Posted on 07/26/2025 6:44:45 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Infidelity between romantic partners can be a heartbreaking, relationship-ending thing. No one wants to be lied to, manipulated or thrown under the bus, much less at the hands of someone they love and trust.
Unfortunately, it happens.
In the below list, we've collected a whopping 50 Songs About Cheaters and Cheating. Many are written from the perspective of the hurt party, but others share the side of the partner who committed the treachery, or even the viewpoint of the "other woman," if you will.
At least cheating can make for some highly cathartic music.
1. "Got to Choose," Kiss
From: Hotter Than Hell (1974)
We'll kick things off with a Kiss number, written by Paul Stanley, who notes in the lyrics that he actually doesn't care one way or the other if his lady leaves him, "but you can't be his and still be mine, so..." 2. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," Marvin Gaye
From: In the Groove (1968)
The first recording of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was by the Miracles in 1966, but that recording didn't get released until 1968. In the meantime, Gladys Knight & the Pips recorded it, released it as a single in September 1967 and made it into Motown's best-selling single up to that point. Then came Marvin Gaye's version in 1968, a No. 1 hit in both the U.S. and U.K. Gaye's is arguably the definitive version of the song, but we must also give a shout out to Creedence Clearwater Revival's 11-minute 1970 version.
3. "(Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree," ZZ Top
From: ZZ Top's First Album (1971)
"(Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree" was the lone single to be released from ZZ Top's aptly named ZZ Top's First Album. It failed to chart. Billy Gibbons wrote the song, though whether his lyrics about someone "sneakin' round" on him were inspired by a real life experience remains unclear. "A turn of phrase, a potential title might spring to mind or a riff presents itself," Gibbons said of his songwriting process in 2018, speaking to Songfacts. "It's about keeping an open mind and, in essence, 'let it happen.'"
4. "Little Lies," Fleetwood Mac
From: Tango in the Night (`1987)
It's not explicitly clear that Christine McVie is referring to issues of infidelity in the song "Little Lies," but that certainly could apply. McVie co-wrote the track with her then-husband Eddy Quintela. "The idea of the lyric is: If I had the chance, I'd do it differently next time," she once explained. "But since I can't, just carry on lying to me and I’ll believe, even though I know you’re lying."
5. "Sundown," Gordon Lightfoot
From: Sundown (1974)
Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" isn't about cheating that took place, but rather cheating that could possibly be happening. "I think my girlfriend was out with her friends one night at a bar while I was at home writing songs," Lightfoot recalled to American Songwriter in 2008. "I thought, 'I wonder what she's doing with her friends at that bar!' It's that kind of a feeling. 'Where is my true love tonight? What is my true love doing?' I guess a lot of people really do relate to that. That's part of romance…that wondering."
6. "Careless Whisper," Wham!
From: Make It Big (1984)
When George Michael was a teenager, he was, by his own definition, a two-timer, starting relationships with girls before ending old ones. These experiences were what led him to write his signature hit. "The whole idea of 'Careless Whisper' was the first girl finding out about the second – which she never did," he wrote in his autobiography Bare.
7. "Dirty Work," Steely Dan
From: Can't Buy a Thrill (1972)
David Palmer only sang on one Steely Dan album, 1972's Can't Buy a Thrill, and on that album he took the lead on two songs: ""Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)" and "Dirty Work." He did an awfully great job though, convincingly playing the part of a lover who just can't bring themselves to end an affair. "I foresee terrible trouble / And I stay here just the same."
8. "Part-Time Lover," Stevie Wonder
From: In Square Circle (1985)
Sneaking around with someone you shouldn't can yield painful consequences, but apparently it can also win you a Grammy, as was the case with Stevie Wonder. His 1985 single "Part-Time Lover," written about some overlap, shall we say, he experienced personally with a few women, won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 1986.
9. "Picture," Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow
From: Cocky (2001)
Many, many moons ago, Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow made an unlikely pairing when they released a song together called "Picture." To be fair, the lyrics make it sound like Rock and Crow's characters have already split up and are missing what once was. But there are also clearly some issues of temptation on the road with a "different girl every night at the hotel."
10. "Back Door Man," Howlin' Wolf
From: 1961 Single
The blues singer Sara Martin once declared that "every sensible woman got a back door man" — as in, a certain someone who can slip out the back door when your husband arrives home. Howlin' Wolf sang about this, too, from the perspective of a rough and rowdy back door man: "Well the men don't know, but little girls understand."
Back Door Man
11. "That's When Your Heartache Begins," Elvis Presley
From: 1957 Single
"Love is a thing you never can share / When you bring a friend into your love affair." To each their own, but that does sound accurate.
