# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/41 "2009-05-29T21:00:05Z")
Seems to me that Warren Zevon’s “Carmelita,” in which he speaks of “playin’ Solitaire with his pearl-handled deck,” might be the thoughts of someone contemplating suicide. ---
**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, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/42 "2009-05-29T21:01:47Z")
> [@AqualungBats5th](#): > > 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 article for that song this is a quote from the song’s writer, Donald Roeser: I know he says that, but I don’t believe it. I think Roeser is simply (and understandably) trying to disown responsibility for whatever suicides the song might have caused. Take for example the following lyrics: _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…_ and then: _Came the last night of sadness And it was clear she couldn’t go on Then the door was open and the wind appeared The candles blew then disappeared The curtains flew then he appeared…saying don’t be afraid Come on baby…and she had no fear And she ran to him…then they started to fly They looked backward and said goodby…she had become like they are She had taken his hand…she had become like they are Come on baby…don’t fear the reaper_ If he was merely talking about an eternal transcending love, why would it be necessary to tell her not to fear death, or to encourage her to take his hand - apparently in order to confront or enter into it? Then there is the reference to Romeo and Juliet and to the woman who runs to meet the Reaper after one “last night of sadness”. And then there’s the oft-repeated refrain “come on, baby”, in which he seems to be trying to coax her into something she’s reluctant to do. To my mind it’s pretty clear that he was trying to entice her into what was likely a double-suicide by telling her that death was nothing to be afraid of, that she could escape her sadness (presumably because someone or something was trying to keep them apart) and that afterwards they would be together for eternity. Great damn song though, but I always have mixed emotions when I listen to it. On the one hand I like it a lot because it is such a great song, and on the other I can’t help but wonder at the same time how many kids might have died because of it. If I were Donald Roeser I’d be having a really hard time living with myself right about now, because I think that while he deliberately set about to create a romanticized version of double-suicide ala Romeo & Juliet, he had no idea that that what turned out to be such a very pleasant-sounding, gentle and hypnotic song might actually encourage people to take that romanticized version seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/43 "2009-05-29T21:13:39Z")
> [@HoboStew](#): > > he argues the biggest change for them occured between Kill 'em All and Ride the Lightening. Gotta say he might be right about that. Yeah - they learned to play their instruments 😃 ---
**Author:** ![zaphod9977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/258eb7/32.png) [@zaphod9977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zaphod9977)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/44 "2009-05-29T21:15:59Z")
All the Young Dudes written by David Bowie and performed by Mott the Hoople (1972) Well Billy rapped all night about his suicide How he’d kick it in the head when he was twenty-five Speed jive, don’t want to stay alive When you’re twenty-five Until this very minute I always thought they were singing “We laughed all night about the suicide”! I think I like my version better! ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/45 "2009-05-29T21:18:51Z")
Queen Don’t try suicide Nobody’s worth it Don’t try suicide Nobody cares Don’t try suicide Just gonna hate it Don’t try suicide Nobody gives a damn ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/46 "2009-05-29T21:35:31Z")
Nine Inch Nails - “The Downward Spiral” He couldn’t believe how easy it was He put the gun into his face Bang! (so much blood from such a tiny little hole) Problems have solutions A lifetime of fucking things up fixed in one determined flash Everything’s blue In this world The deepest shade of mushroom blue All fuzzy Spilling out of my head I don’t think you can get much clearer than that! Also, the Smiths’ song, “Asleep”: 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 Sing me to sleep Sing me to sleep I don’t want to wake up On my own anymore I don’t particularly like Blink 182, but “Adam’s Song” is also pretty unambiguous: I never thought I’d die alone Another six months I’ll be unknown Give all my things to all my friends You’ll never step foot in my room again You’ll close it off, board it up Remember the time that I spilled the cup Of apple juice in the hall Please tell mom this is not her fault ---
