Drama may be annoying to some. But to songwriters, drama can be pretty inspiring!
Experiencing rather dramatic situations has long inspired musicians to pick up their pens and write songs about it. Whether these situations result from friendships falling out or the end of romantic relationships, songwriters have always been there to explain their feelings.
Below, we’ve listed 20 great songs about drama. These songs detail often detail a songwriter’s experience with drama. However, you’ll also see some songs where the singer themself explains how dramatic they’re being!
1. “Drama Queen” by Green Day
Green Day’s 2012 song “Drama Queen” discusses, you guessed it, drama queens. In this song, the band talks about a girl they knew growing up who was a real “Drama Queen”. However, while you might be able to get away with this behavior when you’re younger, the band clarifies that you can’t once you grow up and go out into the real world.
Thus, the “Drama Queen” struggles in many ways. Towards the end of the song, the band sings, “Everyone’s drama queen / I think she’s going psycho”.
2. “Drama Club” by Melanie Martinez
Melanie Martinez released her song “Drama Club” on her 2019 album K-12. In this pop song, Martinez claps back at her critics. She sings about how she doesn’t want to act as if she’s in a play, playing by the rules and reading from a script. She wants to be herself — even if others don’t like this.
To help drive this point home, she explains that she doesn’t want to be a part of this person’s drama club. She sings the lyrics, “I never signed up for your drama”.
3. “No More Drama” by Mary J. Blige
In Mary J. Blige’s 2001 song “No More Drama”, Blige sings about how she’s tired of all the drama in her life. It appears that she may be singing about drama with friends, as well as drama with romantic partners, in this song. For example, she sings, “Better know your friends / Or else you will get burned”.
While Blige rails against the drama in her life throughout this song, she does end it positively by saying that her life is so much better now that she has “No More Drama”.
4. “Hear Me Calling” by Juice WRLD
Juice WRLD’s 2019 song “Hear Me Calling” also talks about drama. In this song, Juice WRLD discusses how he’s moving on from past heartbreaks. Now, he’s focusing on his new relationship, as he really loves his new partner.
He doesn’t want any drama with his new girl. As a result, he raps, “Me no want no drama / Not a fighter, a lover”.
5. “Heart of Gold” by Birdy
Birdy released her song “Heart of Gold” on the 2013 album Fire Within. Birdy discusses a problematic friendship or relationship in this song. Even though she continues to spread love and forgiveness to this person, they in turn continue to try to tear her down.
As a result of this, Birdy calls the person a drama queen. She sings, “But you don’t have to be so mean / You’re such a drama queen / The way you play on every weakness that you see in me / To make you strong”.
6. “Beautiful Broken” by Heart
In Heart’s 2016 song “Beautiful Broken”, the band sings about a girl who is an absolute mess — but she’s still beautiful. She’s a drama queen. However, she’s also broken. The band describes her by singing, “Such a drama queen / A hot mess”.
However, the band doesn’t exactly tear her down, nor do they make fun of her. Instead, Heart explains that this girl, who is “Beautiful Broken”, is actually a lot like all of us.
7. “Being Myself” by Martina McBride
Martina McBride’s 2012 song “Being Myself” also talks about drama! McBride sings about being herself in this song. She explains how she can differ according to the day, as she’s never quite one person. However, she doesn’t mind, as she doesn’t want to be anyone else!
Through talking about herself, McBride mentions that she can be rather dramatic from time to time. She sings the lyrics, “I can be the drama queen, wear my emotions on my sleeve”.
8. “I Love My Momma” by Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg released his song “I Love My Momma” on his 1999 album No Limit Top Dogg. In this song, Snoop Dogg raps about how much he loves his mother. She got him through everything, including quite a lot of drama!
He raps, “I love my momma / Through all the drama”.
9. “Hollywood Lawn” by Jenny Lewis
Jenny Lewis’ 2019 song “Hollywood Lawn”, which appears on her album On the Line, also talks about drama! Lewis sings about how she needs to leave town in this song, singing to her lover — or perhaps to Hollywood itself.
She used to love lounging on the Hollywood lawns and even didn’t mind all the drama queens. However, now she realizes that she needs to leave, as she can no longer stay and be happy there. She sings toward the end of the song, “I’ve had it with you trippers and drama queens / If I click my ruby slippers, would you forgive me?”.
10. “Call It What You Want” by Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift released her song “Call It What You Want” on her 2017 album Reputation. In this song, Swift sings about a new relationship where all of the past drama of her life fades away. When she’s with him, she doesn’t have to worry.
She sings the lyrics, “All the drama queens taking swings / All the jokers dressing up as kings / They fade to nothing when I look at him”.