12. "Lovin,' Touchin,' Squeezin'," Journey
From: Evolution (1979)
The only thing more disappointing than one cheater is two cheaters. In the beginning of "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin,'" Steve Perry sings about his unfaithful lover. But then karma steps in and said unfaithful lover finds that she's being cheated on, too — "Now it's your turn, girl, to cry."
13. "Pale Blue Eyes," The Velvet Underground
From: The Velvet Underground (1969)
Lou Reed did say that "Pale Blue Eyes" was written about a real person, except they had hazel eyes, not blue ones. Beyond that, it's not entirely clear who the song is about, but the strongest candidate is a woman named Shelley Albin, who was Reed's first serious girlfriend back in college. Albin was, at the time the song was written in the late '60s, married to someone else. "The fact that you are married," Reed sings, "only proves you're my best friend."
14. "Lyin,' Eyes," Eagles
From: One of These Nights (1975)
Los Angeles in the '70s was a whole other beast, with a cast of characters from all walks of life and approaches to romantic relationships, to put it mildly. Glenn Frey and Don Henley used to hang out at a bar called Dan Tana's, where they saw plenty of women cozied up to men who were almost certainly not their husbands. One night they saw a beautiful lady in the arms of a much older, heavier, richer man and Frey clocked it immediately.
15. "Into Temptation," Crowded House
From: Temple of Low Men (1988)
"There's a lot of songs about these days that deal with sex and sexuality in quite a flippant and go-for-it kind of way, which is fine," Neil Finn of Crowded House said in 1988. "Prince does it very well in a very uninhibited manner. But you see, I'm from a fairly conservative middle class, Catholic background, so for me I can't separate sex from the guilt and faithfulness and all that, and I think that's very much part of it. So ["Into Temptation" is] written not about myself but about a state of mind that I'm familiar with."
16. "Backdoor Love Affair," ZZ Top
From: ZZ Top's First Album (1971)
ZZ Top's First Album is literally bookended by songs about cheating. It begins with "(Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree" and ends with "Backdoor Love Affair."
17. "Two Timer," Kiss
From: Dressed to Kill (1975)
Gene Simmons has a reputation with the ladies — he has claimed to have slept with nearly 5,000 women. And yet, Simmons is the one being two-timed in this song from 1975's Dressed to Kill.
18. "Tempted," Squeeze
From: East Side Story (1981)
Interestingly, Squeeze's "Tempted" wasn't a huge hit when it was first released in 1981 — it's only been with time that the song has become famous for them. Anyway, leave it to Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford to write such an upbeat song about a relationship ruined by infidelity.
19. "I Want You," Elvis Costello
From: Blood & Chocolate (1986)
Elvis Costello once described "I Want You" as "a pornographic snapshot; lots of broken glass, a squashed box of chocolates and a little blood on the wall." Indeed, it's dark, bitter and a bit masochistic: "I want to know the things you did that we do too / I want you / I want to hear he pleases you more than I do."
20. "Baby Loves That Way," David Bowie
From: 1965 Single
David Bowie first recorded "Baby Loves That Way" in 1965 when he was still using the name Davie Jones. Many years later in 2000, he re-recorded it during sessions for Toy, an album that got shelved and didn't surface until 2021's Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) box set.
21. "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'," The Allman Brothers Band
From: Idlewild South (1970)
The saddest part about the Allman Brothers' "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'" is that it's made clear that other issues beyond plain infidelity are at play: "You were lost in the silver spoon / Thought I pulled you out in time / And I hope that you got reasons / For the way that you've been lyin.'"
22. "Me and Mrs. Jones," Billy Paul
From: 360 Degrees of Billy Paul (1972)
Kenny Gamble, one of the writers behind Billy Paul's smash hit "Me and Mrs. Jones," got the inspiration for the song when he began noticing the exact same couple patronizing the exact same bar in the exact same seats every day. "Then, when they'd get ready to leave, he would go his way and she would go hers," he explained to NPR in 2008. "It could have been his daughter, his niece, anybody, but we created a story that there was some kind of romantic connection between these people, so we went upstairs to our office and wrote the song."
23. "Girlfriend," Wings
From: London Town (1978)
"Girlfriend" is a song Paul McCartney wrote and thought Michael Jackson might like to record. Jackson did indeed record it for his 1979 album Off the Wall, but McCartney recorded it first with Wings and included it on 1978's London Town.
24. "32-20 Blues," Eric Clapton
From: Me and Mr. Johnson (2004)
Below is Eric Clapton's version of "32-20 Blues," a song that, yes, advocates strongly for a woman to be shot dead for her adultery. The song was written originally by Robert Johnson, and has been recorded by the New York Dolls, Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Johnny Winter and others.
25. "All I Need," The Temptations
From: The Temptations With a Lot o' Soul (1967)
"All I Need" was a Top 10 hit for the Temptations in 1967. Unlike other songs on this list, this one takes the perspective of someone pleading with their lover to take them back after cheating.
26. "Back Street Girl," The Rolling Stones
From: Between the Buttons (1967)
You've heard of a back door man, but what about a back street girl? Interestingly, "Back Street Girl" is Mick Jagger's favorite from Between the Buttons, an album that he — at least in 1968 when Rolling Stone asked him about it — didn't really care for. "I don't know, it just isn't any good," he said then. "'Back Street Girl' is about the only one I like."
27. "If She Would Have Been Faithful...," Chicago
From: Chicago 18 (1986)
One positive thing that can come out of infidelity drama is the opportunity to meet someone new, someone hopefully more trustworthy than the last. This is the premise of Chicago's "If She Would Have Been Faithful...," a No. 17 hit for the band. "If she would've been faithful, if she could have been true / Then I would've been cheated, I would never know real love / I would've missed out on you."
28. "Hey Joe," The Jimi Hendrix Experience
From: Are You Experienced (1967)
It is, admittedly, a bit alarming that there is not just one but two songs about shooting a woman for cheating on this list. Not that Jimi Hendrix wrote the lyrics to "Hey Joe" — somebody else did that well before the guitarist got his hands on it. In any case, this was a No. 6 hit for Hendrix in the U.K.
29. "You Can't Do That," The Beatles
From: A Hard Day's Night (1964)
The man who would later sing about being a "Jealous Guy" was also the one who lectured about leaving his girl "if I catch you talking to that boy again" in the song "You Can't Do That." It's John Lennon.
30. "Footsteps in the Dark," The Isley Brothers
From: Go for Your Guns (1977)
If you recognize the Isley Brothers' "Footsteps in the Dark" it might be because you're familiar with Ice Cube's 1993 hit "It Was a Good Day." This isn't so much a song about cheating as it is about deciding to commit to a partner, temptations be damned. "Let's talk about the distractions goin' on elsewhere," Ronald Isley sings. "My mind drifts now and then / Lookin' down dark corridors and wonders what might have been."
31. "Maybe Your Baby," Stevie Wonder
From: Talking Book (1972)
It's funny how Stevie Wonder's 1972 album Talking Book starts with "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," a beautiful ode to love, and then the next song, "Maybe Your Baby," immediately switches gears to being about getting cheated on at the hands of your own best friend. Life comes at you fast.
32. "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do," Led Zeppelin
From: 1970 Single
Robert Plant wanted to stay with the girl in "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do," but there was just no stopping her and her line of lovers. Plant decides to move on "'cause I got a worried mind sharin' what I thought was mine."
33. "My Favorite Mistake," Sheryl Crow
From: The Globe Sessions (1998)
No, "My Favorite Mistake" is not about Eric Clapton, despite that rumor floating around. "It's still so personal to me that I don't know that anybody knows who it's really about," Sheryl Crow told People magazine in 2023. "I guess it's my 'You're So Vain' moment — I Carly [Simon]-ed it. People thought it was [about Clapton] because I had been dating him for a little bit; I love Eric, and I admire him, but the song was older than that."
34. "I Hate U," Prince
From: The Gold Experience (1995)
Carmen Electra was told directly by Prince that the song "I Hate U" was written about her after he discovered she'd gone on a date with another guy during a period in which she "pulled away" from Prince. "He said, 'I wrote this song about you,' and then he played 'I Hate U.' It was hard to hear," Electra recalled to GQ in 2016. "And it was even harder to hear the parts of the song that said it could have been a completely different way. Then to say, 'I hate you because I love you' — I literally cried in front of him. I think he just wanted me to hear it and know that he was really upset."
35. "(I Know) I'm Losing You," Rod Stewart
From: Every Picture Tells a Story (1971)
Rod Stewart was not the first person to record "(I Know) I'm Losing You" – that was the Temptations in 1966. But Stewart's version, credited with Faces, was a No. 24 hit in America in 1971. Stewart also used to perform it live with the Jeff Beck Group.
36. "Mamma Mia," ABBA
From: ABBA (1975)
"Mamma Mia" is such a buoyant-sounding number it's easy to miss the first lyric of the song: "I've been cheated by you since I don't know when." And yet, the singer keeps returning to this unfaithful lover...
37. "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right," Faces
From: Ooh La La Outtake (1973)
Quite a few people have put their spin on "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right," a song about a man in an extramarital relationship that he's bound and determined to keep. Below is Faces' version, which was an outtake from the Ooh La La sessions.
38. "Keep on Loving You," REO Speedwagon
From: Hi Infidelity (1980)
With an album title like Hi Infidelity, it makes sense there'd be a song specifically about cheating on it. Kevin Cronin wrote "Keep on Lovin' You" after learning that his wife cheated on him prior to them getting married which evidently did not make Cronin want to do anything except stay in the marriage. The song was a huge hit, but the couple did eventually get divorced.
