Christopher Polk/Getty Images for General MillsYou know what they say about country music...if you play it backwards you get back your wife, your dog and your pickup truck. But if you play it forwards, like a regular person, well, you still lose your wife. (And your dog, and your truck and...you get the picture).
In other words, country music is a major bummer. But sometimes life calls for just that: Music to bum you out! Sure happy pick-me-ups can work on some occasions, but other times you just need a good, hard cry. Like today.
After a whopping 26 years of marriage, Reba McEntire and her husband Narvel Blackstock announced that they're separating. They gave the requisite statement about continuing to support one another despite the dissolution of their union, but we all know what happens next: sad stuff. Which is why we, the fans and the people who are trying really hard to believe in love despite a veritable stampede of Hollywood divorces lately, need some sad music to provide the soundtrack to our tears. Which is where Reba McEntire herself comes in.
The country crooner has been putting out tunes since 1977 (seriously!) which means she's a straight-up treasure trove of down-in-the-dumps songs. And sure, it might seem a little sacrilege to self-soothe with the woman who's going through the actual divorce, it's actually totally perfect. It's almost like she prepared herself for this inevitable moment when she would need to get a bottle of wine, a box of kleenex and her Greatest Hits album on repeat. Below, 10 songs of McEntire's that are more than appropriate for the situation.
1. "Take Your Love Away"
"Do my heart a favor take your love and run / Let's go our separate way before there's damage done"
2. "Now and Then"
"So I'll exist on dreams again / On days when we were lovers and not just friends / And even if I find another love in time / I still long to hold you now and then"
3. "Tears on My Pillow"
"Tears on my pillow / Pain in my heart / Caused by you"
4. "How Does It Feel to Be Free"
"How did it happen / When did we lost it / The love we looked for so long"
5. "What Do You Know About Heartache?"
"But baby what do you know about heartache / What do you know about pain / What do you know about the sleepless nights / And walking alone in the rain"
6. "There Ain't No Future in This"
"Mine are the arms that hold you / Hers are the arms you miss"
7. "Tell Me What's so Good About Goodbye?"
"I thought love was meant to last forever / Isn't that how love's supposed to be"
8. "How Blue"
"How blue can you make me / How long till I heal / How can I go on loving you when you're gone?"
9. "Whose Heartache Is This Anyway?"
"Don't tell me that time will ease the pain / Don't tell me the sunshine's after the rain"
10. "That's When I Knew"
"Crying in my pillow / Praying that you'd come home / Waiting for the phone to ring / Wondering where it went wrong"