11. “Miss You Being Gone” by The Band Perry
In The Band Perry’s 2010 song “Miss You Being Gone”, the band talks about drama! The band sings about a past relationship that they are so glad is fully over. The singer explains that she doesn’t actually miss her ex — she just misses him being gone.
To better describe just how much she doesn’t miss him, she talks about all the dramatics he put her through in the past. She sings, “I miss you like / Drama queens and cat fights and braces on prom night”.
12. “No Such Thing” by John Mayer
John Mayer’s hit 1999 song “No Such Thing” follows Mayer as he realizes that there is no “real world”. We all can live our lives the way we want to. We don’t have to live our life as everyone else does.
Through this realization, he also discusses drama queens. He sings the lyrics, “Well I never lived the dreams of the prom kings / And the drama queens / I’d like to think the best of me / Is still hiding up my sleeve”.
13. “Pressure” by The 1975
In The 1975’s 2013 song “Pressure”, the band deals with fame and popularity — and struggles as a result. As this song was written before the band got big, this song could also be seen as lead singer Matty Healy’s difficulty dealing with his parents’ lives in the limelight!
Throughout this song, the band discusses many things — including being dramatic. At the very beginning of the song, they sing, “Overdramatic, automatically assume I’ll stay the same”.
14. “I Can’t Quit” by The Vaccines
The Vaccines released their song “I Can’t Quit” on their 2018 album Combat Sports. In this song, the band discusses the end of a romantic relationship — and explains how they may have been dramatic in the breakup.
Throughout the song, the singer goes back and forth on his feelings about this breakup. He’s over it. However, he also can’t quit. As a result, he discusses his mind and how dramatic he feels by singing, “I can’t quit / I’m over it / (I’m so dramatic)”.
15. “Next Summer” by Choir of Young Believers
“Next Summer” by Choir of Young Believers, which appears on the album This Is For The White In Your Eyes, details a very dramatic romantic relationship. The song opens with the line, “So dramatic when you called”. Throughout the rest of the song, the band details just how dramatic this relationship is.
In fact, the band is so convinced by the dramatics of the entire thing, they know exactly how next summer will go. They sing, “Next summer I will return / I’ll be back / I’ll break your heart”.
16. “Deserve” by Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera released her 2018 song “Deserve” on her album Liberation. Throughout this song, Aguilera details how her relationship is great — but both she and her partner are a bit too dramatic. They’ll go out of their way to cause drama, even though they love each other.
For example, she sings the lyrics, “Sometimes we can’t kick the habit of being dramatic / It’s almost becoming a sickness”. Because of this drama, she wonders if she deserves her partner. She knows she’s lucky to have him. But does she deserve him? She tries to work that out here.
17. “Papers” by Usher
Usher’s 2009 hit song “Papers”, which appears on his album Raymond v Raymond, discusses filing divorce papers as a relationship comes to an end. Throughout this song, Usher sings about all the drama he has gone through in this relationship. He can no longer take all of it.
Therefore, he’s done with the relationship — and ready to sign divorce papers. To help show his feelings, he sings, “I done damn near lost my mama, I done been through so much drama / I done turned into the man that I never thought I’d be / I’m ready to sign them papers”.
18. “Mama’s Broken Heart” by Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert’s 2013 song “Mama’s Broken Heart” also talks about drama! In this song, Lambert discusses how she tries to deal with a breakup. She deals with it quite badly and acts crazy, prompting her mother to hear about it.
So, her mother calls her and tells her to stop acting crazy. After all, it’s just a breakup!
Lambert tries to listen to her mother and seemingly knows that she’s acting rather dramatically. She sings the lyrics, “Wish I could be just a little less dramatic / Like a Kennedy when Camelot went down in flames / Leave it to me to be holding the matches / When the fire trucks show up and there’s nobody else to blame”.
19. “Congratulations” by Post Malone
Post Malone’s hit song “Congratulations”, which appears on his 2016 album Stoney, Malone sings about his success and how his hard work led to this success. However, he also has time to talk about his own dramatics in this song!
For example, he says, “Now I’m jumping out the Bentley / And I know I sound dramatic / But I know I had to have it”.
20. “Not Like the Movies” by Katy Perry
Finally, we have Katy Perry’s song “Not Like the Movies”, which appears on her 2010 hit album Teenage Dream. Perry sings about how she hasn’t had a romantic relationship as she sees in the movies. So, she continues to hold hope that she will have this type of relationship in the future.
Through discussing this idea, she also talks about how she wants a dramatic, movie-like type of romance! She sings, “Just like the movies / That’s how it will be / Cinematic and dramatic, with the perfect ending”.