39. "Little by Little," The Rolling Stones
From: The Rolling Stones (1964)
Not only does the singer here find out that his girl is two-timing him, to really rub salt in the wound "things ain't been the same since my mother died." This track was co-written with Phil Spector.
40. "Runaround Sue," Dion
From: Runaround Sue (1961)
Dion has said that "Runaround Sue" isn't about anyone in particular, but his then-girlfriend, conveniently named Sue, has said the song is definitely about her. In 1990, she explained the story to Oprah, saying she wasn't aware back then that Dion and his friends were so protective of their girlfriends and quick to jealousy. Clearly it didn't bother her all that much since the two got married in 1963 and have been together ever since.
41. "Long Black Veil," The Band
From: Music From Big Pink (1968)
Among those who have covered "Long Black Veil" is Bruce Springsteen, Nick Cave, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Jerry Garcia and more — there's even a duet version by Johnny Cash and Joni Mitchell. Below is the Band's take on the 1959 country ballad in which the narrator refuses to alibi himself for a murder he did not commit because he was in the arms of his best friend's wife the night of the crime.
42. "Maybellene," Chuck Berry
From: 1955 Single
It's true that Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" got its title after producer Leonard Chess noticed the name on an old mascara box in the studio. This song is sort of the precursor to the aforementioned "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do" by Led Zeppelin, begging a lover to stay faithful.
43. "No Reply," The Beatles
From: Beatles for Sale (1964)
Here's another Beatles song from 1964 that involves infidelity. "No Reply" describes witnessing a lover walk "hand in hand with another man in my place."
44. "Wake Up Dead," Megadeth
From: Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? (1986)
In the case of Megadeth's "Wake Up Dead," the narrator is the one doing the cheating, sneaking back home in the wee hours of the morning after a night of drinking and definitely not hanging out with the boys as the girlfriend was told. And yes, it was a real-life experience Dave Mustaine had.
45. "Part-Time Love," Elton John
From: A Single Man (1978)
Elton John spoke a difficult truth in 1978's "Part-Time Love," which is that most people have secrets of some kind. "Wipe those stars from your eyes," he sings, "and you'll get quite a surprise / because you'll see everybody's got a part-time love."
46. "A Quick One, While He's Away," The Who
From: A Quick One (1966)
A title like "A Quick One, While He's Away" speaks for itself. There's forgiveness at the end though...
47. "Run to You," Bryan Adams
From: Reckless (1984)
In "Run to You," Bryan Adams picks his secret mistress over his faithful partner again and again. It was originally written for Blue Oyster Cult, who wound up not liking the song. But It worked out in Adams' favor since it became a No. 6 Billboard Hot 100 hit for him.
48. "Take It on the Run," REO Speedwagon
From: Hi Infidelity (1980) Here's one more from REO Speedwagon. In "Take It on the Run," Kevin Cronin both refuses to believe his partner is being untrue, but also knows the direction all those white lies and late nights are leading him.
49. "Willing to Forgive," Aretha Franklin
From: Greatest Hits: 1980–1994 (1994)
Aretha Franklin has all the proof in this song: the cheap perfume that isn't hers, the telephone bill that's much higher than normal, etc. She's willing to forgive, but won't as easily forget...
50. "You're So Vain," Carly Simon From: No Secrets (1972)
Carly Simon really takes aim at whoever the subject of "You're So Vain" is, from his apricot scarf and titled hat down to his flight patterns. "Well, you're where you should be all the time," she sings, "and when you're not you're with some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend."
Read More: 50 Songs About Cheaters and Cheating | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/cheating-songs/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
“Let it Ride”, BTO.
51: My Baby Does the Hanky Panky. Tommy James and the Shondells.
Ring of Fire
Travis Tritt
No Hank? BS.
Escape (The Pina Colada song): Now it’s in your head instead of mine.
“Loving, Touching, Squeezing”
Journey
“He Cheated” Del Shannon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KfzAYKhM78&list=RD7KfzAYKhM78&start_radio=1
In her last-ditch attempt to score a hit after a series of misses, Connie Francis, who was on the verge of quitting the music business waxed a version of Who's Sorry Now? that rode high in the chart and launched her singing career.
Torn between two lovers
I thought of that one too.
What about “The Cheater” by Bob Kuban and the In Men?
“Your Cheatin’ Heart”, Hank Williams
"I gave my love, but his was lent." In other words, her love was true, his wasn't.
Ray Parker. The Other Woman
Daytime Friends and Nighttime Lovers - Kenny Rogers & ?? someone
Gimme Three Steps
Lynyrd Skynyrd
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