What is/are the most depressing song(s) you've ever heard?

In My Humble Opinion
81

[topic diversion]

brandocet - I never said the song wasn’t depressing or painful. It never was one of my favorites, but was a big part of the standard elementary music repertoire.
Unfortunately, too many of the parents and kids were under the impression that the kid died, one misguided parent even announcing that ‘fact’ loudly to her child and everyone else in earshot. Seeing young children traumatized by an implied death in a song is not a fun situation. Trying to sing over their bawling and sniffles was worse. Thus, the necessity of a small lecture on growing up and changing values prior to performances.
[Adjusting/adapting the song to the level of the audience is, at times, necessary. Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Titwillow” will garner uproarious laughter and snide remarks from junior high students, less so (hopefully) from more mature (hopefully) high school students. Some cannot even be adapted without missing the entire point of the song: several of the standard folksongs (far too many to list and I can’t find my memo) were banned by one of my principals because they involved death, anarchy or other ‘not nice topics’. {I will not start a censorship thread here, and my head hurts thinking about it}]
The idea of little Jackie “being a jerk” was a commentary more influenced by Ny-Quil® and lack of sleep rather than rational thought. Such (‘jerkiness’) was never implied during class or concert. My apologies if I had not made myself clear.
Puff’s alive, Jackie’s alive, and I’ll have the song running through my brain for the rest of the day. <sigh>
[/topic diversion]

PillEaster - Red Sovine. Thank you; I could not remember the name!
:Note to self: avoid Red Sovine recordings:

82

Fire and Rain - James Taylor

Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler

Mama - Boyz 2 Men from the Soul Food soundtrack

[getting out razor blades]

83

“Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton

“Ana’s Song” by Silverchair

“Everything I Touch” by Stabbing Westward

“39” by The Cure
(have the sudden urge to slit my wrists)

84

Oh Oh and I forgot
“H” and “Sober” by Tool

(still looking for something sharp)

85

First let me say there seems to be two camps here. The ‘sad word’ group and the ‘sad music’ folks. I tend to fall into 2nd category.
Check out “Nostagie” off of the ‘Cirque du Soleil’ “O” CD. I don’t even know what language that is, much less what’s being said, but something sad has GOT to be going on in that song. Hauntingly beautiful. (Eterenally grateful for translation!)
Also, “Over the waves” (I think, I no longer have the CD) by Willy Nelson off of ‘Red-headed Stranger’ . If I ever commit suicide, It will be to that song! No words.
And, unless I missed it, no one has mentioned 'Mazzy Star"!!! Check out “Wasted” on ‘So that I Might See’.

Finally, coincidentally, I heard “Ol’ Rivers” by Walter Brennen the other day. Anyone remember THAT one?!

86

One more thing, regarding PTMD I always though Puff was a toy. A toy with painted wings that ‘flew’ and Jackie out grew it.

87

I always felt that “Yesterday” by The Beatles was kind of sad. But I still like the song all the same.

88

Here are a few…

"Crucify" by the woman who seems to have been appointed the Dysthymia Queen on this thread - Tori Amos.

"Being Boring" by the Pet Shop Boys.

That song saved my best friend of mine from suicide… listening to musical pain keeps the silent variety from festering.

Another Pet Shop one: "Dreaming of the Queen"

I can’t tell whether it’s about a breakup or AIDS or both. (It was written before Diana died, so so much for that possibility.)

Pulp’s "Common People"

Mylène Farmer, “Désenchantée” (the only depressing disco song I know)

**Mylène Farmer, “Beyond my control”

89

I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of Everclear. Everlast’s hit was What It’s Like, which is a pretty depressing song in it’s own right. Everclear’s Father of Mine, Amphetamine, I Will Buy You a New Life, and Heartspark Doolarsign are all pretty depressing too.

Random Depression:
Castles Made of Sand-Jimi Hendrix
Dear Mama-Tupac
Baby Don’t Cry-Tupac
I Ain’t Mad At Cha-Tupac
Sitting on the Dock of the Bay-Otis Redding

90

“Might as Well Be on Mars”-Alice Cooper
“Porceline”-Moby
“Yesterday”-The Beatles

91

Falcon schmoopie, it’s off of “One Wild Night in Concert” which you can buy from the link I pasted. Or you can go down to your local record store and look it up. I think I’m gonna have to go get it - I have only heard it the once on the radio, but it really stuck with me. I’m sure I’ll like the rest of the album, she’s so cool! On a not-depressing note, have you heard/seen the lyrics to her song about her run-in with Harrison Ford? Ohmigod, it’s hysterical.

Yes, I love Harrison Ford. He’s my own personal tender tough guy. And I know you women love him. And I know you guys admire him too and would probably like to do a woodworking project with him in the garage, because you know he used to be a carpenter before he was an actor, I’m talking about a real carpenter, not like Bob Villa, that fake carpenter on television. You know I heard a rumor that Bob Villa’s going out with Martha Stewart. I Hope they don’t have children! Do you know who would spend the whole day with Bob Villa and Martha Stewart? Nobody!

