In our last post about recovery songs, we shared some classic hits from artists like Amy Winehouse and Keith Urban about the struggles of living with a chemical addiction. Today, we want to share a few more great songs that have to do with addiction, whether it be the musician’s or another’s point of view.
Recovery Songs About Addiction
Ed Sheeran – The A Team
Ed Sheeran’s “The A Team” was an early hit from the singer-songwriter’s career about an experience he had visiting a homeless shelter. In an interview he stated: ‘I was 18 at the time and kind of quite naive. So, I was a bit taken back by some of the stories that I heard. I got home that night and I just wrote a lot of the lyrics.” The A Team is about one girl who sold herself, used drugs, and had been domestically abused. The lyric “It’s too cold outside for angels to fly” refers to the trap of poverty and addiction.
White lips, pale face
Breathing in snowflakes
Burnt lungs, sour taste
Light’s gone, day’s end
Struggling to pay rent
Long nights, strange men
And they say
She’s in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since eighteen
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us
‘Cause we’re just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And she don’t want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland
Or sells love to another man
It’s too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly
Ripped gloves, raincoat
Tried to swim and stay afloat
Dry house, wet clothes
Loose change, bank notes
Weary-eyed, dry throat
Call girl, no phone
And they say
She’s in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since eighteen
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us
‘Cause we’re just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And she don’t want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland
Or sells love to another man
It’s too cold outside
For angels to fly
An angel will die
Covered in white
Closed eye
And hoping for a better life
This time, we’ll fade out tonight
Straight down the line
And they say
She’s in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since eighteen
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
They scream
The worst things in life come free to us
And we’re all under the upper hand
Go mad for a couple grams
And we don’t want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe we fly to the Motherland
Or sell love to another man
It’s too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly
To fly, fly
For angels to fly, to fly, to fly
For angels to die
Metallica – Master of Puppets
One of the most classic Metallica songs is also about a debilitating addiction. For the listener, this could relate to any type of addiction, but for singer James Hetfield, the song is about his own struggles and experiences with alcohol and cocaine, as well as seeing the people around struggling with other drugs. Throughout the song, the “Master” is the on controlling your life, “twisting your mind and smashing your dream”. Hetfield explained: “Master of Puppets’ deals pretty much with drugs. How things get switched around, instead of you controlling what you’re taking and doing it’s drugs controlling you.” The song was even preserved in the National Recording Registry by the U.S. Library of Congress.
End of passion play, crumbling away
I’m your source of self-destruction
Veins that pump with fear, sucking darkest clear
Leading on your death’s construction
Taste me you will see
More is all you need
You’re dedicated to
How I’m killing you
Come crawling faster
Obey your master
Your life burns faster
Obey your master
Master
Master of puppets I’m pulling your strings
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams
Blinded by me, you can’t see a thing
Just call my name, ‘cause I’ll hear you scream
Master
Master
Just call my name, ‘cause I’ll hear you scream
Master
Master
Needlework the way, never you betray
Life of death becoming clearer
Pain monopoly, ritual misery
Chop your breakfast on a mirror
Taste me you will see
More is all you need
You’re dedicated to
How I’m killing you
Come crawling faster
Obey your master
Your life burns faster
Obey your master
Master
Master of puppets I’m pulling your strings
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams
Blinded by me, you can’t see a thing
Just call my name, ‘cause I’ll hear you scream
Master
Master
Just call my name, ‘cause I’ll hear you scream
Master
Master
Master, master
Where’s the dreams that I’ve been after?
Master, master
You promised only lies
Laughter, laughter
All I hear or see is laughter
Laughter, laughter
Laughing at my cries
Fix me
Hell is worth all that, natural habitat
Just a rhyme without a reason
Never-ending maze, drift on numbered days
Now your life is out of season
I will occupy
I will help you die
I will run through you
Now I rule you too
Come crawling faster
Obey your master
Your life burns faster
Obey your master
Master
Master of puppets I’m pulling your strings
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams
Blinded by me, you can’t see a thing
Just call my name, ‘cause I’ll hear you scream
Master
Master
Just call my name, ‘cause I’ll hear you scream
Master
Master
Linkin Park – Breaking the Habit
Fans across the world mourned the loss of Chester Bennington in 2016, beloved singer of the classic alt-rock/rap outfit Linkin Park. Bennington struggled with his demons throughout his life, and used his music as an emotional outlet. One of their biggest songs, “Breaking the Habit”, was written by bassist Mike Shinoda about substance abuse. When first performing the song, Bennington would become overcome with emotion and was unable to finish every performance.
