# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/81 "2006-05-12T00:17:25Z")
The tune of _I Am a Rock_ is pretty upbeat and peppy-but the lyrics are cynical and depressing. I can just imagine the singer bursting into tears after the song ends. _I have no need of friendship Friendship causes pain It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain_ ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/82 "2006-05-12T10:50:57Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > Jeez, can’t believe I forgot **Love Will Tear Us Apart** , but _Joy Division_. Incongruent, right down to the name. , by the remnants of J.D., is another bouncy tune about miserable things. **Love Will Tear Us Apart** sounds bouncy to you? I do agree with **Bizarre Love Triangle** , though, and would add “Blue Monday” to that. BTW, the name “Joy Division” comes from a novel about Nazi sex slaves. ---
**Author:** ![Bomzaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Bomzaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bomzaway)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/83 "2006-05-12T21:18:44Z")
A lot of great songs have been mentioned, but I don’t think some of them are quite what the OP had in mind. They may be lyrically maudlin, but not necessarily up-beat musically. That said, I submit one of the happiest sounding songs of all; Bobby McFerrrin’s solo a cappella classic, **Don’t Worry, Be Happy** \*Here’s a little song I wrote You might want to sing it note-for-note Don’t worry, be happy In every life we have some trouble But when you worry, you make it double Don’t worry… Ain’t got no place to lay your head Somebody came and took your bed Don’t worry… The landlord say your rent is late He may have to litigate Don’t worry… Ain’t got no cash, ain’t got no style Ain’t got no gal to make you smile But don’t … 'Cause when you’re worried, your face will frown And that will bring everybody down So don’t… Now there, is this song I wrote I hope you learned it note-for-note, like good little children Don’t… A-listen to a-what I say In your life, expect some trouble When you worry you make it double …worry…\* ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/84 "2006-05-12T21:34:26Z")
I’ll go with the obvious “It’s the End of The World As We Know It” and another Fishbone song “Freddie’s Dead”. I’d say that a lot of Fishbone applies. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/85 "2006-05-13T01:20:57Z")
[Franky Perez](http://www.franky-perez.com/), who had a mainstream hit (kinda) with **Something Crazy** , wrote an incredibly catchy and upbeat song that is quite depressing if you listen to the lyrics. It’s called **Cecilia** and it’s about an alcoholic woman living on the streets. \*She tells a story of a shotgun wedding and the birth of a stillborn child She was only thirteen her little body wasn’t ready Babies watching babies die. Hey ay ay ay Cecilia Don’t you know the streets will kill ya Don’t you know your momma misses ya Don’t ya know, don’t ya know.\* **Something Crazy** is depressing in its own right, but it isn’t upbeat. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/86 "2006-05-13T02:19:46Z")
It’s a sweet ballad about murdering children and raping mothers. The tune sounds like something Frankie Avalon would have sung to Annette Funicello, but the words: > [@](#): > > I got something to say > I killed your baby today > And it doesn’t matter much to me > As long as it’s dead > > Well I got something to say > I raped your mother today > And it doesn’t matter much to me > As long as she spread > > Sweet lovely death > I am waiting for your breath > Come sweet death, one last caress ---
**Author:** ![Othersider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/cab0a1/32.png) [@Othersider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Othersider)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/87 "2006-05-13T08:04:56Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > The tune sounds like something Frankie Avalon would have sung to Annette Funicello Not the way Metallica did it, it doesn’t. :smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/88 "2006-05-13T08:19:03Z")
How about “Scarborough Fair”? Oh, it sounds like a cute li’l wistful love song, until you figure out that what he’s asking of his “true love” is pretty much impossible. I’m not sure Weird Al’s “One More Minute With You” qualifies for this thread, but it’s niftily incongruous. hmmm… Beyond the subset of songs that sound “up” until you listen closely, the upbeat but dark song is one of the great elements of rock. Think of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Godzilla,” or The Rolling Stones’ (iirc) “Mother’s Little Helper.” That particular combination of musical mood & lyrical theme is somehow especially attractive. The Police recorded “Shadows in the Rain” as a dark depressing mope. It sucked. Sting later redid it as an upbeat jazz number, which improved it immensely. On last year’s _Rock Star:INXS_, the original songs by the two finalists were both in that vein: Marty Casey’s “Trees” _It’ll be you & me up in the trees & the forest will give us the answers. It’ll be you & I up in the sky It’s a combination for disaster._ JD Fortune’s “It Ain’t Pretty”: \*It ain’t pretty after the show It ain’t pretty when the Pretty leaves you with no place to go… But this is the ride and this is the show It ain’t pretty\* ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/89 "2006-05-13T08:26:02Z")
Simon & Garfunkel’s _The Sun is Burning_ seems to qualify. Well, not so much “mauldin” as “incomprehensible horror,” but it’s the same principle and execution. ---
**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 13, 2006, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/90 "2006-05-13T12:35:49Z")
Paul Simon’s Celia too. Simon seems to have written quite a number of these. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/91 "2006-05-13T15:57:50Z")
