# Favorite suicide songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 29, 2009, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019 "2009-05-29T12:41:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/21 "2009-05-29T17:16:20Z")
Because it’s one of those “stealth” songs that most people never realize are about suicide, [Gilbert O’Sullivan _Alone Again, Naturally_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_P-v1BVQn8): > [@](#): > > In a little while from now, > If I’m not feeling any less sour > I promised myself to treat myself > And visit a nearby tower, > And climbing to the top, > Will throw myself off …and the later part, that totally wrecks me… > [@](#): > > I remember I cried when my father died > Never wishing to have cried the tears > And at sixty-five years old, > My mother, God rest her soul, > Couldn’t understand, why the only man > She had ever loved had been taken > Leaving her to start with a heart > So badly broken > Despite encouragement from me > No words were ever spoken Shit…I’m crying now. I lost mt Dad when I was 16, and my Mom 5 years ago and that part of the song fits my life so perfectly. I’ve never considered suicide though. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/22 "2009-05-29T17:21:32Z")
**Gaffa** , I expected you to cite “The Kick Inside”! ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/23 "2009-05-29T17:23:37Z")
No love for BOC’s _Don’t Fear the Reaper_? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/24 "2009-05-29T17:28:26Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > **Gaffa** , I expected you to cite “The Kick Inside”! I have to leave a few things to the other Kate fans. But as big a Kate fan as I am, the situation in “The Kick Inside” (a woman committing suicide because she’s pregnant by her brother) doesn’t have anywhere near as much resonance to my own life as the song I quoted. Kate, at least early in her career, created most of her songs from the POV of a narrator, rather than explicitly from her own life. Gilbert O’Sullivan pulled “Alone Again, Naturally” from his own heart. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/25 "2009-05-29T17:28:28Z")
> [@villa](#): > > No love for Billy Idol - White Wedding? That’s about suicide? 'splain, por favor (?) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/26 "2009-05-29T17:29:36Z")
Simon & Garfunkel, “Richard Cory” \*…and they were grateful for his patronage And they thanked him very much So my mind is filled with wonder when the evening headlines read: “Richard Cory went home last night and put a bullet through his head” And I, I work in his factory And I curse this life I’m leading and I curse my poverty And I wish that I could be, Oh I wish that I could be Oh, I wish that I could be Richard Cory.\* ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/27 "2009-05-29T17:32:03Z")
Hmm… No James Taylor _Fire and Rain_ yet? ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/28 "2009-05-29T17:33:08Z")
When you said Loudon Wainwright III I thought you were going to mention [Unrequited To The Nth Degree](http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/l/loudon_wainwright_iii/unrequited_to_the_nth_degree.html) [QUOTE=Loudon Wainwright III] I’m tired of being left up on your shelf I might not wait around, might kill myself Not only would you miss me, but you’d feel guilty to Oh I’d be dead but it’d be too late The joke would be on you. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/29 "2009-05-29T18:27:41Z")
**Wallflowers** , _One Headlight_. "So long ago, I don’t remember when That’s when they say I lost my only friend Well they said she died easy of a broken heart disease . . . “. . .she hit the end-it’s just her window ledge. . .”" I’d go through the lyrics more thouroughly, but it appears that work has now blocked off “music appreciation” sites. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/30 "2009-05-29T18:37:26Z")
**Bowie** ’s _Rock and Roll Suicide_ \*Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your mouth You pull on your finger, then another finger, then your cigarette The wall-to-wall is calling, it lingers, then you forget Ohhh how how how, youre a rock n roll suicide Youre too old to lose it, too young to choose it And the clocks waits so patiently on your song You walk past a cafe but you dont eat when youve lived too long Oh, no, no, no, youre a rock n roll suicide\* ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/31 "2009-05-29T18:40:14Z")
And, of course, **D.I**.'s _Richard Hung Himself_ ---
**Author:** ![canterburyales](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@canterburyales](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/canterburyales)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/32 "2009-05-29T18:55:04Z")
My first post is a song about suicide. Don’t get the wrong idea. China Doll - Grateful Dead > [@](#): > > A pistol shot at 5 o’clock > The bells of heaven ring > “Tell me what you done it for” > "No I won’t tell you a thing > > "Yesterday I begged you > before I hit the ground - > all I leave behind me > is only what I found… [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzr2YpJvwxE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzr2YpJvwxE) ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/33 "2009-05-29T19:27:03Z")
> [@canterburyales](#): > > My first post is a song about suicide. Don’t get the wrong idea. > > China Doll - Grateful Dead > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzr2YpJvwxE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzr2YpJvwxE) I was just going to mention “China Doll”… A beautiful, haunting and ethereal song, it was always a rare treat to hear it played live. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/34 "2009-05-29T19:44:59Z")
