TARA DYER STOYLE: There’s always room for a good cheatin’ song

I guess one of my favorite things about music is its honesty.

Life is so full of unexpected twists and turns, and even those of us who have said, “I would never do …” have found ourselves not only doing whatever we filled in the blank with, but also learning lessons, enjoying and/or regretting that thing.

Today the blank will be filled in with the word cheating.

It’s so easy to sit on your high horse and declare how wrong something is or that you or your spouse would never be unfaithful, but the truth is no one is immune to affairs.

They happen for many reasons. Some people are serial cheaters who have no compassion or concern for their partners’ feelings and are always going to cheat no matter what. There are also people who cheat once in 50 years because they get caught up in a perfect storm of right place, right time, right chemistry, they regret it and never do it again.

Then there are the people in relationships who are miserable … staying for the children, unsatisfied, can’t afford to leave, are being mentally or physically abused, are ignored, etc. Those people may stay faithful for years, but one day they meet a person who makes them feel alive again, who treats them with respect and …

Songwriters have given their candid accounts of this subject in some of the greatest songs ever written. Of course if you’re looking for a good cheatin’ song, the first stop should be classic country.

In “Holding Her and Loving You,” Earl Thomas Conley sang about having a good wife and loving someone else anyway … So don’t expect me to just walk out of the door, I still love her, but I love you more. Side Note: I hate this song.

George Jones sings She said I’ve loved you for a long time, But you’re married to a friend of mine. And I tried hard to never let it show, But my love for you is stronger I can’t hide it any longer … in “Linda on My Mind.”

Soul singer ZZ Hill sang about the goings-on between men and women in “Cheatin’ In The Next Room” … Cheatin’ in the next room, Making plans to meet him soon. Talking softly on the telephone, Making plans to meet him somewhere alone.

And Rupert Holmes’ “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” is a perfect example of how a lot of affairs could be avoided through communication … I was tired of my lady, we’d been together too long, Like a worn-out recording, of a favorite song. So while she lay there sleeping, I read the paper in bed And in the personals column, there was this letter I read …

Chuck Berry’s “Maybeline,” “Me and Mrs. Jones” by Billy Paul, Maroon 5’s “Wake Up Call,” “I F’n Hate You,” by Godsmack, and Rihanna’s “Unfaithful” are a drop in the sea of songs about the topic.

Cheating will continue; people will continue to judge, and writers will keep on writing about it because we are all fallible and long to be loved. The moral of the story is: It’s not right but it happens. We live and love and learn … and listen to songs about it.

Oh, and one last thing … never say never.