# Cheerful-sounding songs with surprisingly dark lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [April 11, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217 "2018-04-11T15:33:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/161 "2018-04-15T19:33:50Z")
Randy Newman has made a career of catchy tunes with underlying lyrics, the best example I can think of is “Let’s Drop the Big One” [Randy Newman - Political Science (Let's Drop the Big One Now) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqBrw3rQvKo) No one likes us I don’t know why We may not be perfect But heaven knows we try But all around Even our old friends put us down Let’s drop the big one And see what happens ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/162 "2018-04-15T20:55:47Z")
There are several upbeat satirical songs about atomic weapons. The OP said these were excluded, but since people have already posted some, here are some more: [A Bomb Bop](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfGpk3MXh2E) by Mike Fern [Watch World War 3 on Pay TV](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_0OVHcIMh0) by Richard M. Sherman (as the Crown City Four) [Crawl Out Through the Fallout](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XPzICHxXoQ) by Sheldon Allman [Radioactive Mama](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQNwG6GTx6E), also by Sheldon Allman [Atomic Cocktail](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXqRqW5xyoU) by Slim Gaillard ---
**Author:** ![efedora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f9ae1b/32.png) [@efedora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/efedora)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/163 "2018-04-16T00:25:48Z")
This was bad in the '60’s. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f20Oz9Yr\_So](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f20Oz9Yr_So) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/164 "2018-04-16T00:34:35Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Yeah, but these sound sad. The OP is asking for songs with cheery melodies but dark lyrics. IMO the Fairytale of New York does sound cheerful except for the beginning and the low note of the word “day”. According to Google it is in D Major, and the music from the verses definitely sounds peppy, like a celtic dance. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/165 "2018-04-16T02:00:47Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > There are several upbeat satirical songs about atomic weapons… And I grew up chortling to The Merry Minuet [(I heard it off a live Kingston Trio LP)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp6dsKleGpU). Written in the late forties, but unfortunately still relevant. It’s literally a minuet in 3/4 time, and ends with… …But we can be tranquil and thankful and proud For man’s been endowed with a mushroom-shaped cloud ## And we know for certain that some lovely day Someone will set the spark off And we will all be blown away. They’re rioting in Africa, There’s strife in Iran. What nature doesn’t do to us… Will be done by our fellow man. Oh, [here it is live at the '59 Newport Folk Festival](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIOE9jdaoGQ)… cool. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/166 "2018-04-16T15:33:55Z")
If you just sing the melody, these Pogue songs don’t sound sad to me, but a chacun son gout. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/167 "2018-04-16T15:49:44Z")
> [@Monimonika](#): > > One song that I feel does the somewhat-opposite of “Music up, lyrics down” is “Carol of the Bells”. The lyrics are oh-so-very-happy but the music is more fitting for a horror or suspense scene. Actually, I think Christmas movies tend to use “Carol of Bells” music for the non-cheerful parts… Years and years ago I wrote a little mashup of “Carol of the Bells” and “Danse Macabre” which fit together quite well. No idea where I’ve put it though. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > Harry Nilsson’s “You’re Breaking My Heart.” Cheery little tune with the lyrics: > > “You’re breaking my heart > You’re tearing me apart > So fuck you.” Which reminds me of Cee Lo Green’s “Forget You” (in its slightly cleaner incarnation). Very upbeat, and also very angry. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/168 "2018-04-16T16:56:01Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > The OP doesn’t specify pop music Then I nominate “Sound The Pibroch”. The gentle strumming sounds like a pleasant lullably, but it’s a traditional Scottish song about a Jacobite uprising in which the Jacobites - the heros of the song - were slaughtered: [lyrics](http://www.celtic-lyrics.com/lyrics/470.html) _On dark Culloden’s field of gore Hark they shout Claymore, Claymore They bravely fight what can they more Than die for Royal Charlie … Now on the barren heath they lie Their Funeral Dirge the eagle’s cry Mountain breezes o’er them sigh Wha’ fought and died for Charlie … No more we’ll see such deeds again Deserted is each Highland glen And lonely cairns are o’er the men Wha’ fought and died for Charlie_ [actual song, by The Corries](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTRqUvjwkac) A brief explanation, spotted elsewhere on the internet: > [@](#): > > “Tha tighin fodam” pronounced “Ha cheen Foam” is scotts gaelic and means “It comes to me” or “Tis my wish” The song is about the Jacobite uprising in the late 1700s that sought to return the house of stewart to the crown. The uprising ended with the bloody [battle of Culloden Moor.