Latest on MJJC

MJ’s most depressing song

mj_frenzy

Proud Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2014
Messages
2,782
Points
113
Location
Greece
Country
Greece
I think that ‘Be Not Always’ could be one of his most depressing songs.

The (almost) naked production makes the song to sound sadder & gloomier while an (emotionally) overwhelmed vocal performance adds to its pessimism.

Thematically, I think this song refers to afflictions/tragedies in general (apart from those that are brought on by wars).

I am referring to any song that MJ has ever recorded during his career (demos, early versions, official releases, duets, etc.).
 
Be Not Always hit me in the face before I even opened this thread. Agree.
 
That's What You Get (For Being Polite) (The Jacksons)
Time Waits For No One (The Jacksons)
Be Not Always
Little Susie
 
With context of knowing what happened to Michael in 1993, Morphine hits me hard.
 
Coduscus said:
With context of knowing what happened to Michael in 1993, Morphine hits me hard.
Click to expand...

Agreed. But I feel this is actually less depressing and more inspiring considering how imaginative and outside-of-box it was. You can't help but go WOW! What a masterpiece.
 
Last edited:
He's never made a depressing song.

Sad? Yes
Thought provoking? Yes
Chilling? Yes
Sombre? Yes
Emotive? Yes

But not depressing. To say that would mean I listen to a Michael Jackson song and feel worse afterwards; and that's never happened.
 
Tony R said:
He's never made a depressing song.

Sad? Yes
Thought provoking? Yes
Chilling? Yes
Sombre? Yes
Emotive? Yes

But not depressing. To say that would mean I listen to a Michael Jackson song and feel worse afterwards; and that's never happened.
Click to expand...

The fact that Be Not Always was written in 1984 depresses me. Especially these lines:

Mothers cry, babies die, helplessly in arms
While rockets fly and research lies in progress to become.

It's pretty depressing to me that its all but come true. Even the last line

Cause time has made promises
Death promises.

Its the only song that makes me shudder and go "ah feck....." Its the only songs that comes to mind. Earth song is about whats happening now and this song was the warning.
 
innuendo141 said:
The fact that Be Not Always was written in 1984 depresses me. Especially these lines:

Mothers cry, babies die, helplessly in arms
While rockets fly and research lies in progress to become.

It's pretty depressing to me that its all but come true. Even the last line

Cause time has made promises
Death promises.

Its the only song that makes me shudder and go "ah feck....." Its the only songs that comes to mind. Earth song is about whats happening now and this song was the warning.
Click to expand...

That song was sutley about the Cold War.
 
Last edited:
"Stranger In Moscow" used to get me, but that was diluted a little after making the connection between it and the score to Sonic The Hedgehog 3.
 
Tony R;4101429 said:
He's never made a depressing song.

Sad? Yes
Thought provoking? Yes
Chilling? Yes
Sombre? Yes
Emotive? Yes

But not depressing. To say that would mean I listen to a Michael Jackson song and feel worse afterwards; and that's never happened.
Click to expand...

If someone listens carefully to this song (‘Be Not Always’) & “cannot feel worse afterwards” then, I think this is called apathy.

Also, it seems that some people cannot distinguish the very slight, different meanings that a word can have.

For example, sombre (or somber) refers also to seriously/gravely sad, that is depressing (& the other way around, of course).

innuendo141;4101433 said:
It's pretty depressing to me that its all but come true. Even the last line

Cause time has made promises
Death promises.
Click to expand...

Now you made it easier for all those who never bothered to listen to this song till its very end. Thank you!
 
Be not always, Michael's version of a Sign o the Times type song. Still Sign o the Times is a thought provoking song.

I also think Little Suzie as songs about victimised children are never going to be upbeat and the gothic choir, the rain all has an 1880 pointed arch gothic rveival building in November type feel to it.

Man in the mirror is depressing, but it is also very good. The Lost children is quite sad too and if you took the upbeat funk track from "Do you know where your children are" that would be a depressing track too. But all of these songs are just redeemed by that magic touch Michael Jackson adds to all his music. His multi tracking of vocals always works well and yet helps add gravitas to the subject matter of these songs.
 
barbee0715 said:
Why ABC??
Click to expand...

thatsthejoke.jpg
 
mjprince1976;4101878 said:
Be not always, Michael's version of a Sign o the Times type song. Still Sign o the Times is a thought provoking song.

I also think Little Suzie as songs about victimised children are never going to be upbeat and the gothic choir, the rain all has an 1880 pointed arch gothic rveival building in November type feel to it.

Man in the mirror is depressing, but it is also very good. The Lost children is quite sad too and if you took the upbeat funk track from "Do you know where your children are" that would be a depressing track too. But all of these songs are just redeemed by that magic touch Michael Jackson adds to all his music. His multi tracking of vocals always works well and yet helps add gravitas to the subject matter of these songs.
Click to expand...

