If there is any genre of music that can evoke strong emotions in songs, it’s country music. For decades, country songs have been able to stir up all kinds of feelings, including heartbreaking ones. These three country songs, all released in the 1980s, will almost always make us shed a tear.

“Nobody In His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her” by George Strait

The only thing worse than a broken heart is knowing you caused it, which George Strait sings about in “Nobody In His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her”. Out in 1986 on Strait’s #7 album, Dean Dillon is the sole writer of the song.

“Nobody In His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her” says, “Even my heart was smart enough to stay behind / I still carry her picture; I wish her well / With the new love I know she’s found by now / Each night finds me dreaming, each day I spend thinking / How much I wish she was still around / ‘Cause nobody in his right mind would’ve left her / I had to be crazy to say goodbye / Nobody in his right mind would’ve left her.”

“The Last One To Know” by Reba McEntire

“The Last One To Know” is the title track of Reba McEntire’s 1987 album. Written by Jane Bach and Matraca Berg, the song tells a tragic story of being in love with someone who has moved on to someone else.

“The Last One To Know” says, “It would be easier to face the morning / If you were holding me tonight / But you left me without a warning / Holding on to a heartache / While she’s holding you tight / Tell me why is the last one to know / The first one to cry and the last to let go / Why, is the one left behind / The one left alone with no one to hold / The last one to know.”

“He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones

It’s impossible to have a list of sad country songs, especially from the 1980s, and not include George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today“. Written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putnam, Jones released the song in 1980.

“He Stopped Loving Her Today” is about a man who loves a woman for his entire life, until he dies. The song says,” He stopped loving her today / They placed a wreath upon his door / And soon they’ll carry him away / He stopped loving her today.”

In Jones’ I Lived To Tell It All autobiography, he recalls how wrong he was about “He Stopped Loving Her Today”. After several years of not having success at radio, Jones had no idea that the song would become his first No. 1 hit in six years, let alone become one of the most remembered songs of his career.

“I looked [producer Billy Sherrill] square in the eye and said, ‘Nobody’s gonna buy that thing. It’s too morbid,’” Jones recalls (via Classic Country Music Stories). In hindsight, Jones credits “He Stopped Loving Her Today” with saving his entire career.

“Just that quickly. I don’t mean to belabor this comparison, but a four-decade career was salvaged by a three-minute song.”