Revenge is a Bitch: The 10 Most Bitter Female Rock Songs
No matter how ugly your last break-up was, at least you can be thankful the girl didn't make a hit pop song about it. Those things can get downright nasty, as these 10 tracks prove.
Harshest lines:
"I could have another you in a minute, matter of fact he'll be here in a minute, baby"
Rumored to be about her split from Jay-Z, Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 2006 and remained there for 10 weeks. The song's subject is a man who is arrogant enough to think that someone as hot as Beyonce could never replace him. So, surely it's not targeted at Jay-Z, who refers to himself as J-Hova, the Hebrew word for God.
Unlike many other female-revenge songs, "Irreplaceable" doesn't involve any violence, just a sense of independence and the smug assurance that she can get more dick than you might have suspected. Though, the opening lines that claim she was able to fit, "... everything you own in the box to the left," implies that rap mogul Jay-Z is in fact just one paycheck away from homelessness.
Bitterness level: 2.5
Hov has rapped in more than one song about his revolving door of hoes, so taking a brag that would be at home in one of his more misogynistic songs and throwing it back in his face has a nice sense of symmetry to it. Luckily, Beyonce stops short of packing the video with bethonged men booty dancing while she pours champagne on them.
Harshest lines:
"You're so vain, I bet you think this song is about you."
The thing that sucks the most about this song is that no matter who you are, if you've ever fucked Carly Simon, even once in college, you're going to at least for a moment entertain the possibility that the song is about you, and you're going to get called vain every single time. It's a Chinese finger trap of a mind fuck--the more you fight it, the tighter you're trapped.
The laundry list of celebrities that "You're So Vain" was supposedly written about is pretty much as long and shocking as Simon's hair in the below performance, which appears to have been combed with a Tesla coil.
At one time or another, the song has been rumored to be about Mick Jagger (doubtful considering he sang backing vocals), James Taylor (they were married at the time of recording--Carly has said "It is definitely not about James"), Warren Beatty (No official denial and Carly said in The Washington Post, "It certainly sounds like it was about Warren Beatty ..."), Kris Kristofferson and Cat Stevens.
When asked to reveal the target's identity by VH1 in 1990 she said that she "... can never give it away," a questionable statement since she seems to have fucked everyone who picked up a string instrument and grew his hair longer than shoulder length in the 1970s.
Bitterness level: 3.5
Confusing the hell out of a guy, though relatively easy, is just not very nice. It's also a sort of indiscriminate drive-by insult, firing the accusation wildly into a large crowd of males who worked in the entertainment industry in the '70s. They can't all deserve it. Also, wouldn't the most vain be the ones who assume the song isn't about them?
Harshest lines:
"These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do, one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you."
Easily the most passive-aggressive song on the list, "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" was released in February 1966 and shot to No. 1. The song has been adopted as a rallying cry for everything from pulling out of Vietnam to the introduction of the Fembots in Austin Powers.
Nancy Sinatra was reportedly told by Lee Hazlewood, the song's writer and producer, to sing it as if she was a 16-year-old girl brushing off a 40-year-old man. Hazelwood presumably followed that creepy request up with, "Not that I know what that sounds like."
That was apparently an era when 16-year-olds could brush off a dirty old man with a few melodic words about how she had found an even more experienced lover ("And what he knows, you ain't had time to learn ..."). Today, she'd have to change her address, her cell phone number, get all new MySpace friends, and call To Catch A Predator.
Bitterness level: 4
Nobody ever said the Sinatra's were great actors. The lyrics may be bitter, but her voice and the performance in the original video suggest less enraged woman and more of a "I'll keep the boots on while we have sex if you'd like me to" vibe.
Harshest lines:
"I ain't going to stop until I see police lights, I'm a fight-a man tonight, I'm-a fight a man tonight"
Be careful standing under Rihanna's Umbrella ella-ella-ella. She may just be luring your ass under there to beat you down. Things are starting to get a little violent, now. These ladies' have gone from walking away, to gloating to full-blown domestic violence.
During an interview for U.K. radio station Capital FM, Rihanna says of her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, "Bad is not sleazy. Bad has its own term to every individual and in my case it just means I've gotten a little rebellious on the album, broken out of my shell and I'm taking risks ... Michael Jackson 'bad' kind of way," Although breaking dishes would actually qualify as the most violent thing Michael Jackson has ever done, calling yourself bad in a Michael Jackson kind of way doesn't really have the same connotation it used to.
Bitterness level: 5
Rihanna sings that she doesn't even know if her man is cheating on her or not, but she's going to beat his ass anyway, you know, just in case.
