One of my favorite aspects of the world of country music is, or maybe I should say was, the willingness of so many of its artists to plunge headfirst into unflinching explorations of the dark side of life.
Hearing the horrific woes of someone else always goes a long way toward helping you put your own troubles into perspective. I have no doubt that this simple fact is one reason there are so many breathtakingly depressing country songs to begin with.
So with that in mind, here are 9 suicide-themed songs selected to help make my point. Unlike the recent Beware Of The Blog post that examined an LSD-related suicide recording, all the suicidal feelings here are the result of romantic woes. This may or may not be worth keeping in mind as Valentine's Day rolls around this weekend.
Buddy Knox - I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself (2:03)
Louis Innis - Suicide (2:22)
Bobby Leeds - Suicide (1:57)
Ron McCleod - Suicide (2:20)
Don Bailey - Fourteen Stories Down (2:53)
Hugh Porter - Twenty Stories Down (2:06)
Don Owens - Cold Dark Waters Below (2:30)
Jim Cooper - Note Of Suicide (2:25)
Leon Hobson - She Thinks I'm Gonna Jump (2:26)
I know you could probably expand this list ad infinitim - given the music genre, but I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Roger Miller's 1965 single "One Dyin' and A-Buryin".
Posted by: Rich | February 11, 2009 at 11:20 AM
Rich - you're right, the list could be expanded considerably. This is definitely not intended to be a definitive list of country suicide tunes, just an attempt to spotlight a handful of favorites.
Posted by: Listener Greg G. | February 11, 2009 at 01:45 PM
Awesome, as always.
Posted by: Dan | February 11, 2009 at 05:37 PM
Two more for the list: Three A M - Bill Anderson and Dark Angel-Benny Joy
Posted by: Red Neckerson | February 12, 2009 at 08:55 AM
Fourteen Stories Down is shockingly heartfelt. Damn.
Posted by: Hbee | February 13, 2009 at 10:32 AM
"Endless Sleep" by Jody Reynolds is another good one (although technically the narrator *saves* his "baby" from killing herself at the end of the song... it's still close).
Posted by: Rev. J. Clyde Roberts | February 14, 2009 at 07:21 AM
...slightly afield, but I've always found a perverse chuckle in the realisation that The Monkees' "Goin' Down" is the best-known bubblegum rock hit about a _botched_ suicide...
Posted by: King Daevid MacKenzie | February 15, 2009 at 03:50 PM
Porter Wagoner charted with his version of "Cold Dark Waters." Also, the song "Julie" on his "Cold Hard Facts of Life" LP closes the album with a double murder/suicide.
Posted by: Hell's Donut House | February 16, 2009 at 07:07 PM