“For Now” from the musical Avenue Q says essentially that everything in life, no matter how much you love or hate it, is not going to last forever. Which is uplifting or depressing, depending how you look at it, but the music is very bouncy and happy in general. “The FCC Song” by Eric Idle which [you can download free](http://www.pythonline.com/plugs/idle/index.shtml) is about how the government has done some pretty crappy things, but sounds quite cheerful. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/92 "2006-05-13T20:59:13Z")
Thene there’s “Vicky Verky,” a song by Squeeze. It’s a perky, catchy, uptempo song about a 14 year old girl who has an abortion while her boyfriend is in Borstal, the British juvenile prison. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/93 "2006-05-14T07:55:00Z")
I just busted out some of my old CDs and found another one: _The Lines You Amend_ by Sloan. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/94 "2006-05-14T15:04:45Z")
No one’s mentioned _You Are My Sunshine_ yet? I’m stunned. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/95 "2006-05-14T15:16:58Z")
It’s the End of the World as We Know it. Another great Springsteen song is Cadillac Ranch. Sounds like a typical rocking Bruce tune, except the Cadillac he is talking about is a hearse. There are probably many folk tunes, especially Irish folk tunes, which are upbeat and bouncy but are about death and suffering. There is a song by Dido, not really that upbeat because it is by Dido afterall, but, the song Here with Me, I’ve always thought is sung by a ghost. A dead woman who won’t rest till her lover is dead as well. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slip\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slip\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slip_1)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/96 "2006-05-14T15:44:28Z")
There’s two that come to mind off the top of my head (well, almost three) \*Lonely Boy \* by Andrew Gold He was born on a summer day 1951 And with a slap of a hand He landed as an only son His mother and father said what a lovely boy We’ll teach him what we learned Ah yes just what we learned We’ll dress him up warmly and We’ll send him to school It’ll teach him how to fight To be nobody’s fool Oh what a lonely boy Oh what a lonely boy Oh what a lonely boy In the summer of '53 his mother Brought him a sister And she told him we must attend to her needs She’s so much younger than you Well he ran down the hall and he cried Oh how could his parents have lied When they said he was an only son He thought he was the only one Oh what a lonely boy Oh what a lonely boy Oh what a lonely boy Goodbye mama, goodbye to you Goodbye papa I’m pushing on through He left home on a winter day 1969 And he hoped to find all the love He had lost in that earlier time Well his sister grew up And she married a man He gave her a son Ah yes a lovely son They dressed him up warmly They sent him to school It taught him how to fight To be nobody’s fool It was such a catchy song with a great chorus “hook”. But it’s pretty depressing. There’s at least a couple songs from the movie “Phantom of the Paradise” which would qualify (anyone remember that movie? It’s one of my all-time faves), but I nominate _Special to Me_ Caught up in your wheelin’ dealin’ you’ve got no time left for simple feelin’ I thought I knew you but I didn’t know you at all Trapped inside your world of worry you miss so much when you always hurry Well slow down baby you’ll only get hurt if you fall Well you told me one time that you’d be somebody That you weren’t workin’ just to survive But you’re workin’ so hard that you don’t even know you’re alive Workin’ so hard to be somebody special not working just to survive Well you’re special to me babe but what I don’t see babe is Where you go once you arrive Where we go once we arrive Damn all evil that takes possession until your pipe dreams become obsessions They scare me baby and we should have nothing to fear I’m no child but I can’t help wonder it seems like some kind of spell you’re under You’re listnin’ baby but somehow you don’t really hear Well you told me one time that you’d be somebody That you weren’t workin’ just to survive But you’re workin’ so hard that you don’t even know you’re alive Workin’ so hard to be somebody special not working just to survive Well you’re special to me babe but what I don’t see babe is Where you go once you arrive Where we go once we arrive ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/97 "2006-05-14T17:12:44Z")
> [@Othersider](#): > > Not the way Metallica did it, it doesn’t. :smack: 😃 That’s why I specified the Misfits original version. ---
**Author:** ![Psycho\_Doughboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@Psycho\_Doughboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Psycho_Doughboy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/98 "2006-05-14T22:42:59Z")
Try anything by Reel Big Fish pretty much fits the bill ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/99 "2006-05-15T00:54:32Z")
“The Way” by one hit wonder Fastball qualifies: “They made up their minds And they started packing They left before the sun came up that day An exit to eternal summer slacking But where were they going Without ever knowing the way?” ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211/100 "2006-05-15T01:18:51Z")
One that comes to mind is Aussie songwriter/singer Paul Kelly’s [Sweet Guy](http://www.paulkelly.com.au/lyrics/sweet-guy.html), an up tempo pop/rock song about wife beating, sung from the perspective of the woman. As for > [@](#): > > That’s why I specified the Misfits original version. What’s the difference between the two? They sound pretty much exactly the same to me, except that Danzig has a better voice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-songs-about-maudlin-things/356211.md?page=6)