Harshest lines:
"Lead you to the supermarket checkout, some specials and rat food, get lost in the crowd"
Don't let the catchy upbeat refrain on this 1978 song fool you, this is a dark one. The catch is that, like the best horror movies, we never know why the protagonist of the song is after her prey. Like Halloween's Michael Myers, she relentlessly and mindlessly stalks her victim. All we know is that one way or another she's going to get him. We don't know why, and she probably doesn't, either.
She watches his house, follows him to the mall, monitors his calls and eventually plans to lace his dinner with rat food, for some reason. What did he do? Are they having an affair? Did he smile at her on the bus? Does he work in the cubicle next to her? Is he a hilarious writer of awesome and super-meaningful content on a comedy website? That shit could happen to anybody, man, and that's scary.
Bitterness level: 5.75
The implied murder would normally give Ms. Harry a higher score, but the fact that she plans on committing the act by feeding her prey rat food as opposed to rat poison shows that, no matter how terrifying her lyrics are, Blondie is, at the end of the day, totally harmless and kind of an idiot.








I love all of the people who commented in 2012 about how none of the links work in a column that was written 5 years ago in 2007.
Reply"OMG it's not fair! Why don't any of the links work!? I'm bored. What's for dinner? Is that a pony!?"
Kelis's "Caught Out There" should definitely be on this. And even Jazmine Sullivan's "I Bust the Windows Out Your Car" (or whatever it's called). Both much more bitter than Beyonce's at least.
ReplyI remember that song about Earl by the Dixie Chicks when I was a kid! That music video is hilarious.
ReplyI recently find a hot site COUGARCHATS,C0M and COUGARKISS,C0M where you can meet sexy and rich cougars. you will have a romantic dating with rich older women.The cougars and young men are seeking for friendship, dates, romance and even marriage.
ReplyOh, so we're talking "bitter towards a man" rather than "bitter in general". Because otherwise, leaving out Courtney Love would have been inexcusable.
ReplyThe anger is only understandable if you realize that Alanis played herself in Dogma, she IS God. Don't believe me? Go find a copie of Woodstock 1969 and see how she is exactly the same in it as she is now...
ReplyPretty sure Donita Sparks threw her tampon at the crowd in retaliation for the crowd throwing mud at her. Not exactly adoring fans.
ReplyAlso, and Im not exactly down with the kids, I think Rihanna was singing "Imma fight a man tonight" as in, Im going to fight a man tonight. Not "I'm a fight-a man tonight", which would mean, I am a fight a man tonight.. which makes no sense. But then, it is Rihanna lyric after all...
Every freakin video has been removed. Come on cracked!
ReplyI know, it's total bullshit that they don't update 5 year old columns. Sheesh, freakin' amateurs!
Was this article written before Adele came on the scene? "Don't under-estimate the things that I will do...You're gonna wish you... never had met me... tears are gonna fall... rolling in the deep." Beats even alanis morisette.
ReplyAlanis > Adele.
If only there was some way of knowing when this article was written... How could you find out? Maybe you could send an email to the Cracked CEO? How about write to your local congressman? Look at the top of the f*****g page?
date,rich,here.The largest single club.find your soul mate on ----Sugarcupid-C oM- --
ReplyJoey was not a dork sir!
ReplyThough not a "rock" song, "Responsibility" by the Ghetto Twinz...Holy sh*t those chicks were PISSED
ReplyThis entire list could have been made up of Lily Allen. Don't piss that chica off >.
ReplyThe links need updating. Also, you wrote "due to it's dark subject matter" when it should have been "due to its dark subject matter". These are children's mistakes, and ought to be avoided by a paid writer on the Internet.
ReplyHave to say that "These Boots are made for Walkin" by Nancy
ReplySinatra is one of the -sexiest- songs ever, which is a bit confusing...but does explain a lifelong love of asskicking women.
High heels smashin' your junk gets you going too, huh? I mean.....yea, Frank's got one fine daughter.
If you're going to link an old article that obviously doesn't include any music from the last half decade, at least make sure the links work. This post was a waste of time. Not to mention the whole Rihanna bit was annoying considering her domestic violence issues.
Reply...he mumbled to no one in particular.
The term "rock" should probably be removed from the title, that being said, where is Pink's U+UR Hand
Replyabsolutely none of the video links were still live. :(
ReplyI was very surprised not to see anything from the album "Rumours" listed, particularly The Chain:
ReplyRun in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies
And if you don't love me now You will never love me again
I can still hear you saying You would never break the chain
Carly Simon actually told who the song was about, to the winner of a charity auction on the condition that it not be revealed to anyone, ever. Perhaps we'll find out after the guy dies, or she does. Come on, I wanna know! By then we'll probably say "who's that?" and be really disappointed, like with Deep Throat (I still can't remember who it was, what a let down).
Reply