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Culloden) And they are grasping their ‘Dirks’ which is a type of sword. ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/169 "2018-04-16T18:49:33Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > Randy Newman has made a career of catchy tunes with underlying lyrics, the best example I can think of is “Let’s Drop the Big One” Pedantic nitpickery; the name of the song is **Political Science**. The song was on the album **Sail Away** , whose titular track doesn’t sound particularly upbeat and so is not a candidate for this thread, but does contain some of Randy’s most chilling lyrics as a slavetaker tries to tempt Africans with the promise of the New World. E.g.: > [@](#): > > Ain’t no lions or tigers, ain’t no mamba snake > Just the sweet watermelon and the buckwheat cake > Ev’rybody is as happy as a man can be > Climb aboard, little wog, sail away with me ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/170 "2018-04-16T18:52:50Z")
CSNY’s _Ohio_ was considered a dance song. This summer I hear the drumming Four dead in Ohio ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/171 "2018-04-16T18:59:09Z")
> [@ioioio](#): > > CSNY’s _Ohio_ was considered a dance song. > > This summer I hear the drumming > Four dead in Ohio And you find the music “cheerful-sounding,” per the OP? :dubious: ---
**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:** [April 16, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/172 "2018-04-16T20:13:53Z")
Superstar from Jesus Christ Superstar has a beat you can dance to, but the lyrics are extremely dark. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2018, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/173 "2018-04-17T13:36:48Z")
The Fireballs hit version of Bottle of Wine has very upbeat music, but Tom Paxton’s song is about a die hard drunk, unable to get sober, singing for “nickels and dimes” who can’t get enough to buy a bottle of wine. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/175 "2018-04-17T18:01:10Z")
😕 > [@ioioio](#): > > CSNY’s _Ohio_ was considered a dance song. > > This summer I hear the drumming > Four dead in Ohio In what alternate universe was it ‘considered a dance song’??? 😕 Genuinely curious. And what kind of interpretive dance masters managed to find a good beat to ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’??? 😕 Some people flailing away on a stage during a production have a hard enough time ‘dancing’ to that. ---
**Author:** ![Calatin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Calatin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calatin)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/176 "2018-04-17T18:09:20Z")
The Postal Service’s “We Will Become Silhouettes.” A nice song about a post-nuclear attack. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/177 "2022-01-01T18:18:08Z")
The shortie [Death and Grief and Sorrow and Murder](https://youtu.be/WPgurvq6MIU?list=PLLRTcAeKffOUVhWvEBKEVpV2eqnFyyK4k&t=723) by Steve Martin should qualify. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/178 "2022-01-01T18:50:19Z")
‘Ach du lieber Augustin’ is a lively upbeat sounding song about a guy whereby everything in his life seems to be turning to shit. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/179 "2022-01-01T22:42:42Z")
The original version of the Mothers of Invention’s “Trouble Every Day” was pretty peppy, although it became more bluesy on the Roxy and Elsewhere" version. ---
**Author:** ![Esturionette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9d8465/32.png) [@Esturionette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esturionette)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/180 "2022-01-02T01:37:37Z")
There is a straight-up apocalypse going on in the Pierces’s [To the Grave](https://youtu.be/wfEbYTFPRBg). “I knew it was coming/Now it’s running faster than me/Fire in the sky.” And yet it is such a great dance tune, perfect for a little wake-up-and-smell-your-mortality break during a work day. ---
**Author:** ![Tj54](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tj54/32/17945_2.png) [@Tj54](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tj54)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217/181 "2022-01-02T06:00:21Z")
Spot on. No more rah rah than Fortunate Son. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerful-sounding-songs-with-surprisingly-dark-lyrics/812217.md?page=10)