23 Country Songs About Missing Someone
Whether an ex-lover, a family member, a friend, or a way of life, we all miss something in our lives from time to time.
These great country songs about missing someone can help you wallow in the sad feelings or try to feel better by realizing you're not alone.
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1. “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton
Song Year: 1974
Dolly Parton wrote this song as a goodbye to her mentor and duet partner, Porter Wagoner, when she decided to break out as a solo artist.
The song about always loving someone no matter how far away they are hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1974 and again in 1982 as part of the soundtrack for her film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
Whitney Houston recorded the song in 1992 for the movie The Bodyguard and broke a record by staying at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks.
2. “See You Again” by Carrie Underwood
Song Year: 2013
Carrie Underwood was already a country star when she released this song about missing someone who died and having to move on. The music offers the hope that we'll see our loved ones again after death.
This track is one of the most popular country songs about missing someone who passed away. It was Underwood's 18th consecutive top-ten hit after she sang it for the first time on American Idol.
3. “Where Do I Put Her Memory?” by Charley Pride
Song Year: 1979
This song became Charley Pride's 21st #1 hit on the country songs chart and one of his most popular country songs from the 70s. It contains many sentiments that people can relate to when they miss someone.
In it, he tries to get rid of the memories by removing pictures and her belongings, but he realizes he doesn't know how to get rid of his memories.
4. “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum
Song Year: 2010
Now known as Lady A, Lady Antebellum had a breakthrough hit with this song, winning four Grammy Awards and hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
This song also hit many pop and adult contemporary charts, becoming a crossover hit for the band. It became the most downloaded country song in digital music history, making it one of the most popular country songs about missing someone that still gets regular radio play.
5. “I Still Miss Someone” by Johnny Cash
Song Year: 1958
Country music legend Johnny Cash wrote this song with his nephew about missing a woman who left. He spends the song wondering if she regrets leaving him and facing reminders of what he lost when he sees other couples together.
He performed the song at most of his live concerts and recorded it as a duet with Bob Dylan in 1969.
6. “The Dance” by Garth Brooks
Song Year: 1990
This beautiful country song comes from Garth Brooks' debut album, the album that launched his successful and record-breaking country music career.
Listeners can interpret the song as about the end of a relationship or the death of a loved one. In the track, Brooks sings about how no matter how much the end might hurt, he's glad he didn't miss out on “the dance.”
The song hit #1 in the US and charted worldwide to become one of his most popular songs.
7. “Too Busy Missing You” by Trent Summar & the New Row Mob
Song Year: 2000
“Too Busy Missing You” is one of the best country songs with an upbeat tempo about missing someone. It's much less mournful or tear-jerking than most songs about missing an ex.
The singer isn't happy about missing an ex-lover as much as he does and complains about everything he does and doesn't do because he spends all his time missing his love.
8. “What Hurts the Most” by Rascal Flatts
Song Year: 2008
Mark Willis originally recorded this song in 2003, and at least two other artists recorded it before Rascal Flatts turned it into a #1 hit on the country and adult contemporary charts in the US.
The song is about everything left unsaid at the end of a relationship and wondering if expressing those feelings might have changed the outcome. It became one of Rascal Flatts' biggest hits.
9. “I'm Already There” by Lonestar
Song Year: 2001
Lonestar was a popular country group by the time they released this song which became their 5th consecutive #1 hit on the US country chart. It was their 7th song to reach the top spot and remains one of their most popular tunes.
In the song, a father who's an over-the-road truck driver tells a child who's missing him that he's already there because he loves his family so much that he never really leaves them.
10. “Every Light in the House” by Trace Adkins
Song Year: 1996
The second single from Trace Adkins' debut album hit #3 on what's not the Hot Country Songs chart, making it his first hit to reach the top five.
The tune is one of the country songs about missing someone after the end of a marriage. In the song, he leaves every light in the house burning just in case his ex-wife decides to come home.
11. “He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones
Song Year: 1980
Some music fans and experts consider this #1 country hit the greatest country song ever recorded. It became one of George Jones' biggest hits in 1980 and again after Jones died in 2013.
The song is about a man who spent his life hoping the woman he loved would return and stopped loving her only when he died. Country star Alan Jackson performed the song at Jones' funeral.
12. “You Were Always on my Mind” by Willie Nelson
Song Year: 1982
Originally written in 1972, this song became a single for multiple artists over the years, including Elvis Presley, whose version was the first to hit the music charts.
Willie Nelson's version hit #1 on the country chart and the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song about an ex-lover staying on his mind won Nelson three Grammy Awards and became one of his most popular and enduring tunes.
13. “How Do I Live” by LeAnn Rimes
Song Year: 1997
LeAnn Rimes was only 14 years old when released this single on the same day that well-known country star Trisha Yearwood released the same song.
Yearwood's version appeared in the film Con Air and won her a Grammy Award shortly after Rimes performed the song at the award ceremony. Rimes' version became the country music fan favorite and sold over 3 million copies within a few months.
