# Music to slash your wrists to... (figurately speaking, of course) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 5, 2008, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873 "2008-08-05T03:02:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/21 "2008-08-05T05:56:32Z")
[QUOTE=Ranchoth] Would you believe I actually have TWO playlists for this kind of song? Some of the highlights—in little order: •_Who Wants to Live Forever?_—(Various. I’ve ever found a version by Seal) [/QUOTE] Just curious, is this a cover of the Queen song found here? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo52T7uKOJU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo52T7uKOJU) ---
**Author:** ![SuntanTigerTamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@SuntanTigerTamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanTigerTamer)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/22 "2008-08-05T06:00:28Z")
2nd Argent Towers’ BJM recommendation, and add “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” by Wilco. Enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/23 "2008-08-05T07:19:07Z")
Nine Inch Nails - Right Where it Belongs Thåström - FanFanFan ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/24 "2008-08-05T07:29:56Z")
[QUOTE=Sleeps With Butterflies] Just curious, is this a cover of the Queen song found here? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo52T7uKOJU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo52T7uKOJU) [/QUOTE] No other. The [Seal version was from the Freddy Mercury Tribute Concert](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EikYyrLo4w). ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/25 "2008-08-05T08:00:29Z")
It’ll get mentioned eventually, so I’ll get it while the going’s good. Leonard Cohen - Dress Rehearsal Rag. also Rezso Seress - Gloomy Sunday (and a bunch of covers) Assemblage 23 - Disappoint lots of stuff by Joy Division (Twenty Four Hours, A Means to an End, Something Must Break, etc.) The entire album “Electro-Shock Blues” by Eels. My playlist is called “Wristcutting.” ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/26 "2008-08-05T08:09:44Z")
How about ‘Alone Again, Naturally’ by Gilbert O’Sullivan ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/27 "2008-08-05T09:05:12Z")
“Suicide Note” by Johnette Napolitano (does exactly what it says on the tin) “Amen” by Jewel ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/28 "2008-08-05T09:08:24Z")
No Smiths? Not quite Joy Division, but comes close: _Unloveable_, _Half a Person_, even solo Moz stuff like\* Every Day is Like Sunday\*, all stuff-the-CO-pipe-in-your-car-window good. Then there’s my personal favourite, Swans, with such greats as _Failure_, _God Damn The Sun_ and _Jane Mary_. The Sisters of Mercy’s\* Some Kind of Stranger\*, _Marianne_ and _1959_ are cheery, cheery fun. What do you expect from a band named after a Cohen song, though. Time for a drink, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/29 "2008-08-05T09:36:54Z")
Diamanda Galas’ covers of both\* Gloomy Sunday\* and _My World is Empty Without You_. Any version of either of those two songs really, but Diamanda always cranks things up a few notches. ---
**Author:** ![Radegast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@Radegast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Radegast)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/30 "2008-08-05T10:39:43Z")
How about a Violent Femmes triple – “Add It Up,” “Kiss Off,” and “Country Death Song.” ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/31 "2008-08-05T10:49:26Z")
[QUOTE=Kythereia] I wouldn’t slit my wrists over anything I own right now, but “The Grey Havens” from the _Lord of the Rings_ soundtrack and “You Will Be My Ain True Love” from _Cold Mountain_ are usually good for a nice, long, cathartic bawl. [/QUOTE] It’s Annie Lennox singing “Into the West” from the LotR soundtrack for me. Another that sets me off is probably any cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/32 "2008-08-05T11:34:32Z")
