# Cheerful songs about maudlin things **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 10, 2006, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211 "2006-05-10T12:23:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/61 "2006-05-11T15:04:25Z")
More Weird Al: [Trigger Happy](http://www.alsongs.com/index.cfm?view=alsong&songnumber=70), a Beach Boys style parody about shooting people - “Now why’d you have to get so mad? It was just a lousy flesh wound, Dad!” [The Night Santa Went Crazy](http://www.alsongs.com/index.cfm?view=alsong&songnumber=104), another Christmas song. The “extra gory version” has lines like “Yes, Virginia, now Santa Claus is dead / Some guy from the SWAT team blew a hole through his head.” [Happy Birthday](http://www.alsongs.com/index.cfm?view=alsong&songnumber=5) - “There’s garbage in the water / There’s poison in the sky / I guess it won’t be long before we’re all gonna die!” [Good Old Days](http://www.alsongs.com/index.cfm?view=alsong&songnumber=55), a nice pleasant song about bashing in people’s heads and kidnapping girlfriends ---
**Author:** ![Future\_Londonite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Future\_Londonite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_Londonite)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/62 "2006-05-11T15:09:08Z")
Two words - The Eels… Man does he have a way of putting the ultra-depressing into happy sounding songs. There you are happily bopping your head along, tapping your foot as you listen to the songs only to realize he’s describing his mother’s slow decay into cancer ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/63 "2006-05-11T16:13:35Z")
it’s been said before… but **The Smiths!** Accept Yourself Jeane Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now Back To The Old House Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want These Things Take Time William, It Was Really Nothing Unloveable I Want The One I Can’t Have …that’s just from the first few albums… If you thought **Morrissey** was a big old mope, you sort of missed the humor and joy he reveled in, in that maudlin state. Johnny Marr, a fan of sixties girl groups, brings in upbeat melodies to fuck with your head even more… ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/64 "2006-05-11T16:22:56Z")
Pink Floyd’s **Free Four** off Obscured by Clouds. Over a cheerfull major key guitar shuffle. . . The memories of a man in his old age Are the deeds of a man in his prime You suffer in the gloom of the sick-room And talk to yourself as you die Life is a short warm moment And death is a long cold rest You get your chance to try – in the twinkling of an eye Eighty years with luck – or even less ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/65 "2006-05-11T17:00:12Z")
[Mack the Knife as sung by Bobby Darin](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=369250&highlight=mack+knife). ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/66 "2006-05-11T19:55:47Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > “What A Way To End It All” by Deaf School is a peppy, enthusiastic song about a guy who is going to commit suicide. On the same album, “Second Honeymoon,” are upbeat songs about getting stood up for a date, and a crumbling love affair. Good god I love this board. Simply can’t imagine where else I’d see a reference to DS. Our band covered Capaldi’s Cafe back in the early 80s - the only tune yours truly was allowed to sing! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/67 "2006-05-11T20:03:41Z")
American Pie hasn’t been cited yet, but it’s about the deaths of Richie Valens, Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. Of course, the last verse changes the tone: I met a girl who sang the blues and I asked her for some happy news, But she just smiled and turned away. I went down to the local store, where I’d heard that music years before But the man there said the music wouldn’t play. And in the streets the children screamed, the lovers cried and the poets dreamed, But not a word was spoken, the church bells all were broken. And the three men I admire most, the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost They caught the last train for the coast the day the music died. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/68 "2006-05-11T20:13:44Z")
Lyle Lovett: _Creeps Like Me_. And probably a lot more - I’ve just got a mental block right now. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/69 "2006-05-11T20:34:54Z")
Tori Amos (of course), sounding cheerful for once with – well, admittedly it’s one of her less depressing songs, but still, Happy Phantom, a song about a girl merrily contemplating being dead and ghosting around: _Or will I see you, dear, and wish I could come back You found a girl that you could truly love again Will you still call for me when she falls asleep? Or do we soon forget the things we cannot see?_ There’s more that haven’t been said here but I can’t bring them to mind. ---
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/70 "2006-05-11T20:38:11Z")
MASH theme song “Suicide is Painless” ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/71 "2006-05-11T20:42:37Z")
Off the top of my head, there’s _I Can’t Stand Losing_ by The Police and _Angel Eyes_ by Abba. ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/72 "2006-05-11T20:50:55Z")
I always thought Suzanne Vega’s _Luca_ was a pretty bouncy tune. Unfortunately, now it always reminds me of a stand-up comic I saw on cable, who sang: _My name is Guido. I live on the bottom floor. I beat up Luca._ ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/73 "2006-05-11T20:52:17Z")
Warren Zevon’s “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” is a rollicking romp about someone wallowing in self-pity. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/74 "2006-05-11T20:58:02Z")
Since we’re on Zevon, there’s always Excitable Boy. A nice bouncy tune with lyrics that include: _And he raped her and killed her, then he took her home_ ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/75 "2006-05-11T21:14:43Z")
Charlie Brown (Why’s everybody always picking on me?) Get A Job (sha na na na sha na na na) Wake Up Little Susie ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/76 "2006-05-11T23:11:31Z")
Why am I not surprised that I’m the first to mention this one: **MMMBop** by Hanson No, really. Perhaps the most cheerful song to hit the charts in the last decade is all about how our loved ones can, and will, die at any moment: > [@](#): > > You have so many relationships in this life > Only one or two will last > You’re going through all this pain and strife > Then you turn your back and they’re gone so fast > And they’re gone so fast > So hold on the ones who really care > In the end they’ll be the only ones there > When you get old and start losing your hair > Can you tell me who will still care? > > In an mmm bop they’re gone. > In an mmm bop they’re not there. > In an mmm bop they’re gone. > In an mmm bop they’re not there. They wrote this when the average age of the band members was about eight! ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/77 "2006-05-11T23:18:44Z")
Actually Hanson has a few songs that qualify. One of my favorites is a nice little ditty off of the Underneath album called **Misery**. > [@](#): > > I can never promise that you’ll never be lonely > But as long as we’re together it can always only be > > Misery Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/78 "2006-05-11T23:37:31Z")
I saw this and thought of “William Bloat” by the Clancy Brothers. Looking over some of my other Irish and Scottish albums, I would add “The Gentleman Soldier” (try the Pogues version), which isn’t at all a happy story from the girl’s point of view. Speaking of the Pogues, try “Dark Streets of London” or “Sitting on Top of the World”. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/79 "2006-05-11T23:54:29Z")
I immediately thought of the band “Cherry Poppin’ Daddies” of “Zoot Suit Riot” fame. Almost all of their stuff is manically happy swing stuff with really downbeat lyrics. For example, there’s the melodically upbeat “Drunk Daddy” that goes: Mamma married a big asshole, whiskey bottles on the floor He just keeps on watchin’ TV, stepchild tired of being poor Kitchen smells like rotten garbage I can’t chew my food my face is sore Momma didn’t come home last evening Neighbors say that she’s a whore some folks never want for nuthin’ I’m, a worn out hand me down Stupid rich kid gets me angry Lord I’m gonna cut him down Now I’m grown up same old story At 21 I fell in love She left me just like the others Jesus why’d you curse my love? Drunk daddy broke my fingers Drunk daddy done kicked my head Drunk daddy smashed my sister Turned my whole world red ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/80 "2006-05-11T23:59:51Z")
Jeez, can’t believe I forgot **Love Will Tear Us Apart** , but _Joy Division_. Incongruent, right down to the name. **Bizarre Love Triangle** , by the remnants of J.D., is another bouncy tune about miserable things. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211.md?page=5)