Mental Illness in song

[hurl]

Last edited Sat Jan 6, 2018, 10:11 AM - Edit history (2)

For me, depression will never disappear entirely, so peace to you who bear any aspect of this journey. Are there songs that capture your issue in a way that touched you?

My favorite:

The studio version is better but that's not on Youtube. Schizophrenia is not my mental experience, but it's goddamned King Crimson, so of course it wins.

This one is more inspiring and directly related to mental illness, but it's not King Crimson.

If you are so inclined, post any songs that amplify or relate to mental illness, whether you experience it first-hand or not.

[red dog 1]

1. The Kinks - "Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues"

I'm unable to post the You Tube video because of computer pbs, but the song is up on
You Tube, and you might want to check it out, because it's a truly great Ray Davies song.


(Here's a sample of the lyrics):

I'm too terrified to walk out of my own front door
They're demonstrating outside I think they're gonna start the third world war
I've been to my local head shrinker,
To help classify my disease
He said it's one of the cases of acute schizophrenia he sees

Well the milkman's a spy, and the grocer keeps on following me
And the woman next door's an undercover for the K.G.B
And the man from the Social Security
Keeps on invading my privacy
Oh there ain't no cure for acute schizophrenia disease



K&R

[hurl]

2. Good one, red dog 1

Linkinator:

[Sanity Claws]

26. I also thought of the Kinks

Here is a link to Paranoia the Destroyer.

[LiberalLoner]

3. Major Depression

[hurl]

4. Different kind of poverty

Good one!

[Different Drummer]

5. Basket Case

[LiberalLoner]

6. Another one

Depression, bipolar?

[hurl]

9. Amazing!

Starry, starry night. Portraits hung in empty halls, frameless heads on empty walls with eyes that watch the world and can't forget. Now I think I know what you tried to say to me. They would not listen, they're not listening still. Perhaps they never will.

[Duppers]

16. I love this song. Thank you.

I haven't heard it in 20 (?) yrs.

[3catwoman3]

27. One of the most poignant and...

...lovely songs ever. Very haunting.

[hurl]

7. Love it!

Very nice!

[jpak]

8. Manic Depression

[hurl]

10. Jimi for the win!

Perfect!

[hurl]

11. Her last words

[Iris]

12. Sister Goldenhair by America

Well I tried to make it Sunday
But I got so damned depressed
That I set my sights on Monday
And I got myself undressed
I ain't ready for the altar
But I do agree there's times
When a woman sure can be a friend of mine


Well, I keep on thinkin' 'bout you
Sister Golden Hair surprise
And I just can't live without you
Can't you see it in my eyes
I've been one poor correspondent
And I've been too, too hard to find
But it doesn't mean you ain't been on my mind

[Aristus]

13. Homesickness, anxiety, and depression:

[Leith]

14. James Taylor's Fire and Rain

About a friend's death and Taylor's own experience with depression.

Full story.

The Pogue's Broad Majestic Shannon isn't a song about mental illness - it helped me greatly getting through major depression a couple decades ago. It is uplifting and promises that things are going to get better.

[Rhiannon12866]

15. Thank you for this, that's an important one.

I remember learning the origin of this song from a friend a few decades ago. I always thought I'd see him again, too.

[3catwoman3]

28. I chose this song to be played...

...at the memorial service for my brother, who died when he was only 23. An under-the-ice scuba diving adventure that did not go as planned. The words, "I always thought I'd see you again," spoke for me. It will be 40 years next month.

[hurl]

17. How could I forget

From one of the all-time great albums, a tribute to former band member Syd Barrett.

[shenmue]

18. Brain Damage, Pink Floyd

[BluesRunTheGame]

19. "Mad As A Hatter" - Larkin Poe

[Archae]

20. Helen Reddy, "Angie Baby"

Anyone else remember this one?

[dalton99a]

24. +1

[Akoto]

21. Anxiety and depression due to incurable physical disability.

Lost a lot of my best years to it. Started at 17. I'm doing better these days in terms of handling it, but now at almost 33, there are still those days.

The song that best relates my feelings is Hurt by Johnny Cash, his cover of the Nine Inch Nails song. Relates the deep regret about the chances he missed in life. It was also the last song he performed on video before dying. Something about what his take on the song is saying speaks to me about what I've gone through, kind of being frozen in time with my problems while others move along.

A lot of times, I think back and wish that I had made better use of those seventeen good years.

[Upthevibe]

22. I couldn't agree more...This cover by Johnny Cash is

considered one of the best. It's also #2 on many of the saddest songs ever with "Tears in Heaven" as #1 for obvious reasons...

[hurl]

31. Thanks!

This is truly a great song. Though it's a cover, Cash just just wrestles it away and owns it, as Trent Reznor (the orignial writer) has acknowledged.

Your personal experience and perspective bring every bit as much to this conversation as the music. Thank you for sharing!

For reference, here is the original:

I find that both versions speak to me in different ways, each with its unique value.

[True Dough]

23. Always liked this one...

[ms liberty]

25. Sad Lisa

[3catwoman3]

29. At 17, by...

...Janice Ian. Maybe not outright mental illness, but certainly captures the misery of adolescence.

(15 seconds of advertising)

[Lilyhoney]

30. Mercury. By. The Counting Crows.

She is trapped inside a month of grey
And they take a little every day
She is a victim of her own responses
Shackled to a heart that wants to settle
And then runs away
It's a sin to be fading endlessly
Yeah, but she's alright with me
She is leaving on a walkaway
She is leaving me in disarray
In the absence of a place to be
She stands there looking back at me
Hesitates, and then turns away
She'll change so suddenly
She's just like mercury
Yeah, but she's alright with me
Keep some sorrow in your hearts and minds
For the things that die before their time
For the restlessly abandoned homes
The tired and weary rambler's bones
And stay beside me where I lie
She's entwined in me
Crazy as can be
Yeah, but she's alright with me



Share this video

[Buzz cook]

32. My Analyst Told Me- "Twisted"

[fNord]

33. Echoes, Pink Floyd.

https://m.

[RobinA]

34. Dancing in the Dark

This Springsteen song was always made fun of and dismissed. Too popish, lightweight, a throwaway. I always thought, It's about depression, people. Doesn't anyone listen to lyrics? I figured Bruce must have had a depressed phase in his life to be able to get it right in that song. Just so.

[Nay]

35. "Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry. Depression/suicide, and how indifferent

the neighbors and townspeople were to the fact that Billie Joe jumped off that bridge.

[Orrex]

36. Crazy Train?

[hibbing]

37. Phoebe Bridgers - Funeral

I'm obsessing over her debut album, Stranger in the Alps.

[jmowreader]

38. Comfortably Numb, Pink Floyd

[Tikki]

39. "Depersonalisation".....Ausmuteants (2014)

Tikki