Relationships aren’t always perfect. Unfortunately, various issues can arise in romances — and people can suddenly change how they treat you overnight. Do you feel that you’ve been treated badly in your past relationship?
If so, these 20 songs below will help you try to process all your difficult emotions. These songs are all dedicated to what it feels like to be treated badly in a romance. All the emotions are detailed here, from sad songs to pop anthems.
1. “A Bad Night” by Cat Stevens
1967’s “A Bad Night” by Cat Sevens explores being treated badly in a relationship. Stevens sings about how much he likes being with his partner. However, there’s clearly something amiss in their relationship — and Stevens begins to realize she doesn’t love him all that much. As a result, she treats him badly and then ultimately leaves him!
2. “Be Careful” by Cardi B
“Be Careful” by Cardi B, which appears on her album Invasion of Privacy, follows the rapper as she tells her partner to treat her right. She explains that if he continues to cheat on her and treat her badly, she’s going to leave him!
She says, “Care for me, care for me / Always said that you’d be there for me, there for me / Boy, you better treat me carefully.”
3. “Neglected” by Katharine McPhee
In “Neglected”, Katharine McPhee sings about a romantic relationship that has its fair share of issues. She feels that her partner treats her wrong. As a result, she feels that their relationship should just come to an end. She’s tired of feeling disrespected!
As a result, she sings the lyrics, “I don’t like this feeling / ‘Cause whenever I’m around you, boy / I know that I won’t be respected / Just neglected.”
4. “I Bet You Think About Me” by Taylor Swift
In “I Bet You Think About Me”, Taylor Swift reminisces on a past relationship in which she was treated badly. She sings to her ex, explaining all the problems they had — and why he will never be able to forget her!
Throughout the song, Swift sings about how her partner and all his friends basically didn’t think she was worth their time. She didn’t come from their world — and they treated her differently than they treated each other, as a result.
5. “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)” by Adele
“Send My Love (To Your New Lover)” by Adele, which appears on her album 25, follows the singer as she thinks back to a past love. This relationship didn’t last for multiple reasons, and Adele is happy that she’s moving on. However, she does feel that this ex didn’t treat her great — and tells him to treat his new partner better.
She sings, “Send my love to your new lover / Treat her better / We’ve gotta let go of all of our ghosts / We both know we ain’t kids no more.”
6. “Maybe Tonight” by Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris’ song “Maybe Tonight” explores what it feels like to want to have another relationship after being treated poorly in the past. Harris knows that she wasn’t treated right by her ex. However, now she’s lonely — and she’s ready to try again with another.
So, she sings the lyrics, “I’ve been down, I’ve played around / I don’t like it that way / Oh, won’t you treat me right? / Maybe tonight.”
7. “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus
The hit song “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus explores a possibly unhealthy relationship and ultimate breakup. Throughout this song, Cyrus sings about how she gave her all to her partner. She lifted them up and made sure they would never fall. However, her partner didn’t do the same to her. Instead, they treated her badly.
To this, Cyrus sings, “All I wanted was to break your walls / All you ever did was wreck me.”
8. “Leave (Get Out)” by JoJo
2004’s “Leave (Get Out)” by JoJo follows the singer as she sings about the end of her relationship. She’s now done with her partner, as she found out that he’d been cheating on her! She can’t believe that she fell for all of his lies.
Now, she’s ready to move on from him and gain back her independence. When singing about how he treated her, she says, “You said that you would treat me right / But you was just a waste of time.”
9. “You Should Be Sad” by Halsey
“You Should Be Sad” by Halsey is also about infidelity. Halsey sings about her former toxic relationship and how she was treated badly by her ex. Now that she has broken things off with him, she sees things clearly.
She sings, “’Cause you’re not half the man you think that you are / And you can’t fill the hole inside of you with money, drugs, and cars.”
10. “Good Girl Gone Bad” by Rihanna
2007’s “Good Girl Gone Bad” by Rihanna explores the general feeling of many women being treated badly by their partners. Rihanna explains that men shouldn’t want to treat their ladies badly. If they do this, they’ll end up losing them forever.
