Every Breakup Has Its Song

Jan. 29, 2009 — -- The demise of any romantic relationship is painful; but both dumpers and dumpees can take solace in the fact that no matter what the terms of the breakup are, somebody has written a song about it.

Cheaters, loneliness, drunkards and beggars all have inspired some of the most memorable lyrics and rhythms in pop music. Lots of "baby," "please," "leave" and cries have sent artists to the tops of the musical charts while mirroring the real lives of listeners.

Check out the list below, which includes songs for specific breakup types, and see if any of them seem familiar to you.

Watch The Fray perform live on "GMA" as part of the Winter Concert Series on Tuesday, Feb. 3.

The 'Let's Talk' Breakup

Step one you say we need to talk

If your relationship already rides along on a rocky road, "We need to talk" are probably the last words you want to hear, because you know there's no way that conversation is going to end well.

The phrase is a tried-and-true way to begin any breakup conversation as The Fray showed in its 2005 smash hit "How to Save a Life." It's also a sign of communication failure or breakdown.

Let him know that you know best

Cause after all you do know best

Try to slip past his defense

Without granting innocence

Lay down a list of what is wrong

The things you've told him all along

And pray to God he hears you

The band's chatty breakup tune features mellow alterna-teen melodies that also make it the perfect sob song, as "Grey's Anatomy" showed when it used the song during an episode in its second season.

So rest assured, you're not the first or the last person who's needed "the talk." Just ask Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy.

The 'You're So Cold' Breakup

How could you be so heartless?

The accusation may be a loaded question sure to attain explosive results, but that doesn't stop it from being used in countless breakups.

Usually, the question is repeated more than once, as in Kanye West's hit song "Heartless." Maybe there's something about repeatedly uttering the same phrase that makes separation easier. Probably not, but that hasn't stopped people from using the technique.

What also sometimes follows is a description of why and how the other party is insensitive.

How could you be so

Cold as the winter wind when it breeze, yo

Just remember that you talkin' to me though

You need to watch the way you talkin' to me, yo

Being heartless has been a bonus in at least once instance. "Heartless" gave West a top 10 hit on the Billboard charts.

The 'I'm Shameless' Breakup

Ain't too proud to plead, baby, baby

A one-sided breakup is difficult enough; but when one person refuses to let the relationship die, things can get more complicated and sometimes a little whiny.

Think begging -- lots and lots of begging. The art of pleading may have reached its peak during the R&B era, and the Temptations helped make it sound so sweet.

I know you wanna leave me

But I refuse to let you go

If I have to beg, plead for your sympathy

I don't mind 'cause you mean that much to me

In "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" the quintet pleaded with its lost love to come back using a lot of high notes and soulful begging. Surely, the song helped revive some relationships even beyond Motown's heyday, but for some even the begging isn't enough to ward off a goodbye.

Sorry, Temptations, but sometimes being too needy isn't tempting at all.

The 'I'm the Best Thing You Ever Had' Breakup

Someday the one you gave away will be the only one you're wishing for

You've been dumped and you're sure your ex will soon regret it. How do you know that? Well, you're only the best person he or she has ever dated. You let your ex know it by belting out Mariah Carey's 1990 single "Someday."

You were so blind to let me go

You had it all but did not know

No one you'll find will ever be

Closer to all your dreams than me

You're right. You are awesome. Your ex is lame and this definitely is your theme song.

The 'Drunk Dial' Breakup

You never call me when you're sober.

An inebriated breakup probably isn't the best idea if only because the sober person in the conservation may have a short fuse, and your thoughts may not make any sense. Still each night in bars and outside clubs across the nation, there's often one person drunk dialing his or her partner.

You also risk the chance of totally forgetting what took place when you wake up the following day. (Wait, I no longer have a boyfriend/girlfriend?)

Drunk dials and excuses give Evanescence's Amy Lee ammunition for the lyrics she belted out lyrics would make any drunk ex regret calling intoxicated.

In "Call Me When You're Sober" Lee makes it entirely too clear what she wants from her stumbling lover.

So don't cry to me

If you love me

You would be here with me

Don't lie to me

Just get your things

I've made up your mind

This is the breakup most likely to be experienced by the college-age crowd.

The 'Pack Your Stuff' Breakup

I think ya better call Tyrone

This ode to Splitsville comes courtesy of all those cohabitating couples who soon realize, "Maybe moving in together wasn't a good idea."

Someone gets tired and fed up, which leads to the "pack your bags" conversation. Singer Erykah Badu put it bluntly in her song "Tyrone."

I think ya better call Tyrone

(Call Him)

And Tell him come on, help you get your [expletive]

(Come On, Come on)

You need to Call Tyrone

(Call Him)

And tell him I said come on

After listing all the reasons why she and her beau were no longer in sync, Badu only wanted her ex to leave. Sh had just one requirement.

You can't use her phone.

The 'I'm Over You' Breakup

These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do

The relationship is done and all you want is a stylish exit. This way, your ex can see you carting off to your new life fashionably and without a care.

Nancy Sinatra's 1966 single, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," became the quintessential breakup song for women looking to leave their men.

You keep lying, when you oughta be truthin'

and you keep losin' when you oughta not bet

You keep samin' when you oughta be changin'

Now what's right is right, but you ain't been right yet.

The most painful thing about this split is that "one of these days the boots are gonna walk all over you." Pray they aren't stilettos.

The 'I Will Cut You' Breakup

Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats

Ending a relationship pushes some to drastic, violent means like beating cars with a baseball bat.It's the option Carrie Underwood uses to kiss her cheating boyfriend goodbye in 2006's "Before He Cheats."

She vividly describes how she'll get over on the boy who's wronged her.

I dug my key into the side

Of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive

Carved my name into his leather seat

I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights

Slashed a hole in all four tires

What this breakup doesn't take into account is how much jail time you'd receive for damaging your ex's items. Maybe this time you should think before you move. It probably will save you a criminal record.

If you don't, at least you'll have a memorable story for friends and family.

The 'I Still Love You' Breakup

No one loves you more than me and no one ever will

Some breakups may be amusing, inevitable or amicable; but there are some that are so heartwrenching because the love remains.

Lauryn Hill painfully sang about how much she loved her ex in the aptly named "Ex-Factor." The thing about this breakup is that it's incredibly honest. It has to be. But the realization that sometimes love isn't enough to keep two lovers together is at the central trouble of this break.

Loving you is like a battle

And we both end up with scars

Tell me, who I have to be

To get some reciprocity

The lyrics serve as a reminder that not all break-ups are as simple as walking away.