Revisiting My Dark Places - Stiff Little Fingers

(2017 Reissue Cover)

My Dark Places - Stiff Little Fingers
from the album
No Going Back
Rigid Digits
Released 2014
Reissued as 2CD set on Ear Music 2017

I wanted to follow up the piece I just posted regarding the Springsteen song, 'This Depression' by returning to a song that I have over the past few years shared on this blog and I hope that you are not fed up with me mentioning it again!

The reason I thought I should post this one again is that unlike the Springsteen song, which doesn't really go into any great details regarding the impact of Depression upon a life, this one written by Jake Burns and performed by Stiff Little Fingers does.

I don't think I need to give a running commentary on the lyrics (see below) as they are pretty clear at what Jake Burns was wishing to communicate with the song. 

I love the fact that SLF have been speaking about this issue now for many years and that the song 'My Dark Places' sits in their set as one of their finest songs to date and that pretty much every night they hit the stage that Jake takes time to talk about Depression before they unleash the song.

If you need help with issues relating to Depression please speak to your Doctor or even one of the many helplines that are available in many countries that are dedicated to helping people in times of trouble.

If you live in the UK here is a link that provides some information regarding such helplines and agencies. CLICK HERE.

(Original Release Cover)

Acoustic Version


My Dark Places - Jake Burns
Well it cuts just like a knife
Takes away your love of life
Puts out your fire and leaves you in the ashes
And you lay there in the hole
What you loved now leaves you cold
It's hard to get the strength to face the morning
Somedays you really feel like hiding
Somedays you you swear you'll never go out anymore

And I'm not going back
I'm not going back to my dark places
And I'm not going back
I'm not going back to my dark places

Well the days drag slowly by
All you want to do is cry
Nothing makes sense nothing has a reason
And the world is not the same
And you're the one to blame
Before too long you feel just like a prisoner
Some days you really feel like screaming
Some days you swear you'll never smile anymore
And I'm not going back
I'm not going back to my dark places
And I'm not going back
I'm not going back to my dark places

It's something they can't see yet it seems so real to me
Can't explain just how I feel when what I feel is no emotion
It's not a tragedy, yet that's how it seems to me
I wish you could see or even for one minute be me

Well, I got there in the end
With the help of many friends
Some who helped by simply just believing
And the days look brighter now
yet I know someday, somehow
I could end up back there in an instant
Some days I really feel like laughing
Some days I realise I must stay on my guard

And I'm not going back
I'm not going back to my dark places
And I'm not going back
I'm not going back to my dark places

Live At Glasgow Barrowlands
from the album
'Best Served Loud'

This Depression - Bruce Springsteen

This Depression - Bruce Springsteen
from the album
'Wrecking Ball'

Released 2012

Album Version

I have posted previously on the subject of Depression and it's a subject that's always worth revisiting because it is something that doesn't just disappear overnight or if you are not talking about it.

I was just recently listening afresh to the Wrecking Ball album by Bruce Springsteen as it has been seven years since the album was released. The track 'This Depression' was not one that immediately jumped off the record as a particular favourite but over time it is a song that has begun to be etched a little on my psyche.

Now I am no Doctor and so I would not pretend for even a split second that I have the answer, the cure for Depression because I don't. But one thing I have learned over the years is that it is good to talk about it.

In days of old of course such things would never be spoken of, there would be a challenge to "Grin and bear it", "Man up", "Don't be so soft!", "Pull yourself together and stop being so weak" (I'm sure you have probably heard a hundred and one more examples from people who just don't want to confront the issue and think they can wave it off with a dismissive jab. 

But the days are changing and Mental Health is something that is being spoken about in the media an awful lot (especially when a high profile celebrity or musician begins talking about it or sadly takes their own life as a result of it).

In the world of music there are many songs that deal with the issue of Depression (just do a Google Search with the line "Songs About Depression" and you will find endless lists spotlighting some of these songs - here's one from the NME: 50 Songs About Depression). 

Bruce Springsteen has actually spoken for a number of years about Depression, going right back to the start of the nineties when he begun mentioning that he had been going to therapy. His autobiography, Born To Run, also touches on the subject and when the book was first published many writers and reviewers zoomed in on that issue as if it was some grand revelation but as I said, he has spoken about it in interviews a number of times over the years before the book even came to pass.

The actual song 'This Depression' does not go into any great depth about the issue but it does spotlight a few things that are characteristic about it (feeling down, lost, low, faith shaken, appearing strong when you are actually weak, and a sense of hopelessness and being unloved).

One of the standout things from the song I think is the sense of desperation and the willingness to recognise that someone else (a loved one, a friend or the family) is vital in the process of dealing with Depression: 

"This is my confession

I Need Your Heart

In This Depression

I Need Your Heart"

That speaks to me about the need to have people in your life who love you and want the very best for you and demonstrate by their actions (whether by being a good listener or just being there when you need a shoulder to lean on) that they have "Heart". Also, the fact that you recognise that you need help is not to be regarded as a sign of weakness but rather one of strength.

Another reason for posting about the subject is that I am very much aware in my own personal life, due to my own health issues and the medication I take for my Epilepsy, that I can be prone to bouts of Depression. So in a way it's a sort of reminder to myself about the value I place upon people in my life and what "I Need" to breakthrough and begin to flourish a little. 

I like that line in the song "Now the morning sun, the morning sun is breaking" which speaks of the new day dawning and the possibilities that lie ahead even when we are dealing with such a difficult issue in our lives. 

If you need help with issues relating to Depression please speak to your Doctor or even one of the many helplines that are available in many countries that are dedicated to helping people in times of trouble.

If you live in the UK here is a link that provides some information regarding such helplines and agencies. CLICK HERE.

Live Version
First Direct Arena, Leeds
24th July 2013


This Depression
written by Bruce Springsteen

Baby, I've been down, but never this down
I've been lost, but never this lost

This is my confession
I need your heart
In this depression
I need your heart

Baby, I've been low, but never this low
I’ve had my faith shaken but never hopeless

This is my confession
I need your heart
In this depression
I need your heart

I haven't always been strong, but never felt so weak
All of my prayers, gone for nothing
I've been without love, but never forsaken
Now the morning sun, the morning sun is breaking

This is my confession
I need your heart
In this depression
I need your heart

This is my confession
I need your heart
In this depression
I need your heart

This is my confession
I need your heart
In this depression
I need your heart