She sings, “You better learn how to treat us right / ‘Cause once a good girl goes bad, we done forever.”
11. “Heartbreaker” by Bad Suns
“Heartbreaker” by Bad Suns details the end of a relationship. However, even though this relationship ended, the singer can’t help but continue to return to his ex — even though he knows this isn’t healthy. The singer may know that this relationship is now doomed to never be okay, and he may be treated badly, but he can’t let her go.
12. “What Goes Around… Comes Around” by Justin Timberlake
2006’s “What Goes Around… Comes Around” by Justin Timberlake details Timberlake trying to get over his past relationship. In the first part of the song, he sings about what his ex is doing and how she’s moving on. He finds this hard to stomach, as he truly thought they would be together forever.
In the second part of the song, Timberlake alludes to all the ways she treated him bad. He says that she cheated on him. Now, her new man is doing the same to her, and cheating on her!
Timberlake sings the lyrics, “I heard you found out that he’s doin’ to you / What you did to me, ain’t that the way it goes? / When you cheated, girl, my heart bleeded, girl / So it goes without sayin’ that you left me feelin’ hurt.”
13. “Stitches” by Shawn Mendes
“Stitches” by Shawn Mendes opens with the lyrics, “I thought that I’d been hurt before / But no one’s ever left me quite this sore / Your words cut deeper than a knife / Now I need someone to breathe me back to life.”
As the song goes on, Mendes explores more of his feelings regarding his relationship. He sings about how much he loves his partner, even if they treat him badly. Therefore, even if he leaves his person, he knows he’ll never be okay.
14. “The Night Before” by The Beatles
1965’s “The Night Before” by The Beatles explores a struggling romantic relationship that comes to an end. However, even though this relationship ended, the duo still have their fair share of issues. Paul McCartney sings that he wishes his ex would treat him as she did before!
15. “Still Love Me” by Jessie Ware
In “Still Love Me”, Jessie Ware sings about a struggling relationship. She’s in love with her partner. However, they do have quite a lot of problems. To this, she sings, “If I make myself understood / Will you treat me like you know you should?”
It’s clear that her partner has treated her badly in the past. But Ware wants to work things out and stay with him!
16. “What a Way to Treat My Heart” by Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler’s 1979 song “What a Way to Treat My Heart” begins with the lyrics, “What a way to treat my heart / You picked it up you broke it in half / What a way to let me know / You took my love and you let it go.”
Tyler goes on to sing that she doesn’t know why their relationship ended. She doesn’t understand why her partner began to treat her so terribly. As a result, she feels lost and confused — and still loves her ex.
17. “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem and Rihanna
Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie” is one of the best songs that describe a toxic, unhealthy relationship. Both artists sing from the perspective of someone in an abusive relationship. Rihanna sings about how terribly her partner treats her throughout the entire song.
As a result, she consistently sings the lyrics, “Just gonna stand there and hear me cry? / Well, that’s all right because I love the way you lie.”
18. “He’s a Bad Boy” by Carole King
“He’s a Bad Boy” by Carole King, first released in 1963, follows a young girl as she sings about the boy she loves. King explains that neither her mother nor her father likes this boy. King herself sings that he treats her terribly. As a result, she feels so sad that she loves someone so mean.
So, she sings, “Never feels the least bit sorry when he treats me cruel / He’s a bad boy / But I’m a fool.”
19. “I’m Not Scared” by Pet Shop Boys
1988’s “I’m Not Scared” by Pet Shop Boys follows the singer as he describes his partner’s rather shady past. Even though he can’t explain this secretive past, the singer doesn’t care about his partner’s odd behavior. However, he does worry slightly, especially because he’s such an open book.
Towards the end of the song, there are signs that the singer’s partner is unkind to him. He ends up singing, “If I was you / I wouldn’t treat me the way you do.”
20. “Wake Up Call” by Maroon 5
“Wake Up Call” by Maroon 5 also details what it feels like to learn that your partner is cheating on you! The singer discovers what his partner did and feels instantly upset, obviously. To this, he sings the lyrics, “Would have bled to make you happy / You didn’t need to treat me that way / And now you beat me at my own game.”
Listen to the full playlist on YouTube here.