**Author:** ![Squeaker\_Snow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Squeaker\_Snow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squeaker_Snow)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/47 "2009-05-29T22:10:28Z")
Elton John’s “Someone’s Final Song” from the “Blue Moves” album: He died when the house was empty When the maid had gone He put a pen to paper for one final song He wrote - Oh babe, it’s the only way I know it’s wrong but I can’t stand To go on living, to go on living, living life this way And I don’t know what the time is Or what the next line is Or how you’re going to take the news But if I had my life again I wouldn’t change a thing I’d let nobody, I’d let nobody Stand inside my shoes Something’s gotten hold of me This home is not the home it used to be I’ve gathered dust like the dying flowers And I’ve drunk myself sober After hours and hours After hours and hours ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/48 "2009-05-29T22:25:14Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I know he says that, but I don’t believe it. I think Roeser is simply (and understandably) trying to disown responsibility for whatever suicides the song might have caused. As someone who has this song as their ringtone for their (terminally ill) husband, I 100% disagree with you on both the interpretation of the song _and_ the belief that a song- romanticized, hypnotic, gentle, or whatever- ‘causes’ someone to commit suicide, or that an artist should feel responsible if a bunch of dumb-asses kill themselves over what they think said artist is saying. But perhaps that’s a conversation best had outside of this thread, lest it become derailed. Was going to mention Adam’s Song.. will add Third Eye Blind’s ‘Jumper’ and Billy Joel’s ‘You’re only human’ (with extra bonus props for having a young Adam Savage in the video!). Did I miss someone mentioning ‘Jeremy’ (Pearl Jam) or ‘Hold On’ (Good Charlotte)? ---
**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, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/49 "2009-05-29T22:30:04Z")
Oh, and I just remember our own Sam Stone’s [morphine addict namesake](http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/prine-john/sam-stone-10844.html). [QUOTE=John Prine] Sam Stone was alone When he popped his last balloon Climbing walls while sitting in a chair Well, he played his last request While the room smelled just like death With an overdose hovering in the air But life had lost its fun And there was nothing to be done But trade his house that he bought on the G, I. Bill For a flag draped casket on a local heroes’ hill [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/50 "2009-05-30T00:41:03Z")
I have always been haunted by [The Freshman](http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2474) by _The Verve Pipe_ > [@](#): > > My best friend took a week’s vacation to forget her > His girl took a week’s worth of Valium and slept > Now he’s guilt stricken sobbing with his head on the floor > Thinks about her now and how he never really wept he says > > I can’t be held responsible > 'Cause she was touching her face > I won’t be held responsible > She fell in love in the first place ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/51 "2009-05-30T00:41:22Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I know he says that, but I don’t believe it. I think Roeser is simply (and understandably) trying to disown responsibility for whatever suicides the song might have caused. > > Take for example the following lyrics: > > _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…_ > > and then: > > _Came the last night of sadness > And it was clear she couldn’t go on > Then the door was open and the wind appeared > The candles blew then disappeared > The curtains flew then he appeared…saying don’t be afraid > Come on baby…and she had no fear > And she ran to him…then they started to fly > They looked backward and said goodby…she had become like they are > She had taken his hand…she had become like they are > Come on baby…don’t fear the reaper_ > > If he was merely talking about an eternal transcending love, why would it be necessary to tell her not to fear death, or to encourage her to take his hand - apparently in order to confront or enter into it? Then there is the reference to Romeo and Juliet and to the woman who runs to meet the Reaper after one “last night of sadness”. And then there’s the oft-repeated refrain “come on, baby”, in which he seems to be trying to coax her into something she’s reluctant to do. > > To my mind it’s pretty clear that he was trying to entice her into what was likely a double-suicide by telling her that death was nothing to be afraid of, that she could escape her sadness (presumably because someone or something was trying to keep them apart) and that afterwards they would be together for eternity. Now that I think about it, I can see how someone might see this as a vampire song. Right now though, I’m thinking that the “he” in the story is the ghost of her dearly departed lover, who has already passed over through suicide, and she is consumed by grief; she’s haunted by the ghost/memory of her lover and finally decides to join him in the afterlife. ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/52 "2009-05-30T01:16:48Z")
