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 knew #1 was going to be #1 before I even read the article. I think every spurned woman plays that song.
Replywhere's Bust Your Windows?
ReplyI have no ideia why i spent so much time reading this ridiculous bad-written, too-damn-long post. its clear that you have no ideia what you are talking about.
Replynot all lyrics are biografical! hell, not all lyrics are written by the people singing them!your judgemental post is so appaling it made me sick.
get your head out of your ass and think a little before saying s**t like that.
i'll never read any post of this blog again.
What I always found strange is that beyonce is supposedly singing that dumbass, terrible song about some dude who's an a*****e, when apparently she fucks around enough that she literally has dudes on call 24/7 to pick her up, and apparently didn't give too much of a s**t about the relationship either since she claims that he's so not special she can find someone literally so exactly like him they basically are him by tomorrow.
ReplyWhich then brings up the question of how much she must be leading dudes on if she's got one dude coming right now to pick her up, but apparently by the next day is going to kick him to the curb and find someone more like whoever she's singing the song to.
Plus, one has to wonder why she didn't just head on out a long time ago if the dude is so damn run of the mill.
Either way, I don't know, if she's trying to demonstrate that he's the a*****e in that situation, I think her general apathy and suggested playing of other men kind of doesn't exactly do her a service.
The only artists on here that can be considered "rock" are Carly Simon, Blondie, L7, and Alanis Morissette. Also, the fact that you call L7 "punk rock" makes it even more obvious that you don't know what you're talking about.
ReplyLet the record show by Emilie Autumn... Pretty bitter
Reply"And you you'll walk away? Nope, wrong again!"
Neo wrote Irreplaceable for himself but decided (rightfully so) that if he sung it, he'd never have another female fan (who else is buying his music?).
ReplyWhat about "Smell Ya Dick?"
ReplyI know, right? That's like the best angry girlfriend-song.
Since this article is about songs not rock songs, I nominate TLC for 'No Scrubs'. Remember‘...coz I’m looking like class and he’s looking like trash, can’t get with a dead beat…’
ReplyDear Cracked editors:
ReplyPlease go to wikipedia and read the article on Rock and Roll Music. This s**t you posted on the article ISN'T ROCK.
Thank you,
The world.
Since this 'rock n roll' list isn't really Rock n Roll, I must heartily protest the exclusion of Miranda Lambert's 'Crazy Ex Girlfriend' It's 'Goodbye Earl' after a week of not being on Cymbalta.
What about Kina's "Girl from the Gutter"?
ReplyThe amazing thing is - they are all shite songs!
ReplyWell, I don't know about that, "These boots are made for walking" is pretty alright, but that last one by Alanis Morisette... I don't know if I'll ever be able to get my face to stop looking surprised, disgusted and terrified.
The irony of Rihanna's song is AWESOME. Too bad she lost her fight...
ReplyI think Lily Allen's song 'It's Not Fair' is pretty damn harsh too
ReplyNo it's not. She says that he's an amazing boyfriend, but a selfish lover. It's not bitter, it's a plea for her guy to stop being a cruddy lover and treat her right. :p
i'm going to say none of these songs are just so "jerkfacedkilla" can copypaste his strange view on rock'n'roll again (no thanks buddy).
ReplyOh yeah and because none of these are rock songs but it still is an amusing article.
-edit- i'm going to say none of these songs are Rock'n'Roll just so "jerkfacedkilla" can copypaste his strange view on rock'n'roll again (no thanks buddy).
somehow rock'n'roll disappeared from my comment either due to cracked refusing to put it in or me thinking i typed it but didn't
jerkfacedkilla = lullo
It's okay for women to write songs about hurting and being violent towards men, but when eminem does it, people boycott his albums
ReplyOr even Guns and Roses "I used to Love Her" which was about a dog he had to put to sleep, but boy were people up in arms about the possible "other meaning" behind it!
People boycott eminem because he sucks. But there does seem to be a double standard at play.
how is Matt LeBlanc one of the dorkiest FRIENDS characters?
Reply"Revenge is a Bitch: The 10 Most Bitter Female Rock Songs"
Reply Hide All See All 3 Replies:Not a single Rock song.:
rock-'n'-roll
noun
1.
a style of popular music that derives in part from blues and folk music and is marked by a heavily accented beat and a simple, repetitive phrase structure.
Rock music:
Musically, rock has centred around the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group with bass guitar and drumsRock places a higher degree of emphasis on musicianship, live performance, and an ideology of authenticity than pop music.
- Wikipedia.
Rock'n'roll is not the same as Rock Music.
jerkfacedkilla with your reasoning (stating that all music being markede by a heavily accented beat and a simple repetitive structure is rock'n'roll)I am an elephant beacause elephants have teeth and i have teeth therefore I am an elephant.
They should take "rock" out of the title because I dotn think any of these songs qualify as Rock. Pop/Country maybe but definitely not rock. Oh and add Jasmine Sullivans "Bust The Windows out Ya Car" to the number 1 spot....talk about bitter..
Replyrock-'n'-roll
noun
1.
a style of popular music that derives in part from blues and folk music and is marked by a heavily accented beat and a simple, repetitive phrase structure.
JerkFace - it says rock, not rock-'n'-roll
As soon as I saw the title of this, I thought, if Marianne Faithful's "Why'd Ya Do It" isn't on here, then it's just not a legitimate list. Not only that, it doesn't have "Precious" by The Pretenders, either. The songs on this list barely rank by comparison.
Reply