[recs] a truth about depression

[kaberett]

I keep meaning to collect these snippets together, so -- here: these are songs that mean a very great deal to me, because of how their descriptions of depression chime with my experiences. Content note for suicide on the Barenaked Ladies song.

Ani DiFranco, Grey:

And as bad as I am
I am proud of the fact
That I'm worse than I seem

Onsind, Dissatisfactions:

Crumpled papers on the front seat, these prescriptions give descriptions of the side effects; never mess with medicine they say / You’re inconsolable, it’s uncontrollable, the GP’s hand upon your shoulder, she’s saying “Chelsea, honey, take it day by day”

Yeah it gets better / But it also could get worse / Tainted blessing, stubborn curse /
And all the same, you just take it day by day (by day by day)

So sick of fighting with your fickle fucking brain / This inner dialogue is driving you insane / But worst of all you feel mundane / A boring list of old complaints / You know the score, you’ve played the game / As the seasons fade away, you just take it day by day (by day by day)

There’s something wrong with me / I don’t think I’ll ever be okay / I just take it day by day (by day by day)

Manic Street Preachers, Black Dog On My Shoulder:

There's a black dog on my shoulder again
Licking my neck and saying she's my friend
Solitude, the one thing that I really miss
Guess my life is a compromise

The Indelicates, Dovahkiin (which in spite of what I've chosen to excerpt is actually very uplifting):

you've got boring unlovely depression
it blunts you and hobbles your will
it makes you feel sick to see these beautiful pricks
build careers being beautifully ill
they flit and they flutter about you
they're offended and never ashamed
and everything's shit, and this shithole called Britain
takes your sickness in place of your name

The Indelicates, Not Alone:

and the dark, the dark is calling
and the well, the well is deep
and the walls, the walls are jagged
and the angle is too steep
and I have no ladder
and I have no rope
I can't see where the sun is rising
I can offer no hope
but I see you
yeah I see you
yes I see you
and you're not alone
you're not alone

Barenaked Ladies, War on Drugs:

near where I live there's a viaduct
where people go when they're out of luck
raining down on the cars and trucks below
they put a net there to catch their fall
like that'll stop anyone at all
what they don't know is when nature calls you go

won't it be dull when we rid ourselves
of all these demons haunting us
to keep us company
won't it be odd when we're happy like
we always thought we're supposed to feel
and never seem to be

P!nk, The Great Escape:

but everyone you know is trying to smooth it over
to find a way to make the hurt go away
but everyone you know is trying to smooth it over
like you're trying to scream underwater

but I won't let you make the great escape
I'm never gonna watch you checking out of this place
I'm not going to lose you
because the passion and pain
are gonna keep you alive
some day

Pink Floyd, Comfortably Numb:

Hello?
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me
Is there anyone at home?

Come on, now
I hear you're feeling down
Well I can ease the pain
Get you on your feet again

Relax
I'll need some information first
Just the basic facts
Can you show me where it hurts?

There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship's smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying

When I was a child I had a fever
My hands felt just like two balloons
Now I've got that feeling once again
I can't explain you would not understand
This is not how I am

I have become comfortably numb

I have become comfortably numb

Okay
Just a little pinprick
There'll be no more
But you may feel a little sick

Now can you stand up?
I do believe it's working good
That'll keep you going through the show
Come on it's time to go

There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship's smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying

When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown the dream is gone

I have become comfortably numb

The Indelicates, Ill:

you know you'll never take enough of those pills
you're too clever to be mentally ill
You’ll never fashion your damaged soul
You’re too clever to lose control

Onsind, Mildred:

Lithium or lengthy CBT?
I'll keep taking the pills if you keep giving them to me

[...]

it's a long way down to the bottom
it's a steep climb up to the top
it's a gamble when you don't know how to stop

I'll keep running from the storm
and you have done your best to regulate and medicate
the dark clouds forming in my brain

P!nk, Don't Let Me Get Me:

Doctor, doctor won't you please prescribe me something
A day in the life of someone else?
Cuz I'm a hazard to myself

Comments

[frith_in_thorns]

I collect these too. Can I share some of mine?

I don't know all the ones you listed above, but the Indelicates ones -- yes.

[kaberett]

Yes please!

I have many.

[frith_in_thorns]

Lily Kershaw, As It Seems:

Well in this life you must find something to live for
'cos when the darkness comes a-calling you'll go back to where you were before
'cos this life is as fragile as a dream
and nothing's ever really as it seems


Earlimart, Before It Gets Better:

There's a light that just won't go out no matter what we try to do
we can't pull out the circuit, remove the bulb or blow the fuse.
And it just might be the brightest star discovered yet by man
but it might as well be a pinhole from where we stand


Earlimart, Hold On Slow Down

Hold on, you might be perfect
Hold on, you might be worth it
Slow down, they don't deserve it
Slow down, I haven't learned yet
Well, I miss you my friend
Will I see your face again?
Will I see you again?
And will you be smiling then?


Earlimart, It's Okay To Think About Ending

It's okay to think about ending
and it's okay to not even start
Put it away, wait 'til tomorrow
Put it away, and take care of your heart

It's okay to stay here forever
and it's okay to read in the dark
Put it away, wait 'til tomorrow
Put it away, and take care of your heart

(I am pretty sure that 90% of Earlimart's songs are about depression. I find them very comforting.)


Cherry Ghost, We Sleep On Stones:

We sleep on stones
there's a killer in our homes
that drives the night in
We sleep on stones
bitter winter's got our bones
and lord knows
I've been searching...


Of Monsters and Men, King and Lionheart

Howling ghosts they reappear in mountains that are stacked with fear
but you're a king and I'm a lionheart
and in the sea that's painted black, creatures move below the deck
but you're a king and I'm a lionheart
and as the world comes to an end, I'll be hear to hold your hand
cos you're my king and I'm your lionheart
a lionheart


The Hoosiers, Everything Goes Dark

It's creeping up on you
it knows your name
all that you left behind
will never be the same
It's come for all that you hold dear
she starts to cry
and hears a song to break your heart
You're looking in the dark
I can't see
it's getting late
in the night we make mistakes


Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, Talking in Code:

I'm sleeping alone
in a house I don't own
cause if you're touring your mind
you'll get lost every time

Re: I have many.

[kaberett]

Thank you, so much, for sharing these.

[highlyeccentric]

Oooh, two Indelicates tracks I don't know! Must fix that.

I've been listening to Amy Winehouse's 'Rehab' a lot lately.

[kaberett]

Oh, Not Alone and Dovahkiin? They're both off Diseases of England, which is excellent.