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.
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.
Yeah - they learned to play their instruments 
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!
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
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
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
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)?
Oh, and I just remember our own Sam Stone’s morphine addict namesake.
I have always been haunted by The Freshman by The Verve Pipe
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.
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.
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
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”:
That last part is sung in a completely dejected tone of voice, making it oddly incongruent with the lyrics. Very interesting.
An old favorite of mine is a song from Triumvirat’s Old Loves Die Hard album called A Cold Old Worried Lady:
The Bears’ song Dave is about a teenager’s suicide:
Mike Ator wrote Happy after someone he knew unexpectedly committed suicide.
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.
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.
Johnny Mandel’s Suicide is Painless.
Martina McBride’s Independence Day.
Blue October’s “Black Orchid”.