# Songs that sound happy but are actually dark **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 10, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775 "2009-12-10T21:21:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/21 "2009-12-10T22:25:36Z")
Tom Waits’ _I Don’t Wanna Grow Up_ - its raucous tune makes it easy to take it as playful (and joyful) Peter-Pannism, but it you pay careful attention to the lyrics, it’s clear that it’s about suicidal ideation: > [@](#): > > I’m gonna put a hole in my TV set > I don’t wanna grow up > Open up the medicine chest > And I don’t wanna grow up… ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/22 "2009-12-10T22:27:36Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I was singing in the shower once with my wife in the bathroom and she accused me of making up the final verse of _“Puff the Magic Dragon”_. Having only ever heard the refrain, she assumed (and this seems fairly common) that it was just some light, folksy children’s song. **“A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys Painted wings and giant strings make way for other toys”** My son is three years old … these lines are hitting me harder than they should ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/23 "2009-12-10T22:28:12Z")
[Walk in the Park](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZAQMPoCTso) by Oh No, Oh My! - On the surface the poppiest of the pop. But it’s also got darkness, right there in front of your face! [There is a Light that Never Goes Out](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INgXzChwipY) by the Smiths , maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/24 "2009-12-10T23:42:00Z")
More Barenaked Ladies: _I’ll Be That Girl_. What. The fuck. Is going on in that song? The totally peppy chorus goes: _I’ll be that girl you would be right over. If I were a field, you would be in clover. If I were the sun, you would be in shadow. If I had a gun, there’d be no tomorrow._ The rest of the song is no less weird and creepy. But you really have to listen to the lyrics to notice because it sounds so upbeat and cheerful. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/25 "2009-12-10T23:42:55Z")
Pretty much everything Sublime recorded… ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/26 "2009-12-10T23:43:37Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > How about “Glory Days,” which is really about miserable people who are getting old, and who spend all of their time drinking and reminiscing about their lost youth? I hate when they play this after a baseball game. I always wonder if anyone actually listened to the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/27 "2009-12-10T23:45:47Z")
Bye Bye Love, Bye Bye Happiness, Hello loneliness, I think that I could cry ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/28 "2009-12-10T23:54:33Z")
Huh. I figured the first example would be Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “[Alone Again, Naturally](http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/thevirginsuicides/aloneagainnaturally.htm).” It always comes up in this context. In a little while from now If I’m not feeling any less sour I promise myself to treat myself And visit a nearby tower And climbing to the top will throw myself off ---
**Author:** ![Trick\_Rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Trick\_Rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trick_Rider)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/29 "2009-12-11T00:00:15Z")
“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” by The Beatles “Walk On The Wild Side” by Lou Reed ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/30 "2009-12-11T00:02:53Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > the entire first **Housemartins** album. The Housemartins, and later incarnation The Beautiful South, made a career out of sweet, catchy tunes with acidic lyrics. Personally I think they shot themselves in the foot slightly, because the tunes were much better than the words, which seem slightly juvenile in hindsight. So now you get cosy radio stations like Magic FM playing things like “Song for Whoever” without any irony. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/31 "2009-12-11T00:07:41Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Huh. I figured the first example would be Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “[Alone Again, Naturally](http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/thevirginsuicides/aloneagainnaturally.htm).” It always comes up in this context. > > In a little while from now > If I’m not feeling any less sour > I promise myself to treat myself > And visit a nearby tower > And climbing to the top will throw myself off It wasn’t the first. It got slipped in at 13. ---
**Author:** ![slitterst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@slitterst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slitterst)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/32 "2009-12-11T00:07:50Z")
Tomorrow Belongs to Me from \*Cabaret \*is a good example: The sun on the meadow is summery warm. The stag in the forest runs free. But gather together to greet the storm. Tomorrow belongs to me. It’s a beautiful ballad about taking the hope and promise of the future… Sung by Nazis. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/33 "2009-12-11T00:09:54Z")
[Death Cab for Cutie - No Sunlight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09ne5kbZPj8). Very catchy little track. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/34 "2009-12-11T00:12:59Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I was singing in the shower once… > “Painted wings and giant strings make way for other toys” \giant rings… or possibly giant’s rings\ One of my favourites, my mother sang it to me as a little nipper. I sang it to my little boy… and it reminded me of her, and I missed her. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/35 "2009-12-11T00:16:17Z")
“Billy, Don’t Be A Hero.” Honest. A light, puffy sounding song which often gets dismissed as one of the worst songs of the 70s, with Billy’s embittered fiancee throwing away the letter describing Billy’s heroism under fire and how he sacrificed his life to go for reinforcements. His sacrifice was meaningless to his fiancee, who wanted Billy to keep a low profile and come home to marry her. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/36 "2009-12-11T00:22:14Z")
**Lemon Tree** by Will Holt, popularized by Peter, Paul, & Mary. > [@](#): > > When I was just a lad of ten, my father said to me, > “Come here and take a lesson from the lovely lemon tree.” > “Don’t put your faith in love, my boy”, my father said to me, > “I fear you’ll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree.” > > Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet > but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat. The song goes on to tell of a woman ripping a guy’s heart out. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/37 "2009-12-11T00:25:41Z")
“Happy Birthday.” After a certain age, it’s not so happy. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/38 "2009-12-11T00:28:18Z")
Copacabana ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/39 "2009-12-11T00:42:34Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > The Housemartins, and later incarnation The Beautiful South, made a career out of sweet, catchy tunes with acidic lyrics. Personally I think they shot themselves in the foot slightly, because the tunes were much better than the words, which seem slightly juvenile in hindsight. So now you get cosy radio stations like Magic FM playing things like “Song for Whoever” without any irony. The Housemartins’ words seem slightly juvenile in hidsight, or all of Paul Heatons’s stuff? The Housemartins I agree with - the Christian Marxism sounds a bit idealistic and naive. But the Beautiful South stuff is mostly about relationships and drinking, which still works, IMO. And it’s inevitable with this type of music that some people are going to take the music at face value without paying attention to the lyrics - it’s worth it when they one day get that “Aha!” moment and realize they’ve been humming along to lines like “Don’t shoot someone tomorrow that you can shoot today”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_Who\_Wasn\_t\_There](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ba0ec/32.png) [@The\_Man\_Who\_Wasn\_t\_There](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_Who_Wasn_t_There)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775/40 "2009-12-11T00:45:18Z")
Half Man Half Biscuit’s [_The Light at the End of the Tunnel (Is the Light of an Oncoming Train)_](http://www.mrtzcmp3.net/Listen?a=6493554244&c=fde25a1d2f21&artist=Half%20Man%20Half%20Biscuit&song=The%20Light%20at%20the%20End%20of%20the%20Tunnel%20%28Is%20the%20Light%20of%20an%20Oncoming%20Train%29) has an upbeat tune and rhythm for a rather bitter song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-happy-but-are-actually-dark/520775.md?page=3)