# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/61 "2008-08-06T17:33:34Z")
I’d have to go with “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan” by Marianne Faithfull. Beautiful song with something of a happy ending but OMG. For Springsteen, I’d go with I Don’t Wanna Fade Away and Wreck on the Highway. Or Downbound Train. Or My Hometown. Or most of Nebraska. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/62 "2008-08-06T17:42:33Z")
I can’t believe this thread got to two pages without someone mentioning “Mad World” by Gary Jules, from the Donnie Darko soundtrack. One of the few songs that has ever made me cry. “I Need Some Sleep” by Eels is also a good one, as is “Something Vague” by Bright Eyes. But when it comes to just downright bleak and hopeless, “Mad World” wins by far. ---
**Author:** ![Suse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Suse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suse)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/63 "2008-08-06T18:04:41Z")
I used to tell my daughter that if I ever slit my wrists, _Bring Me To Life_ by Evanescence would be the music playing. The song echoes the sort of chaos and dissonance that would have to be in my mind to make me do that. (Not that I’m threatening the kid that I’ll commit suicide; we were just discussing the song - she loved it, I couldn’t stand it.) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/64 "2008-08-06T18:22:04Z")
Why not go for the real thing? _Slit My Wrists_, by the **Loud Family** , from the album _[Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things](http://www.amazon.com/Plants-Birds-Rocks-Things/dp/B000TQ0F5U/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1218047039&sr=8-4)_ … The more alone I felt the more the celebration grew All the way down Van Ness Avenue But I no longer take so lightly walking down that street With nothing left between it and my feet But what I need is not cut cost What I need is a life where I’ve won All the times that I’ve lost What I need is not ways to go on What I need is to slit my wrists and be gone ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/65 "2008-08-06T22:12:21Z")
_The Chieftans_ and Sinead O’Conner did a version of _The Foggy Dew_. that could make anybody who admires brave men weep. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/66 "2008-08-07T01:16:23Z")
_Agua y Sal_ by Rosario. _Wither Blister Burn & Peel_, the whole album by Stabbing Westward is one big angstfest, including a song from the point of view of a girl who has been repeatedly sexually abused by her father. _Mekong_ by the Refreshments. _Brick_ by Ben Folds Five, what may be the most depressing song ever written. _Round Here_ by Counting Crows. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/67 "2008-08-07T05:48:10Z")
Keep it coming. I have heard a few new ones (to me) and got reacquainted with some others. I have downloaded like 7 or 8 from your choices. ---
**Author:** ![meenie7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@meenie7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meenie7)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/68 "2008-08-07T06:22:33Z")
[QUOTE=Sleel] _Wither Blister Burn & Peel_, the whole album by Stabbing Westward is one big angstfest, including a song from the point of view of a girl who has been repeatedly sexually abused by her father. [/QUOTE] Oh God, this. I loved that album as a teenager because it was just so, so angsty. Now, I listen to it and hope whoever wrote those lyrics is doing okay, because…wow, he must have been feeling some strong emotion. To add to this, “A Warm Place” by Nine Inch Nails always gave me images of sort of crawling into a cozy oblivion, like slitting your wrists in the bath. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/69 "2008-08-07T07:28:42Z")
Some heavy metal albums: Anathema _Serenades_ Anathema _The Silent Enigma_ Anathema _Alternative IV_ Anathema _A Fine Day to Exit_ Katatonia _Brave Murder Day_ Katatonia _Discouraged Ones_ Katatonia _Tonight’s Decision_ Opeth _Morningrise_ Opeth _My Arms, Your Hearse_ Tiamat _Prey_ Type O Negative _Bloody Kisses_ I’m perplexed by those people choosing Bruce Springsteen & Elton John songs…they must have never listened to REAL gothic rock. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/70 "2008-08-07T11:10:43Z")
I found Alanis Morissette’s “Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie” album to be pretty damn depressing. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/71 "2008-08-07T14:56:51Z")