I remember reading somewhere that Don’t Fear the Reaper was written at least partly for a friend of the author who was terminally ill. At any rate, I did research the song a while back and on all counts BOC denies that it was meant to romanticize suicide. My picks are all Alice Cooper, of course. _Hey Stoopid_ has a verse directed at teenage girls particularly saying that suicide is much too permanant. _Pass the Gun Around_ is all about being road weary and fed up with the booze and mindlessness. It begins with the sound of a gun being loaded and ends with a shot. Very chilling. - Might As Well Be On Mars\* is about a guy who is standing on the roof, looking across to the corner bar where his ex is sitting. The most unsettling line is in the bridge - - “Baby, I can’t fly If I could, I’d come down to ya, Maybe I should try…” \* It’s sung is such a heartbroken way. Very effective. ---
**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 30, 2009, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/53 "2009-05-30T12:27:10Z")
I guess Kristopherson’s Billy Dee maybe sorta counts: Some folks called it suicide and others blamed the speed. But we just called it crucified when Billy Dee O.D.'ed ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/54 "2009-05-30T15:20:40Z")
> [@winterhawk11](#): > > 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…” That’s about his father, isn’t it? There’s a remix that uses a distorted sample of (IIRC) a Clint Eastwood movie – A: Do you believe in the nobility of suicide? B: No. Gives me chills. My favorite suicide songs are the Smiths’ “Asleep” (already mentioned) and Neutral Milk Hotel’s “Three Peaches”: > [@](#): > > …You sing so bruised and it’s beautiful > as it’s reflecting off of you as it shines > and you’re in the bathroom carving holiday designs > into yourself hoping no one would find you > but they found you and they took you > and you somehow survived > > There is no dream so wake up > and if the holidays don’t hollow out your eyes > then press yourself against whatever you find > to be beautiful and trembling with life > I’m so happy > I’m so happy > I’m so happy > I’m so happy that you didn’t die That last part is sung in a completely dejected tone of voice, making it oddly incongruent with the lyrics. Very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![benlormat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d26b3c/32.png) [@benlormat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benlormat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/55 "2009-05-31T01:25:13Z")
An old favorite of mine is a song from **Triumvirat’s** Old Loves Die Hard album called **A Cold Old Worried Lady** : > [@](#): > > Is there nothing left to life for > Nothing left to do? > It’s a crazy pain, when your life’s in vain > I’ll be glad, I’ll be glad when mine is through > > ``` > I think I'll use my shotgun > or a hundred colored pills > Though I don't know how, really mean it now > I'll try anything, anything, anything that really kills > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![wheelie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b4bc9f/32.png) [@wheelie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheelie)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/56 "2009-05-31T02:50:01Z")
The Bears’ song [Dave](http://www.metrolyrics.com/dave-lyrics-the-bears.html) is about a teenager’s suicide: > [@](#): > > nothing lasts forever 'cept maybe jesus christ > and nothing could be sadder than a child taking his own life > i heard the minister mumble, i heard the falling rain > and i felt my mother’s hand slip into mine > and none of us have ever been the same Mike Ator wrote [Happy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5bKETbOyyg) after someone he knew unexpectedly committed suicide. ---
**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 31, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/57 "2009-05-31T03:10:02Z")
There’s always the old ‘Shivers’ by Nick Cave’s first real band, the Boys Next Door. The song was written by Rowland Howard, as a parody of teen angst (“I’ve been contemplating Suicide, But it really doesn’t suit my style”. When the Screaming Jets (a popular Australian band of the mid nineties) made a hit out of it, Rowland also called the song’s composition the most enriching five minutes of his life. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toFF3OvBR94) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/58 "2009-05-31T03:26:08Z")
There’s also “Pardon Me, I’ve Got Someone to Kill” by Johnny Paycheck, but that’s more of a _murder_-suicide song. Not to mention another one for the Great Song Title lists. Although I prefer the Andre Williams cover, for whatever it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/59 "2009-05-31T04:14:23Z")
Johnny Mandel’s _Suicide is Painless_. Martina McBride’s _Independence Day_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_With_The_Golden_Gun)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019/60 "2009-05-31T09:42:40Z")
Blue October’s “Black Orchid”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-suicide-songs/498019.md?page=4)