4 of the Most Beautifully-Written Rock Songs About Death

Rock music has always been a great genre for narratives about love, loss, fame, and power. However, there are quite a few particularly beautiful rock songs out there about death, each written with a level of respect and relatability that you just can’t find elsewhere. Let’s look at four famous rock songs that are quite beautifully written about death.

1. “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” by The Smiths

The Smiths celebrated the act of love in a macabre light with the 1986 song “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” from The Queen Is Dead. In perfect Smiths fashion, this song seems pretty smooth and ironic in its upbeat nature despite its dark subject matter. 

However, reading between the lines is important here. This song is a celebration of life and love, without fear that death will rip its narrator from their beloved; because when it comes down to it, you can’t have love without loss in some capacity.

2. “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash’s Cover)

There are a few great rock songs about death out there, but Johnny Cash’s delivery of “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails is notably quite different. Covered by the country icon late in his life, this song takes on a dark, mourning tone that only a man with a lot of regrets in his life could muster. 

In a way, this cover sounds like a sendoff to fans as well as a look into Cash’s heart and ego. Cash passed away just a year after it was released.

3. “Marlene” by Jackson C. Frank

Jackson C. Frank gets vulnerable in this 1965 folk-rock song about a traumatic incident that happened in his younger years. According to the song, a fire lit up his elementary school in New York, which claimed the lives of over a dozen students, including his girlfriend Marlene. 

Frank was only in sixth grade at the time but managed to escape the blaze with just scars. Though, the emotional scars would linger with him for the rest of his life. Frank’s reflection on the event made for a stunning yet heartbreaking song.

4. “Masters Of War” by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is one of the greatest folk and folk-rock songwriters of his generation, so it only makes sense that he’d write a powerful song involving death. “Masters Of War” is one of Dylan’s most rage-filled pieces of work, and that rage is understandable. 

The song was written in 1963 as a protest song against the Cold War and the nuclear arms race. The fury in Dylan’s voice is palpable, yet delivered in his recognizable calm tone. He wished for the death of the powers that be, and many Americans identified with his scathing lyrics.

Photo by Steve Rapport/Getty Images

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