Music centred around the phrase ‘the one that got away’ nearly always refers to missed romantic opportunities; specifically the endless feeling of longing and regret for a love that slipped just out of reach.
Whether you’re missing a long-gone romance, or wanting to break up and get away from your current partner, our list of pop songs about the one who got away covers it all.
Songs About The One Who Got Away
1. Katy Perry – The One That Got Away
Katy Perry’s 2011 single The One That Got Away is likely the most well-known track on our list, despite only making it to a shocking #18 on the UK charts.
Perry’s pop track is crafted around the teenage feeling of true love which slowly and inexplicably flickers away. The narrator reminisces on their long-gone lovestruck adventures whilst wishing for a second chance with their ex;
“Used to steal your parents’ liquor and climb to the roof, talk about our future like we had a clue, never planned that one day I’d be losing you … In another life, I would be your girl… In another life, I would make you stay, so I don’t have to say you were the one that got away.”
This upbeat anthem is perfect for anyone feeling suffocated by the fallout of their choices and the ever-persistent memory of a lost lover.
2. P!NK – The One That Got Away
This 2006 album track by P!nk uses its country pop genre to tell a lush love story that was never meant to be. P!nk’s wildly evocative, scene-setting lyrics describe accidentally falling in love with a band member at a bar whilst knowing that he’s already taken.
P!nk’s lyrics translate beautifully to any situation where you fleetingly meet a man and proceed to spend the rest of the week thinking about nothing but him;
“But you’ll always be mine, in the back of my mind, oh, we had a night, just a little while … There’s always one that gets away, the one that sneaks up on you then slips away.”
P!nk details feeling haunted by lingering memories of a lost lover – a theme which makes recurring appearances throughout the songs on our list; “In a closed-off corner of my heart, yes, I’ll always see your face, the one that got away.”
But her take on the concept in The One That Got Away is inherently uplifting in the face of disaster, undertoned by a breathtaking sense of nostalgia.
3. The Civil Wars – The One That Got Away
The One That Got Away by The Civil Wars is centred in a masterfully sparse and moody blues/country soundscape. The gritty, cinematic ambience conjured by the band is almost reminiscent of the Breaking Bad theme, forming a fitting backdrop for a lyrical story with a dark romantic twist.
The Civil Wars spin their title concept to address the exact opposite of what’s expected from the title phrase. Rather than being moved by regret for losing an ex, the narrator instead wants their current partner gone for good; “I wish you were the one, wish you were the one that got away.”
This is a track for anyone wishing they could go back to the start, before they met the person they fell in and out of love with; “I never meant to get us in this deep, I never meant for this to mean a thing … I wish I’d never ever seen your face.”
4. Alice Cooper – The One That Got Away
Taken from Alice Cooper’s 2008 heavy metal concept album, Along Came A Spider, this song is a jigsaw piece forming a much bigger story about a serial killer harvesting a single leg from eight victims in order to build a human spider.
Putting a macabre twist on the concept of losing a lover, The One That Got Away details a murderer’s gruesome thoughts as he weighs up the pros and cons of killing his next victim, “You look like you’d fit in the trunk of my car, I might let you live, I might go too far.”
Alice cleverly embellishes his lyrics with sentiments that could fit just as well within any common love song about this topic, from the inevitability of eventual loss to the subtle slip into lovelorn insanity;
“Should I let you be the one that got away? Knew it would happen but I didn’t know it’d be today, all the voices in my head always seem insane, the one that got away.”
5. Weezer – The One That Got Away
Weezer thread their 2022 indie rock/pop punk track The One That Got Away with some unexpected proggy chord progressions, accenting their soundscape with a nostalgically grungy yet up-tempo atmosphere.
This track completely transcends its modern release date, the band styling their sound as if it were a track featured on their initial 1990s releases.
The One That Got Away is about meeting an old crush or an ex again and feeling wasted at the thought of them moving on without you;
“You look good, and your hair is full, and I know it’s inappropriate, but I’m sad without you, I still think about you, the one that got away.”
6. Tim McGraw – The One That Got Away
Tim McGraw’s The One That Got Away is an atmospheric country track written in adoration of a girl who can’t be tied down in place by any man or circumstance.
McGraw details a popular girl hiding her issues and trauma, evading the grasp of negativity;
“You kept your face in the gutter for years, kept your eyes on the road … You tucked your scars up under your dress like an American girl … it’s funny how they put you down, but now they think you’re alright, and everybody loves you now that you’re the one that got away.”
7. Jake Owen – The One That Got Away
Jake Owen’s 2012 country rock single, The One That Got Away, tells a story of fleeting love with a girl who stayed in your home town for summer vacation.
With lyrics coated in romance and longing, Owen’s bright-skied track is open about the infuriating regret following the end of a relationship which could have been pursued;
“She was the one that got away, the one that wrecked my heart, I shoulda never let her go, I shoulda begged her to stay.”
This track hides some truly mesmerising sentiments within its lyrics, empowering them even more through its power ballad distortions; “We wrote our names in the sand under the star-soaked sky, but it washed away like she did with the rising tide.”