Songs that sound cheerful but are really quite dark!

[William of Walworth]

We had "Days" by Kirsty McColl

The Kinks did that one first

I always thought 'Gangsters' had a very jaunty sound .... Specials, eh?

Good call on 'House of Fun' earlier ....

(trying to think of my own choice ...erm.... moar later ... )

 

[Sweaty Betty]

Winehouse- Addicted

 

[dylanredefined]

That is a strange strange tune/

NO one will have enough endurance to collect on their insurance
whats dark about that .

 

[Weller]

Come to Milton Keynes - The Style Council - sounds quite jolly

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uXJSVuXM7lQ

Quite camp and jolly

May I slash my wrists tonight,
On this fine conservative night tonight -
I was looking for a job so I came to town
I easily adopt when the chips are down


May I walk you home tonight
On this fine and lovely night tonight -
Well walk past the luscious houses,
Through rolling lawns and lovely flowers -
Our nice new town where the curtains are drawn
Where hope is started and dreams can be borne.
Let us share our insanity
Go mad together in community
Boys on the corner looking for their supper
Boys round the green looking for some slaughter -
We used to chase dreams now we chase the dragon
Mine is the semi with the union jack on.

In our paradise lost well be finding our sanity
In this paradise found well be losing our way -
For a brave new day.



Glad its all over - captain sensible - happyish reggae beat...


http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7cBma4HmgEE

 

[Weller]

Babybird - "You're Gorgeous", about amateur pornography but played at loads of weddings.

LOL that rings a bell I remember being well embarrassed by my young 3 year old niece dancing to that one at her birthday , she thought it was her personal song as everyone called her gorgeous.

Really cringed everytime I saw her dancing and this line came on ...

You took me to your rented motor car and filmed me on the bonnet.
You got me to hitch my knees up and pulled my legs apart.

How the room full of adult "merrys" never understood why I was cringing at the choice played over and over whilst they all watched her spiralling round only goes to show that most dont listen to the lyrics .

My sister was quite shocked when I sung the lyrics to her

My other niece dancing and singing to Maddonnas like a virgin at 10 should have been more obvious and was probably just as embarrassing

 

[Julie]

I Don't Like Mondays - The Boomtown Rats

 

[Teaboy]

It's 'Perfect day' that gives me the creeps.

Yeah Perfect Day is a pretty dark song. I'm still amazed they used it for that BBC promo vid a few years back.

Suicide is Painless would be my vote.

 

[Teaboy]

Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen

Probably the most widely misunderstood song out there. I'm amazed how many Americans I meet still believe it to be some sort of second anthem.

It would be like Coventry adopting 'Ghost Town' as it's anthem.

 

[chico enrico]

"cold blooded old times" by Smog i think is peerlessly unbeatable in this respect.

see if you can find the lyrics anywhere and work it out. wonderful tune too.

 

[trashpony]

I heard Up the Junction by Squeeze the other day - that really is a sad song but very cheery tune

 

[Mogden]

"cold blooded old times" by Smog i think is peerlessly unbeatable in this respect.

see if you can find the lyrics anywhere and work it out. wonderful tune too.

I do like that but I've not read the lyrics so I'll post on here and then I'll remember to do it later

 

[kyser_soze]

Much Too Young...ok, not 'dark' but it has a nice bouncy tune but serious social commentry...and was banned from TotP...

 

[Maggot]

There' a song called Smile, which is quite dark. Can't remember who it was by, was used in an advert IIRC. You better smile . . .

 

[rollinder]

^ Supernaturals.

The Lightning seeds song with the line open your window and jump into the blue. There was an interview arround the time of Three Lions, and IIRC the Tories were using it & the singer mentioned that it could be seen as positive but easily about a suicide and some people would view voting Tory as the same thing.

 

[alexisonfire]

Yeah Perfect Day is a pretty dark song. I'm still amazed they used it for that BBC promo vid a few years back.

Suicide is Painless would be my vote.

I may be a total idiot, but how is Perfect Day dark?

 

[TheHoodedClaw]

I may be a total idiot, but how is Perfect Day dark?

The "you" mentioned throughout the song is heroin.