Memories consume like opening the wound
I’m picking me apart again
You all assume
I’m safe here in my room
Unless I try to start again
I don’t want to be the one the battles always choose
‘Cause inside I realize that I’m the one confused
I don’t know what’s worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
I don’t know why I instigate
And say what I don’t mean
I don’t know how I got this way
I know it’s not alright
So I’m breaking the habit
I’m breaking the habit tonight
Clutching my cure
I tightly lock the door
I try to catch my breath again
I hurt much more than any time before
I have no options left again
I don’t want to be the one the battles always choose
‘Cause inside I realize that I’m the one confused
I don’t know what’s worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
I don’t know why I instigate
And say what I don’t mean
I don’t know how I got this way
I’ll never be alright
So I’m breaking the habit
I’m breaking the habit tonight
I’ll paint it on the walls
‘Cause I’m the one at fault
I’ll never fight again
And this is how it ends
I don’t know what’s worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
But now I have some clarity to show you what I mean
I don’t know how I got this way
I’ll never be alright
So I’m breaking the habit
I’m breaking the habit
I’m breaking the habit tonight
I don’t know what’s worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
I don’t know why I instigate
And say what I don’t mean
I don’t know how I got this way
I’ll never be alright
So I’m breaking the habit
I’m breaking the habit tonight
I’m breaking the habit (tonight)
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under the Bridge
Lead singer Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers has had a long and historied relationship with drugs and alcohol. In his autobiography, “Scar Tissue”, he details his journey into stardom as well as the roller coaster ride of addiction and sobriety he’s ridden over his career. Anthony was exposed to drugs at a young age, and has struggled with heroin and cocaine throughout his life. Producer Rick Rubin found the lyrics to “Under the Bridge” in a notebook belonging to Kiedis, and suggested he pursue a song using it. The song became one of the Chili Peppers greatest hits, and a classic tribute to addiction and the city of Los Angeles.
Sometimes I feel
Like I don’t have a partner
Sometimes I feel
Like my only friend
Is the city I live in
The city of angels
Lonely as I am
Together we cry
I drive on her streets
‘Cause she’s my companion
I walk through her hills
‘Cause she knows who I am
She sees my good deeds
And she kisses me windy
I never worry
Now that is a lie
I don’t ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
I don’t ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way (yeah yeah)
It’s hard to believe
That there’s nobody out there
It’s hard to believe
That I’m all alone
At least I have her love
The city she loves me
Lonely as I am
Together we cry
I don’t ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
I don’t ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way (yeah yeah)
Ooh no (no no yeah yeah)
Love me I say yeah yeah
Under the bridge downtown
Is were I drew some blood
Under the bridge downtown
I could not get enough
Under the bridge downtown
Forgot about my love
Under the bridge downtown
I gave my life away (yeah yeah)
Ooh no (no no yeah yeah)
Here I stay yeah yeah
Here I stay
The Rolling Stones- Sister Morphine
The Rolling Stones may be the world’s most notorious party animals, but that doesn’t mean they are lacking their share of songs about the downsides to that lifestyle. The whole album “Sticky Fingers” is about drug addiction, alternating between moods of triumph and defeat. “Sister Morphine” is a particularly dark song about morphine, one of the most powerful opioids of all. The song was partially written by Mick Jagger’s then girlfriend, Marianne Faithfull, about her own heroin addiction. The song ends with the image of satin white hospital sheets turning red, as the addict slowly dies in front of everyone.
Here I lie in my hospital bed
Tell me, sister Morphine, when are you coming round again?
Oh, I don’t think I can wait that long
Oh, you see that I’m not that strong
The scream of the ambulance is sounding in my ears
Tell me, sister Morphine, how long have I been lying here?
What am I doing in this place?
Why does the doctor have no face?
Oh, I can’t crawl across the floor
Ah, can’t you see, Sister Morphine, I’m trying to score
Well it just goes to show
Things are not what they seem
Please, sister Morphine, turn my nightmares into dreams
Oh, can’t you see I’m fading fast?
And that this shot will be my last
Sweet cousin Cocaine, lay your cool cool hand on my head
Ah, come on, sister Morphine, you better make up my bed
‘Cause you know and I know in the morning I’ll be dead
Yeah, and you can sit around, yeah and you can watch all
The clean white sheets stained red
At Landmark Recovery, there is a team of caring professionals that want to help you beat addiction. If you’re in a dark place or just want to remind yourself of the strides you have made in beating your addiction, listen to these recovery songs about addiction and recovery. You don’t have to suffer in silence listening to recovery songs, read recovery quotes alone, detox alone, or figure out how to stay sober by yourself. Landmark Recovery has excellent drug and alcohol rehab facilities for your needs.
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