Let me preface this by saying that while I’ve never had any intention of killing myself, I have been depressed for several years and can relate to songs of this nature. Maybe it sounds corny, but music like this is one of those things that helps me feel like I’m not alone in my uphill battle.
A good tune of this type is “Adam’s Song” by Blink 182. I really wouldn’t have expected a song like this out of them, and I don’t like most of their other works, but I have to admit that “Adam’s Song” song really strikes a chord with me.
Another is “The Pass” by Rush:
“And now you’re trembling on a rocky ledge,
Staring out into a heartless sea.
Can’t face life on the razor’s edge,
Nothing’s what you thought it would be.”
Or how about “Hollow Years” by Dream Theater:
"Carry me to the shoreline,
Bury me in the sand,
Walk me across the water,
And maybe you’ll understand.
Once the stone you’re crawling under,
Is lifted off your shoulders.
Once the cloud that’s raining,
Over your head disappears,
The noise that you’ll hear,
Is the crashing down of hollow years."
Or for that angry, irritable brand of depression, nothing beats Papa Roach’s “Last Resort.” Screaming along with the song (into a pillow, of course, so nobody thinks you’re a maniac) can be very cathartic.
Up here in Heaven without you
I’m here in Heaven without you
Up here in Heaven without you
It is Hell knowing that your health will keep you out of here
For years and years and years
Dear, do you often think of me
As you overlook the sea
Do I qualify as dearly departed or am I
That sucker in the sky
The fall guy for the first and the last time
Juliet, I thought we had agreed
Now I know why you let me take the lead
I agree with the above, and was going to suggest “Dress Rehersal Rag.” Also, “Memory” from CATS is a very depressing song, especially Tim Rice’s lyrics:
Daylight, I don’t care if it finds me
With no breath in my body, with no beat in my heart.
For I know now the meaning of what happiness is.
Wish I knew that from the start.
“Little white flowers won’t wait for you,
not where the black coach of sorrow has taken you.
Angels have no thought of ever returning you.
Would they be angry if I thought of joining you?” Gloomy Sunday
“We’ll drink through it all, this, the Modern Age” Joy Division - ‘These Days’.
“Directionless, so plain to see, a loaded gun won’t set you free. So you say” Joy Division - ‘New Dawn Fades’
Joy Division would give Leonard Cohen a run for his money…
“Crucifiction Lane” by Procol Harum, off their brilliant album A Salty Dog. Robin Trower on vocals and guitar, showing unbelievable soul. Certainly a declaration of despair, the song could also be an eloquent suicide note.
It’s always irked me that Procol Harum was best known for “Whiter Shade of Pale” and to some extent “Conquistador,” when this album (one of the ten best records ever made, IMHO) was their masterpiece.
“Depression” by Black Flag,
“Suicide’s An Alternative” and “Suicidal Failure” by Suicidal Tendencies,
Just about anything from the Cure’s post Boys Don’t Cry-pre Wish era.
and my fave, “Suicide Chump” by Frank Zappa…“Go ahead on and get it over with then, find you a bridge and take a jump/Just make sure you do it right the first time, 'cause nothing’s worse then a suicide chump.”
Yeah, Frank Zappa’s song is the best!
“And you don’t wanna mess your face up, cause they won’t know if it’s you, well there’s just so much to worry about, now whatcha
gonna do?”
*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,
Would throw myself off,
In an effort to, make clear to whoever,
What it’s like when your shattered …
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Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon” – the whole album, but especially the song of the same name. In hindsight it’s pretty clear that Drake was clinically depressed at the time and he would kill himself three years later.