A song by Harry Chapin, IIRC the title is “The Shortest Story.” It is told from the point of view of a child dying of starvation in the Third World.
Very sad, very depressing, and it kind of freaked me out when I was a young’un.
Regarding “Wildfire:” I think that the young woman dies as well as the horse, so it is even sadder than you might have remembered.
A song that I did not hear until I was grown up, but moved me to tears the first few times I heard it (and still does sometimes) is “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” by Bob Dylan.
Angel of the Morning by Juice Newton creeps me out. I remember seeing a tv movie about a girl who’s face was burned by acid. What that has to do with the song, I don’t know, but the song always makes me think of that tv movie and about what it would be like to have my face burned by acid.
This wasn’t exactly childhood, but ever since my freshman year in high school, the song “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (or whatever it’s called–that’s the first line) has creeped me out.
Why? Because in health class they showed us a video collage of people with faces ravaged by venereal disease (some really graphic stuff) and that was the song they played over it. Now everytime I hear that song I think of syphilis.
Good thing I didn’t like the song much in the first place, huh?
FWIW, “Angie Baby” was the first song I thought of when I saw the thread title. The other one was “Dark Lady” by Cher. I like both songs and did then, but they’re creepy.
I’ve seen “Dark Lady” mentioned in a few posts now. I remember the song being played incessantly on the radio, but I was never really creeped out by it the way I was by “Angie Baby”. Ditto for “10,000 Years” (a/k/a "Year 2525). Although, now that I’m a grownup, hearing it seriously creeps me out. Drat you, Zager and Evans.
**Ode to Billie Joe ** by Bobbie Gentry has always been one that creeps me out a bit.
I have a memory of a song from the early 70’s (I think) that my mother can’t help me with. I just remember that whenever this song came on my mom and I would sing it…it was about a “witchy” woman…there was a point in the song where she cackled I think. Something about a swamp. It was spooky.
My mother used to sing that to us as a lullaby! I have no idea how that tradition got started, but we demaned that she it before we would go to sleep. I think we liked the “Yippie kie yay, yippie kie yo” part.
I always thought “Never been to me” by Charlene was kind of strange.
“Dear Mr. Jesus” by PowerSource really creeped me out…ALOT!
“Ballroom Blitz” by Sweet wasn’t weird, but when it first came out I couldn’t understand the lyrics and thought the were singing
“It’s…it’s…a bottle of piss…Yeah, a bottle of piss”
With me, it’s Echoes, from Meddle. It sounds and feels like a bad trip and those noises toward the end give me this weird image of infants being slaughtered by dolphins.