 

[Doctor Carrot]

Sublime - Same in the end

Down in Mississippi where the sun beats down from the sky
They give it up and they give it up and they give it up
But they never ask why
Daddy was a rollin' rollin' stone
He rolled away one day and he never came home
It ain't hard to understand
This ain't Hitler's master plan
What it takes to be a man
In my mind, in my brain
I roll it over like a steamin' freight train
It ain't hard to ascertain
You only see what you want to believe
When you light up in the back with those tricks up your sleeve
That don't mean I can't hang
But the day that I die
Will be the day that I shut my mouth and put down my guitar
Sunday morning hold church down at the bar
Get down on your knees and start to pray
Pray my itchy rash will go away
Back up y'all it ain't me
Kentucky Fried Chicken is all I see
It's a hellified way to start your day
If I make you cry all night
Me and daddy gonna have a fist fight
It ain't personal, it ain't me
I only hear what you told me to be
I'm a backward-ass hillbilly
I'm Dick Butkiss
You know I lie
I get mean, I'm a thief in the dark
I'm a ragin' machine
I'm a triple rectified ass son of a bitch
Rec-tite(tm) on my ass and it makes me itch
I can see for miles and miles and miles
My broken heart makes me smile
In my mind, in my brain
I go back and go completely insane
It ain't personal, it ain't me
If I make you cry I might
Be your daddy at the end of the night
Take a load from my big gun
You only see what you want to believe
When you creep from the back
I got tricks up my sleeve
24/7 the devil's best friend
It makes no difference
It's all the same in the end

A few of Sublime's songs were fairly jolly sounding but with pretty dark lyrical content. Santeria's not overly a cheery song but he sings the lines:

Tell sanchito that if he knows what is good for him
He best go run and hide
Daddy's got a new .45
And I won't think twice
To stick that barrel straight down sancho's throat
Believe me when I say that I got something for his punk-ass.

In such a relaxed way, it's beautiful but somewhat disturbing.

 

[chico enrico]

I do like that but I've not read the lyrics so I'll post on here and then I'll remember to do it later

ok, don't forget now

 

[tar1984]

a lot of belle & sebastian tunes have upbeat music but melancholy lyrics.

 

[kained&able]

silverchair had quite a few happy musically dark lyrically type songs on freakshow.

dave

 

[rollinder]

The "you" mentioned throughout the song is heroin.

There was a newspaper article at the time ranting about how dare the BBC use Perfect Day for Children In Need when it was about heroin that had an aside that until they realised/it was pointed out to them they'd always thought that The Strangers - Golden Brown was about toast

 

[Julie]

Probably the most widely misunderstood song out there. I'm amazed how many Americans I meet still believe it to be some sort of second anthem.

Me too.

I've just recalled another: Ohio by Neil Young. Very hummable yet based on a tragedy.

 

[chico enrico]

"Wonderful World" by the 4-Skins.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Suicide is Painless would be my vote.

Me and my friend had a big argument about this song when she complained that it was too depressing. I insisted that it was a happy song, the sound of someone pouring out all his fears and insecurities and telling us how easy it would be for him to rid himself of all of them by one simple act; but the fact that he's there to sing the song shows that despite all the shit he still actively chooses to keep on going. Given that he's telling you he has no fear of suicide, this must mean there is something about his life which outweighs all the tragedies. I think its one of the happiest songs ever written because it's not saying 'life is good for me at this moment in time', it's saying 'even when everything seems utterly hopeless and a massive waste of time, its still good to be alive'

My two penn'orth anyway

 

[rollinder]

^ top post - yeah he's saying I can take or leave it and so can you - he's got it as an option but he doesn't need to use it.

 

[krink]

 

[dessiato]

Yesterday I played "My Immortal" by Evanescence to some students who thought that it was a pleasant relaxing song. I then played it with the lyrics they completely changed their minds about what sort of song it is. It is quite a sad song in fact.

 

[Greebo]

Harlem River Blues - the basic tune's upbeat and lively but you're probably better off not googling the lyrics.

 

[hipipol]

 

[albionism]

Embarrassment by Madness. Very dance-able tune indeed, but
dealing with a girl being shunned by her family for having a
mixed-race child.