“Do It Yourself” and “When the Pin Hits the Shell” by the Drive By Truckers, both from their album, _Decoration Day_. Two takes by two songwriters in the band about a friend of the band who offed himself. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/35 "2009-05-29T19:51:13Z")
Assemblage 23, _[Disappoint](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhO-G5diVpo)_ (ignore the video–Youtube link is just for the song): “Just one more time For the sake of sanity Tell me why Explain the gravity That drove you to this That brought you to this place That pushed you down Into the soil’s embrace…” Alan Parsons, “_[Oh Life (There Must Be More)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B_d9RwfDf0)_”: "In the dock the boats are harboured Where the water’s cold and still Oh life, she cries, I’ve lost the will From the bridge she sees a lifetime Being washed upon the shore Oh life, she cries There must be more…" ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/36 "2009-05-29T20:01:43Z")
_Don’t Fear The Reaper_ - Blue Oyster Cult Come on baby… Don’t fear the Reaper Baby take my hand… Don’t fear the Reaper We’ll be able to fly… Don’t fear the Reaper Baby I’m your man… Valentine is done Here but now they’re gone Romeo and Juliet Are together in eternity… Romeo and Juliet 40,000 men and women everyday… Like Romeo and Juliet 40,000 men and women everyday… Redefine happiness Another 40,000 coming everyday…We can be like they are I’ve wondered from time to time how many kids actually have killed themselves because of how this song romanticizes the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/37 "2009-05-29T20:07:57Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > _Don’t Fear The Reaper_ - Blue Oyster Cult > > Come on baby… Don’t fear the Reaper > Baby take my hand… Don’t fear the Reaper > We’ll be able to fly… Don’t fear the Reaper > Baby I’m your man… > > Valentine is done > Here but now they’re gone > Romeo and Juliet > Are together in eternity… > Romeo and Juliet > > 40,000 men and women everyday… Like Romeo and > Juliet > 40,000 men and women everyday… Redefine > happiness > Another 40,000 coming everyday…We can be like > they are > > I’ve wondered from time to time how many kids actually have killed themselves because of how this song romanticizes the idea. I thought this was about vampires, not suicide. All of a sudden, I don’t like it as much.☹ ---
**Author:** ![AqualungBats5th](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@AqualungBats5th](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AqualungBats5th)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/38 "2009-05-29T20:18:29Z")
I’m not sure you can really count _(Don’t Fear) The Reaper_ since the band has always maintained that the song is not supposed to be about suicide at all, but rather not fearing death. From the [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(Don't_Fear)_The_Reaper) article for that song this is a quote from the song’s writer, Donald Roeser: > [@](#): > > I felt that I had just achieved some kind of resonance with the psychology of people when I came up with that, I was actually kind of appalled when I first realized that some people were seeing it as an advertisement for suicide or something that was not my intention at all. It is, like, not to be afraid of it (as opposed to actively bring it about). It’s basically a love song where the love transcends the actual physical existence of the partners. Of course you could argue that choosing Romeo and Juliet for this imagery was not necessary the best idea. IMO this thread is not complete without a mention of _Gloomy Sunday_, otherwise known as the Hungarian Suicide Song due to the urban legends tying the listening of that song to hundreds of suicides, and the writer himself committing suicide. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/39 "2009-05-29T20:47:31Z")
> [@Ataraxy](#): > > “Do It Yourself” and “When the Pin Hits the Shell” by the Drive By Truckers, both from their album, _Decoration Day_. Two takes by two songwriters in the band about a friend of the band who offed himself. Thanks, that reminded me of “Fourth of July” by Pete Droge. But you turned to no one but a bullet and a gun, and the bang blended in with the day And I sit here and think, it still hurts me to think of the sad songs we used to play. Then the fourth of July Is a good day to die They’ll celebrate each year Your independence from here… ---
**Author:** ![HoboStew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f17d59/32.png) [@HoboStew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoboStew)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/40 "2009-05-29T20:54:58Z")
> [@chela](#): > > Opus 40 by Mercury Rev gives me chills over and over again but it’s a song of survival This is my favorite MR song, unless you count their remix of Spaceman 3’s “Big City”. > [@Doom\_Slinger](#): > > I’ve always liked Metallica’s [Fade to Black](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mXBbVc4Df8) ([lyrics](http://www.elyrics.net/read/m/metallica-lyrics/fade-to-black-lyrics.html))-- the line “Growing darkness taking dawn/I was me but now he’s gone” never fails to gives me chills. This is what I came to mention. Since I have nothing else to add, one interesting thing I read recently in Chuck Klosterman’s Fargo Rock City was talking about Metallica, and how everyone (including myself) says they sold out between …And Justice For All and the black album, but he argues the biggest change for them occured between Kill 'em All and Ride the Lightening. Gotta say he might be right about that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019.md?page=3)