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

92

…‘bing’
:major epiphany:
:speechless:
:for once:
You are brilliant.
That makes a lot more sense.
Thank you.
My teachers always said the kid was dead.
I thought Puff was an imaginary friend.
An abandoned toy.
I like it (the idea, not the toy).
Why did you not speak up years ago when I was teaching?

At least the kid is not dead.

Still a depressing song.

93

I forgot a country song called Roses For Momma.
Its about a boy who goes to a florist tio buy roses for his momma’s birthday.
He doesn’t have quite enough money, so the guy (the singer) in there also gives him the extra money, then goes to follow the boy.
Turns out the boy is going to the graveyard to put the flowers on his momma’s grave.

94

The End by The Doors

The Road to Hell by Chris Rea. (When this thing first came out, I thought it was the greatest… sat and listened to it over and over… ended up crying to myself for anhour after I stopped playing it…)

95

Well…i’ll just make a list…
1.NIN-hurt, the great below
2.rammstein-seeman…hehe, wilder wein
3.E.N.-sand(yes i know it’s a cover)
4.Depeche Mode- blasphemous rumors, shake the disease and Litlle 15
5.VnV Nation- Distant(rubicon 2), rubicon, and forsaken(vocal version)
6.Pink floyd- The Wall( the whole shabang)
7.Skinny Puppy- Addiction, Worlock, and…the killing game
8.doubting thomas- father don’t cry
9.Wolfshiem- Once in a Lifetime
10.Beborn Beton- another world
11.Enya- china roses
12.the Cure- untitled and the love song
13. joy divison- every damn song
I think that’s about it, enough songs to keep you in a dark mood for quite some time…

96

forgot to include ma nifty sig.

97

…by John Cougar Melonhead. This song accurately describes small-town angst shared by two horny teenagers. Jack realizes that he will never be a “football star”, so he assuages his dread by knocking up Diane. “Two American kids, doin the best they can” sums up the realization that these two will never be anybody.
Jack and Diane should have blown eachother’s heads off!

98

“Locked in the Trunk of a Car” by the Tragically Hip is a song sung from the persective of a serial killer. No kidding. It was a huge hit in Canada. The chorus goes:

Well, I’ve found a place, it’s dark and it’s rotted
It’s a cool, sweet kinda place where the copters won’t spot it
And I’ve destroyed the map, I even thought I’d forgot it
But every day, I’m dumping the body

Better for us if you don’t understand
Better for us if you don’t understand
Describing a murder takes it for me.

99

Gee, how could I forget another Tragically Hip wrist-slasher, “38 Years Old”:

Twelve men broke loose in '73
From Millhaven Maximum Security
Twelve pictures lined up, across the front page
Seems the Mounties had a summertime war to wage

Well, the Chief told the people they had nothing to fear
Said “The last thing they wanna do is hang around here”
Well, most of them came from towns with long French names
But one of the dozen was a hometown shame

Same pattern on the table, same clock on the wall
Been one seat empty eighteen years in all
Freeze in slow time away from the world
He’s thirty-eight years old and never kissed a girl

Sitting 'round the table, heard the telephone ring
Father said he’d tell him if he saw anything
Heard a tap on the window in the middle of the night
Held back the curtains for my older brother Mike

See, my sister got raped, so a man got killed
Local boy went to prison, man’s buried on the hill
Folks went back to normal when they closed the case
But they still stare at their shoes when they pass our place

My mother cried, “The horror has finally ceased!”
He whispered, “Yeah, for the time being at least”
Over her shoulder, on the squad car megaphone
Said, “Let’s go Michael, son, we’re taking you home”

Same pattern on the table, same clock on the wall
Been one seat empty, eighteen years in all
Freezing slow time, away from the world
He’s thirty-eight years old, never kissed a girl
Folks, if “He’s 38 years old, never kissed a girl” isn’t the saddest line I’ve ever heard, I don’t know what is.

Other Hip song topics that makes you want to cut off your own head include:

Fiddler’s Green, about a mother whose son dies at sea
Fifty Mission Cap, about a hockey player who disappeared after winning the Stanley Cup and then they found his rotting remains eleven years later
Yawning or Snarling, a song written about a photograph of a dead man
Courage, about suicide in general
The Luxury, which is about a guy who gets out of prison and has nothing left to do except sit in cheap motel rooms with ugly whores
Wheat Kings, about a guy who went to prison for a murder he didn’t commit
Many songs about alcoholism
Scared, which is about being scared
Grace, Too, which is about a guy in love with a prostitute
Nautical Disaster, which is about a nautical disaster
Inevitability of Death, which is about the inevitability of death

100

“Amused Itself to Death,” by Roger Waters.
Alien archaeologists discover the ancient remains of human civilization and conclude that we had so much fun we couldn’t take any more. This, after we hear the grieved reminiscings of an old Doughboy who carried a dying friend through a WWI night.