Songs about being in love with someone who suffers from mental illness (specifically depression - but also others, and physical illnesses too)

awwww, making a mix-tape for your sweetie?

Zombies "Care of Cell 44"

Modern Lovers "Hospital" would be my OPO for this category.

Ween - "Even If You Don't"

there's probably a suede song about this.

'maybe it's our koooookiness', etc.

Quite a few Bowie songs? "All the Madmen" for starters.

Ah, maybe not "being in love with". But he had a brother with mental illness who inspired several songs including that one I think.

Results 1 - 10 of about 131,000 for suede lyrics pills.

Only 131,000???

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/suede/sleepingpills.html
http://www.lyricsdownload.com/suede-breakdown-lyrics.html

good call, ho-singer

I feel like there's a good Blur song out there for this topic too, but damn if I can place it.

Does Van M's "TB Sheets" count? That's more a eulogy I guess. Same with "Slim Slow Slider." Ummm, anyway I should not be looking at threads to do with this subject today, a bit too close to home.

All- Scary Sad

you know what i'm guessing?

i'm guessing some emo records might get near this theme.

Sufjan Stevens - "Casimir Pulaski Day"...(in love with someone who has "cancer of the bone")...a three-hanky affair, no matter how you rate Sufjan...

For A Dancer--Jackson Browne

For You--Bruce Springsteen

Yo La Tengo, "Tears Are In Your Eyes"

You tell me summer's here, and the time is wrong.
You tell me winter's here and your days are getting long.
Tears are in your eyes tonight.

You tell me that you haven't slept in days
You tell me sleeping only makes you tired, anyway
Tears are in your eyes tonight.
Tears are in your eyes every night.

Althought you don't believe me, you are strong.
Darkness always turns into the Dawn.
And you won't even remember this for long...
When it ends allright.

Please tell me how you know tomorrow, staring at your shoes.

Tears are in your eyes every night.
Tears are in your eyes every night.
Tears are in your eyes tonight.

The Blur song might be 'Miss America'.

Physical illness: "St. James Infirmary"

Jim O'Rourke - "Halfway to a Threeway"

lol

Does Hot Chocolate's "Emma" count?

Is it explicitly stated in "Care of Cell 44" what the singer's sweetie went to jail for?

surely some charlie feathers... "stuttering cindy", "tongue tied jill"; do they really just have speech impediments, or is there something charlie isn't letting on?

Boo Radleys, "Wake Up Boo"?

Yeah, there are probably a dozen Suede songs that are about this ("High Rising"? "Saturday Night"?), and another dozen if you assume that all the drug abusers in Suede songs are depressed as well as addicted.

Red House Painters - Medicine Bottle (classic)

I've been lookin' for a trace, lookin' for a heart
Lookin' for a lover in a world that's much too dark
You don't want my love
You want satisfaction (Ooh yeah)
You don't need my love
You've got to
Find yourself another
Piece of the action, yeah (Ha ha ha)

Say where you goin'?
What you gonna do?
I've been lookin' everywhere
I've been lookin' for you

You don't want my love
You want satisfaction (I've got you're satisfaction)
You don't need my love
You've got to find yourself another
Piece of the action
'Cause your crazy (Crazy)
You're fuckin crazy (Oh my)
You know you're crazy (Oh child)
I said you're crazy

Say boy where ya coming from?
Where'd you get that point of view?
When I was younger
Said I knew someone like you
And they said
You don't want my love
You want satisfaction (Yeah)
You don't need my love
You've gotta find yourself another
Piece of the action
'Cause you're crazy (Crazy)
You're fuckin' crazy (Oh my)
You know you're crazy (Oh child)
I said you're crazy
Oooh you're crazy (Ah ah ah)
You know you're crazy
Ooh yeah you're crazy
You know you're crazy

You know you are
Bring it down
You're fuckin' crazy

Definitely "Wake Up Boo".

Also - Mountain Goats, "Mole".

Alan Vega, Viet Vet

... he's got one arm and she's "just like him"... then again maybe he means she just has difficulty getting a date

The Smiths, Girlfriend In a Coma

... come on folks!

I'm surprised no mention for:

The Cars - Drive
Billy Joel - An Innocent Man

(but it's early, I guess.)