‘Little Susie’ is a (very) melancholic, depressing song. For me, this song sounds like an elegy (owing to the use of the funerary, musical elements). But, ‘Little Susie’ is also a frightening song. The little girl that hums along with the tune (“la, la, la”) as a way, probably, to divert her feeling of loneliness makes the song sound scarier.

In my opinion, ‘Man in the Mirror’ has a profound positive aura. In other words, despite all the damages/losses, still there is room for improvement & things (for the most part) can be fixed. The first & most important step in the right direction is self-motivation that stems (mainly) from self-awareness.

‘The Lost Children’ is a deeply sad ballad. This song reminds us that still there is a great deal of agony/pain which lies beneath the glamorous lifestyle of our society while a feeling of bitterness overshadows the song.

Finally, ‘Do you know where your children are’ is a very distressing/upsetting song, & unfortunately remains (lyrically) very current still today.
 
Little Susie is a masterpiece. And one of his most underappreciated songs. It's often been labelled as "Disney stuff" - I guess critics think that Disney releases movies based on the sexual and physical abuse and eventual death of a little child.

Btw, imo Be Not Always is the winner. Second comes Little Susie.
 
Tony R said:
He's never made a depressing song.

Sad? Yes
Thought provoking? Yes
Chilling? Yes
Sombre? Yes
Emotive? Yes

But not depressing. To say that would mean I listen to a Michael Jackson song and feel worse afterwards; and that's never happened.
Click to expand...

My mind drew a blank, because I can't recall a song of his that made me feel depressed.
 
mj_frenzy;4102278 said:
‘Little Susie’ is a (very) melancholic, depressing song. For me, this song sounds like an elegy (owing to the use of the funerary, musical elements). But, ‘Little Susie’ is also a frightening song. The little girl that hums along with the tune (“la, la, la”) as a way, probably, to divert her feeling of loneliness makes the song sound scarier.

In my opinion, ‘Man in the Mirror’ has a profound positive aura. In other words, despite all the damages/losses, still there is room for improvement & things (for the most part) can be fixed. The first & most important step in the right direction is self-motivation that stems (mainly) from self-awareness.

‘The Lost Children’ is a deeply sad ballad. This song reminds us that still there is a great deal of agony/pain which lies beneath the glamorous lifestyle of our society while a feeling of bitterness overshadows the song.

Finally, ‘Do you know where your children are’ is a very distressing/upsetting song, & unfortunately remains (lyrically) very current still today.
Click to expand...

This is wonderfully explained :D

I would add "She's out of my life" to the list. For the fact that its a sad song about someone he loved and she's out of his life cause he took her love for 'granted' :unsure:

Another song that for me belongs to the list of 'sad songs' is "This is it" :puke: I just makes me break down and :cry: I even have to mute it on #MJJCommunityRadio.

It just reminds me of 2009 when we lost Michael :no:

Then again, all these 'sad' songs really show what a genius Michael is. He can just change your mood with a song. He has sad and uplifting songs. Bless you, Michael :angel:
 
This is a great discussion.

Morphine, while I agree that it is definitely very autobiographical and revealing, I wouldn't call depressing. It doesn't make me feel sad listening to it. I feel energized and angry, usually. Frustrated. He was really good about communicating the stress and mental anguish of addiction in that song. It is really hard to think about after he died, but it was always a thought provoking piece to me even before then. IMO it's one of the absolutely best things he ever created, and I wish I could have asked him about it. I have several family members who are addicts and it hits a soft spot for me in that way.

I Am A Loser, I guess in terms of content is a good choice and shouldn't be ignored. I guess the only reason I'd disagree with it being the "most depressing" is that we don't have the finished product. It comes across much more hopeful. In the end, Michael was an optimist, and wrote that way. He even talked about the coda in Heartbreak Hotel - he wanted to leave the listener reassured and feeling same. He wanted to end on a good note and not actually terrorize or depress others.

Little Susie and Be Not Always are fantastic examples. BNA always wows me. I listened to it over and over and over and over. It's so unlike anything else Michael recorded (Randy wrote it, right? Sorry if my brain is fuzzy). And he absolutely nailed it. I love that it feels like a secret among us - fans know, real fans know, and when we go to listen to it, it takes us somewhere that only we would really understand.

Little Susie is more eye-opening than depressing - it makes me want to stop things. It makes me want to mobilize. This poor child; abused, neglected, and murdered by what little family she knows? That wees me off, big time. It makes me want to go out and protect every child the same way Michael wanted to do, but it doesn't make me sad in the heart for longer than it takes to want to do justice by Susie (and all the Susies in the world that suffered the same fate).

So when it comes down to it - Be Not Always wins. I think it always will. Such a unique and beautiful work of art. It really is astounding, and does its job well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top