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Pop's Love Affair With Death
Death may be an unpleasant topic for conversation, but it ranks up there with sex and love as a basic ingredient in song lyrics. Today, we look at how pop music copes (and even thrives) with death. We're joined by Graeme Thomson, author of the self-explanatory book, "I Shot a Man in Reno: A History of Death By Murder, Suicide, Fire, Flood, Drugs, Disease and General Misadventure, as Related in Popular Song."
Soundcheck blog: What's your favorite song about death?
Graeme Thompson's book blog, "I Shot a Man in Reno"
Amazon.com: I Shot a Man in Reno: A History of Death by Murder, Suicide, Fire, Flood, Drugs, Disease, and General Misadventure, As Related in Popular Song
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The BeeGees seemed to be a little obssessed with this genre - "Gotta Get a Message to You", "New York Mining Disater". Even "I Started a Joke" references dying in the abstract.
I'd vote for Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. It's larger than life, and the liebestode is a 17-minute extravaganza on the notion of death in love. Orgasmic!
The Decemberists are great for death and murder ballads.
We don't have to dig too deeply to explain the connection. A preoccupation with death and things dark is typical a part teen angst. Pop music has always been closer to the sensibilities of youth, and therefore, death.
The absolute BEST is by Johnny Cash: "When the Man Comes Around" Released on his last CD. Not long before his death. Makes your hair stand on end. Play it. You'll see.
The Beatles again:
A Day in The Life
I was in Nashville for the first time over the weekend and went to the Opry show at the Ryman Auditorium. I now have a new favorite death song:
I heard Charlie Louvin sing a song about witnessing a car crash---I heard the breaking glass, blood and whiskey everywhere, but I didn't hear a prayer, Lord, I didn't hear a prayer.
Better than Leader of the Pack--It transcended kitsch.
Richard Thompson, "When I Get to the Border" and especially "Wall of Death."
The Decemberists do great takes on death and murder ballads. Yankee Bayonet and Shankill Butchers are good examples. I believe these fit into the traditional form of the genre updated with a modern alternative folk rock sound.
I have 2 favorite 70's death songs - one corny, one not. Alone Again Naturally by Gilbert Sullivan & Fire and Rain by James Taylor.
How about "Timothy" by the Buoys. It's about three guys stuck in a mine, and if I remember correctly, two of the guys end up eating Timothy.
I guess my to favorite suicide leaning torch songs are Gloomy Sunday and the humorous Is That All There Is.
Terry Jacks' "Seasons in the Sun," adapted from the far more poignant "Le moribond"
Elliott Smith's "Little One." It's a lullaby to himself, and it's so lovely and sad.
The End - The doors
Exposes the young males solution to the age old issue of freedom through destruction.
Aagh, I kind hate that motorcycle song of RT's. But I think he pretty much jumped the shark after splitting with Linda. "Wall of Death"! "Wall of Death"!
It seems like there's some kind of distinction to be made between singing of one's own death, like Paul McCartney did in 'On the day that I die' vs. singing of people dealing with others dying, i.e. Paul Simon's 'Save the life of my child'
"Save the life of my child,
Cried the desperate mother..."
Cloud Cult- 'When Water Comes to Life'
The video is as powerful as the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYyHAXZKaPQ
One of my favorite songs about death is by Iris Dement on her first album, My Town, entitled There'll Be Laughter wherein the first line is :There'll be laughter even after your're gone. Its about her father's imminent death and it's very optimistic for the survivor. Having just recently lost my brother, I found it extremely supportive.
Also, think about the great Operas, saturated with death.
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot. 29 dead men drowning. Grieving families. Church bells. Covers all the bases, doesn't it?
Pink Moon by Nick Drake. So subtle yet so powerful.
For me, hands down its "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" by the Smiths. As a teenager, it made me happy to be miserable.
Everytime I hear the unique driving riff of Paint it Black I have to stop and listen. The driving energy behind it portrays the out of time experience in which we are swept up in the face of a deat - unepected or not. The sensation that life is going on around one while one is apart form it - the girls summer dresses, the red doors, the helplessness of following behind the hearse for the one way trip from which mourners wiil return but the deceased will not.
And finally the hope that if one can put ineself o the limbo of 'staring into setting sun" all will be back to normal.
And When I Die - Laura Nyro
People Who Died - Jim Carroll Band
Still Life - Van der Graff Generator
Is That All There Is - Peggy Lee
Sometimes It Snows in April - Prince
Always look on the Bright Side of Life - Monty Python
Spirit in the Sky - Wizard
The End - the Doors
Being a songwriter, one of my favorite songs about death is Mr. Death, which Richard Thompson covers brilliantly. It's about a songwriter who dies well before his songs make him famous. One of Thompson bandmates in the Frith, Freep, .... etc. band of the 1980s wrote it.
my death song is "I'll be seeing you" i think from the l940s..Ray Charles does a great version in fact that is how i came to know this song though many have recorded it. When my ptibull Elvis died I sang it to myself whenever i thought of him or was doing something I used to do with him. this message is from danielle - tom's wife.
I have to add "He Stopped Loving Her Today" by
George Jones. Absolutely heartbreaking.
i think it is worth to mention an entire sub genre of rock'n'roll dealing with all aspects of dying, called death metal. r
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. 29 dead sailors from drowning. Grieving families. Church bells. Covers all the bases, doesn't it?
