Tag Archives: Depressing Songs

New Additions: Madame de Pompadour and I Wish

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Just wanted to post up a short update to the list of depressing songs.

While listening through my collection of Dan Wilson and Semisonic albums and singles, the song “I Wish” from “All About Chemistry” hit me pretty hard. The following part of the song tends to make me feel like I’m imploding:

I wish I could turn into somebody far, far away
I wish I could make myself satisfactory in every way
I wish I could know whether you really know what you need
If I could only be somebody else
I wouldn’t be myself
And maybe you’d want me

The other song comes from the first soundtrack from the new series of Doctor Who called “Madame de Pompadour”. The instrumental plays very well towards the end of the episode in which the Doctor tries to return for the Madame, but she passed away between visits.

That’s about it for now…

Murray Gold: Doomsday from Doctor Who

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Over the past year or so, I have been immersing myself into the new Doctor Who series (starting with the Ninth Doctor) and one of the songs from the last episode of Series 2 puts me into a brooding mood: Doomsday.

For those that are catching up on Doctor Who and have not gotten to that episode yet, ignore the rest of this post as there is a spoiler.

The song is played when the Doctor loses Rose as she is being sucked into the Void (though caught by Peter from the parallel world). Every component of the song, including the haunting vocal and the bass line, puts me into a deep, depressing funk. The emotional impact of the Doctor losing Rose does have parallels to some parts of my life, which does not help with the song’s impact on me.

Additions to the List of Depressing Songs

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Having been blue over the past several days, it gave me a chance to expand the list of depressing songs and why I find them depressing. The new additions include:

As well as a couple of songs by Barenaked Ladies.

Now that I have a Squeezebox in the living room, it is much easier to queue up depressing songs on-demand. At this point, I do not know if that is a blessing or a curse. (by the way, a brief review of the device is coming up in the next week or two.)

Lifehouse: Everything

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The combination of how the song builds up slowly to a very emotional climax towards the end of the song and how it reflects on how I felt about someone (again, being something that I didn’t tell that person about and doing it again later to someone else) is why the song has such an impact on me.

It is a song that I really like listening to when I’m about to fall asleep, since it starts out quite slow and mellow, and causes my depression to build up more and more, until I just pop.

Matchbox Twenty: Bed of Lies

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For me, one of the reasons that I get depressed is that I have had several chances to tell someone that I really liked them and would have asked if she wanted to be more than just friends… but never had the courage to do so, or immediately had thoughts that I would not be good enough or be able to hold up my side of a relationship.

The two parts of the song that really get to me are:

Don’t wanna be the one who turns the whole thing over
Don’t wanna be somewhere where I just don’t belong
Where it’s not enough just be sorry
Don’t you know I feel the darkness closing in?

I tried to be more than me
And I gave until it all went away
And we’re only surrendered
To the worst part of these winters that we’ve made

and

I am all that I’ll ever be
When you lay your hands
Over me
But don’t go weak on me, please
I know that it’s weak
But God help me, I need this

Matchbox Twenty: Unwell

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This song really puts me into a deep and depressing mood when I listen to it. The reason why it hits me really hard is that I am not comfortable about myself when around other people, much less when I’m alone. I become quite uncomfortable when looking at people’s faces and think that people are staring at me, even when the person is just looking at my general direction.

The following parts of the song do me in when listening to or reading the lyrics for the song:

Talking to myself in public
And dodging glances on the train
I know
I know they’ve all been talking ’bout me
I can hear them whisper
And it makes me think there must be something wrong
With me

Out of all the hours thinking
Somehow
I’ve lost my mind

(…)

Talking in my sleep
Pretty soon they’ll come to get me
They’ll be taking me away