The Cure, The Cure! Pictures of You, Just Like Heaven... probably more.

Tom Waits, Kentucky Avenue

the cure - letters to elise
the doors - unhappy girl
cat stevens - sad lisa

A bunch of Butterflies of Love songs will do it. 'Complicated' is the first that springs to mind.

Dresden Dolls, "Dirty Business"

About that Sufjan song mentioned up-thread: you realize that bone cancer is a devastating physical ailment and not a mental illness, right?

Thread title, dude.

Songs about being in love with someone who suffers from mental illness (specifically depression - but also others, and physical illnesses too)

Fountains of Wayne - "She's Got a Problem"

Many would learn and many would hurt
And many would chase you away
And many would fear but I'm not here to run
When things go astray

And many would learn and many would turn
And many would run for their lives
But I'm not them I'll dig in
I'll always be there by your side
Away way down

One day my heart will leap and you will dance for joy
And not reach for the phone the pills or the tape
Cause you're as honest as a car wreck
And sirens never love
They just sing and lure your swimming soul away
Down with your mistakes

Away away down

By twist of fate an hour too late
I come to my senses again
But you're not here just cold and near
You left me as living made sense

Kinks -"Funny Face"

Oh how can I live without her
The doctors won't let me see her
But I can catch a glimpse through the doorway
Of the girl that I love and care for
I see you peering through frosted windows
Eyes don't smile, all they do is cry
Funny Face, she's all right
Funny Face, she's all right
Funny Face, she's all right

(crazy,and probably pregnant with Dave Davies's child to boot)

I always thought Big Star's Holocaust was about this until I read somewhere that it was written about Chilton's girlfriend at the time's mother who he hated. I guess it still could fit.

fiona apple 'fast as you can' (kind of)

I used to have none
Now with you, I’ve got one
If I could get just one more
Then you know what you’re in for

You ain’t getting any sleep tonight
I hope that you girls don’t fight
And I hope that you won’t run away
’Cause I’m halfway to a threeway

I tried again and again
To indulge in just one sin
All you have to do is lie there
While I push aside your wheelchair

And I do everything it takes
To change your mind and apply your brakes
So I know that you can’t roll away
’Cause I’m halfway to a threeway

Can’t wipe the smile off my face
When you strut by in your leg brace
You just can’t climb the stairs
And you ain’t got any hair

I just can’t get you to sit
You and your stupid epileptic fits
And I know that you can’t run away
’Cause I’m halfway to a threeway

As I lay you down on my bed
It don’t matter that you’re brain dead
I can get so you close to ya
Now that you’re in a coma

I’ll make it sweet but short
When I pull out your life support
And I know that you’ll just fade away
Now I’m halfway to a threeway
And I know that you’ll just fade away
Now I’m halfway to a threeway

Joy Division - "She's Lost Control"
Devo - "The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprize"
Robert Forster - "Danger In The Past"

Modern Lovers Hospital

Gnarls Barkley Crazy

streching in love with

Shine on You Crazy Diamond/Wish You Were Here

I always thought "Tears Are In Your Eyes" was a fairly standard 3AM-relationship-difficulty song.

Way off in left field, we have Barnes & Barnes' "Boogie Woogie Amputee" in the physical-illness category. (Unless we need another thread for sustained infirmities rather than illness, in which case we should throw in "Sally Can't Dance" and probably "Pink Frost" by the Chills, since death is a fairly serious infirmity.)

alice cooper "how you gonna see me now"

afghan whigs, crazy

so what's gonna happen to you now?
therapy
the pharmacy

Modern Lovers "Hospital" is all-time-greatness in this category.

Black Flag - " Life of Pain"

Look what you've done to your arms
I see you don't care who you harm
I understand
You've never been the girl next door
But now you're worse than before
Self destruct
Self destruct

Joan Osbourne - "Crazy Baby"

And your hands are really shaking something awful as you light your 27th cigarette
Oh, how long have you been sitting in the darkness, you forget
And you know you're getting really hard to be with
And you're crying every time you turn around
And you wonder why you cannot pick your head up off the ground

Oh, my crazy baby, try to hold on tight
Oh, my crazy baby, don't put out the light

Jerry Lee Lewis "She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye"

Jens Lekman, "Psychogirl"

I always thought psychogirl was two words...