The all-time classic has to be 'Love Hurts' by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. It's been recorded by many people but the best version by far is the one by Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris. Nobody could express pain like Parsons and this song is what put Emmylou Harris on the map.

I really like John Prine's 'Love, Love, Love' off 'German Afternoons. It's sad but realistic, without having a hopeless feel to it. 'Do not stand so close to the flame of love unless you are willing to get burned' just sums up the subject.

It's bleak but The dBs' 'Amplifier' just rocks. The lyric's not explicit and you have to connect the dots yourself to really get the song.

'Dreaming My Dreams With You' is more reflective than others of this type, no blame is being handed out or accepted in it, it's just a reflection of what might have been. Waylon Jennings had a hit on it and Alison Krauss' version is good, if overly sweet, but I still like the way Allen Reynolds did it originally.