"The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" is a song written by

Greg Kihn Gregory Stanley Kihn (; July 10, 1949 – August 13, 2024) was an American rock musician, radio personality, and novelist. He founded and led the Greg Kihn Band and he wrote several popular horror novels. He is best known for the hits " The Br ...

and Steve Wright and recorded by the American rock band

the Greg Kihn Band The Greg Kihn Band was an American band that was started by frontman Greg Kihn and bassist Steve Wright (bassist), Steve Wright. Their most successful singles include "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" (Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' H ...

. It is the first single from the band's sixth studio album, '' RocKihnRoll'' (1981). The song's musical style encompasses

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

and

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

Meaning

It celebrates the quality of breakup songs in rock's earlier times, as the narrator laments both his recent breakup and the fact that they don't write good breakup songs anymore.

Release

The song reached No. 15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart and #5 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Top Tracks Classic Vinyl is a Sirius XM Radio channel focusing on classic rock music mostly from the late-1960s to the mid-1970s, with the channel's name meant to indicate that it consists of music that first appeared on vinyl records. This encompasses mus ...

chart.

In popular culture

It has been featured in several films, including '' Let Me In'' (2010), ''

The House of the Devil ''The House of the Devil'' is a 2009 American horror film written, directed, and edited by Ti West, starring Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, Greta Gerwig, A. J. Bowen, and Dee Wallace. The plot concerns a young college student ...

'' (2009), ''

The Groomsmen ''The Groomsmen'' is a 2006 comedy film written and directed by Edward Burns. It opened in New York City and Los Angeles on July 14, 2006. Filming took place at many locations in the City Island section of the Bronx. Plot A groom and his four ...

'' (2006) and '' Beautiful Girls'' (1996), as well as in the smash-hit

Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...

video game ''

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

'' (2013), appearing on in-game radio station Los Santos Rock Radio. It was sampled in "Gone" by Yelawolf on his ''

Arena Rap ''Arena Rap'' is the first extended play by American rapper Yelawolf. It was released on December 28, 2008 under record label Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment and management group Redd Klay Entertainment. Track listing ;Sample credits *"Come on O ...

'' EP. It was also featured in a season five episode of ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

''. Additionally, the TV show '' The Nanny'' made a reference to the song when Fran said they don't write them like that anymore.

Track listing

* 12" maxi (AS-11506) #"The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" - 3:42 #"The Girl Most Likely" - 3:46 #"Can't Stop Hurtin' Myself" - 4:30 #"Valerie" - 2:44 * 7" single (B-47149) #"The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" - 2:50 #"When the Music Starts" - 2:34

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em), The 1981 singles 1981 songs Greg Kihn songs Beserkley Records singles Songs written by Greg Kihn Breakup songs