50 Best Country Songs About Wanting Someone You Can't Have

Country Songs on Wanting Someone Out of Reach

There’s a certain ache that comes when you want someone you can’t reach. Not full heartbreak, not casual crush, something stuck between. The feeling rides shotgun late at night, humming under neon bar lights or rolling through farmland windows. Country music leans into that space, carrying the knot in your chest with steel guitar and slow drawl. Some tracks lean straight into longing, others circle around it, but they all leave you stuck on the same question—what if.

Plenty of artists in pop, rock, country, and R&B songs have circled this theme too, but the country versions carry their own grit. You hear the want in cracked vocals, in lyrics that linger too long on someone’s name. Some of these songs stretch the idea, not spelling out the unreachable love but still echoing the same energy. It’s that restless space where desire flips into obsession, where every line feels like a confession never said aloud.

No one walks through it clean. It’s messy, a little raw, sometimes even fun in its reckless way. One track might feel like a whisper, another like a drunk phone call, but they all feed the same restless pull. That’s the kind of music that pins down this feeling, and here are the best country songs on wanting someone you can’t have.

1. 'I Can't Make You Love Me' by Bonnie Raitt

2. 'I Can't Stop Loving You' by Ray Charles

3. 'A Little Bit Stronger' by Sara Evans

4. 'Tequila' by Dan + Shay

5. 'I Hope You're Happy Now' by Carly Pearce and Lee Brice

6. 'The Most Beautiful Girl' by Charlie Rich

7. 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' by George Jones

8. 'Unanswered Prayers' by Garth Brooks

9. 'Breathe' by Faith Hill

10. 'You Look So Good in Love' by George Strait

11. 'She's Gone, Gone, Gone' by Alabama

12. 'The Man Comes Around' by Johnny Cash

13. 'That Summer' by Garth Brooks

14. 'I'm Not Gonna Love You Anymore' by Michael Ray

15. 'The Long and Winding Road' by The Beatles

16. 'The Whiskey Ain't Working' by Travis Tritt and Marty Stuart

17. 'I Was a Fool' by Chris Stapleton

18. 'I'd Love to Lay You Down' by Conway Twitty

19. 'Let Me Down Easy' by Billy Currington

20. 'Better Man' by Little Big Town

21. 'You Should Be Here' by Cole Swindell

22. 'Need You Now' by Lady A

23. 'I Can't Get You Off My Mind' by Hank Williams

24. 'I Could Use a Love Song' by Maren Morris

25. 'Someone Else's Heartache' by Eric Church

26. 'I'm Gonna Miss Her' by Brad Paisley

27. 'Stay' by Florida Georgia Line

28. 'Somebody Else's Problem' by Jason Aldean

29. 'I Can't Unlove You' by Kenny Rogers

30. 'The Fear of Being Alone' by Reba McEntire

31. 'The One That Got Away' by Jake Owen

32. 'Dibs' by Kelsea Ballerini

33. 'Tears on My Guitar' by Taylor Swift

34. 'The Good Stuff' by Kenny Chesney

35. 'Give Me Your Love' by Blake Shelton

36. 'Whiskey Glasses' by Morgan Wallen

37. 'Never Again Again' by Lee Ann Womack

38. 'I've Got a Rock and a Rolling Stone' by Toby Keith

39. 'Just to See You Smile' by Tim McGraw

40. 'I've Got a Thing About You Baby' by Elvis Presley

41. 'Remember When' by Alan Jackson

42. 'The Last Thing on My Mind' by Dolly Parton

43. 'Lonely Street' by Patsy Cline

44. 'She's Got a Way with Words' by Blake Shelton

45. 'I Miss You' by Kacey Musgraves

46. 'Your Cheatin' Heart' by Hank Williams

47. 'Love You Like That' by Canaan Smith

48. 'Somebody Like You' by Keith Urban

49. 'Busted' by The Kentucky Headhunters

50. 'I Saw the Light' by Hank Williams