that you’ll find lyrics that feel like they’ve been written about you.
Do you feel physically and emotionally drained because you’re the only one who makes an effort in your relationship?
Is there a lot of screaming, disrespect, and even abuse?
Do you feel unheard and unvalued? Does your partner use the silent treatment?
Are you starting to accept behaviors that you considered unacceptable before?
Do you feel like you’re always doing something wrong and incapable of doing anything right?
Are there high levels of jealousy, hostility, and anger? Do you notice control issues or a lack of trust?
Is there constant drama? Does your partner use passive-aggression rather than communicating openly?
All the things I just asked you are signs of a toxic relationship.
If you’ve answered “yes” to any of them, have a listen to these songs about toxic relationships.
That’s not all you need to do though. Make a promise to yourself:
“In 2023, I’m getting rid of any toxic people and focusing on myself.”
Say that to yourself, and make sure to keep that promise.
Whenever you listen to songs about toxic relationships during 2021, remind yourself of what you promised today.
Give yourself as much time as you need, but don’t put off doing what needs to be done.
Read these lyrics from songs about toxic relationships, and keep them in mind in the future.
Songs about toxic relationships
1. “I don’t want to wait for our lives to be over
I want to know right now what will it be
I don’t want to wait for our lives to be over
Will it be yes or will it be sorry?”
I Don’t Want To Wait – Paula Cole
2. “Must be love on the brain
That’s got me feeling this way (feeling this way)
It beats me black and blue but it ***** me so good
And I can’t get enough
Must be love on the brain yeah
And it keeps cursing my name (cursing my name)
No matter what I do, I’m no good without you
And I can’t get enough”
Love On The Brain – Rihanna
3. “You will start out standing
Proud to steal her anything she sees
You will start out standing
Proud to steal her anything she sees
But you will wind up peeking through her keyhole
Down upon your knees”
She Belongs To Me – Bob Dylan
4. “Oh, we’re on the right side of rock bottom
And I hope that we keep falling
We’re on the good side of bad karma
‘Cause we keep on coming back for more
We’re on the right side of rock bottom
Into you, I just keep crawling
You’re the best kind of bad something
‘Cause we keep on coming back for more”
Rock Bottom – Hailee Steinfeld ft. DNCE
5. “‘Cause you give me mad love
How far can we go? Nobody knows
You give me bad love
But I’ll take what I get, I’m starvin’ for it
Like I’ve never had love
You keep me insane, I’m not ashamed”
Mad Love – JoJo
6. “You don’t have to say you love me just be close at hand
You don’t have to stay forever, I will understand
Believe me, believe me, I can’t help but love you
But believe me, I’ll never tie you down
Left alone with just a memory, life seems dead and quite unreal
All that’s left is loneliness there’s nothing left to feel”
You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me – Dusty Springfield
7. “No matter how I think we grow, you always seem to let me know
It ain’t workin’, it ain’t workin’ (No, it ain’t workin’)
And when I try to walk away, you’d hurt yourself to make me stay
This is crazy, this is crazy (This is crazy, uh-huh!)
I keep letting you back in, how can I explain myself?
As painful as this thing has been, I just can’t be with no one else
See, I know what we’ve got to do. You let go, and I’ll let go too
‘Cause no one’s hurt me more than you, and no one ever will”
Ex-Factor – Lauryn Hill
8. “You know I can’t stand it
You’re runnin’ around
You know better daddy
I can’t stand it ’cause you put me down
Oh no
I put a spell on you
Because you’re mine”
I Put A Spell On You – Nina Simone
9. “But I don’t care what they say, I’m in love with you
They try to pull me away, but they don’t know the truth
My heart’s crippled by the vein that I keep on closing
You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love”
Bleeding Love – Leona Lewis
10. “When she said, ‘Don’t waste your words, they’re just lies’ I cried she was deaf
And she worked on my face until breaking my eyes, and said ‘What else you got left?’
It was then that I got up to leave, but she said, ‘Don’t forget
Everybody must give something back for something they get'”
Fourth Time Around – Bob Dylan
10. “It’s the strangest feeling, feeling this way for you
There’s something in the way you move, something in the way you move
With you I’m never healing, it’s heartache through and through
There’s something in the way you move, I don’t know what it is you do
Not one bone in your body good enough for me
But this heart is open, bloodstain on my sleeve
When our eyes meet, I can only see the end
But tonight I’m here yours again
But tonight I’m gonna lose it all
Playing with fire, I was the first to fall
Heart is sinking like a cannonball
Baby, kill it, what you waiting for?”
