Revenge songs have been around as long as people have had scores to settle, which is to say forever. This list covers everything from a woman keying her ex’s truck to a medieval alchemist cursing a royal bloodline to extinction.
Be sure to check out the Songs About Revenge Playlist at the bottom of this page.
Best Songs About Revenge
1. “Before He Cheats” – Carrie Underwood
Lyric Sample: “I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive.”
Underwood is the queen of revenge songs, and this is probably her best one. It’s about a woman who knows her boyfriend is cheating on her and channels her anger into destroying his truck.
Related: “Before He Cheats” Song Meaning
2. “Vigilante Shit” – Taylor Swift
Lyric Sample: “While he was doin’ lines and crossin’ all of mine, someone told his white-collar crimes to the FBI.”
Swift trades in her diary for a dagger on this 2022 dark pop tune. She teams up with a scorned woman to ruin a corrupt man’s reputation and let the feds do the rest.
3. “Ballad of Frankenstein’s Monster” – 12 Step Rebels
Lyric Sample: “I can’t stand to see my own reflection, ’cause I see the monster they tell me that I am.”
This 2015 punk song retells the Frankenstein story from the monster’s perspective, a being who only wanted happiness but was tortured, rejected, and driven to revenge.
4. “A Bullet for Ramona” – Warren Zevon
Lyric Sample: “Oh, today I shot Ramona, Ma, she ain’t gonna cheat on me.”
“A Bullet for Ramona” is a dark ’70s track about a man who takes deadly revenge after discovering his partner’s betrayal.
5. “Blood for Blood” – Machine Head
Lyric Sample: “I bite the hand ’cause this hand feeds off me, ignorance is bliss, and respect I gave you.”
Machine Head’s 1994 thrash metal song is about a friend who turned out to be a liar and a leech, and the code that replaces trust once trust has been destroyed.
6. “Janie’s Got a Gun” – Aerosmith
Lyric Sample: “Janie’s got a gun, her whole world’s come undone.”
Steven Tyler wrote this in 1989 about a girl who shoots her father after years of sexual abuse. Her act is treated as justice rather than crime.
7. “Get Him Back!” – Olivia Rodrigo
Lyric Sample: “I wanna meet his mom just to tell her her son sucks.”
“Get Him Back!” is a 2023 pop tune about the messy, contradictory headspace after a breakup where revenge and reconciliation feel equally appealing depending on the hour.
8. “Hit ‘Em Up” – 2Pac
Lyric Sample: “First off, f*** your b**** and the clique you claim.”
2Pac’s 1996 diss track is one of the most aggressive revenge songs ever recorded, naming every target, including The Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy.
9. “Blown Away” – Carrie Underwood
Lyric Sample: “Some people called it taking shelter, she called it sweet revenge.”
Underwood’s 2012 country song is about a girl who grows up with a violent, alcoholic father and chooses not to wake him when a tornado warning sounds, letting the storm take care of what she couldn’t.
10. “Your Time Is Gonna Come” – Led Zeppelin
Lyric Sample: “Made up my mind to break you this time.”
Led Zeppelin’s ’60s revenge song is about the satisfaction of knowing karma is coming for a cheating partner, even if it hasn’t arrived yet.
11. “Roses on White Lace” – Alice Cooper
Lyric Sample: “Blood drops look like roses on white lace, they won’t wash away.”
This 1987 shock rock track is about a man who murders a woman on her wedding day. He was left crippled by what she did to him, and his revenge is the last thing she ever sees.
12. “Trailer for Rent” – Pistol Annies
Lyric Sample: “Trailer for rent, no down payment, comes with some holes and dents where I got tired of his shit.”
“Trailer for Rent” is a 2011 country song about a woman who changes the locks, puts her husband’s stuff on the lawn, and lists the trailer for rent before he even knows what’s happened.
13. “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” – Nancy Sinatra
Lyric Sample: “You keep lyin’ when you oughta be truthin’.”
Sinatra’s 1960s hit is about a man who has been lying and cheating throughout the relationship, and the moment she finally stops putting up with it and walks out the door.
Related: Best Songs About Moving On
14. “Church Bells” – Carrie Underwood
Lyric Sample: “It was all bruises, covered in makeup, dark sunglasses.”
Released in 2016, “Church Bells” is another Southern gothic revenge tale from Underwood, this one involving a wealthy abuser and a bottle of sleeping pills.
15. “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” – Pat Benatar
Lyric Sample: “Knock me down, it’s all in vain, I get right back on my feet again.”
Benatar’s 1980 rock classic is about turning the tables on someone who thinks they have power over her. She dares him to do his worst but promises she’s not the one who should be scared.
Related: Best Karaoke Songs for Women
16. “The Payback” – James Brown
Lyric Sample: “I don’t know karate, but I know ka-razor.”
