7 Happy Songs About Breaking Up

Valentine's Day can be a soul-crushing holiday, especially if you planned to share it with someone who recently broke your heart before you could make it all the way to mid-February.

You made all these plans together. You were gonna make a special dinner together or go on a trip to some exotic locale — even if the farthest and most exotic spot you could afford to visit is Pensacola, Florida. Then you were gonna move in together and build the kind of life that only happens at the end of romantic movies with a payoff that only a test audience could love.

So what? That's not happening, but it's not a time to be sad, seek vengeance or embarrass yourself with Instagram thirst traps trying to "show them" what they are missing out on when you went your separate ways. You're still alive, dammit, and you'll live to love again.

That may be easier said than done, but that's why we have music. It's like steroids for your brain, pumping your emotions. But if you play the wrong song, you'll risk your brain shutting down in self-pity or your testicles shrinking to the size of a Hot Wheels tire.

Here are some classic break-up songs that won't go all emo on you and have you drunk-dialing the one you swore you'd never call again.
"Dancing With Myself," Billy Idol
One of the best things about listening to a Billy Idol song is that his songs don't sound sad even when the lyrics suggest otherwise. Of course, Idol doesn't bullshit you about his feeling, but he's also not above punching through the emo-glaze of music with something that makes you wanna get up and slam. "Dancing With Myself" is the perfect way to kick off a crappy Valentine's Day because it still has his signature, snarling rock beats that fill you up with energy without ignoring the reality of someone who's struggling with being alone in a crowded world. Note that some say this song is about masturbation, which also works. So it won't make you want to get up and smash stuff, which is nice since your ex still probably has some of her more breakable items in your apartment.
"Shake it Off," Taylor Swift
Yeah, we get it. Putting a Taylor Swift song in a list of breakup music is like putting a hat on a hat. Frankly, we're less scared of crazy exes than we are of the fans who will be mad we didn't put Swift's high-energy breakup anthems on here. Look what they did to Ticketmaster. Swift's pop ballad about getting over one of her many breakups helped put her on a much more global map, because it was an empowering song with a catchy beat that didn't make you wanna mope in the corner all night.
"Monkey Wrench," The Foo Fighters
The Foo Fighters already had four hit singles by the time this one started making the rounds on MTV and those sample kiosks at Blockbuster Music. However, it's become one of their signature songs because it's a great mix of sad lyrics in an octane-fueled rock track, and unlike most sad songs, it's about realizing how you can get in your own way by staying in a relationship that may be great for you but isn't good for someone else.
"Heartbeat," Childish Gambino
Yeah, we know this song gets lumped in sad song playlists by people covered in a thin veneer of dried lacrimal fluid. It's about not being able to be with someone no matter how perfectly suited they appear to be. It's angry and sorrowful, and it swings back and forth between those emotions. Just wait for the beat to drop in between those pockets and you'll be out of your teary bed and on your feet so you can finally put on pants and go live your fucking life already.
"IDGAF," Dua Lipa
You don't have to be a jilted woman who needs a reason to go out with friends to get over a breakup in order to connect with Dua Lipa's don't-give-a-shit debut hit. You can also be a jilted guy or a jilted anyone for that matter. In fact, if you don't feel inspired to get up and shower to erase the stink of your own tears, then you'll love this song.
"Glad to See You Go" by The Ramones
The grandpappies of punk who tapped into that part of our brain that loves to break stuff in order to feel alive takes the same signature approach that made them famous and puts it into a breakup song. Bassist Dee Dee Ramone wrote it to get over an ex-girlfriend. But the song doesn't just go down the road of smashing things with bricks. "Glad to See You Go" actually examines the road that brought a couple to ruin, and it'll help you do the same thing while feeling like you're slamming into strangers in a whisky-soaked bar. "You Can't Kill Me," Mojo Nixon
We wanted to throw you one curveball here. The renegade country screamer starts this ditty like one of those sad, twangy songs you might hear on the soundtrack of Ken Burns' Civil War documentary if the editor he hired was a raging alcoholic. Then it opens the gas-guzzling flood gates and turns into a loud, screeching, life-affirming anthem about movin' the fuck on with life as hard and boldly as you can.