Something In The Way You Move – Ellie Goulding
11. “We’ve got a vicious love
We mix our tears with blood
No clock will stop for us
It ticks by
We fight as hard as we love
We’ve got a vicious love”
Vicious Love – New Found Glory
12. “Up till the sun rises, there’s no compromising
I know, I know, I know, you are such a liar
I never denied you, I was for sure
But it’s really out of my control
The way you feel is not my problem
I don’t wanna see you go
But I don’t have time to solve this
And you don’t have the right
After all you put me through
I’m starting to realize
Pressure
The pressure I know you feel
Pressure
The pressure just keep it real”
The Pressure – Jhené Aiko
13. “Feeling used
But I’m still missing you
And I can’t see the end of this”
I Hate U, I Love U – Gnash
14. “I never broke one promise
And I know when you’re not honest
Now you got me yelling
That’s because I’m jealous”
Jealous – Beyonce
15. “See what y’all don’t know about him is I can’t let him go because he needs me
It ain’t really him, its stress from the job and I ain’t making it easy
I know you see him bugging most of the time
But I know deep inside, he don’t mean it
It gets hard sometimes, but I need my man
I don’t think y’all understand”
Girl – Destiny’s Child
16. “I’m gonna get you to burst just like you were a bubble
Frame me up on your wall just to keep me out of trouble”
Irresistible – Fall Out Boy
17. “Don’t let me get in your way
I miss the lies and the pain
The fights that keep us awake”
I Miss The Misery – Halestorm
18. “The bed’s getting cold and you’re not here
The future that we hold is so unclear
But I’m not alive until you call
And I’ll bet the odds against it all
Save your advice ’cause I won’t hear
You might be right but I don’t care
There’s a million reasons why I should give you up
But the heart wants what it wants
The heart wants what it wants”
The Heart Wants What It Wants – Selena Gomez
19. “Love is like cloud
It holds a lot of rain
Love hurts”
Love Hurts – Nazareth
20. “With a taste of your lips, I’m on a ride
You’re toxic, I’m slippin’ under
With a taste of a poison paradise
I’m addicted to you
Don’t you know that you’re toxic?
And I love what you do
Don’t you know that you’re toxic?”
Toxic – Britney Spears
21. “Gave you a chance to make things right
So I made it, even though Katy
Told me that this would be nothing but a waste of time
And she was right, hmm
Don’t understand it, blood on your hands
And still you insist on repeatedly trying
To tell me lies
And I just don’t know why, oh
This is stupid, I’m not stupid
Don’t talk to me like I’m stupid
I still love you, but I just can’t do this
I may be dumb, but I’m not stupid”
Stupid In Love – Rihanna
22. “It cuts both ways
Our love is like a knife that cuts both ways
It’s driven deep into my heart each time
That I realize how it cuts both ways
Can’t be together, cannot live apart
We’re heading straight into a broken heart
But I can’t stop
‘Cause I feel too much to let you go
I’m hurting you and it’s hard, I know
To stay and fight for what we’ve got
Knowing it’ll never be good enough
‘Cause you and I are dangerous
We want too much and life ain’t that way
Don’t ask for more, you’d be a fool
Haven’t we already broken every rule?”
Cuts Both Ways – Gloria Estefan
23. “Dangerous love
You’re no good for me, darling
Yeah, you turn me away
Like I’m begging for a dollar
Danger, oh, how you hold me
I get a chill inside
And nothing frightens me, baby, oh
Is it love when so easily said goodbye?
Is it love when we’ve given up before we tried?
Is it love when you stole my peace of mind?
Is it love when you cry, and cry and cry?”
Leave Me Lonely – Ariana Grande
24. “It all begins with just one kiss
I’m held hostage by your love
Put me in cuffs, lock me up
I’m held hostage by your touch
This prison is rough but I can’t get enough
The secret life of us keeps me in handcuffs
Don’t lock me up, don’t you wanna free us
I’m held hostage by your love”
Hostage – Sia
25. “Let’s get the story straight
You were a poison
You flooded through my veins
You left me broken
You tried to make me think
That the blame was all on me
With the pain you put me through
And now I know that
It’s not me, it’s you, it’s not me, it’s you
Always has been you
All the lies and stupid things
You say and do, it’s you”
It’s Not Me It’s You – Skillet
26. “When I hold onto you baby
I’m all tangled up in barbed wire
I get burned, I don’t learn”
Playing With Fire – Thomas Rhett
27. “Shot through the heart and you’re to blame
Darlin’, you give love a bad name
An angel’s smile is what you sell
You promise me heaven, then put me through hell
Chains of love got a hold on me
When passion’s a prison, you can’t break free”
You Give Love A Bad Name – Bon Jovi
28. “Now you’re plain boring
I should know that
You’re not gonna change”
Hot N Cold – Katy Perry
29. “And who do you think you are?