[QUOTE=KGS] Some heavy metal albums: Anathema _Serenades_ Anathema _The Silent Enigma_ Anathema _Alternative IV_ Anathema _A Fine Day to Exit_ Katatonia _Brave Murder Day_ Katatonia _Discouraged Ones_ Katatonia _Tonight’s Decision_ Opeth _Morningrise_ Opeth _My Arms, Your Hearse_ Tiamat _Prey_ Type O Negative _Bloody Kisses_ [/QUOTE] Not that I disagree with your other choices for these bands, but no love for Anathema’s _Judgment_, Katatonia’s _Viva Emptiness_, or Opeth’s _Still Life_? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/72 "2008-08-07T15:14:56Z")
_Down on Terminal Street_ by Be Bop Deluxe is the ultimate in this. Lyrics sample: > [@](#): > > and all the creatures born of ink and rage and lies > crawled from my pen and ran across the page to die ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/73 "2008-08-07T16:55:10Z")
I find Peter Gabriel’s _Mercy Street_ to be both dreamlike and very sad. ---
**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:** [August 7, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/74 "2008-08-07T17:34:26Z")
I second Assemblage 23’s _30KFT_. For that matter, a lot of their (his) stuff is very depressing (for example, _Fallen Down_ and _Disappoint_). _Me and a Gun_ by Tori Amos. _Oh Life (There Must Be More)_ by Alan Parsons _High Hopes_ by Pink Floyd. _At Seventeen_ by Janis Ian. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/75 "2008-08-07T17:44:40Z")
[QUOTE=meenie7] Oh God, this. I loved that album as a teenager because it was just so, so angsty. Now, I listen to it and hope whoever wrote those lyrics is doing okay, because…wow, he must have been feeling some strong emotion. [/QUOTE] Meh, all of Stabbing Westward’s lyrics were like that. By the time they got to the third album, it started to devolve into self-parody. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/76 "2008-08-07T18:14:26Z")
Don Henley: 1. End of the Innocence 2. New York Minute 3. Heart of the Matter ---
**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:** [August 7, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/77 "2008-08-07T18:20:06Z")
Holly Cole’s cover of _I Don’t Want to Grow Up_ makes me want to crawl back into bed and pull the blankets over my head as well as anything I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/78 "2008-08-07T20:50:57Z")
[QUOTE=KGS] I’m perplexed by those people choosing Bruce Springsteen & Elton John songs…they must have never listened to REAL gothic rock. 🆒 [/QUOTE] 😛 (Stolen Car) She asked if I remembered the letters I wrote When our love was young and bold She said last night she read those letters And they made her feel one hundred years old (Fade Away) Well now you say that you’ve made up your mind it’s been such a long, long time since it’s been good with us And that somewhere back along the line you lost your love and I lost your trust Now rooms that once were so bright are filled with the coming night (Nebraska) They declared me unfit to live Said into that great void my soul be hurled They wanted to know why I did what I did Well sir I guess there’s just a meanness in this world ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_2Times](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b2d939/32.png) [@Jimmy\_2Times](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_2Times)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/79 "2008-08-07T21:12:33Z")
Back to Black ~ Amy Winehouse Neither One of Us Wants to be the First to Say Goodbye ~ Gladys Knight Dance with My Father ~ Luther Vandross Cats in the Cradle ~ Harry Chapin Eleanor Rigby ~ The Beatles ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873/80 "2008-08-08T23:00:54Z")
Menotti’s opera, “The Consul”. It’s about a family trying to escape from a country behind the Iron Curtain. It’s one of the most despair-filled works of any kind I’ve ever come across. A grandmother sings a lullaby with a sweet melody to a sleeping infant. It might be available as a separate aria: “…Sleep, my child, sleep for me, My sleep is death… Let the old ones watch your sleep, Only death will watch the old.” The major and most famous aria of the opera is the powerful “To this we’ve come”, sung by the heroine, Magda, and it’s widely available separately: “To this we’ve come, that men withhold the world from men. No ship nor shore for him who drowns at sea. No home nor grave for him who dies on land. To this we’ve come: that a man be born a stranger upon God’s earth, that he be chosen without a chance for choice, that he be hunted without the hope of refuge. To this we’ve come; and you, you too, shall weep…Look at my eyes, they are afraid to sleep…What will your papers do? They cannot stop the clock. They are too thin an armor against a bullet…” In the final scene of the opera, Magda kills herself by turning on the gas in her apartment. As she dies, she hallucinates a chorus of familiar people around her, singing cheery stuff like “Lo! Death’s frontiers are open. All aboard!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-to-slash-your-wrists-to-figurately-speaking-of-course/458873.md?page=5)