It occurred to me today that some of my favorite songs are pretty depressing. I wondered how many I could come up with off the top of my head. Real quick.
- Table for One -Liz Phair
- At Seventeen – Janis Ian
- Picture – Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock
- Space Oddity – David Bowie
- Dark End of the Street – Veronica Klaus
- Streets of Philadelphia – Bruce Springsteen
- Fuck ’em All – Evangenitals
- A Thousand Kisses Deep – Leonard Cohen
This is just a starter-list, in no particular order. And I’m willing to bump some if you can come
up with some that I like as well but still make me want to blow my
brains out. Ten would be a good number, don’t you think? Comments are open.
Well you should add Dead and Lovely by Tom Waits. I think its on the Real Gone album. Do they still call them albums? Another could be Madeleine Peyroux doing the song Once in a While Matt Sievert got me into her. Good luck with the list.
The Johnny Cash version of Bird on a Wire is on the Coffee Zone iPod and I can confirm it’s wrist-slitter at 6:40 a.m. on a raining Monday.
How about “Bird on the Wire”? An equally strong (and depressing) rendition of the song is done by Jennifer Warnes. Highly recommended for audiophiles.
I also found a third rendition in my iTunes library of “Bird on a Wire”
It is a very simple (bleak?) version by Johnny Cash.
Wait…I’ve got another song that is even more depressing and beautiful:
Ballad of the Runaway Horse by Jennifer Warnes.
Last, but not least is a solo Cello piece played by Janos Starker.
It is by Bach and is called: Suite for Cello Solo No.3 in C, BWV 1009 – 4. Sarabande
So sad I’m starting to cry. It’s wonderful.
For A Dancer – Jackson Browne
Late Night Grande Hotel – Nanci Griffith
Michaelangelo – Emmylou Harris
Lives In The Balance – Jackson Browne
If you want to hear appealing music that is really depressing, try almost any song by Leonard Cohen.
Here is the Wikipedian entry on him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen