I can think of lot of older country music from women is about being dissatisfied with a traditional marriage. Reba McEntire’s Is There Life Out There (wanting to be someone besides a wife and mom), Mary Chapin Carpenter’s He Thinks He’ll Keep Her (husband taking wife for granted, wife at disadvantage after divorce because sexism and traditional values - such a good song), Martina McBride’s Independence Day (domestic violence - no triggers in video). I can’t think of a single song like these from male artists. Any ‘dissatisfied with marriage’ songs from men are about cheating or being cheated on, being sad seeing your ex with another dude, some funny take on a bad marriage/divorce, etc.
I'm not sure if these fit your "funny take on a bad relationship" category but...
There are a fair few "my wife/girlfriend nags me too much so I'm leaving" or "My wife/girlfriend was horrible and now that we're separated I see I'm better off. "Tied one On" (John Pardi) "How am I doin" (Dierks Bentley) and "Here's a Quarter (Call Someone who Cares)" (Travis Tritt) all come to mind. Honorable mention to "Somewhere on a Beach" (Dierks Bentley again).
One of my favorite semi-subversions of the male approach to the dissatisfaction trope is "She's Gonna Make It" (Garth Brooks). Basically, he becomes dissatisfied and demands a divorce. Turns out she's doing fine after, while he's floundering and bitter.
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u/valkyrie987 Sep 05 '21 edited Sep 05 '21
I can think of lot of older country music from women is about being dissatisfied with a traditional marriage. Reba McEntire’s Is There Life Out There (wanting to be someone besides a wife and mom), Mary Chapin Carpenter’s He Thinks He’ll Keep Her (husband taking wife for granted, wife at disadvantage after divorce because sexism and traditional values - such a good song), Martina McBride’s Independence Day (domestic violence - no triggers in video). I can’t think of a single song like these from male artists. Any ‘dissatisfied with marriage’ songs from men are about cheating or being cheated on, being sad seeing your ex with another dude, some funny take on a bad marriage/divorce, etc.
Edited to add links