Breakup and Separation

"Like much of Myers' work, the song is rooted in plainspoken emotion, the kind that feels honest because it doesn't try too hard to impress. No pyrotechnics here. Just a man, his memory, and a beat-up Squier Stratocaster he bought for $100 from a storage unit sale."

(songfacts.com, 2025) 

When Jon Pardi sang about a relationship in which a woman leaves her partner on his 2019 album "Heartache Medication", it was a topic rarely discussed in country music. With a reference to the George Strait classic "The Cowboy Rides Away", "Ain't Always The Cowboy" turns the tables. It rejects the classic image of the restless man, not averse to alcohol or other women, who doesn't want to commit or who, guiltily, realizes too late that he hasn't cared enough for his love.

But even in this song, she seems to be the one shedding tears and showing emotion, while we learn nothing about his feelings. In fact, he seems proud of how independently his partner acts when he sees her leaving.

Her hands wrapped up in mine,
tears rollin' out of her eyes.
No messin' with a made-up mind,
sun settin' on goodbye.
Yeah, it's hard to believe
it wasn't me tryin' to leave this time.

 

I've never seen over from this side.
Never heard lonely get this quiet.
Still, I can't keep from smiling,
'cause, damn, that girl can fly.

(Ain't Always The Cowboy / Josh Thompson, Brandon Kinney)

Lee Brice gets to the point much more directly with his latest single, 'Cry'. He lets the world know that a man also has emotions when a relationship ends and he gets dumped. Even if the lyrics leave the question open as to why it happened and whether he himself is to blame. The song's production, influenced by 1950s soul and doo-wop elements, distracts from its painful depth. The result is a catchy song, but one that's more radio-friendly entertainment than emotional expression. 

I've been cryin' in my beer, cryin' in my bed,
cryin' on the pillow where you used to lay your head.
I'ma cry myself to sleep tonight,
who says a man don't cry?

(Cry / Ben Hayslip, David Garcia, Dallas Davidson) 

 

Ty Myers, now 18, does not beat around the bush in his self-penned song "Thought It Was Love". Nothing distracts from the difficult feelings surrounding the end of a relationship. The very first verse not only describes the emotional situation, but also the fact that life must go on nevertheless.

Woke up with a headache today,
'cause I've got mortgage due
and an empty bed to make.
And girl, it's funny to me
how much I hate your memory,
but unlike you, it'll always be me,
no matter how bad I wanted to leave.

(Thought It Was Love / Ty Myers) 

But realistically there were also times of disagreement, when he reminisces: Started smoking cigarettes again, but I only light a few, 'cause you're not here to tell me I can't.

Skillfully he plays with words without losing sight of the topic:
I never knew a king size bed would get so cold,
when the king is down and he is all alone.
Lord knows, I need a queen to hold.

Even a first phase of acceptance is found, alhtough he isn't really quite sure about it:
And baby, I bet you're happy now.
Probably found you someone new,
who's got his life all figured out.
As for me, I stay locked up in this old bedroom
writing songs for you and thinking about us.

(Thought It Was Love / Ty Myers) 

In the end, all that remains is the sobering realization that some things in life just turn out not the way we had hoped for, no matter how sure we were.

Girl, I thought it was love,
Girl, I knew it was love.
I guess I didn't know what love was.

(Thought It Was Love / Ty Myers) 

The song is from Ty Myers' debut album "The Select" and has since been released both in a solo piano version and in an emotional live version (from New York), in which the guitars blend with the audience's voices, making the track sound all new. It makes Ty Myers already one of the discoveries of the year.