Breaking the silence: 10 revolutionary songs that directly address mental health
May 13th marked the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Week, the importance of which can never be understated. In 2019, just under a billion people were said to be living with some form of mental disorder, with anxiety and depression being the two most common. While the severity of these disorders can vary, they remain consistent in their importance to be addressed and catered for.
Mental Health Awareness Week provides those who are yet to open up about whatever may be affecting them a chance to do so. This is a really difficult thing for many people to do, so by seeing others be open and creating an engaging dialogue between those who may be struggling, the process of being open about what is going on inside people’s heads becomes much more streamlined.
Thankfully, we live in an age where mental health is recognised a lot more, and there is treatment available for those who might be suffering. Granted, more work still needs to be done, as people still struggle to be open about their feelings, and treatment should be more accessible, but the point is we are moving in the right direction. This hasn’t always been the case, and before events like Mental Health Awareness Week existed, people were left to look for solace in other areas, such as music.
Music is very good at bringing things that would usually only reside in people’s heads out into the open. Not only that, it does it in a way which is often beautiful, meaning something that people may have previously been reluctant to address, such as anxiety and depression, becomes something that people are happy to engage in a conversation about.
This list will examine some of the best songs tackling mental health issues head-on. Some are deeply sad, as will be the case with such a heavy subject matter; however, others provide a more positive spin on it. Regardless of their tone and how they try to get their point across, they are all revolutionary.
10 songs that talk about mental health:
10. ‘Yer Blues’ – The Beatles
The Beatles were revolutionary for several different reasons, not just because of what they wrote about. However, having the awareness to be a mainstream band and write about such a tricky topic in the 1960s is no mean feat, and ‘Yer Blues’ remains a classic because of its boldness.
The track was made as the band sat in a room together and jammed. The result was 12 beautiful bars that John Lennon used as a cry for help. Never before or after was he as candid in his feelings about depression. Even now, six decades later, the track is still breath-taking in how open it is.
9. ‘Good News’ – Mac Miller
On September 7th, 2018, rapper Mac Miller was pronounced dead. The singer, who had often been frank in his struggles with mental health, overdosed on a concoction of cocaine, alcohol and fentanyl. While the overdose was said to be accidental, his reliance on such substances could well be put down to the battles he faced within, and nothing puts how he was feeling into perspective more than ‘Good News’ which was released on his posthumous album Circles two years after his passing.
Opening with the line, “I spent the whole day in my head,” Miller sets the tone for an introspective confession of disdain and helplessness. The chorus of “Good news, that’s all they wanna hear, no they don’t like it when I’m down” reveals an inability to talk about his feelings, while lines like, “Wake up to the moon, haven’t seen the sun in a while but I heard that the sky’s still blue,” vocalise the symptoms of his depression.
8. ‘Be Not So Fearful’ – Bill Fay
“Someone watches you,” says Bill Fay in his beautiful track ‘Be Not So Fearful’. The song was released on his 1970 album The Bottom of An Old Grandfather Clock, where the singer talked about the enemy within and when it feels as though they are winning an ongoing battle in one’s mind.
He reminds listeners not to be afraid and to try to deal with their anxieties, saying, “You will not leave the rails,” trying to provide comfort to anyone struggling. The track’s simple stripped-back nature adds to its fragility, as it feels as though Fay speaks directly to the listener about something people are usually hesitant to talk about.
7. ‘Today’ – Smashing Pumpkins
This song might come as a surprise, given it has such a dreamy feel and seems generally positive throughout, but it hides its subject matter incredibly well. The Smashing Pumpkins track battles with anxiety, as the listener is told to stop thinking about the future as there is little they can do to impact it.
The lyrics make a lot of sense when you understand that meaning. Where many of the words in shoegaze are meaningless and used to add another layer of sound to the busy nature of the song, here, they are incredibly poignant. “Today is the greatest day I’ve ever known, I can’t live for tomorrow; tomorrow’s much too long.”
6. ‘Wake Up Alone’ – Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse was never afraid to touch upon various subject matters within her music, as she could talk about even some of the saddest themes beautifully. In ‘Wake Up Alone’, Winehouse talks about struggles in her relationship and what it’s like to feel perpetually lonely.
“That silent sense of content that everyone gets,” she sings over a doo-wop style melody, “Just disappears soon as the sun sets.” No one could convey emotion quite as well as Amy Winehouse could, and this song doubles up as being inherently sad but equally moving.
5. ‘u’ – Kendrick Lamar
In 2015, when Kendrick Lamar released his critically acclaimed album To Pimp a Butterfly, the world of rap music was changed forever. Blending hip-hop and free jazz beautifully, Lamar raps about politics and the struggles of growing up in an underprivileged background and dives into his mental health.
The song ‘u’ is the best portrayal of his struggles with self-acceptance; what sounds like he could be talking to a jilted lover is actually an exercise in introspection as he sings, “Loving you is complicated.” The second half of the song borders on threatening as he talks to himself in an aggressive and uncompromising way, “Are you the reason why mama and them leaving? No you ain’t shit, you say you love them, I know you don’t mean it, I know you’re irresponsible, selfish, in denial, can’t help it, your trials and tribulations a burden, everyone felt it.”
4. ‘Not Dark Yet’ – Bob Dylan
It was to be expected that Bob Dylan would appear on this list somewhere. Nobody out there is better at talking about their emotions and holding a mirror up to their surroundings. What people get when they listen to Bob Dylan is an honest portrayal of the singer and his life, and ‘Not Dark Yet’ sees this honesty shine through.
The track touches heavily upon feelings of depression as Dylan talks about the vulnerability that comes with the disease. “Every nerve in my body is so naked and numb,” he sings, “I can’t even remember what it was I came here to get away from.”
3. ‘You Still Believe In Me’ – The Beach Boys
‘You Still Believe In Me’ has a double meaning depending on how you want to listen to it. On the one hand, the track clearly reflects somebody talking to their partner, essentially apologising for how they act and promising to be kinder. However, the song doubles up as something more reflective, as many believe this track is Brian Wilson talking to himself.
“I know perfectly well I’m not where I should be,” is sung, and throughout the song, resilience pierces as the singer claims that they need to let up on being so harsh on themselves. It’s a well-put-together track that touches upon a complex subject matter subtly, but not so subtly that it goes unnoticed.
2. ‘God Damn The Sun’ – Swans
Few bands can create an atmosphere in the same way that Swans can, and on ‘God Damn The Sun’, they do so to make a glum backdrop that perfectly personifies the theme of the track. The song is entirely acoustic and portrays feelings of despair very effectively.
“I’ve got one thing to say before I am drunk again,” the track proclaims in a haunting way before Swans go on to criticise all of the life on earth. There is no light at the end of the tunnel with this track; it highlights feelings of despair and refuses to alleviate them; it captures a depressed tone that is strangely comforting as inner feelings, difficult to articulate, are laid bare.
1. ‘Everybody Hurts’ – R.E.M.
Finally, there is ‘Everybody Hurts’ by R.E.M. This is often cited as being one of the saddest songs of all time, but when you look at the lyrics and compare them to some of the tracks listed above, the song is laced with traces of optimism.
In the song, the band provides a shoulder for those going through a difficult time, letting them know others go through the same thing and it’s okay to feel how you’re feeling. “Don’t let yourself go because everybody cries,” they say in a beautifully delivered line.
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