Any discussion on rock/pop music death HAS to include the smiths & Morrissey. Most any song will do here, but I put forward, "There Is a Light (that Never Goes Out)." A great piece of poignant pop that never fails to make me laugh at the same time (i.e., "...and if a 10-ton truck crashes into us, to die by your side/ Well the pleasure the privilege is mine.")
How about "Leader of the Laundromat" which pointed out the silliness of the dead teen genre.
What about "Hillbilly Heaven" by Tex Ritter
"Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding
My current favorite is "Sweet Old World" by Lucinda Williams, and it's gotten some good cover versions, too.
"Look what you lost when you left this world...this sweet old world."
With a pretty and only slightly melancholy tune.
Don't Fear the Reaper, Blue Oyster Cult.
Try to beat that one, for death. I'm in the mood to hear it right now.
How about Tom Petty's "Last Dance with Mary Jane"? Like many of the best songs about life or death, it's sad and uplifting at the same time.
John Prine's "Please Don't Bury Me" -- hilarious.
One of the few funny songs about death. Basically suggests where various body parts can go, as a sort of recycling project...full of great puns & twists on cliches.
A song for "Happier" Funerals, Do you Realize by the Flaming Lips
My bad, "Now That I Am Dead" by French/Blair.
Here's Thompson's rendition:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=locEfzaWcGg
You said you couldn't play it, but Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' ballot with P.J. Harvey "Henry Lee" is awesome and very depressing. I'm always in the doldrums for months after listening to that track.
happy phantom by tori amos
Dont forget valiant, heroic death..'Billy dont be a Hero', from the 70's...!!!
This is going way back, but I have to vote for the Carter Family's "May the Circle Be Unbroken" - what a chilling song.
Guns n Roses: I used to love her, but I had to kill her.
Bowie's version of "My Death" by Jacques Brel,
The Stranglers "Everybody Loves You When You're Dead", Alice Cooper "I Love The Dead".
Death Cab For Cutie - Bonzo Dog Band
This reminds me of a long standing joke a friend of mine and I had regarding death and music. We always wanted to make a mix tape with all the songs about killing women and stalking women as a gift to a new girlfriend. (Tongue-in-cheek, of course) But Johnny Cash's "Deliah's Gone" or "Cocaine Blues" or half of the rest of his ouevre, or "Little Sadie" as sung by Doc Watson or the stalker songs like Elvis Costello's "I Want You" and the Police's "Every Breath You Take." There are an awful lot of pop songs that are threatening to women...what does this say about our culture?
Ah man, you talk Richard (and Linda) Thompson songs about death, how can you forget Did She Jump or Was She Pushed? Chilling lyrics that are even more spine-tingling sung in Linda's sweet voice.
"Lying in a pool of herself with a twisted neck..."
The pop band Death Cab for Cutie has a beautiful song about witnessing the death of a loved one in a hospital called "What Sarah Said". What Sarah actually said in the song is "Love is watching someone die."
LEST WE FORGET HAND OF FATE FROM THEIR BLACK AND BLUE ALBUM FROM THE ROLLING STONES
Murder by Death's song Three Men Hunting off their album Who will survive and what will be left of them is a great song about death and its effects on others.
How about Dress Sexy at My Funeral, by Smog?
Oh yeah- how about Dress Sexy at My Funeral, by Smog?
my fav: crash test dummies of course:
"Won't you come to my funeral"
I'm sending it to all my friends and relatives from my deathbed as an invitation
Hows about Metallica's "Fade to Black" or Slayer's "Postmortem"?
I nominate Babe the Blue Ox's "Beat You To It." "I'm gonna die one day, and I hope I beat you to it. Gonna take this chance to apologize in advance...but I swear I will kill you if you up and die first."
Honey by Bobby Goldsboro. Was unnaturally obsessed with this song for many years. Careful analysis reveals several layers of meaning. On the surface its a love song to a dead wife. How did she die? Suicide; he would come home and find her crying for no reason, probably a depressed pill popper, he would come home late and find her crying over the late moive, why was he working that late? she killed herself while he was at work, its his fault, neglect and depression. OR my preferred interpretation is that she ran away with the Angels, Hells Angles, she was probably loney drug addict, he was at work she was hanging with the bikers and decided to take off. he blames himself.
then there is Love of Mine by Death Cab for Cutie, one of my 15-yo daughters favorite songs, beautiful song really.
the sufjan stephens song about john wayne gacy is the most disturbing while beautiful or disturbing because he managed to create a beautiful song about a monster.
Knockin' on Heaven's Door by Dylan, covered by G&R among many.
I love the resigned funereal feel to the song. The reference to "Mama." And the futility of the badge, the weapons...
"Mama put my guns in the ground
I can't shoot them anymore
That cold black cloud is comin' down
Feels like I'm knockin' on heaven's door"
Procol harums "Salty Dog" was both allegorical and about going "beyond the pale" but there little known first album song "tombstone" was by far my favorite. Robin Trowers decrescendo vibrato on whole chords is a testament to hand strength and pre digital clever guitar playing.
"sat down in the movies took the only empty seat
tried to stretch out in it something blocking my feet finally the lights came up
and i could plainly see
a slab of big grey marble
just staring up at me"
kudos to the fellow who suggested "dress sexy at my funeral". very creepy song.
i would recommend "death to everyone" by bonnie "prince" billy. hilarious and dark and all of that stuff.
Steve Goodman's "A Dying Cubs Fans Last Request" was all the more ironic since he was actually dying of cancer.
He also did a rousing medley, pairing "Tell Laura I Love Her" with "Born to Be Wild."
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