Deepest, most depressing, hard hitting, or thought provoking rock/pop song lyrics

quote:

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Bury me softly in this womb
I give this part of me for you
Sand rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers in a tomb, in bloom

Down in a hole and I don't know if I can be saved
See my heart, I decorate it like a grave
Oh, you don't understand who they thought I was supposed to be
Look at me now, a man who won't let himself be

Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
I'd like to fly
But my wings have been so denied

Down in a hole, and they've put all the stones in their place
I've eaten the sun, so my tongue has been burned of the taste
I have been guilty of kicking myself in the teeth
I will speak no more of my feelings beneath

Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
I'd like to fly
But my wings have been so denied

---

AIC
Down in a Hole

"Hurt" by NIN is always my answer to this question. I'm not sure the helplessness and isolation of addiction have ever been captured so starkly.


I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
Try to focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away in the end

And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of shite
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away in the end

And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

All By Myself

quote:

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All this talk of getting old
It's getting me down, my love
Like a cat in a bag, waiting to drown
This time I'm coming down

And I hope you're thinking of me
As you lay down on your side
Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse but I know I'll see your face again

Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse
But I know I'll see your face again

But I know I'm on a losing streak
As I pass down by your street
And if you wanna show, then just let me know
And I'll sing in your ear again

Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse
But I know I'll see your face again

---

Written about his father who was struggling with a painful disease. This song is so fricking strong. It's difficult to top this one.



I'll try with 2 that I will post separately: MMJ's "Dondante," and JJ Gray's "Brave Little Fighter," both of which deal with suicide of friends.

"AIC Down in a Hole"

Tied with Nutshell:

"We chase misprinted lies
We face the path of time
And yet I fight, and yet I fight
This battle all alone
No one to cry to
No place to call home
Ooh
Ooh-ooh
Ooh
Ooh-ooh
My gift of self is raped
My privacy is raked
And yet I find, and yet I find
Repeating in my head
If I can't be my own
I'd feel better dead
Ooh
Ooh-ooh
Ooh
Ooh-ooh"

quote:

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most depressing

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Alone Again by Gilbert O Sullivan has always been a bit of a bummer. Which sucks because it's a great tune aside from the downer lyrics ha

quote:

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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
In an effort to
Make it clear to whoever
Wants to know what it's like when you're shattered
Left standing in the lurch at a church
Were people saying, My God, that's tough
She stood him up
No point in us remaining
We may as well go home
As I did on my own
Alone again, naturally

To think that only yesterday
I was cheerful, bright and gay
Looking forward to who wouldn't do
The role I was about to play
But as if to knock me down
Reality came around
And without so much as a mere touch
Cut me into little pieces
Leaving me to doubt
Talk about, God in His mercy
Oh, if he really does exist
Why did he desert me
In my hour of need
I truly am indeed
Alone again, naturally

It seems to me that
There are more hearts broken in the world
That can't be mended
Left unattended
What do we do
What do we do
Alone again, naturally

Looking back over the years
And whatever else that appears
I remember I cried when my father died
Never wishing to hide the tears
And at sixty-five years old
My mother, God rest her soul
Couldn't understand why the only man
She had ever loved had been taken
Leaving her to start
With a heart so badly broken
Despite encouragement from me
No words were ever spoken
And when she passed away
I cried and cried all day
Alone again, naturally
Alone again, naturally

---

Spanish Love Songs's "Kick" is fantastic but super depressing. The whole song is about addiction and struggle.

Full lyrics:

LINK

The opening verse:

When you saw your dad shoot up for the first time
It must've come as quite a shock
You sat numb in your room for hours
Ignoring the afternoon's drop-offs
You picture him, arms outstretched in a song
After Sunday school let out
He'd drive the family home
And you'd talk about Jesus

But 15 years can change a man
Alone in this wilderness


"I Just Want to Sell Out My Funeral" from the Wonder Years is my favorite album closer. It's hard to just quote lyrics because of how the song is structured.

The album is a series of songs about the life experiences of a guy in his 20's dealing with depression. Towards the end of the album, a friend of his, Madelyn, kills herself.

The closing song begins with the narrator going home from her funeral and contemplating suicide himself. The song then interpolates lyrics from the earlier songs as what people would find left of him after death.

It brings the album together perfectly, and it ends with the narrator deciding to go on living despite depression:

"There's no devil on my shoulder
He's got a rocking chair on my front porch
But I won't let him in.
No, I won't let him in.

'Cause I'm sick of seeing ghosts
And I know how it's all gonna end.
There's no triumph waiting.
There's no sunset to ride off in.
We all want to be great men
And there's nothing romantic about it.
I just want to know that I did all I could with what I was given."

It's deep and impactful, just really hard to summarize if you haven't listened to the rest of the album for context. Here's a link that breaks down most of the interpolations of the other songs:

LINK

Howard Jones - No One is to Blame

You can look at the menu
But you just can't eat
You can feel the cushions
But you can't have a seat

You can dip your foot in the pool
But you can't have a swim
You can feel the punishment
But you can't commit the sin

And you want her and she wants you
We want everyone
And you want her, and she wants you
No one, no one, no one ever is to blame

You can build a mansion
But you just can't live in
You're the fastest runner
But you're not allowed to win

Some break the rules
And let you count the cost
The insecurity is the thing that won't get lost

And you want her and she wants you
We want everyone
And you want her, and she wants you
No one, no one, no one ever is to blame

You can see the summit
But you can't reach it
It's the last piece of the puzzle
But you just can't make it fit

Doctor says you're cured
But you still feel the pain
Aspirations in the clouds
But your hopes go down the drain

And you want her and she wants you
We want everyone
And you want her, and she wants you
No one, no one, no one ever is to blame
No one ever is to blame
No one ever is to blame

The most haunting and terrifying comes from Gordon Lightfoot.

" Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours."

For me that is a terrifying line....you wonder the hell that those men faced as they saw their fate unfold before them