In this 1973 funk epic, Brown sings about his confidence that the people who wronged him will eventually get what they have coming.
17. “Mariner’s Revenge Song” – The Decemberists
Lyric Sample: “We are two mariners, our ship’s sole survivors.”
The Decemberists’ 2005 song is a 8-minute seafaring epic about a man who spent his entire life tracking down the con artist who destroyed his mother and left her in poverty, finally catching up with him inside the belly of a whale.
Related: Best Songs That Tell a Story
18. “Gunpowder & Lead” – Miranda Lambert
Lyric Sample: “I’m goin’ home, gonna load my shotgun.”
This 2007 country song is about a woman whose abusive partner is about to be released from jail, and what she’s doing while she waits for him to come home.
Related: Single of the Year (CMAs)
19. “Five Minutes Alone” – Pantera
Lyric Sample: “You cry for compensation, I ask you please just give us five minutes alone.”
Pantera’s 1994 track is about a man threatening someone who has talked trash about him publicly, asking for five minutes alone with them to settle it without witnesses.
20. “Revenge” – Pink ft. Eminem
Lyric Sample: “Let me count the ways how I’ll get you, or how I’ll make you pay.”
This 2017 duet is about two people who have wronged each other and are cheerfully planning mutually assured destruction. Both of them are fully committed to burning things down regardless of the cost.
21. “Iron Man” – Black Sabbath
Lyric Sample: “Now the time is here for Iron Man to spread fear.”
“Iron Man” is a 1970 story song in which a man becomes the Iron Man, tries to warn people, gets rejected and mocked, and eventually snaps and destroys everyone.
Related: “Iron Man” Song Meaning
22. “Dirt Room” – Blue October
Lyric Sample: “I’m like a ghost, I’ll be living in a dirt room, waiting for the day to be closer.”
Frontman Justin Furstenfeld wrote this 2008 rock song about the psychological abuse he says he experienced from a former manager and business partner, and the fantasy of locking that person in a room for what they did.
23. “Look What You Made Me Do” – Taylor Swift
Lyric Sample: “I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ’cause she’s dead!”
Swift’s 2017 hit is about the version of herself that came back after being publicly torn apart by her critics and enemies, cooler and more calculating than the one they thought they’d buried.
24. “The Alchemist” – Blue Öyster Cult
Lyric Sample: “May never a noble of your murderous line, survive to reach a greater age than thine.”
In this 2020 rock tune, an alchemist who watches a king murder his father curses the entire royal bloodline to extinction.
25. “Two Black Cadillacs” – Carrie Underwood
Lyric Sample: “One is for his wife, the other for the woman who loved him at night.”
This 2012 country song is about two women who discover they were both involved with the same man. They join forces to take revenge.
26. “Bust Your Windows” – Jazmine Sullivan
Lyric Sample: “I bust the windows out your car, after I saw you layin’ next to her.”
This 2008 R&B revenge song is about a woman who smashes her cheating boyfriend’s car windows and doesn’t regret a second of it.
Related: Songs About Cheating
27. “Goodbye Earl” – The Chicks
Lyric Sample: “That Earl had to die, goodbye Earl, those black-eyed peas, they tasted alright to me.”
The Chicks’ 1999 classic is about two lifelong best friends who poison an abusive husband when the legal system fails to protect the woman he’s been beating.
Related: Best Songs About Friendship
28. “Buenas Tardes Amigo” – Ween
Lyric Sample: “You killed my brother last winter, you shot him three times in the back.”
This ’90s country parody is about a Mexican man who spent years tracking the outlaw who killed his brother, delivered as a polite, almost cheerful ballad.
29. “Screaming for Vengeance” – Judas Priest
Lyric Sample: “We are screamin’, screamin’ for vengeance, the world is a manacled place.”
This 1982 heavy metal song is about fighting back against oppression and injustice. Revenge becomes the only answer after enough damage is done.
30. “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” – Vicki Lawrence
Lyric Sample: “That’s the night that they hung an innocent man.”
This 1970s Southern Gothic classic follows a sister avenging her brother’s wrongful execution. It’s a twist-filled story where she takes justice into her own hands.
Related: Best Songs About Georgia and Songs About Brothers
31. “The Vengeful One” – Disturbed
Lyric Sample: “I’m the hand of God, I’m the dark messiah, I’m the vengeful one.”
Disturbed’s 2015 song is told from the perspective of a dark angel or divine avenger who has come to punish the people running the corrupt media machine, politicians, and power structures that feed on human suffering.
Conclusion
A good revenge song fully commits to the bit, and every one of these songs does that. That’s why most of them are considered classics!
If you liked this list, you may also enjoy our Songs About Cheating, Songs About Divorce, and Songs About Envy collections.
