00:0010 of the darkest mainstream songs ever written
00:02Number 10. Disturbed, Down With The Sickness
00:06The original album includes a graphic spoken word section detailing child abuse and revenge, which radio edits often removed.
00:14Number 9. The Cure, Lullaby
00:17A nursery rhyme melody clashes with dread-soaked atmosphere and ambiguous Spider-Man imagery, creating unsettling psychological tension.
00:26Number 8. Corn Daddy
00:28Jonathan Davis recounts his childhood abuse and officials' disbelief, followed by several silent minutes forcing emotional catharsis and discomfort.
00:38Number 7. Immortal Technique, Dance With The Devil
00:41A nine-minute narrative follows gang violence culminating in a shocking twist where the protagonist unknowingly assaults his own mother.
00:50Number 6. The Doors, The End
00:53Jim Morrison's 11-minute live performances blend farewell themes with explicit, oedipal references about patricide and incest, unnerving 60s audiences.
01:04Number 5. Nirvana, Polly
01:06Gentle acoustic strumming masks Gerald Friend's real 1987 abduction and torture of a 14-year-old girl explored through the attacker's perspective.
01:16Number 4. Eminem, Kim
01:19This track portrays a brutally realistic abusive relationship ending in fictional murder, stripping away Slim Shady's humor for disturbing intensity.
01:29Number 3. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Song of Joy
01:33Cave narrates a wife and daughter's systematic killing with detached mundanity, leaving ironic title and ambiguous guilt unresolved.
01:41Number 2. Bob Dylan, Ballad of Hollis Brown
01:44Dylan's second-person narrative forces listeners to experience a father's despair and tragic decision to murder his starving family first-hand.
01:54Number 1. Nine Inch Nails, Closer
01:56Disturbing production and toxic self-hatred lyrics about psychological collapse were misconstrued as erotic, ironic, slow-dance staples.
Be the first to comment