by There are many different kinds of gloomy songs that have the power to evoke strong emotional reactions in the listener. There are sad songs that will make you tear up a little; there are dismal songs that will make you straight out cry; and then there are depressing songs. These are the songs that are so painfully emotive and so passionately dispiriting that after listening to them, you want to shove forks in your ears, slit your throat, and then cut your own heart out, just to get away from the brutality of it all. I love those kinds of songs.
The following is my list of 10 depressing songs. If I were to ever kill myself (which I’m not, don’t worry, faithful readers), I would have these songs playing on an infinite loop in the background, and when someone finally found my body they’d have to turn the music off for fear of killing themselves as well. So turn your speakers on, have a listen, and hear the words, kids, not just the music. It’s the words that’ll get ya.
I’ll start off easy with the list of top 10 depressing songs – just to ensure you all don’t start dropping like flies before the end.
No.10 “Footprints on my Ceiling”
Social Distortion
While this song might not be everyone’s idea of a depressing song, it more than moves me every time I hear it. I feel this song with my whole body, not just my ears, and not just my heart. Mike Ness’ raspy, pain-filled voice only adds to the melancholia of it all. You can tell, when you hear him sing, that he’s been through some shit in his life. He’s been to the dark side, and he’s just thanking who-the-fuck-ever is up there, that he came through it all. Maybe it’s because I can feel what he’s feeling when he’s singing this song, or because my own darkness can relate to his darkness, but I’ve never once listened to Mike sing this song and not sobbed.
Verse that kicks my ass…
“There are footprints on my ceiling/I can’t help this fucked up feeling/Somethings wrong, you ain’t coming ’round here no more/Try to get my thoughts together/I think of a time when things were better/This miscommunication is breaking me down.”
I told you I’d start off easy. This list of top 10 depressing songs is only going to get worse as we go along, folks. Grab your helmets and strap in!
No.9 “Mad World”
Evergreen Terrace
This song was originally released by Tears for Fears in 1982 and regained popularity nearly 20 years later when it was redone by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews for the movie Donnie Darko in 2001. Three years after that, we have our cover by Evergreen Terrace. The thing I love most about this song is that the lyrics are so versatile that whether it’s done in a Synthpop/New Wave-y way like Tears for Fears’ original, or a slowed down, minimalistic way like Gary Jules’ cover (which was used in the TV spot for Gears of War), or even a thrashed up Metalcore way like Evergreen Terrace’s, it just works. On top of that, I think we all, at one time or another, felt like that teenager, looking down at the rest of the world and thinking how fucked up it all is. Everyone can feel this song, and relate to it, no matter who you are, or where you come from. We’ve all seen and felt some fucked up shit in our lives.
Verse that kicks my ass…
“Went to school and I was very nervous/No one knew me, no one knew me/Hello, teacher, tell me what’s my lesson/Look right through me, look right through me.”
No.8 “Seize the Day”
Avenged Sevenfold
Oh, God, this song. This song not only pulls, it fucking yanks on my heartstrings. It slices through them like butter with a rusty, serrated-edged blade, and then, just for good measure, it rips the sliced up heartstrings out of my body and stomps on them with steel-toed Docs. M. Shadows, no matter what he sings, sings with a passion that I haven’t heard in a long time. The sorrow his voice is capable of eliciting in this song is almost too indescribable for mere words to convey. I believe the song, I believe the story. I believe it’s me who’s just lost the love of my life, and it makes me want to cut myself with the aforementioned serrated-edged knife. I’m shaken to the bone, every time I listen to it.
Verse that kicks my ass…
“So, what if I never hold you, yeah/Or kiss your lips again?/Whoa, so I never want to leave you/And the memories of us to see I beg don’t leave me”
No.7 “Ain’t it Fun”
The Dead Boys
This song is kind of a cover, in that it was originally written and performed by Rocket From the Tombs, but they never released it. It was first released by The Dead Boys, whose members included Cheetah Chrome, one of the founding members of Rocket From the Tombs, and an original writer of “Ain’t it Fun.” Guns N’ Roses covered it years later. I have a soft spot for depressing songs about drug addiction. I think drug addiction is so glorified in the media, whether it be in movies, on television or even in music, a lot of artists make it look “fun,” but it’s really, really not. So when there’s a song that doesn’t glorify it, but rather makes it real, shows what the true story behind it is, it sticks with me. “Ain’t it Fun” does just that, and if anyone knew what drug abuse does to a person, it was singer Stiv Bators who had to watch not only his band, but the majority of his best friends fall apart from heroin addiction.
Verse that kicks my ass…
“Ain’t it fun when you tell her she’s just a cunt/Ain’t it fun when she splits and leaves you all alone/Ain’t it fun when you’ve broken up every band that you’ve ever begun/Ain’t it fun when you know that you’re gonna die young”
No.6 “Hurt”
Nine Inch Nails
There is a lot of dispute to the meaning of this song. It ranges from the song being a suicide note, to it being about someone who’s finally found meaning to his life, to a song about self-harm. There are even those who argue that it’s about drug use. Whatever the meaning, this is another one of those powerful songs that gets you right where it hurts (for serious, no pun intended). Reznor has such a haunting voice, that even a song that makes me want to slit my wrists can sufficiently creep me out first. Johnny Cash covered this song on his American Recordings album in 2002, and while he just makes me feel the pain of this song, Trent Reznor makes me scared of it as well.
Verse that kicks my ass…
“The needle tears a hole/The old familiar sting/Try to kill it all away/But I remember everything.”
Have you started cutting yourselves yet, darlings? There’s still five more depressing songs to go! Hold on tight!
