Reading songs through a psychological lens: Part I

Cozyhope
Feb 27, 2024
7 min read

Updated: Mar 9, 2024

Cozyhope thanks its recent intern Aboli Shirsalkar for this article. Aboli is in the third year of an undergraduate degree in Arts. She is located in Nagpur.

Have you ever come across a song that has left you feeling happy, or sad, or left an impression on your heart with its lyrics? In today’s era where words have the power to influence our lives for better or for worse, I think people tend to relate to songs and poems far more than other art forms. Songs with upbeat music make us dance but some songs have more darker undertones than we would conclude from their instrumentals. Songs like these give us an escape from our problems and give us a sense of belongingness. In times when people are starting to consider the importance of mental health issues, songs act as an open window and convey the feelings of the people experiencing the same. Furthermore, it is found that songs can regulate your mood by impacting your emotions. Songs bring people with similar experiences together. Hence, I chose to analyse the theme of depression in songs as they give language to the universal experience of depression.

TRIGGER WARNING: DISCUSSIONS ON DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE

One of those songs is Fade to Black by Metallica. Metallica is a heavy metal band and like any rock band, its music tries to tear our eardrums and makes us forget ourselves. The song touches on the themes of loneliness, isolation, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts. The lyricist does a beautiful job of showing a reflection of a depressed person’s thoughts.

“Life, it seems will fade away

Drifting further every day

Getting lost within myself

Nothing matters, no one else”

The song starts with the lyrics suggesting that the life around the individual is starting to blur and might fade away to blackness. This shows us that when one starts to lose oneself, the sense of life in the surroundings also slips away. It continues to drift us away from our loved ones, leaving us with our dark thoughts. The individual loses interest in anything and everything they do.

“I have lost the will to live

Simply nothing more to give

There is nothing more for me” (1)

"Emptiness is filling me

To the point of agony

Growing darkness taking dawn" (2)

The lyrics show the person contemplating suicide as a final escape from life. This stage where they can’t stop the recurrent suicidal thoughts is very vulnerable. The person also expresses his emptiness by stating that all ever-present in them is no more, that they gave everyone everything in them, and now there’s nothing more to give or left to help themself. This shows that the person has come to a stage where they have done and given so much for others’ sake that the little bit they left for themselves is gone.

“Things aren't what they used to be

Missing one inside of me

Deathly lost, this can't be real

Can't stand this hell I feel”

The above lyrics suggest that things that once energized them or gave happiness have lost their glam, again showing the individual’s loss of interest. The lyric, “deathly lost, this can’t be real” sings of the person’s disbelief that the loss is so painful that it doesn’t feel real. The lyrics show the desire to escape from the pain.

"I was me, but now he's gone

No one but me can save myself, but it's too late"

The person the singer is singing about realizes that the chance of saving themselves was always inside them but now it’s too late for realizations and epiphanies. The individual is so far gone now that there doesn’t seem any hope of ever coming back.

"Now I can't think, think why I should even try

Yesterday seems, as though it never existed

Death greets me warm, now I will just say goodbye (goodbye)"

Having lost the will to live as well as hope, the song concludes with a final goodbye when death, at last, gives the individual the warmth they always needed.

The song’s contradictory lyrics and instrumental combination make it ever remembered. It has also very correctly shown some of the symptoms noticed in MDD( Major Depressive disorder ) — the loss of interest and pleasure in things that the individual once enjoyed and suicidal ideation.

What are the songs you listen to when you feel lonely?

All these years have passed and different listeners took the song to their heart for different reasons but the idea that remained the same was that “Fade to Black saved my life”.

Here are some comments found on YouTube :

Now, let’s interpret yet another song that depicts depressive thoughts.

Tears for Fears was yet another band of two people, Curt Smith and Roland Orzbal. Their song, Mad World, gives away the monotonous nature of the world around us and how tiring it is to survive in a world where one feels alienated.

