6.5 - Could've been higher but what would've been more emotionally impactful moments get hamstrung by angsty self aggrandizing melodrama that make much of the intended meaning stumble on itself.
A 10. Pretty graphic stuff.
Frank Zappa-Mom and Dad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq4C9D57q_g
https://genius.com/Frank-zappa-the-mothers-of-invention-mom-and-dad-lyrics
Neglected children, alcoholic parents. There's a mention of the death of a child, so it's a tossup between 7 and 8.
Spiral out, keep going.
6. The lyrics, I believe, describe poverty and alcoholism being used to cope with it.
Author.
5.5 - Somewhat muted by nature of its shrouded meaning but entrancingly distraught.
Some rather dark and visceral lyrics. I'd say those songs average around Level 8.
A 7. It's a song about a woman with a dark past.
Metallica-Leper Messiah
I'd say about 5 or 6. There are much darker Religion Rant songs.
Alice Cooper-Wind Up Toy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db5tT-XaAgY
Lyrics:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/alicecooper/winduptoy.html
I think a 7. A very creepy song about a man in an asylum.
And on that note...
Queensryche- Eyes Of A Stranger
The tale of a murderer with Split Personality, it seems. A solid 8, maybe a 9.
Now, I wonder how low this one would score...
Spiral out, keep going.
5 - Touchy feeling hippie angst with a lot of references to the seasons and natural world; makes it feel almost Disney like in a way.
8 or 9. Really dark lyrics on that one.
Now time for something happier:
Just another day in the life of Jimmy Nutrin
Level 4. There are a few mild sexual references, but not enough to push it higher.
If one to interpret that Xanadu is a metaphor for Heaven, and the protagonist is dead, thus reaching it, then it's around 4 or 5. Otherwise it's 1, maaaybe 2. It's pretty optimistic in general.
Spiral out, keep going.
It's a 6. It's pretty depressing but it doesn't get graphic.
Tupac-Brenda's Got A Baby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds9J9CgFKEc
Here's the lyrics
https://genius.com/2pac-brendas-got-a-baby-lyrics
edited 16th Apr '17 5:56:54 AM by pointless233
A level 9, maybe even a 10. Lots of Gangsta Rap makes it to this level, and this is no exception.
And on the topic of the Olivia Newton John song...
Just another day in the life of Jimmy Nutrin
4 - Hints more than it outright explicitly states, like whispers of some ancient myth barely recalled by modern folk.
10. A song about abortion that's some pretty messed up shit.
Disturbed - Down with the Sickness
It started out pretty tame, with lyrics mostly consisting of innuendos, mild swearing and nothing really explicit... and then the last verse arrived. A solid 8.
Tom Waits - Don't Go Into That Barn
I actually have a pretty funny story about "Down With The Sickness", my mom, who isn't really a metalhead, listened to the song and loved it... then she found the lyrics and was horrified to find what they were about.
Anywho, the Waits song gets an 8, I think. If i'm not mistaken it's a Murder Ballad, and a pretty dark one at that.
Speaking of Murder Ballad, let's take it back in time to a great example of Lyrical Dissonance (Though the original version by The Leaves is even more dissonant, this is more famous)
Just another day in the life of Jimmy Nutrin
Solid 7. It's about a man who kills his wife because she was with another man.
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven
edited 17th Apr '17 4:55:11 AM by Scarecrow4774
“We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.” - Lewis Carroll
7. It's a song about the death of one's child, which is true to life. Pretty dark.
Author.
I like noises.
A textbook 7. Deep teenage angst, wanting to find someone to relate to, feeling life's pointlessness. Korn in a nutshell.
Steely Dan - Everyone's Gone To The Movies
A Murder Ballad that narrates the Serial Killer's latest murder from his and the victim's (a child, even) point of view. That's at least a 9. Maybe even a 10.
Hozier - Angel of Small Death & The Codeine Scene
Spiral out, keep going.