Trust is one of the building blocks of a good relationship. I’ve heard it said that trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets. Letting someone in is difficult, but it only takes minutes to betray confidence. The emotions surrounding trust are raw and turbulent. It’s little wonder that artists have covered this topic repeatedly in their music. Let’s explore some of these songs about trust and betrayal in relationships.
Songs About Trust Issues in a Relationship
1. Sandcastles, Beyonce
via Beyoncé
“We built sandcastles that washed away
I made you cry when I walked away
Oh, and although I promised that I couldn’t stay, baby
Every promise don’t work out that way, oh, babe
Every promise don’t work out that way”
This song has a part when Beyonce’s voice breaks a little. You can hear the pain as she cries out about broken promises. “Sandcastles” is from her Lemonade album, which addresses her husband’s infidelity. With this song, you can feel what it’s like when trust is broken.
2. Toxic, Kehlani
via Kehlani
“And all of this love is toxic
All of this love is toxic
All these kisses and hugs is not sh–
You a damn drug, you’re toxic”
This breakup ballad demonstrates what happens when love turns sour. That’s the point where you can look back and see that everything wasn’t as it was supposed to be. Trusting someone who isn’t ultimately good for you creates a very toxic relationship.
3. I Heard it Through the Grapevine, Marvin Gaye
via Marvin Gaye
“You know that a man ain’t supposed to cry
But these tears I can’t hold inside
Losin’ you would end my life, you see
’Cause you mean that much to me
You could have told me yourself
That you found someone else
Instead I heard it through the grapevine”
The devastation caused by betrayal is clear to see in this piece. Marvin Gaye talks about being unable to hold back tears and seeing his life coming to an end. He does not hide behind bravado or anger but lets the listeners hear his pain.
4. The Heart Wants What It Wants, Selena Gomez
via Selena Gomez
“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”
The heart can seem like a treacherous thing when it wants what’s so bad for you. Those are the moments when you find yourself going back to a relationship that should have been over. Just like Selena says in this song, letting go isn’t always as easy as it seems.
5. Cry Me a River, Justin Timberlake
“You don’t have to say, what you did
I already know, I found out from him
Now there’s just no chance
With you and me
There’ll never be
Don’t it make you sad about it?”
What is the right way to handle betrayal in a relationship? Is your partner innocent until proven guilty? There are many instances where relationships are broken by the word of another. In this song, the singer explains that he already knows the truth about his girlfriend’s cheating because he heard it from someone else. However, he doesn’t give her a chance to defend herself.
6. Right My Wrongs, Bryson Tiller
via Bryson Tiller
“Something that I should know
All the things that you went through, girl
I never meant to put you through it twice
Tell me how can I right my wrongs”
It’s hard to take someone back after they have hurt you. It’s even harder to reconcile with them after they have asked for forgiveness, only to go right back to hurt you again in the same way. It might take a little more to accept this second apology.
7. Goodbye, Secondhand Serenade
“I’m alive but I’m losing all my drive
’Cause everything we’ve been through
And everything about you
Seemed to be a lie
A guiltless twisted lie
It made me learn to hate you
Or hate myself for letting it pass by”
Dishonesty in a relationship can make love quickly turn into hate. You could end up hating your partner or hating yourself for putting up with that situation in the first place. Either way, the result is a broken heart.
8. Your Betrayal, Bullet For My Valentine
“You said that we’d be forever
How could you kill me and lie to my face
Now that we can’t be together
There’s just no hope for our final embrace
So here we are, I’m in your head
I’m in your heart”
A certain sense of satisfaction comes from knowing the person who hurt you can’t let you go. It makes you feel like you have the power to make them pay for what they have done to you. However, this kind of situation only brings more pain as it keeps your emotions tangled up in a bad relationship.
9. You’re Not Sorry, Taylor Swift
via Taylor Swift
“All this time I was wasting
Hoping you would come around
I’ve been giving out chances every time
And all you do is let me down
And it’s taking me this long
Baby but I figured you out
And you’re thinking we’ll be fine again
But not this time around”
Second chances aren’t always what they are cracked up to be. If someone has disappointed you more than once, then maybe it’s time to let them go. They might be saying that they love you but their actions tell a different story.
10. Run For Your Life, The Beatles
via The Beatles
“You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand, little girl
Catch you with another man
That’s the end, little girl”
“Run for your life” has some frightening lyrics. Jealousy can bring out the worst in a partner. Some will not want to see their exes happy with somebody else and may threaten them. This kind of toxicity suggests that you probably dodged a bullet.
