21 Best Songs About Suicide & Suicide Prevention

While many people feel depressed from time to time, the best songs about suicide explore what happens when depression takes control and leads to dark thoughts.

Singers and bands have produced songs on the subject from various angles, both from the perspective of feeling suicidal and in response to a loved one taking their own life.

In this playlist, we’ll break down the most iconic songs on the subject of suicide you can listen to, from old-school rock classics to modern-day chart hits.

The 21 Best Songs About Suicide & Suicide Prevention

Feelings of depression and suicidal thoughts have inspired countless singers and bands to create music that seeks to understand where these feelings come from.

We’ve dug through the music archives to make sure this playlist caters to all music tastes, from sad rock ballads to more optimistic tunes that offer a ray of hope.

Strap yourself in, and let’s begin our playlist of the 21 best songs about suicide and suicide prevention:

21. “Save You” – Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson released her sad song about suicide, “Save You,” in 2009, one of the more sensitive pop songs from this talented performer.

“I wish I could save you, I wish I could say to you,” Clarkson sings in the song. “I’m not going nowhere, I wish I could say to you.”

Featured on her album All I Ever Wanted, it’s one of the songs about suicide that ends on an optimistic note, with the lyrics “It’s gonna be alright” repeated several times.

20. “Suicide Solution” – Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne blends the topic of suicide with drink and drug addiction in his classic song “Suicide Solution.”

The lyrics discuss how “wine if fine but whiskey’s quicker,” continuing with “Suicide is slow with liquor.”

Ozzy Osbourne wrote many classic rock songs throughout his career, including one of the best songs about flying, Flying High Again, which was featured in Guitar Hero II.

19. “Lullaby” – Nickelback

Nickleback’s contribution to songs about suicide, “Lullaby,” tackles the topic from the depressed person’s point of view.

It’s a call for suicide prevention, with the lyrics, “Stop thinking about the easy way out; there’s no need to go and blow the candle out.”

If you’ve ever found yourself caught up in a spiral of depression and contemplating suicide, “Lullaby” might be the antidote you need to hear.

18. “By The Grace Of God” – Katy Perry

No stranger to heartbreak and disappointment, Katy Perry gave her fans an insight into her pain with the song “By The Grace of God.”

Full of raw emotions, it’s one of Perry’s most revealing pieces of music, with a ray of hope shining through its overall somber and downbeat tone.

Released on the album Prism, it’s one of many tracks that appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 charts along with her many number-one hits.

17. “Last Resort” – Papa Roach

Committing suicide is the last resort anyone can take when life gets too much to handle, as Papa Roach outlines in their song, “Last Resort.”

It’s an angst-ridden track that moping teenagers around the world adored, and ideal for anyone with a nihilistic streak in their personality.

Band vocalist Jacoby Shaddix took inspiration for the song from one of his former roommates who once tried to kill himself.

16. “Jumper” – Third Eye Blind

Released as the main single from Third Eye Blind’s self-titled debut album, “Jumper” was inspired by the band’s manager’s high school friend who committed suicide.

The song also draws upon frontman Stephen Jenkins’s own experiences of being bullied in high school and is very much an anti-suicide song.

A searing indictment of homophobia, “Jumper” is a powerful song about troubled teens and the bullies they have to contend with on a daily basis.

15. “Fade To Black” – Metallica

Metallica broke the mold with the release of “Fade To Black,” their first-ever power ballad that was well received by critics and fans alike.

The song’s lyrics address suicidal thoughts and the band’s own obsession with death in a sensitive and delicate manner.

If you’re looking for a Metallica song with a little more bite, they released one of the best songs about revenge of all time, “Here Comes Revenge.”

14. “Whiskey Lullaby” – Brad Paisley ft. Alison Krauss

Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss joined forces for the powerful duet “Whiskey Lullaby,” about a married couple and the man heading out to war.

The song lyrics explore how the wife becomes involved with another man during his absence, leading him to drink himself to death, leaving a suicide note behind

It ends with the wife mourning the loss of her husband after reading the suicide letter and regretting the decisions she made in life.

13. “Suicidal Thoughts” – The Notorious B.I.G.

The Notorious B.I.G. got straight to the point with the title of his song about suicide, “Suicidal Thoughts,” the first rap song in this playlist.

B.I.G. offers his typically frank insights into the topic, rapping, “Get a hold of yourself, you talkin’ some crazy shit now.”

It’s a classic rap song that illustrates both sides of the coin and the need for good mental health if you’re going to avoid attempts to commit suicide.

12. “How To Disappear Completely” – Radiohead

Radiohead has long held a reputation for writing downbeat songs that explore the darker side of the human experience, as is the case with “How To Disappear Completely.”

Featured on their experimental album Kid A, it reflects the powerlessness people who suffer from mental illness feel on a daily basis.

The band took a more aggressive stance in their song “A Punch Up At A Wedding,” which is one of the best songs about fighting you can listen to.

