Funny But Sad

Discussed in Gigantic, songs that are funny, but sad, or songs with depressing lyrics, but cheerful music.

Central Theme:

• Become A Robot - Upbeat and bouncy with lyrics such as "Hip hip horrific is our thing."
• Broke In Two - Seems to have been written with this theme in mind. "You said, 'I'm gonna run you down.' I heard, 'I'm an orangutan.' "
• Dark And Metric - "Sesame Street vibe"
• Don't Let's Start - "Everybody dies frustrated and sad, and that is beautiful", etc.
• Everything Right Is Wrong Again
• Four Of Two - His date never shows up, and yet he still just keeps waiting and waiting and waiting.
• Hopeless Bleak Despair
• I Can't Hide From My Mind - The first verse ("I've got my house surrounded") is somewhat laughable, but the song itself is very melancholy.
• I Palindrome I
• I'm Having A Heart Attack - the lyrics describe an explosively painful and melancholy event, but Linnell's voice is indifferent and the music is calm and groovy
• It's Not My Birthday - The lyrics weave together a number of rainy and depressing ideas which otherwise have little relation (liner notes reveal that even TMBG classed this one as hard to interpret), and are sung to an upbeat and cheery tune for an amusing contrast. It's a notable example.
• Lucky Ball And Chain
• Montana - To me this song is the definition of 'funny but sad.'
• Mr. Me - "He ended up really, really, really sad" is one of the most gleefully sung lines in the TMBG canon.
• My Man - "There is no way to repair the break"
• Narrow Your Eyes - See comment for "Montana."
• Now Is Strange
• Older
• Santa's Beard - Upbeat and humorous, but the poor guy is getting cheated on
• Stalk of Wheat - Sounds like a kids song, but the lyrics are about a guy down on his luck.
• She Was A Hotel Detective - Actually, it's the other way around - sad music but cheerful lyrics.
• They Got Lost
• They'll Need A Crane
• Twisting
• Wearing A Raincoat