11. Loyal to Me, Nina Nesbitt
via Nina Nesbitt
“Some of these guys
Never think that they’ll get caught
Think that we’re blind
But they’re forgetting that we tall (sing it with me)”
Some men think that they will never get caught when they cheat. They don’t seem to understand that they aren’t as great at hiding their infidelities as they may think. The truth always reveals itself.
12. Take a Bow, Rihanna
via Rihanna
“Oh, and the award for the best liar
Goes to you (goes to you)
For makin’ me believe
That you could be
Faithful to me
Let’s hear your speech, ohh”
A cheating partner might get on their knees and beg you to take them back. They might say that they made a mistake and will never look at anyone else again. Sometimes the apology may be sincere, but they are often sorry that they got caught.
13. Rolling in the Deep, Adele
via Adele
“Baby, I have no story to be told
But I’ve heard one on you and I’m gonna make your head burn
Think of me in the depths of your despair
Make a home down there as mine sure won’t be shared”
Betrayal can unleash a burning desire for revenge. When a loved one breaks your heart, you might get the urge to inflict pain on them. You may want to see them brought low for everything they have put you through. That kind of rage often indicates a wound that runs deep.
14. Heartless, Kanye West
via Kanye West
“In the night I hear ’em talk
The coldest story ever told
Somewhere far along this road
He lost his soul to a woman so heartless”
Once the trust is gone, lovers can become like strangers. Some deal with heartbreak by turning their backs on their partner. They will walk by them in the street without acknowledging their presence. This kind of cold shoulder brings with it a whole other level of hurt feelings.
15. She Loves Me Not, Papa Roach
via Papa Roach
“Over the past five years
I have shed my tears
I have drank my beers and watched my fears fly away
And until this day she still swings this way
But it’s sad to say, sometimes she says she loves me not
But I hesitate to tell her I hate this relationship
I want out today this is over”
When you have been with someone for so long, it’s sometimes hard to let them go. A part of you might understand that walking away is what’s best for you. However, you might not have the willpower to end the relationship.
16. The First Cut Is The Deepest, Sheryl Crow
via Sheryl Crow
“I would have given you all of my heart
But there’s someone who’s torn it apart
And he’s taking just all that I had
But if you want, I’ll try to love again
Baby, I’ll try to love again, but I know”
Falling in love for the first time can be the best feeling in the world. However, if that person breaks your trust, they can leave you with scars that make trusting someone else tricky. The good news is that once you have recovered from heartbreak, you know that you are strong enough to do it again.
17. Everybody’s Fool, Evanescence
via Evanescence
“Never was and never will be
You don’t know how you’ve betrayed me
And somehow you’ve got everybody fooled
I know the truth now
I know who you are
And I don’t love you anymore”
Some people are good at hiding who they are. They present you with a mask, making you fall in love with a version of them that doesn’t exist. It can take a while to discover the truth, but there is no going back once you do. You may be better off walking away.
18. False Pretense, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
“All alone you know, you thought you got the best of me
You were wrong and I’m laughing right in your face
I cannot believe you blamed, you were my family
Don’t sweat it, set off false pretense
Betray, you’re not gonna be willin’ to change”
Betrayal by those you thought closest to you can hurt a great deal. It makes you question yourself, asking how you hadn’t seen it coming. The betrayer may have the upper hand for a while but eventually, their deceit will be revealed.
19. Reinventing Your Exit, Underoath
via underoathmusic
“You broke my heart again this time
You’re fading now, you crossed the line
You crossed the line”
You take your partner back because you believe that they will do better. When they hurt you for a second or third time, it begins to look like they are playing with your feelings. It would be better to start looking for the exit at some point.
20. Apologize, One Republic
via OneRepublic
“You tell me that you need me
Then you go and cut me down, but wait
You tell me that you’re sorry
Didn’t think I’d turn around and say
That it’s too late to apologize, it’s too late
I said it’s too late to apologize, it’s too late”
Some emotional injuries are not easy to get past; words or actions cut so deep, leaving you with no choice but to walk away. These types of wounds are often the last straw. They follow a pattern of disregard that must have been going on for some time.
Final Thought on Songs About Trust Issues in a Relationship
Deceit from a loved one can make it seem like you never knew them in the first place. Learning to forgive is a big part of being in a mature relationship. However, there are some situations where walking away would be the best thing to do. If you find yourself struggling with betrayal, check out the songs and videos in these links. Music can aid in healing a broken heart.
Finally, if you want to use these songs to make a lasting change to your life, then check out these 100 LIFE GOALS that can help you wake up each morning with a sense of enthusiasm about making progress toward what's important..