Some good suggestions so far, I particularly support _Gloomy Sunday_ – it’s basically the archetypical wristslasher song; not only did the composer end up killing himself, various urban legends allege it to be responsible for ‘waves’ of suicides from the nineteen-thirties on – and **Leonard Cohen** ’s _Hallelujah_, though I always thought **Jeff Buckley** ’s version really amped up the melancholic frailty. Some other suggestions – **The Mountain Goats** (who I love dearly) have a fine assessment of suitable songs, I can only suggest digging into their discography, for starters _Get Lonely_, _Maybe Sprout Wings_ or _Hidden Places_, all from the album _Get Lonely_; **Casiotone for the Painfully Alone** (don’t that sound cheerful?), _Don’t They Have Payphones Wherever You Were Last Night_; **Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy** ’s (I’m a bit surprised he doesn’t seem to have turned up yet) entire album _I See A Darkness_, particularly the title track; and lots of people find the mid-period work by **Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds** to be very depressing, though to me the underlying strain of dark humour offsets that notion – in any case, it’s damn fine music, and you could do a lot worse than for instance checking out the album _The Boatman’s Call_, which is a pretty sombre dealing with past relationships, particularly the tracks _Where Do We Go Now But Nowhere_ and _People Ain’t No Good_. Also, **Arab Strap** are always good for a nice dose of gut-wrenching melancholy, and **PJ Harvey** ’s latest album, _White Chalk_, is a thing of absolutely frail, sad beauty. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/33 "2008-08-05T11:35:10Z")
Joy Division’s **“The Eternal”** on side 2 of their Closer album, pretty well hits the mark, imo. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/34 "2008-08-05T11:38:13Z")
[QUOTE=Enter the Flagon] Practically everything recorded by Joy Division, for starters. [/QUOTE] I’ve noticed that, too, you can practically tell his condition by the way he sings. But the content of the songs just doesn’t quite match the depressing delivery except in “No Love Lost”, which is possibly the most depressing song ever. For those who don’t know, There’s a voice-over in the middle about the namesake of the band, the “Joy Division” or prisoner-prostitutes of the Nazi camps. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/35 "2008-08-05T12:11:59Z")
One song from Dave Matthews’ solo album that gets me every time is “Gravedigger.” _Gravedigger, When you dig my grave Can you make it shallow So that I can feel the rain?_ ---
**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:** [August 5, 2008, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/36 "2008-08-05T12:15:21Z")
Tom Paxton has written a few such songs, including “Now That I’ve Taken My Life,” “Jimmy Newman,” “Crazy John,” “Uncle John,” and “Cindy’s Crying.” ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/37 "2008-08-05T12:25:11Z")
**"Emma"** by Hot Chocolate isn’t exactly a pick-me-up. The frustated actress who kills herself leaves a “love letter” to her husband: “Darling I love you, But I just can’t keep on living on dreams no more. I tried so very hard not to leave you alone. I just can’t keep on trying no more.” The song is a little melodramatic, but that gets me every time. ---
**Author:** ![Walpurgis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Walpurgis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walpurgis)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/38 "2008-08-05T12:42:38Z")
These albums are what I was depressed to in my teens: Everything **MrDibble** said (sniffle). The three albums _Pornography, Faith_ and _Disintegration_ by the Cure. You can chuck all of those songs right onto your playlist. The Smiths: _There is a Light That Never Goes Out_ Nina Simone: _Strange Fruit_ Johnny Cash: _Hurt_ (The Nine Inch Nails version works fine, too) Dead Can Dance: _The Host of Seraphim_ Tori Amos: _Me And A Gun_ David Bowie: _Ashes to Ashes_ My Dying Bride: _Sear Me_ (the second version, from _Turn Loose the Swans_) Fields of the Nephilim: _And There Will Your Heart Be Also_ ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/39 "2008-08-05T12:57:47Z")
[QUOTE=Walpurgis] Tori Amos: _Me And A Gun_ [/QUOTE] Beat me to it – I was just coming in to post this one. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/40 "2008-08-05T12:58:09Z")
On just one album ( **Louder Than Bombs** ), the Smiths have “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”, “Unloveable” and for really upbeat sentiments, “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_ Let’s party! There are varying stories/legends about how many people supposedly killed themselves after hearing [“Gloomy Sunday”](http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/gloomy.asp) (one of the people who wrote the song eventually committed suicide). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873.md?page=3)