Depressing song lyrics

[bluenoter]

Another one that's sad rather than depressing. As of the mid-'70s, it was the "town anthem" of Chapel Hill, NC.

GOLD WATCH AND CHAIN
(Carter Family)

Darling, how can I stay here without you
I have nothing to cheer my poor heart
This old world would seem sad, love, without you
Tell me now that we're never to part

Refrain:
I will pawn you my gold watch and chain, love
I will pawn you my gold diamond ring
I will pawn you this heart in my bosom
Only say that you'll love me again

Take back all the gifts you have given
But a ring and a lock of your hair
And a card with your picture upon it
It's a face that is false, but is fair

Tell me why that you do not love me
Tell me why that your smile is not bright
Tell me why you have grown so cold-hearted
Is there no kiss for me, love, tonight

[bluenoter]

The Dead Little Girl of Hiroshima / The Little Dead Girl of Hiroshima / I Come and Stand at Every Door


I come and stand at every door
But no one hears my silent tread
I knock and yet remain unseen
For I am dead, for I am dead.

I'm only seven though I died
In Hiroshima long ago
I'm seven now as I was then
When children die they do not grow.

My hair was scorched by swirling flame
My eyes grew dim, my eyes grew blind
Death came and turned my bones to dust
And that was scattered by the wind.

I need no fruit, I need no rice
I need no sweets, nor even bread
I ask for nothing for myself
For I am dead, for I am dead.

All that I ask is that for peace
You fight today, you fight today
So that the children of the world
May live and grow and laugh and play.

(Turkish lyrics by Nazim Hikmet; translator of this version unknown. Sung by Pete Seeger and others.)

[Cem]

bn, Nazim Hikmet was a humanitarian, a force...kinda like this master poet...
Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)
by Bob Dylan

Senor, senor, do you know where we're heading?
Lincoln County Road or Armageddon?
Seems like I been down this way before
Is there any truth in that, senor?

Senor, senor, do you know where she is hiding?
How long are we gonna be riding?
How long must I keep my eyes glued to the door?
Will there be any comfort there, senor?

There's a wicked wind still blowin' on that upper deck
There's an iron cross still hanging down from around her neck
There's a marching band still playing in that vacant lot
Where she held me in her arms one time and said, "Forget me not"

Senor, senor, I can see that painted wagon,
I can smell the tail of the dragon
Can't stand the suspense anymore
Can you tell me who to contact here, senor?

Well, the last thing I remember before I stripped and kneeled
Was that trainload of fools bogged down in a magnetic field
A gypsy with a broken flag and a flashing ring
Said, "Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing"

Senor, senor, you know their hearts is as hard as leather
Well, give me a minute, let me get it together
I just gotta pick myself up off the floor
I'm ready when you are, senor

Senor, senor, let's disconnect these cables
Overturn these tables
This place don't make sense to me no more
Can you tell me what we're waiting for, senor?

[Clay Fink]

Originally posted by GoodSpeak
Blues stay away from me
Blues why don't you let me be
Don't know why you keep a-hauntin' me.
True love was never meant for me.
It seems somehow we never can agree.

My life is full of misery
And dreams are like a memory,
They're bringing back your love that used to be.
I got tears so many I can't see
And years don't mean a thing to me
Time goes by I can't be free.

Blues stay away from me,
Blues why don't you let me be,
Don't know why you keep a-haunting me.


I'll never be free.


-Earnest Tubbs/Asleep At The Wheel

It should be noted that this is actually a Delmore Brothers song.

[Gentle Giant]

During Brian Wilson's mental and physical health decline in the late 60s and early 70s, he wrote some of his most poignant - and yes, depressing - songs, none more so than Til I Die, from the Beach Boys' Surf's Up album of 1971

I'm a cork on the ocean
Rolling over the raging sea
How deep is the ocean?
How deep is the ocean?
I've lost my way.

I'm a rock in a landslide
Rolling over the mountainside
How deep is the valley?
How deep is the valley?
It kills my soul.

I'm a leaf on a windy day
Pretty soon I'll be blown away
How long will the wind blow?
How long will the wind blow?
Until I die.

[Boris Badenov]

You dig sixteen tons and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt!
St. Peter, don'tcha call me 'cause I can't go --
I owe my soul to the company store!

