Search C90: The Teenage Death Song

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a compilation of classic teenage death songs. thinking of stuff like the Shangri La's "Leader Of The Pack" in particular, and possibly stuff like "Don't Fear The Reaper". any other good ones? is "Ode To Billy Joe" a teenage death song?

― Wyndham Earl, Sunday, 5 October 2003 17:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Johnny Remember Me - John Leyton

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 5 October 2003 17:14 (twenty-two years ago)

jim carroll - people who died

― yg, Sunday, 5 October 2003 17:17 (twenty-two years ago)

"Teenage Death Girl" by Kim Fowley (fantastic song too, not sure if you can call it classic).

― dlp9001, Sunday, 5 October 2003 17:20 (twenty-two years ago)

"teenage suicide (don't do it)"

― Annouschka Magnatech (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 5 October 2003 17:20 (twenty-two years ago)

nobody else is going to approve but Good Charlotte's "My Bloody Valentine" is a great teen murder song and "The Day That I Died" is disturbingly happy teen suicide song.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 5 October 2003 17:23 (twenty-two years ago)

"Tell Laura I Love Her" by Ray Peterson is an excellent teenage death song along the lines of "Leader of the Pack".

― Charlie Rose (Charlie Rose), Sunday, 5 October 2003 17:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Might be a stretch, but Juliana Hatfield's "My Sister?" I just heard it the other day for the first time in a while, and I got the impression her sister killed herself. I don't know.

― Prude (Prude), Sunday, 5 October 2003 18:02 (twenty-two years ago)

"Come Back Jonee" by Devo
"So Like Candy" by Elvis Costello
"Blasphemous Rumours" by Depeche Mode

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 5 October 2003 19:26 (twenty-two years ago)

"I Don't Like Mondays"-Boomtown Rats

― Arthur (Arthur), Sunday, 5 October 2003 19:29 (twenty-two years ago)

"Nightmare" - The Whyte Boots
"Tell Laura I Love Her" - Ray Peterson

― tony bleach, Sunday, 5 October 2003 20:39 (twenty-two years ago)

"Teen Angel," obviously. My mom freaked me out when I was a kid by teaching me the alternative lyrics she and her friends used to sing in high school: "I'll never kiss your lips again/ For they were burned away." Slept with the light on that night. Thanks, Mom.

― JesseFox (JesseFox), Sunday, 5 October 2003 21:54 (twenty-two years ago)

"God Damn It, Paul" - Five-Eight

When he drove down nowhere road
His jury rigged Beetle flipped out of control
Then he took us all to burn to our crispy death
Doctors use the dental charts
Identify my body burned and charred
You know it's impossible
What happened to me that day

But my girlfriend was only 16 years old
When she read the obituary
Just a paragraph on page 7B
Of the Journal-Constitution
Some say suicide
Take me with you
Paul you cannot hide
Yourself from fear

― Marcus Barr (Marcus Barr), Sunday, 5 October 2003 22:33 (twenty-two years ago)

"Last Kiss" - Wayne Cochran

― Barss (Jaacob), Monday, 6 October 2003 00:10 (twenty-two years ago)

"patches" by dickie lee. the line about finding her "floating face down in that dirty old river" freaked the bejesus out of me as a child.

― lauren (laurenp), Monday, 6 October 2003 01:12 (twenty-two years ago)

NO!!!C TEENAGERS NO DIE!!!

― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Monday, 6 October 2003 02:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Damn, I thought I'd be the first to mention "Johnny Remember Me" and lo and behold, it's the first response. Yeah, I oughta post here more. "Tell Laura That I Love Her" is a great tune. That's the one where the chick gets torn into a bunch of pieces, isn't it? Can't remember the exact line, though. I first heard it a couple months ago while I was doing my radio show and I came across an old Rhino comp from the late '70s of terrible novelty songs. I decided to forget about my playlist and just play that whole record. Good move on my part. Back to the topic, could "Another Lonely Christmas" count? Wait, that has nothing to do with teenagers... or does it?

― Mike Ouderkirk (Mike Ouderkirk), Monday, 6 October 2003 06:45 (twenty-two years ago)

it's the fellow that gets it in "tell laura i love her." he enters a stock car race to buy his girl a diamond ring and wipes out spectacularly and fatally: "as they pulled him from the twisted wreck/with his dying breath they could hear him say/tell laura i love her." go melodrama!

― lauren (laurenp), Monday, 6 October 2003 10:20 (twenty-two years ago)

"Girlfriend in a Coma" by the Smiths. Yeah yeah, I know..."b-b-b-b-but she's not dead, Alex, she's comatose!" Mebbe so, but doesn't Mo' express his last goodbye and wonder if she'll "pull through"?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 6 October 2003 10:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Tell Laura I Love Her is a good one. any more 50s/60s odes to teen death featuring James Dean outsiders/modernist Romeo & Juliets/drag race car crashes? Modern equivilents? tatu spring to mind, oddly, although i can't think of anything specific in their lyrics, just the video to "Not Gonna Get Us"

― Wyndham Earl, Saturday, 11 October 2003 15:03 (twenty-two years ago)

How 'bout Pere Ubu's "Final Solution?" That would seem to be key...

― M Specktor (M Specktor), Saturday, 11 October 2003 15:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Twinkle "Terry"
Shangri-Las "Dressed in Black"
France Gall "Teenie Weenie Boppie"

― tokyo rosemary (rosemary), Sunday, 12 October 2003 03:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Elton John "I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself"
Skid Row "18 & Life"

― dave q, Sunday, 12 October 2003 10:17 (twenty-two years ago)

More Shangri-Las: "Give Us Your Blessings" and (if the teenager doesn't have to be the one who dies) "I Can Never Go Home Anymore".

― OleM (OleM), Sunday, 12 October 2003 20:08 (twenty-two years ago)

to answer your original sub question,i would think ode to billy joe would certainly qualify..

― robin (robin), Sunday, 12 October 2003 20:12 (twenty-two years ago)

I think Richard Thompson's "1952 Vincent Black Lighning" qualifies, and what a song!

― paul c, Sunday, 12 October 2003 22:23 (twenty-two years ago)

For this to work best the songs would really have to be written, or at least sung by teenagers as well, which is why I was thinking stuff like Tatu... how old were the Shangri La's at their peak?

― Wyndham Earl, Monday, 13 October 2003 09:27 (twenty-two years ago)

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