# Favorite/Most Depressing Song Lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 25, 2002, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634 "2002-11-25T10:53:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Laureen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Laureen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laureen)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/21 "2002-11-26T01:49:38Z")
Ella Fitzgerald singing Gershwin’s “But Not For Me”: “With Love to lead the way I’ve found more clouds of gray Than any Russian play could guarantee…” ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/22 "2002-11-26T03:26:11Z")
Thought of a couple more! **Sarah McLachlan** “Full of Grace” _I feel just like I’m sinking And I claw for solid ground Pulled down by the undertow Never thought I could feel so low Oh, darkness I feel like letting go …_ **The Cure** “To Wish Impossible Things” _Now the sun shines cold And all the sky is grey The stars are dimmed By clouds and tears And all I wish is gone away._ ---
**Author:** ![boomvark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@boomvark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boomvark)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/23 "2002-11-26T04:09:37Z")
Two by **Richard Thompson** come to mind immediately: Can’t Win: \*I started to cry, they put gin in my cup I started to crawl and they swaddled me up \* … and it just goes downhill from there. Behind Grey Walls is an uplifting little number about committing a girlfriend (or wife?) to the looney bin. I’m not even going to quote it here, but it’s pretty damned depressing. Great stuff, at least IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![HalberMensch242](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecb155/32.png) [@HalberMensch242](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HalberMensch242)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/24 "2002-11-26T05:42:18Z")
Death in June- Hollow of Devotion _And the death of dreams shall be a beautifull end, with flowers of filth, wine and fine men._ The Smiths- asleep - Sing me to sleep Sing me to sleep And then leave me alone Don’t try to wake me in the morning 'Cause I will be gone Don’t feel bad for me I want you to know Deep in the cell of my heart I will feel so glad to go \* ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/25 "2002-11-26T05:44:27Z")
Crooked Fingers, “A New Drink for the Old Drunk” Full lyrics can be found here (just click on the song title): [http://www.crookedfingers.com/discography/](http://www.crookedfingers.com/discography/) Some highlights: "Now you waste all your days in the dark in the corner Without light without grace where you wait for the slaughter Where they spit in your face as the hours grow late And they laugh as they lie and then seal up your fate And you cringe as you binge to forget how you hate All the doom in this pitiful room you create Hours pass by half forgotten Night turns black cause it’s rotten And we slide right to the bottom Our tongues made out of cotton Eyes seal shut in a slumber Til we hear someone mumble Could you spare from the tumbler A new drink for the old drunk?" ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/26 "2002-11-26T06:11:30Z")
“I dim the lights, and think about you Spend sleepless nights, and think about you You said you loved me - or were you just being kind? Or am I losing my mind?” Losing My Mind - from the musical “Follies” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/27 "2002-11-26T06:46:10Z")
\*Sam Stone, came home To his wife and family After serving in the conflict overseas And the time that he served Had shattered all his nerves And left a little shrapnel in his knee But the morphine eased the pain And the grass grew round his brain And gave him all the confidence he lacked With a purple heart And a monkey on his back There’s a hole in Daddy’s arm Where all the money goes Jesus Christ died for nothing I suppose Little pitchers have big ears Don’t stop to count the years Sweet songs never last too long On broken radios…\* ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/28 "2002-11-26T06:47:16Z")
Forgot the credit: _“Sam Stone”_ - \*\* John Prine\* ---
**Author:** ![Eidolon909](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce7236/32.png) [@Eidolon909](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eidolon909)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/29 "2002-11-26T07:26:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HalberMensch242 \* > \*\* > The Smiths- asleep > \*\* I love that song… \*There is another world There is a better world Well, there must be Well, there must be Well, there must be Well, there must be Well … \* ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/30 "2002-11-26T14:03:19Z")
All my favorites are from Aimee Mann. I think the most depressing thing about her lyrics is the overwhelming sense of resignation. _Momentum_: But I can’t confront the doubts I’ve had Can’t admit that maybe the past was bad And so, for the sake of momentum I’m condemning the future to death so it can match the past. _Humpty Dumpty_: Say you were split, you were split in fragments and none of the pieces would talk to you Wouldn’t you want to be who you had been? Well baby I want that too. _Nothing is Good Enough_: Critics at their worst could never criticize the way that you do no, there’s no one else, I find, to undermine or dash a hope quite like you and you do it so casually, too All real good party-enders, too. Another is 10,000 Maniacs’ _Eat for Two_: Baby blankets and baby shoes, baby slippers, baby spoons, walls of baby blue. Dream child in my head is a nightmare born in a borrowed bed. Now I know lightning strikes again. It struck me once, then struck me dead. My folly grows inside of me. ---