[Noj]

I don't know a soul who's not been badgered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
or driven to its knees

Simon & Garfunkel

---------------------------------------
When it's your time to go
You're gonna go brother
When it's your time to leave
You've got to leave brother
You could be walking down the street
Flying high in the sky
No one has yet found the reason why
You leave it here

Bobby Womack

---------------------------------------
There is a road
No simple highway
Between the dawn
And the dark of night
And if you go
No one may follow
That path is for
Your steps alone

Grateful Dead

----------------------------------------
I'm in junior high with a B plus grade,
at the end of the day I don't hit the arcade,
I walk from school to my mom's apartment,
I got to tell the suckas everyday "don't start it",
cause where I'm at if you're soft you're lost,
to stay on course means to roll with force,
a boy named Rob is chillin' in a Benz,
in front of my building with the rest of his friends,
I give him a pound, or I mean I shake his hand,
he's the neighborhood drug dealer--my man,
I go upstairs and hug my mother,
kiss my sister, and punch my brother,
I sit down on my bed to watch some tv,
(machine gun fire) do my ears deceive me,
Nope, that's the fourth time this week,
another fast brother shot dead in the street,
the very next day while I'm off to class,
my moms goes to work cold bustin' her ass,
my sister's cute but she got no gear,
I got three pairs of pants that with my brother I share,
see there in school see i'm made a fool,
with one and a half pair of pants you ain't cool,
but there's no dollars for nothing else,
I got beans, rice, and bread on my shelf,
every day I see my mother struggling,
now its time I've got to do something,
I look for work I get dissed like a jerk,
I do odd jobs and come home like a slob,
so here comes Rob his gold is shimmery,
he gives me two hundred for a quick delivery,
I do it once, I do it twice,
now there's steak with the beans and rice,
my mother's nervous but she knows the deal,
my sister's gear now has sex appeal,
my brother's my partner and we're getting paper,
three months later we run our own caper,
my family's happy everything is new,
So tell me what the fuck am I supposed to do?

KRS-ONE

[GoodSpeak]

Originally posted by Clay Fink
It should be noted that this is actually a Delmore Brothers song.

You are right, of course.

I was incorrectly reading the song credits just below "Blues..."



Bi-focals, you see ;-)

[Chris D]

As for...
I don't know a soul who's not been badgered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
or driven to its knees

...that's solo Paul Simon, AFTER Simon & Garfunkel

and I've always found "Ripple" to be uplifting.
---------------------------------------

[Cem]

Originally posted by Chris D
and I've always found "Ripple" to be uplifting.

Me too. It's full of bittersweetness and hope. In fact, all of the songs so far seem to leave you with *some* hope, in some way, except Brian's offering: Victim. It's like an excerpt from a snuff movie or something. Definitely the most depressing and possibly the most brilliant.

[Brian Olewnick]

I was trying to compensate and find something a little less depressing (though more bitter): Fred Frith's "Where's the Money?" but I can't locate the lyrics on-line anywhere.

[claude]

Originally posted by Cem
Me too. It's full of bittersweetness and hope. In fact, all of the songs so far seem to leave you with *some* hope, in some way, except Brian's offering: Victim. It's like an excerpt from a snuff movie or something. Definitely the most depressing and possibly the most brilliant.

I found that one to be more disturbing than depressing, bwtfdik

[HenryMc]

And of course there is:


See the tree, how big it's grown
But friend, it hasn't been too long, it wasn't big
I laughed at her and she go mad
The first day that she planted it, was just a twing

Then the first snow came
And she ran up to brush the snow away so it wouldn't die
Came running in, all excited
Slipped and almost hurt herself and I laughed till I cried
She was always young at heart, kind of dumb and kind of smart
And I loved her so
And I surprised her with a puppy
Kept me awake all Christmas Eve two years ago
And it would sure embarrass her when I came in from working late
'Cause I would know
That she'd been sitting there and crying
Over some sad and silly late late show
And honey, I miss you and I'm being good
And I'd love to be with you if only I could
She wrecked the car and she was sad
And so afraid that I'd be mad, but what the heck
Though I pretended hard to be
Guess you could say she saw through me and hugged my neck
I came home unexpectedly
And caught her crying needlessly in the middle of the day
And it was in the early spring, when flowers bloom and robins sing
She went away
And Honey, I miss you and I'm being good
And I'd love to be with you if only I could
One day while I was not at home
While she was there and all alone, the angles came
Now all I have is memories of Honey

And I wake up nights and call her name
Now my life's an empty stage
Where Honey lived and Honey played
And love grew up
And a small cloud passes overhead
And cries down on the flower bed that Honey loved



Which is just so darned depressing on so many levels

[Cem]

Originally posted by Brian Olewnick
I was trying to compensate and find something a little less depressing (though more bitter): Fred Frith's "Where's the Money?" but I can't locate the lyrics on-line anywhere.

Just to clarify, I'm glad you shared Victim with everyone. I didn't mean to slag you for posting it or anything. I've searched high & low for lyrics to "Where's The Money?", but no luck. It would probably take too long to transcribe with that frantic pace.
"Everybody holy, everybody shitting
Everybody hungry ... in the end"

[patricia]

Originally posted by Pete C
Woody Guthrie wrote it.

Thanks Pete. I kind of thought that, but couldn't find out before I posted.
I don't have the Baez album anymore, but couldn't forget the lyrics which made me weep.

[RBS]

I was having a great day until I read this thread.