Runnin’ ’round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You’re gonna catch cold
From the ice inside your soul
Don’t come back for me
Who do you think you are?”
Jar Of Hearts – Christina Perri
30. “Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
Well that’s alright, because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
Well that’s alright, because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie”
Love The Way You Lie – Eminem ft. Rihanna
31. “Job well done
Standing ovation
Yeah, you got what you wanted
I guess you won
And I don’t want to hear, they don’t know you like I do
Even I could’ve told you
But now we’re done
‘Cause you play me like a symphony
Play me till your fingers bleed
I’m your greatest masterpiece
You ruin me
Later when the curtains drawn
And no one’s there for you back home
Don’t cry to me you played me wrong
You ruin me”
You Ruin Me – The Veronicas
32. “Midnight, gettin’ uptight, where are you?
You said you’d meet me, now it’s quarter to two
I know I’m hangin’ but I’m still wantin’ you
Hey Jack, it’s a fact they’re talkin’ in town
I turn my back and you’re messin’ around
I’m not getting jealous, don’t like lookin’ like a clown
I think of you every night and day
You took my heart, and you took my pride away
I hate myself for loving you
Can’t break free from the things that you do
I wanna walk but I run back to you
That’s why I hate myself for loving you”
I Hate Myself For Loving You – Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
33. “Baby, you don’t even know it but you’re leaving me in pieces
You take, you take, you take me apart
Baby, I surrender it’s too late for me to get your
Hands off, hands off, get your hands off my heart
Trying to get myself together but I’m losing my mind
Every second that I think of you
Stealing every single piece of me like lovin’s a crime
It should be illegal, what you do
There’s only so much I can take
I’d tried so hard, I can’t escape”
Hands Off My Heart – MKTO
34. “So go on and scream, scream at me
I’m so far away
I won’t be broken again
I’ve got to breathe
I can’t keep going under”
Going Under – Evanescence
35. “I came in like a wrecking ball
I never hit so hard in love
All I wanted was to break your walls
All you ever did was wreck me
Yeah, you, you wreck me
I put you high up in the sky
And now, you’re not coming down
It slowly turned, you let me burn
And now, we’re ashes on the ground”
Wrecking Ball – Miley Cyrus
36. “‘Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I’d never been
‘Til you put me down, oh
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So, shame on me now
Flew me to places I’d never been
Now I’m lyin’ on the cold hard ground”
I Knew You Were Trouble – Taylor Swift
37. “You’re giving me a million reasons to let you go
You’re giving me a million reasons to quit the show
You’re giving me a million reasons
Give me a million reasons”
Million Reasons – Lady Gaga
38. “When will I learn to lock my heart so it doesn’t break again, no
Doesn’t break again in two
When will I learn that I can do better
I can do better, much better than you”
Mistakes – Jonas Blue & Paloma Faith
39. “She is a pyramid
But with him she’s just a grain of sand
This love’s too strong like Mice and Men
Squeezing out the life that should be let in
She was a hurricane
But now she’s just a gust of wind
She used to set the sails of a thousand ships
Was a force to be reckoned with
She could be a Statue of Liberty
She could be a Joan of Arc
But he’s scared of the light that’s inside of her
So he keeps her in the dark
Oh, she used to be a pearl
Yeah, she used to rule the world
Can’t believe she’s become a shell of herself
‘Cause she used to be a pearl”
Pearl – Katy Perry
40. “Dear narcissus boy
I know you’ve never really apologized for anything
I know you’ve never really taken responsibility
I know you’ve never really listened to a woman
Dear me-show boy
I know you’re not really into conflict resolution
Or seeing both sides of every equation
Or having an uninterrupted conversation
And any talk of healthiness
And any talk of connectedness
And any talk of resolving this
Leaves you running for the door
Why, why do I try to love you?
Try to love you when you really don’t want me to”
Narcissus – Alanis Morissette