11. “Listen Before I Go” – Billie Eilish

While Billie Eilish is better known for upbeat and catchy pop songs, she’s not afraid to explore the dark subject of suicide in her music.

“Listen Before I Go” was inspired by her own struggles with depression, with lyrics that imagine what might have been if she hadn’t sought the help she needed.

Featured on her 2018 album When We All Fall Asleep, it’s one of the most moving songs in her discography and a perfect listen if you’re feeling stuck in life.

10. “Paint It Black” – The Rolling Stones

Whereas Metallica sang about fading to black, The Rolling Stones took a different approach in their song about suicide, “Paint It Black.”

It’s an uptempo number released in 1966, written from the perspective of a depressed person who wants to turn everything black, so it matches their mood.

Two years later, the band released their classic song, “Sympathy For The Devil,” which is one of the best karaoke songs you can sing along to.

9. “Save Myself” – Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran’s 2017 song “Save Myself” gets straight to the point and makes a strong observation on how we shouldn’t always rely on others to set things right.

The chorus sings, “Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels, I drown it with a drink and out-of-date prescription pills.”

Sheeran is one of the most popular singers of his generation, with several Grammy Award wins to his name and many more nominations.

8. “Fire And Rain” – James Taylor

Heading back to the beginning of the 1970s for James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain,” a song about drug addiction, depression, and suicidal thoughts.

Inspired by James Taylor’s childhood friend, who killed herself when he was young, it’s a heartbreaking song about grief and loneliness in the aftermath of a death.

Taylor’s suicidal friend encourages us all to rethink mental health and work toward suicide prevention for the people in our lives.

7. “A Day Without Me” – U2

“A Day Without Me” is one of the darkest songs written and performed by U2, touching on many of the core themes around suicide.

Featured on their album Boy, it’s a powerful piece of music that urges us to reflect on how someone’s life may have turned out had they not committed suicide.

With many number-one hits in their discography, U2 also wrote one of the best songs of all time, “One.”

6. “Elizabeth On The Bathroom Floor” – Eels

A real-life account of the death by suicide of one of the band’s members, “Elizabeth On The Bathroom Floor,” paints a stark visual image of suicide.

The lyrics lament her passing and the years of mental health issues and other problems that led her to finally take her own life.

Eels released “Elizabeth On The Bathroom Floor” in 1998 as part of the album Electro-Shock Blues, a possible reference to the therapy she received.

5. “How Do You Get That Lonely” – Blaine Larsen

A lack of contact with other people can lead to intense feelings of loneliness and depression, which Blaine Larsen explores in the song “How Do You Get That Lonely.”

It’s a strong and powerful country song that was close to home for Larsen, whose distraught daughter once informed him of the suicide of her friend.

Blaine Larsen tackles the issue in a blunt and to-the-point manner, as expressed in the lyrics, “Found him face down on his bedroom floor.”

4. “Everybody Hurts” – R.E.M.

Perhaps one of the best-known songs about suicide is “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M., which was the band’s message to their legions of teenage fans.

Debuting on their 1992 album Automatic For The People, the song was specifically designed to help save someone from taking their own life.

R.E.M. was among the most popular bands of the 1990s and wrote another great song about anxiety, “Losing My Religion.”

3. “Cemetery Drive” – My Chemical Romance

My Chemical Romance delivered a downbeat song about suicide with “Cemetery Drive”, released in 2004 and featured on the album Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge.

The rather graphic song lyrics talk about how “I think I’ll blow my brains against the ceiling, and as the fragments of my skull begin to tall, just think happy thoughts, and we’ll fly home.”

It hints at the overuse of prescription drugs and how the red and blue pills don’t seem to improve the situation and might actually make things worse.

2. “How To Save A Life” – The Fray

“How To Save A Life” by The Fray is another moving and timely suicide prevention song that urges listeners to reach out and discuss their problems with someone else.

The lyrics begin, “And I would have stayed up with you all night,” continuing with, “Had I known how to save a life.”

One of the most popular songs released by the band, writer Isaac Slade was inspired to compose it after working as a mentor for troubled teens.

1. “Adam’s Song” – Blink-182

Wrapping up this playlist of the best songs about suicide with the classic rock track “Adam’s Song” by iconic grunge band Blink-182.

Mental illness, depression, and suicidal thoughts all come together in this moving song that asks us to think how others would handle it if we were no longer around.

It’s a fitting companion piece to another great song about missing someone from Blink-182, “I Miss You,” released in 2004.

Summary

So there you have it, our complete playlist covering the best songs about suicide ever made by some of the leading singers and bands around.

It’s an uncomfortable subject to deal with, but these powerful and moving songs offer a necessary antidote to the negative feelings that lead to suicidal thoughts.

If you’ve had these thoughts yourself or know someone who has taken their own life, these songs may help you to overcome the pain and grief you’ve felt. 

What songs do you listen to when you’re feeling down in the dumps? Leave a comment below.