Top 20 Country Songs About Cheating

Cheaters Are Everywhere in Country Songs

Country singer
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So many country music legends have written and recorded songs about cheating lovers that it can be hard to choose just a few top favorites. From Dolly Parton to Merle Haggard, enjoy hearing about all the ways a man can cheat on his woman, and vice versa.

01
of 20

Shania Twain: "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?"

the woman in me album cover
Image courtesy of Polygram/Mercury Records

Shania Twain wonders about where her man's been spending his free time in this doo-wop song from her second album. It became Twain's first gold single.

Cheating Song Lyric: "Whose bed have your boots been under? And whose heart did you steal I wonder? This time, did it feel like thunder, baby?"

02
of 20

Gram Parsons: "We'll Sweep Out the Ashes in the Morning"

gram parsons gp album cover
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Records

With Emmylou Harris, the country-rock maverick takes on the cheating song in this tune that sounds like it could have been a George Jones original.

Cheating Song Lyric: "We'll taste the thrill of stolen love tonight, until the dawning. Then we'll sweep out the ashes in the morning."

03
of 20

Sunny Sweeney: "Amy"

Concrete album cover
Image courtesy of Republic Nashville Records

The other woman has her say in this unconventional cheating song from Sunny Sweeney. It's something like a response song to Dolly Parton's "Jolene."

Cheating Song Lyric: "Amy, he never meant to be untrue. But he needed love he said he never got from you."

04
of 20

Webb Pierce: "Back Street Affair"

it's been so long album review
Image courtesy of Jasmine Records

Ladies, watch out! You could be paying for a cheating husband's indiscretions if you're not careful. The best intentions become grist for gossip in this hit song from Webb Pierce.

Cheating Song Lyric: "They say you wrecked my home, I'm a husband that's gone wrong. They don't know the sorrow that we've had to bear."

05
of 20

Phil Lee: "I'm the Why She's Gone"

the mighty king of love album cover
Image courtesy of Shanachie Entertainment

A heartbroken friend needs a shoulder to cry on. But is his ol' buddy really a wolf in sheep's clothing? "I'm the Why She's Gone" is an index of Phil Lee's acerbic songwriting talents.

Cheating Song Lyric: "If you knew why she left like this, you say you could carry on. But I'd say ignorance is bliss; cause I know why she's gone."

06
of 20

Lee Ann Womack: "There's More Where That Came From"

There's more where that came from album cover
Image courtesy of Legacy Records

A cheating woman's conscience gets to her. But she's too honest with herself to pretend that she's not going to go back to that seedy motel room again.

Cheating Song Lyric: "My guilty conscience can't kill my heart's desire. Just like a drop of rain can't put out a raging fire."

07
of 20

Vern Gosdin: "This Ain't My First Rodeo"

vern gosdin super hits album cover
Image courtesy of Columbia Records

Don't try to fool the guy who's been fooled before. Vern Gosdin is great in this song about a man's intuition.

Cheating Song Lyric: My mama didn't raise any fools. I may not be the Einstein, of our time. But honey, I'm not dumb and I'm not blind."

08
of 20

Sugarland: "Stay"

enjoy the ride album cover
Image courtesy of Mercury Nashville Records

She's had enough with his lowdown cheating ways. But the tide's about to turn. Just wait until the third verse.

Cheating Song Lyric: "When she calls you to go, there is one thing you should know. We don't have to live this way. Baby, why don't you stay?"

09
of 20

John Anderson: "She Just Started Liking Cheatin' Songs"

john anderson debut album cover
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Records

Be careful with listening to too many songs from this list. Your significant other may start to get the wrong idea! Take it from John Anderson's humorous "She Just Started Liking Cheatin' Songs."

Cheating Song Lyric: "She just started liking cheatin' songs, and what's bothering me: I'm not sure if it's the cheatin' she likes...or just the melody."

10
of 20

Merle Haggard: "I'll Always Know"

mama tried album cover
Image courtesy of Capitol Records

You can't pull one over on Merle Haggard. He could see through a woman's heart like a glass half-full with water.

Cheating Song Lyric: "I'll always know when you've been cheating. Yeah, I'll always know you've been untrue. I'll always know."

11
of 20

Randy Travis" "Reasons I Cheat"

storms of life album cover
Image courtesy of Warner Bros.

This blunt song lays out the reasons why one man flees to the arms of another woman. If you thought infidelity was the worst of your problems, you're wrong. This is '80s country at its gloomiest.

Cheating Song Lyric: "The dreams that I've buried, the load that I've carried, are some of the reasons I cheat."

Listen

12
of 20

Gary Stewart: "She's Actin' Single"

the essential gary stewart album cover
Image courtesy of RCA Records

Cheating exacts a heavy toll on a man's heart, mind, and liver. While she's out playing the field, he's drowning his troubles one drink at a time.

Cheating Song Lyric: "I hide my pain, I drown my troubles. My heart is breaking, like the tiny bubbles. She's actin' single, I'm drinkin' doubles."

13
of 20

Alan Jackson: "Who's Cheatin' Who"

everything i love album cover
Image courtesy of Arista Records

What goes behind closed doors is an eye-opening experience. Everyone's making love—except with the one they're supposed to be with—in this rollicking cut from Alan Jackson.

Cheating Song Lyric: "Who's cheatin' who, who's being true? Who don't even care anymore?"

14
of 20

Kenny Rogers: "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town"

kenny rogers anthology album cover
Image courtesy of Redline Records

This super dark song was written by Mel Tillis. It's a first-person account of a crippled veteran who watches helplessly as his wife Ruby "takes her love to town." Despite the harrowing material, Kenny Rogers's "Ruby" sold over a million copies.

Cheating Song Lyric: "You've painted up your lips, and rolled and curled your tinted hair. Ruby, are you contemplating going out somewhere?"

15
of 20

Loretta Lynn: "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)"

the definitive collection album cover
Image courtesy of MCA Records

Loretta Lynn isn't about to let another woman walk off with her man. This 1966 song announced to the women of the world: leave her man alone.

Cheating Song Lyric: "It'll be over my dead body, so get out while you can. Cause you ain't woman enough to take my man."

16
of 20

Kenny Chesney: "A Woman Knows"

everywhere we go album cover
Image courtesy of BNA Records

Think you can cheat without getting caught? Think again. Kenny Chesney explains how women always have a way of finding out.

Cheating Song Lyric: "Perfume doesn't linger in a shirt. There's no matchbook in his pocket, with a number and a name. So why does she still hurt?"

17
of 20

Patty Loveless: "Blame It On Your Heart"

only what i feel album cover
Image courtesy of Epic Records

Patty Loveless has no sympathy for the man who done her wrong. She knows where the responsibility goes.

Cheating Song Lyric: "You have failed the test. Hey, blame it on your lying, cheating, cold dead beating, two-timing, double dealing, mean mistreating, loving heart."

18
of 20

George Jones: "The Window Up Above"

the essential george jones album cover
Image courtesy of Legacy Records

A happy husband gets a rude awakening thanks to a view from a window that's not so panoramic. Cue the teardrops. Initiate self-destruct sequence.

Cheating Song Lyric: "I thought we belonged together, and our hearts fit like a glove. But I was wrong for I’ve been watching, from the window up above."

19
of 20

Hank Williams: "Your Cheatin' Heart"

hank williams's 40 greatest hits album cover
Image courtesy of Polydor Records

Hank Williams casts his voodoo curse on a cheating lover in this country classic that's been covered by just about everyone.

Cheating Song Lyric: "Your cheatin' heart will make you weep. You'll cry and cry, and try to sleep."

20
of 20

Dolly Parton: "Jolene"

Jolene album cover
Image courtesy of RCA Records

A helpless woman pleads with a bewitching she-devil named Jolene to let her man alone. What makes this song a classic? The arrangement, Dolly's vocals, and the fact that the woman in the song is dazzled by Jolene's beauty as well.

Cheating Song Lyric: "Your smile is like a breath of spring, your voice is soft like summer rain, and I cannot compete with you, Jolene."