"All around me are familiar faces

Worn out places, worn out faces

Bright and early for their daily races

Going nowhere, going nowhere"

The composition shows us the picture of everyone doing their jobs but somehow going nowhere. This suggests the individual’s thoughts that life is a circle where no matter how much effort one gives in achieving something, nothing ever works and it is always the same old tiring chores.

To give you a better picture of what that looks like, imagine small little rats and mice running on wheels with their small legs, going nowhere but just doing it because they were told that they would get a tasty treat for completing the tasks. Yay!...... but kind of sad really.

"And I find it kind of funny

I find it kind of sad

The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had

I find it hard to tell you 'cause I find it hard to take

When people run in circles it's a very, very

Mad world"

The lyrics above portray a world that seems overwhelming and confusing. They suggest a conflicted and complex response to the challenges of their lives. The person’s recent dreams of death are stated to be way better than the ones they might have had before. The problem in sharing such thoughts of existentialism is difficult because it is difficult for the individual to absorb such thoughts themself.

"Children waiting for the day they feel good

Happy birthday, happy birthday

Made to feel the way that every child should

Sit and listen, sit and listen"

In these lyrics, we see that single time people get out of the monotonous cycle of life. Birthdays become a time when you feel good about yourself, and things around you and you want to feel every bit of happiness. The lyrics, “sit and listen”, can suggest how kids are taught to silently listen to everything an adult says. This verse portrays how some styles of parenting and parent-child interaction can be associated with the feeling of loneliness in children and teenagers.

Do you have any songs that give you a sense of companionship?

Dear dear reader, we have arrived at our last stop which is In My Blood by Shawn Mendes. Mendes explores the theme of struggles with anxiety and self-doubt. This song talks about the resilience to keep living no matter how struggles challenge an individual.

"Laying on the bathroom floor, feeling nothing

I'm overwhelmed and insecure, give me something

I could take to ease my mind slowly

Just have a drink and you'll feel better

Just take her home and you'll feel better

Keep telling me that it gets better

Does it ever?"

The lyrics show the individual’s desire to escape from the feelings of insecurity and the expectations from people. They suggest the hopelessness of the situation where the person feels that it is not getting better by any means.

"Help me, it's like the walls are caving in

Sometimes I feel like giving up

No medicine is strong enough

Someone help me

I'm crawling in my skin

Sometimes I feel like giving up

But I just can't

It isn't in my blood"

The above lyrics depict the sense of desperation and need for support. The lines reveal the feeling of vulnerability and despair. The battle between despair and hope in the person’s mind takes a dark form and conveys the fear of losing to despair. The line, ‘it isn’t in my blood’, reflects their will to fight back and win this battle.

"I'm looking through my phone again, feeling anxious

Afraid to be alone again, I hate this

I'm tryna find a way to chill, can't breathe,

Is there somebody who could help me?

It's like the walls are caving in

Sometimes I feel like giving up

No medicine is strong enough

Someone help me"

The song goes on to speak about the struggles with panic attacks and the feeling of suffocation that comes with it. The individual begs for help and feels that medicines and pills don’t help enough. They ask for support that never comes. The song ends with repeating the line, ‘it isn’t in my blood’, reflecting the determination and resilience to endure the pain and come out of it.

Research suggests that music can induce pleasurable emotions. It’s good to say while the relatable lyrics bring us joy or melancholy, enjoying and yelling along with them can lift our mood momentarily enough to stop the rage in our minds. The instrumentals of all the songs mentioned above are upbeat and they mix with the lyrics to form a powerful narration of the inner battles that people fight. In these examples, the strong music is acting as the expression of rage, sadness, hopelessness, and confusion in our minds.

Do songs help you feel better when you are down? What are some of your favourite songs on depression?

If you are experiencing any suicidal thoughts, kindly reach out to the following helplines

Parivarthan Counselling Helpline

Helpline Number: +91 7676602602

Mon to Fri 1 PM to 10 PM

Website: www.parivarthan.org

iCall Psychosocial Helpline

Helpline Number: 9152987821

Working Hours : Monday to Saturday 10:00 AM to 08:00 PM

E-mail: icall@tiss.edu

Vandrevala Foundation

Helpline Number: +919999666555