It became one of the most famous country songs about missing someone and one of Rimes' biggest hits.
14. “Strawberry Wine” by Deanne Carter
Song Year: 1996
Deanne Carter released this song about coming of age and missing the people and places of youth as the first single from her debut album. It's a sentimental song filled with nostalgia about first love and all the expectations that come with it.
The song was Carter's first #1 country hit and her most popular song.
15. “The Song Remembers When” by Trisha Yearwood
Song Year: 1993
This title song from Yearwood's third studio album hit #2 on the country song chart and became her first crossover hit when it hit the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Yearwood won an Emmy Award for the song after it appeared in her Disney Channel music special of the same name.
The tune is one of the country songs about missing someone that acknowledges how music can trigger memories of people and places we miss but might have forgotten for a while.
16. “I Still Miss You” by Keith Anderson
Song Year: 2008
“I Still Miss You” hit #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart faster than any other song Keith Anderson recorded. Unlike many country songs about missing someone, this tune is slightly more up-tempo and about trying to move on instead of wallowing in memories.
Despite all the things the singer does, including listening to new radio stations and eating at new restaurants, he still misses the love that left him.
17. “You'll Think of Me” by Keith Urban
Song Year: 2002
This #1 country hit by Keith Urban was a crossover hit, also reaching the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary, and Adult Top 40 charts.
Urban's hit is one of the country songs about missing someone where he promises his ex she'll miss him more than he misses her.
In this popular song, Urban sings about how his ex-lover will think of him and miss him now that she's gone. He lists all the things he wants her to take and reminds her that he's going to get over her, but she'll miss him and regret leaving.
18. “Hello Darlin'” by Conway Twitty
Song Year: 1970
This song was Conway Twitty's fourth #1 country hit and became an anthem for anyone who ran into a past lover and felt pangs of nostalgia. He sings about doing fine since they broke up but soon admits that he has trouble sleeping and cries at night without her.
By the time they part ways, he says how sorry he is for causing them to break up and makes it clear that she can come back to him anytime.
19. “I Fall to Pieces” by Patsy Cline
Song Year: 1961
This #1 country song became one of legendary singer Patsy Cline's biggest hits and a country music classic. It also hit the top 20 on the pop music chart.
The song is about a woman who sees an ex-lover and falls apart because she still misses him. Hearing his name or seeing him makes her wonder how she can pretend to feel only friendship.
Many other artists, including Trisha Yearwood and Jimmy Reeves, recorded the song, but Cline's version became the definitive recording.
20. “Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning)” by Gary Allan
Song Year: 2005
Alternative rock band Vertical Horizon originally released this song in 1999 and hit the top ten on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart.
In 2005, Gary Allan covered it as a country song and hit #7 on the Hot County Songs chart. The song was his 8th to hit the top ten and his bestselling single until 2012.
Allan sings about missing an ex who appears to be living a wonderful life and points out that he's doing okay even though she's still the best he ever had. He claims he doesn't want her back, but the lyrics make it clear he wants that more than anything.
21. “Whiskey Lullaby” by Brad Paisley ft. Alison Krauss
Song Year: 2003
This sad collaboration between Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss is one of the best country songs about missing someone so bad it makes you want to die.
The tune reached #3 on the Hot Country Songs chart and won the Country Music Association (CMA) Song of the Year Award.
This slow, acoustic song is one of the most tear-jerking country songs of the century. It tells the story of a man who drank himself to death while missing his ex and how that ex feels so guilty over his death that she drinks herself to death afterward.
22. “Come Back . . . Be Here” by Taylor Swift
Song Year: 2012
One of Taylor Swift's first country and pop hits is about missing someone far away she's fallen in love with and wants to be with her in a more serious relationship.
Most of us can relate to wanting an absent person to be with us right now instead of having to wait for them to return.
Many of Swift's hits are about real-life lovers, and fans speculate that the song is about Harry Styles, whom she dated briefly. The song references one lover in New York and one in London, which fit their relationship at the time.
23. “Carrying Your Love With Me” by George Strait
Song Year: 1997
The title song from Strait's 17th studio album hit #1 on what's now the Hot Country Songs chart and earned him a Grammy Award nomination.
Unlike some of the best country songs about missing someone, this song isn't about an ex or anyone who passed away. Instead, George Strait sings about being away from home and carrying his wife's love with him wherever he goes.
He always intends to go home and names the places he has to go while reassuring his wife that her love is with him while he's gone. He hasn't brought much in his bag because going home is what he cares about the most.
Top Country Songs About Missing Someone, Final Thoughts
This list of the best country songs about missing someone contains slow, mournful tunes that dwell on sadness and upbeat songs about getting over painful memories.
You can interpret some songs as about someone who's passed away or is still alive but absent from the singer's life.
Regardless of your favorite type of tune, these relatable lyrics can help when you're in the mood for something sad and sentimental.