108 Country Songs About Cheating and Lying

Songs About Cheatin' Cheaters: When Love Turns Sour

Most people have at least one cheating story to tell—whether they've done it, seen it, or merely heard about it. I'm gonna share with you a brush I had with a cheating partner, but I sure hope you'll return the favor.

When I was much younger, a purty young thang (who was even younger than I was) took a sudden liking to my steady boyfriend. Quite by accident, I intercepted a gift meant for him—a nice t-shirt—and the love note that went with it. Until then, I had no idea that there even was a third wheel in our relationship.

Rather than crying and making a mess of myself, I donned the offending apparel and marched right up to the corner drug store where the interloper was a part-time cashier. I waited in her register line, ensuring she would be the one to ring my items up.

As Miss Thang spotted my t-shirt, her eyes grew big. I started in: "I got your gift. Fits great. But if you are cheating with him, then you can dang well have him because I got NO use for a cheater."

Then I flipped my hair as only a young woman of a certain age can do and went to take care of business with that no-good boyfriend. Whether you're the cheater, the bystander, or the cheated on, make a country playlist about cheating and lying.

1. "If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want to Be Right)" by Barbara Mandrell

In 1979, Barbara Mandrell hit the top of the country music charts with this single about a woman who is having an affair with a married man. (Country vocalist Lee Ann Rimes also recorded it in 2006.) Against the advice of friends and family, she settles for sloppy seconds from him, although she knows their relationship is morally wrong:

Am I wrong to fall so deeply in love with you ...
Knowing you've got a wife and two little children
Depending on you, too?

The mistress decides that if loving him is wrong, she doesn't want to be right. Please, someone go call this man's wife.

2. "Ring On Her Finger, Time On Her Hands" by Lee Greenwood

As this young couple stood at the altar, neither intended to break their vows to one another. However, as the years passed, work, infidelity, or whatever (we just don't know) took the husband away, and the couple's three-bedroom home became the bride's prison.

The Mrs. was left lonely and longing for some lovin'. She was forced to find it outside her marriage. Both Lee Greenwood (1982) and Reba McEntire (1995) sang this sad song so well that you sympathize with the wife.

3. "She Just Started Liking Cheatin' Songs" by Alan Jackson

What do you do when you notice your special lady has developed a sudden, unexplained interest in songs about infidelity? If you're like Alan Jackson (1999) or John Anderson (1980), you sing this catchy number:

She just started liking cheatin' songs and what's bothering me
I don't know if it's the cheatin' she likes or just the melodies.

4. "Whoever's In New England" by Reba McEntire

In 1986, Reba McEntire won a Grammy Award for this sad song in which a loyal wife lets her husband know that he's spending an unusual amount of time away from home on "business" in Massachusetts. She reminds him that when the affair goes stale, she'll be waiting at home. Oh, Reba!

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5. "Stay" by Sugarland

Sung from the pained perspective of the other woman, this is Sugarland's signature song (2007). It was inspired by Reba McEntire's "Whoever's In New England" and Jennifer Nettles' desire to tell the other side of the story.

The mistress begins the song insisting that her married lover stay with her when his wife telephones. She explains, "I'm so tired of being lonely."

Midway through, however, there is a shift in her perspective, accompanied by a raw emotional revelation. She doubts that he will ever leave his wife as promised. By the end of the song, the mistress has gained both emotional strength and power of voice, telling him to go home to his wife and stay there:

So next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine
Why don't you stay?

6. "Sin for a Sin" by Miranda Lambert

Someone crossed the wrong girl here. She'll do more than just cut you. Miranda Lambert sings (2009) about a woman who discovered her man sleeping with another woman in their bed. The girl went all cray-cray, and will soon be receiving her mail at the state penitentiary. Although we're not sure exactly how she took them out, she references "fire and brimstone, dirt and a headstone." I hope she looks cute in a prison jumpsuit!

7. "Who's Cheatin' Who" by Alan Jackson

In this catchy, up-tempo tune (1997), Alan Jackson has a tough time distinguishing who's being faithful, who's a cheater, and who just doesn't care.

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8. "You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man" by Loretta Lynn

This 1966 classic by Loretta Lynn describes a feisty confrontation between a wife and a mistress, told from the wife's perspective. The other woman has come bearing news of an impending break-up. Amidst the insults, Loretta has news of her own: You'll be taking that cheating man over my dead body.

One must admire the wife's spunk, although I do hope she put her man on a short leash for awhile afterwards.

9. "Soon" by Tanya Tucker

Tanya Tucker (1993) tells of a summer fling with a married man that got out of hand and turned into a string of broken promises about when he was going to leave his wife. As the seasons come and go, the lonely mistress realizes that "soon" will never come.

10. "Wish I Didn't Know Now" by Toby Keith

Poor Toby Keith (1993) suspected his lady was cheating, but he preferred not to know until she made it so painfully obvious that he had to leave her. The crestfallen fella regrets finding out.

11. "Married, but Not to Each Other" by Barbara Mandrell

It sure isn't easy loving someone else's husband, especially when you have your own husband to keep track of, too. So says Barbara Mandrell in this 1977 song. The cheaters are each tied to other people and don't want to hurt them, so they worry about whether their alibis sound like lies. It makes you wonder whether the excitement of their relationship lies chiefly in its forbidden nature.

12. "All These Years" by Sawyer Brown

Not every affair ends in divorce. In this 1992 Sawyer Brown ballad, the husband comes home early from work one day and catches his wife with another man. In a surprising twist, he blames himself for being neglectful of her needs ("... don't you rub it in too hard that I've been wrong.") The wife takes responsibility, too. She has realized that after all these years she has a lot to lose by betraying him.

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13. "Kerosene" by Miranda Lambert

Murder? Are you kidding me? There is some major caustic hatred in this song. Miranda Lambert tells the story of a betrayed woman who has given up on love. Rather than crying, she has taken up cigarettes and strategically spreads the kerosene:

Now I don't hate the one who left
You can't hate someone who's dead.

If you're like me and a little slow on the uptake sometimes, here's a gentle reminder: Miranda Lambert was the girl who also sang "Sin for a Sin" (#6 on our list). Cheat on her at your own risk. You've been warned.

14. "Blame It on Your Heart" by Patty Loveless

Patty Loveless sure knows where to place the blame for a failed relationship. In this 1993 song, she tells her lover he doesn't know right from wrong and he's made a bad mistake:

So blame it on your lying, cheating, cold dead beating
Two-timing and double dealing
Mean mistreating, loving heart.

15. "Tell Me a Lie" by Janie Fricke

In this 1983 song, Janie Fricke is a lonely lady in a bar who sees a handsome stranger remove his wedding ring. Then she has a one-night stand with him. Yet in the ultimate mind game she pleads with him to tell her a series of lies: that she looks familiar, that he just got into town, that he's not a married man, and that he loves her.

Janie! You are delusional, sister! (And don't even get me going about how dangerous your behavior is.)

16. "Lucille" by Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers (1977) describes a married woman who has cozied up to a stranger in a bar when in walks her husband, a struggling farmer. The husband chastises her:

You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille
With four hungry children
And a crop in the field
I've had some bad times
Lived through some sad times
But this time your hurtin' won't heal
You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille.