Songs about suicide

[last_texas_dem]

The thread about songs with cannabis references got me thinking about another "taboo" reference that shows up in some songs.

Here are a few I can think of off the top of my head:

"Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult
"The Ledge" by the Replacements
"Knocking on Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Guns 'n Roses, etc.
"Jumper" by Third Eye Blind
"Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd
"Adam's Song" by Blink 182
"Music to Commit Suicide By" by Roy Wood (obscure- I think- instrumental, actually; but I figured with a title like that it's got to be included!)

A book I have about music censorship, Parental Advisory by Eric Nuzum lists these as songs most often associated with inspiring young people to kill themselves. (I know a couple of these have even had court cases in which parents tried to argue that the song had caused their child to take their life):

"Comfortably Numb" and "Goodbye Cruel World" by Pink Floyd
"Cold Turkey" by John Lennon (thought this one was just about trying to quit drugs, but I guess I should have another listen to the lyrics)
"Highway to Hell", "Shoot to Thrill", and "Hell's Bells" by AC/DC
"Suicide Solution" by Ozzy Osbourne (I know this one had a court case about it)
"Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult
"Killing Yourself to Live" and "After Forever" by Black Sabbath
"Fade to Black" to Metallica

Anybody got any more?

[clovis29]

1. Mash Theme

[Haole316]

2. damn beat me to it....Suicide is Painless

[Red State Rebel]

3. Suicide is Painless n/t

[last_texas_dem]

6. Good one

There's actually a vocal version of that one, by a group called "The Mash." Although I'm not sure if a vocal version ever appeared on the TV show...

[Kire]

9. the vocal version appeared in the film

robert altman, donald sutherland, elliot gould, great film

[TyeDye75]

57. Dont forget the Manic Street Preachers' version

[Bok_Tukalo]

23. Suicide is Painless - Best ever

Through early morning fog I see
Visions of the things to be
The pains that are withheld for me
I realize and I can see

That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

Try to find a way to make
All our little joys relate
Without that ever present hate
But now I know that it's too late

And that suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

The game of life is hard to play
I'm going to lose it anyway
The losing card I'll someday lay
So this is all I have to say

That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

The only way to win is cheat
And lay it down before I'm beat
And to another give a seat
For that's the only painless feat

'Cause suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

The sword of time will pierce our skins
It doesn't hurt when it begins
But as it works it's way on in
The pain grow stronger watch it grin

For suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

A brave man once requested me
To answer questions that are key
Is it to be or not to be
And I replied "Oh why ask me."

Cause suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please;

And you can do the same thing if you please.

[XanaDUer]

4. "Gloomy Sunday"

Billie Holliday...

[tuvor]

5. Don't Try Sucide by Queen

[ronzo]

7. Suicide Chump - Zappa

what?

[RevolutionaryActs]

8. Otherside - Red Hot Chili Peppers.

[last_texas_dem]

10. That's an interesting one

I love that song, but was never sure what it was about. I'm pretty clueless when it comes to interpreting lyrics sometimes... gonna have to give it a listen to see if I can get more out of it.

[Biased Liberal Media]

41. Wow I had no clue it was a song about suicide...love that song

[DBoon]

11. "Suicidal Tendencies"

Off their first album:

- Suicidal Failure
- Suicide's An Alternative

and DI - "Richard's Hung Himself". DI was a split off of the Adolescents.

[Kire]

17. that was a great performance in the movie Suburbia

Needles stabbed into the walls
The executioners curtain call
Fighting back he found his life drowning
And there was no way up

Cause Richard hung himself
Richard hung himself
It happened just the other day
Jesus caught and pushed him off the shelf
He thought he find a better way
With slashing, and stabbing, and manning and ramming

Death room with black curtains
Where his clothes once laid
The roof kicked out and the rope tied to the rafters
A quick kick of the chair
And it's all through
If Richie only knew

Cause Richard hung himself
Richard hung himself
It happened just the other day
Jesus caught and pushed him off the shelf
He thought he find a better way
With needles, injecting and shooting himself contagiously

His life suddenly flashed right before his eyes
What a swinging guy
Turning gray with mold
This is when he died

Give it up give up
Throw it all away

Burning acid bath
Pulmonary wrath
Feel the boiling surge
It won't let you go


Throw it all away (2x)
Throw it all a....... (2x)
Throw it all away

Swinging in his room
Richie won't come out to play
That poor bastard hung himself the other day
Oh how the years seem to fly by
Is death the final high

Cause Richard hung himself
Richard hung himself
It happened the other day
Jesus caught and pushed him off the shelf
He thought he find a better way
With slashing and stabbing and ripping
And stabbing and shredding and slashing
And shredding and stabbing and ripping
And tearing attacking and manning
And taking the body god gave to you

I gotta get out

Cause Richard hung himself
Cause Richard swung himself
Cause Richard strung himself
The needles stung himself
It pulled him off the shelf
Cause Richard hung himself

[CanuckAmok]

46. I didn't know DI were splintered from the Adolescents!

I loved that clip from "Suburbia"...it almost made it worth sitting through the "verite acting"!

[ronzo]

58. Infectious grooves.

'nuff said.

[Kire]

12. The Other Side - David Gray

not sure if it's about really killing yourself, or just letting yourself die
-----

Meet me on the other side
Meet me on the other side
I’ll see you on the other side
See you on the other side

Honey now if I’m honest
I still don’t know what love is
Another mirage folds into the haze of time recalled
And now the floodgates cannot hold
All my sorrow all my rage
A tear that falls on every page

Meet me on the other side
Meet me on the other side

Maybe I oughta mention
Was never my intention
To harm you or your kin
Are you so scared to look within
The ghosts are crawling on our skin
We may race and we may run
We’ll not undo what has been done
Or change the moment when it’s gone

Meet me on the other side
Meet me on the other side
I’ll see you on the other side
I’ll see you on the other side

I know it would be outrageous
To come on all courageous
And offer you my hand
To pull you up on to dry land
When all I got is sinking sand
The trick ain’t worth the time it buys
I’m sick of hearing my own lies
And love’s a raven when it flies

Meet me on the other side
Meet me on the other side
I’ll see you on the other side

Honey now if I’m honest
I still don’t know what love is

[Kire]

13. I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself - Elton John

I'm getting bored
Being part of mankind
There's not a lot to do no more
This race is a waste of time

People rushing everywhere
Swarming around like flies
Think I'll buy a forty four
Give them all a surprise

Think I'm gonna kill myself
Cause a little suicide
Stick around for a couple of days
What a scandal if I died

Yeah I'm gonna kill myself
Get a little headline news
I'd like to see what the papers say
On the state of teenage blues

A rift in my family
I can't use the car
I gotta be in by ten o'clock
Who do they think they are

I'd make an exception
If you want to save my life
Brigitte Bardot gotta come
And see me every night

[Kire]

14. Bob - Primus

I had a friend that took a belt, took a belt and hung himself
Hung himself in the doorway of the apartment where he lived
His woman and his little bro came home from the grocery store
Only to find him dangling in the apartment where he lived

I had a friend who shaved his head
Put his doctor martins on
And drew such wondrous pictures in the apartment where he lived
He praised my creativity, though he spoke sarcastically
Oh, the conversations in the apartment where he lived

I had a friend that took a belt, took a belt and hung himself
Hung himself in the doorway of the apartment where he lived
Rock, she thought him spiteful; ler, he thought him pitiful
Me, I’ve never been back to the apartment where he lived

[Kire]

15. Fallen Horses - Smash Mouth

A long summers day stetching out the cold
Searching for the answers and some say I’m not alone
Could you tell me where I might find fallen horses their spirits they fly
Blinded by the whiteness staring at the sun
I’m wishing that I had wings so that I could become one
Would you help me if I wanted to die I could ride off with horses tonight
Tell me why
Why oh why
I said why
Why oh why
Now that I’ve arrived here I know I’m not alone
All my friends among me tell me welcome home
But could you tell me where I might find the one I’m looking for cause her wings have arrived
Chorus

[BurtWorm]

22. Speaking of Horses

Redondo Beach by Patti Smith

Redondo Beach


Late afternoon, dreaming hotel
We just had the quarrel that sent you away.
I was looking for you, are you gone gone ?
Called you on the phone, another dimension.
Well, you never returned, oh you know what I mean.
I went looking for you, are you gone, gone ?
Down by the ocean it was so dismal,
Women all standing with a shock on their faces.
Sad description, oh I was looking for you.

Everyone was singing, girl is washed up
On Redondo Beach and everyone is so sad.
I was looking for you, are you gone gone ?
Pretty little girl, everyone cried.
She was the victim of sweet suicide.
I went looking for you, are you gone gone ?

Down by the ocean it was so dismal,
Women all standing with shock on their faces.
Sad description, oh I was looking for you.

Desk clerk told me girl was washed up,
Was small, an angel with apple blonde hair, now.
I went looking for you, are you gone gone ?
Picked up my key, didn't reply.
Went to my room, started to cry.
You were small, an angel, are you gone gone ?

Down by the ocean it was so dismal.
I was just standing with shock on my face.
The hearse pulled away, and the girl that had died, it was you.
You'll never return into my arms 'cause you were gone gone.
Never return into my arms 'cause you were gone gone.
Gone gone, gone gone, good-bye.

[BurtWorm]

16. I wrote one for my band.

(Kids, do NOT try this at home.)


Take action
And deliver
Take the pills and
Pull the trigger
Why don't you face it there's nothing left
Take action and control of your life.

(I always liked that consonant near rhyme. It was enough to keep me alive at the time.)

The power's there in your shaking hands
(Here come's the weakest link in the chain, the reason I'm not a rock star right now:)
To give in to overwhelming demands
(Now the redeeming bit:)
Everyone hates you and the feeling's mutual.
Take action, do something unusual.

(Now for some psuedoprofundity, but nice rhymes:)

Thank science for your neurosis
Thank science for your psychosis
Thank science for your narcosis
Thank science for overdoses

(Thank science for letting me share this with you today.)

[drumwolf]

18. Actually, Ozzy's "Suicide Solution" was NOT about suicide

The lyrics are about drinking yourself to death, not intentionally ending your own life.

Ozzy says he wrote the song about original AC/DC singer Bon Scott, who died after an excessive alcoholic binge. But Ozzy was also going through his own drinking problem at the time, and bassist Bob Daisley has claimed that he was the one who wrote the song and it was Ozzy that the song was about.

[last_texas_dem]

21. Yes

I've always thought that was interesting; it's one of those songs that parents of children who committed suicide mentioned in court cases as bringing about their children's suicide when it's a song that isn't even about literal suicide and isn't pro-suicide either way...

[Zorro]

19. Song for Adam

Jackson Browne.

Very poignant.

[last_texas_dem]

20. Good additions

Thought of a few more:

"In the End" by Linkin Park; I don't think this one is actually about suicide but I think there were one or two cases where a kid killed themself listening to it. Probably just because they identified with the depressing lyrics...

"Save the Life of My Child" by Simon and Garfunkel is about a young guy standing on a ledge preparing to jump; in the end "he flew away"

Simon and Garfunkel also have "Richard Cory" (based on the poem and covered, oddly enough, by Paul McCartney and Wings) and "A Most Peculiar Man" (He turned on the gas/ And he went to sleep/ With the windows closed/ So he'd never wake up/ To his silent world and his tiny room/ And Mrs. Riordan says he has a brother somewhere/ Who should be notified soon).
I can't believe I forgot those; listening the Sounds of Silence album in third grade was where I found out about the concept of suicide in the first place...

[tjdee]

29. "Breaking the Habit" by Linkin Park definitely indicates suicide.

I don't know how I got this way
I'll never be alright
so I'm breaking the habit tonight

???


I mean if that doesn't say CALL 9-1-1 I don't know what does.

[Biased Liberal Media]

45. Everytime I hear "In The End" I think of a person who is fed up

and is depressed over everything- not necessarily suicide, although I can see where that may come from.

[givemebackmycountry]

24. It don't get any better than this....very touching

"The Freshman"

by

The Verve Pipe

When I was young I knew everything
and she a punk who rarely ever took advice
now i'm guilt stricken, sobbing with my head on the floor
stop a baby's breath and a shoe full of rice

I can't be held responsible
cause she was touching her face
I won't be held responsible
she fell in love in the first place

For the life of me I cannot remember
what made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise
for the life of me I cannot believe we'd ever die for these sins
we were merely freshmen

My best friend took a week's vacation to forget her
his girl took a week's worth of valium and slept
now he's guilt stricken sobbing with his head on the floor
thinks about her now and how he never really wept he says

We've tried to wash our hands of all of this
we never talk of our lacking relationships
and how we're guilt stricken sobbing with our heads on the floor
we fell through the ice when we tried not to slip, we'd say

I can't be held responsible
cause she was touching her face
I won't be held responsible
she fell in love in the first place



My best friend took a week's vacation to forget her
his girl took a week's worth of valium and slept

That's serious

[Biased Liberal Media]

42. Great song

I never really listened much to the lyrics but it's very sad.

[yardwork]

25. Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door" isn't about suicide

It's about a sheriff who dies. It was written for the movie Heaven's Gate, which I haven't seen. Maybe the sheriff commits suicide? I thought he was shot.

[last_texas_dem]

28. I think you're right

That's one I've just always associated with suicide from my interpretation of the lyrics back when I heard it for the first time, but I haven't really analyzed them. (Perhaps because I thought Dylan was saying "feel like knockin' on heaven's door" rather than "feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door"). I've never seen the movie either, though...

[yardwork]

34. Oddly enough, "Heaven's Gate" is the name of that suicide cult

I googled the movie but it's hard to find out much about it because everybody who has seen it hated it and won't talk about it. Kris Kristofferson played the sheriff.

[Dukkha]

26. The Only Thing That Shines - Shriekback

Only Thing That Shines

Night-night, blow out the candle
Inside a blazing building
On a sacred mission
All the lights that twinkle
All the pens that sing
All the wishes that sink
Making up our minds

Up the wooden steps
Up into my heart
I know that you know this is all that matters
I feel our two young deaths so close now
Smiling soft and shiny
The blade is sharp and fine
It could just slit us open

And you know this is nothing special
With just one slip
And we could lose ourselves forever
One time for all times
And you are the only thing that shines

Nowhere near, wading a lake of silence
Only say that word
And I will pour myself like wine
This is as much as I know, this is all they told me
Wicked shapes and lines
Taking us somewhere

And you know this is nothing special
With one slip
And we could lose ourselves forever
One time for all times
And you are the only thing that shines

[tjdee]

27. Exit by U2...Angel Down We Go Together by Morrissey....Love is Blindness..

Jumper is about suicide, but it's about a guy talking another guy out of suicide...same with Angel Down We Go Together, a song which begs the same.

Exit is straight up about a suicidal man. He's even got the gun in his pocket.

ooh, and Love is Blindness by U2, kind of flirting with it but definitely in that sucky kind of mood.
"A little death, without mourning
No call, and no warning
Baby a dangerous idea
That almost makes sense..."

[last_texas_dem]

30. A couple more

Good ol' teen death songs...=

"Patches" by Dickey Lee (Guy's girlfriend drowns herself upon discovering they can't be together because of their different socioeconomic statuses, and at the end of the tune he's preparing to join her)

"Endless Sleep" by Jody Reynolds; also covered superbly by the Poppy Family (Guy discovers that, after a nasty quarrel, his girlfriend has killed herself by running out into the ocean, and she's now calling him to join her...)

[Biased Liberal Media]

43. OMG Patches...

My mom made me listen to that a few times and we would laugh at the guy's voice, I had no clue it was about suicide though!!!

[last_texas_dem]

53. Yeah

It's not exactly explicit, but I figure the part where he says, "Patches, I'm coming for you," after finding out she had drowned (intentionally, I assume) in the river is a strong indication! haha

Before becoming a moderately successful country singer in the seventies, Dickey Lee had a couple of interestingly bizarre pop hits in the early sixties. Besides "Patches", he had a Top 40 hit with "Laurie (Strange Things Happen)" about a guy who meets a girl at a high school dance and after bringing her home that night discovers he had been dancing with and falling for the ghost of a girl who had been dead for a year! This might be one of those you have to hear to believe. He also had a catchy hit with "I Saw Linda Yesterday", which, in my opinion, ties with Ernie Maresca's "Shout! Shout! Knock Yourself Out" as the best blatant rewrite of Dion's "Runaround Sue."

[saltpoint]

31. Zorro (above) listed "Song for Adam" on a very early --

-- Jackson Browne album, and there is also "Richard Corey," the Edward Arlington Robinson poem re-done by Paul Simon, I think on Sounds of Silence (?) and "A Most Peculiar Man."

But neither is an allure to death, at least not to my ears. "Richard Corey" is more a social comment on class distinctions, "Song for Adam" a confessional inquiry into one's own mortality, and "Most Peculiar Man" seems to argue for more compassion and less gossip about people while they're alive.

This is just one person's take.

[last_texas_dem]

33. I know what you mean

I was just trying to think of songs referencing suicide in one way or another. I love both of those Simon and Garfunkel songs; I saw the value in what Paul Simon was trying to say in "A Most Peculiar Man" at even a very young age. I don't think many of these songs are actually promoting suicide, just discussing it.

[saltpoint]

39. Yes. And my god, their voices. What a sound they had.

[illbill]

32. Blue Oyster Cult is good....

but I think it needed more cowbell.

[Lenape85]

35. How about

Judas Priest - Beyond The Realm Of Death
Metallica - Fade To Black

[bloodyjack]

36. "White Ribbon"

I went down to the harbour
To meet my new bride
She said "I'll wear a white ribbon tied high"
She wore a white ribbon tied high on her thigh
Dark clouds on the horizon
A few spatters on her dress
And with my coat buttoned up to her throat
From the hotel balcony
She stared out towards the sea
From the hotel balcony she stared out away from me
And if there's one thing I know
It's when not to speak
She came lay beside me
Touched my hair soft as a breeze
I was just like a child
On christmas day
But with the strength of a man
And just like snow
Falling into hot milk
That little woman disappeared
Against my skin
When I woke in the morning
I walked up towards the balcony

(Smog)

[Lenape85]

37. Who sings that

[bloodyjack]

38. SMOG aka Bill Callahan

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

40. Don't Fear The Reaper is NOT a suicide song

It's a love song. I read an interview with the author a long time ago- it's one of the most misunderstood songs around.

[last_texas_dem]

47. Interesting

I'd like to read more about that one.

I figured it was a suicide song due to the lyrics Romeo and Juliet are together in eternity, etc., the 40,000 men and women every day (a death statistic?), and the Seasons don't fear the reaper... we can be like they are verse. And of course, the quite sinister-sounding guitar break in the album version, and the song's use in the movie Halloween.

I'm a bit surprised it isn't about suicide, but have misinterpreted many songs in my life thus far, so I'm not too surprised. Interesting to hear...

[last_texas_dem]

49. Here's an interesting link about this one

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.lasso?id=1607

[CanuckAmok]

44. "Suicide" by The Damned, and

"Suicide's an Alternative", by Suicidal Tendencies

oh, and "Duel", by Propaganda (The first cut won't hurt at all/the second only makes you wonder/the third will have you on your knees/you start bleeding/I start screaming), and the song is quite a poppy, danceable bit of Euro-Wave!

[PittPoliSci]

51. i love the damned!

i was going to post that one but saw you beat me to it! :hi:

[Nicole]

48. The End by the Doors n/t

[AlienGirl]

50. "Yer Blues" by the Beatles

Yes I’m lonely wanna die.
If I ain’t dead already.
Ooh girl you know the reason why.
In the morning wanna die.
In the evening wanna die.
If I ain’t dead already.
Ooh girl you know the reason why.
My mother was of the sky.
My father was of the earth.
But I am of the universe
And you know what it’s worth.
I’m lonely wanna die.
If I ain’t dead already.
Ooh girl you know the reason why.
The eagle picks my eye.
The worm he licks my bone.
I feel so suicidal
Just like Dylan’s Mr. Jones,
Lonely wanna die.
If I ain’t dead already.
Ooh girl you know the reason why.
Black cloud crossed my mind.
Blue mist round my soul.
Feel so suicidal
Even hate my rock and roll.
Wanna die yeah wanna die.
If I ain’t dead already.
Ooh girl you know the reason why.

[PittPoliSci]

52. Almost anything by Avenged Sevenfold.

Specifically I Won't See You Tonight, Part I, and I Won't See You Tonight, Part II.

[Norbert]

54. Lonesome Town by Rick Nelson

Maybe more of a breakup song but these is a lot of despair in thes words. One of Nelson's very best.

LONESOME TOWN
Baker Knight

There's a place where lovers go
To cry their troubles away.
And they call it,
Lonesome Town,
Where the broken hearts stay.

You can buy a dream or two
To last you all through the years.
And the only price you pay
Is a heart full of tears.

Goin' down to Lonesome Town,
Where the broken hearts stay.
Goin' down to Lonesome Town,
To cry my troubles away.

In the town of broken dreams,
The streets are filled with regret.
Maybe down in Lonesome Town,
I can learn to forget.

Maybe down in Lonesome Town,
I can learn to forget.
Lonesome Town.

[SOteric]

55. Fire and Rain by James Taylor

[TyeDye75]

56. Chop Suey... by system of a down

had a working title of suicide but it was changed. The line is...

"I don't think you trust in my self-righteous suicide
I cry when angels deserve to die"

Its a great song.