**Author:** ![super\_head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@super\_head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/super_head)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/31 "2002-11-26T16:32:50Z")
New favorite is “Wicked Little Town” from the Hedwig & The Angry Inch soundtrack. \*You think that Luck Has left you there. But maybe there’s nothing up in the sky but air. And there’s no mystical design, No cosmic lover preassigned. There’s nothing you can find that can not be found. 'Cause with all the changes you’ve been through It seems the stranger’s always you. Alone again in some new Wicked little town.\* …oh, and the rest of the soundtrack kicks ass too. ---
**Author:** ![Tygr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df788c/32.png) [@Tygr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tygr)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/32 "2002-11-26T18:37:13Z")
Oh, wait! Almost forgot one of my favorites: from **The Pogues** , [“Fairytale of New York”](http://www.kirstymaccoll.com/lyrics/lyrics/fairy.htm) You’re a bum, You’re a punk You’re an old slut on junk Lying there almost dead on a drip In that bed You scum bag, you maggot You cheap lousy faggot Happy Christmas your arse I pray God it’s our last – Sung by Kirsty MacColl and Shane MacGowan Actually, a fair bit sung by the Pogues is depressing lyrically: [The Turkish Song of the Damned](http://www.pogues.com/Releases/Lyrics/LPs/IfIShould/TurkishSong.html) [Sit down by the Fire](http://www.pogues.com/Releases/Lyrics/LPs/IfIShould/Fire.html) [Worms](http://www.pogues.com/Releases/Lyrics/LPs/IfIShould/Worms.html) 😛 Of course, you can always listen to [Bottle of Smoke](http://www.pogues.com/Releases/Lyrics/LPs/IfIShould/Bottle.html) to lift your spirits again.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/33 "2002-11-26T23:09:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Do you love any > Do you love none > Do you love twenty > Can you love one > Do you love…me? > > And if you wonder what I am doing > As I am heading for the sink > I am spitting out all the bitterness > Along with half of my last drink > I am thinking of your woman > Who is crying in the hall > It’s like drinking gasoline to quench a thirst > Until there’s nothing there left at all Suzanne Vega, _Knight Moves_ ---
**Author:** ![DadWagonDriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/34 "2002-11-27T04:29:24Z")
Blast Oxygen mask Smoke filled cockpit Depressurized Don’t be afraid Hold on to me We’re going down But not our love Death Don’t seem so bad When I’m with you My only love So close your eyes Kiss me one last time We’re gonna die But not our love NoFX - Falling in Love - So Long and Thanks For All the Shoes ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/35 "2002-11-27T18:26:40Z")
_From the Monongaleh valley To the Mesabi iron range To the coal mines of Appalacchia The story’s always the same Seven-hundred tons of metal a day Now sir you tell me the world’s changed Once I made you rich enough Rich enough to forget my name_ **Bruce Springsteen** - Youngstown ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/36 "2002-11-28T04:14:15Z")
Radiohead is wonderful for things like this. “Karma police I’ve given all I can It’s not enough… I’ve given all I can but we’re still on the payroll…” ~Karma Police “Either way you turn, I’ll be there. Open up your skull, I’ll be there. Climbing up the walls…” ~Climbing Up the Walls “I’d tell all my friends but they’d never believe me. They’d think that I’d finally lost it completely. I’d show them the stars, and the meaning of life… They’d shut me away. But I’d be all right.” ~Subterranean Homesick Alien Actually, Subterranean Homesick Alien is one of the saddest, most beautiful songs ever. I love it so much. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/37 "2002-11-28T05:36:25Z")
The first time I heard Dubliner Ronnie Drew sing, “The Band Played Waltzing Mathilda,” I was utterly devastated. I was used to hearing him sing crude drinking songs, and didn’t expect to hear something that heartbreaking. If you don’t know the song, it’s a grim story of an Australian soldier, maimed at the battle of Gallipoli in World War I. As his ship is returning to Australia, he sings: “And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay, And I looked at the place where my legs used to be, I thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me, To grieve and to mourn and to pity.” ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/38 "2002-11-28T13:37:50Z")
But **Mirror Image** , you forgot Radiohead’s most depressingest, _Motion Picture Soundtrack_ > [@](#): > > Red wine and sleeping pills > Help me get back to your arms > Cheap sex and sad films > Help me get where I belong and _Street Spirit (Fade Out)_ > [@](#): > > Cracked eggs, dead birds > Scream as they fight for life > I can feel death, can see its beady eyes > All these things into position > All these things we’ll one day swallow whole > And fade out again and fade out again ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/39 "2002-11-28T18:10:59Z")
Hell, you could pick just about any Radiohead song and get a damn depressing lyric out of it. That’s just the way they are. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634/40 "2002-11-28T23:49:27Z")
Thanks to **Sam Stone** mentioning John Prine, I feel obliged to add this one: “There’s flies in the kitchen I can hear them there buzzin’ And I ain’t done nothing since I woke up today But how the hell can a person go on to work in the morning to come home in the evening and have nothing to say” From Prine’s _Angel From Montgomery_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-depressing-song-lyrics/138634.md?page=3)