Here is my top 5 ballads and my explanation of meanings/sound and why it makes them so great, that have a rock/pop-punk touch so you might enjoy them.
1. Gob - Banshee Song
Most likely will remain my favorite of all time. just sounds great. The songs intro misleads you(at least it did for me) a bit but the ways it transcends into a soft ballad just sounds perfect to me. It has a perfect mix of guitar and drums so it doesn't get disgustingly sappy through the song. IMO Its about a girl a man loves and she passed away somehow, the man is so distressed that he see's her in his sleep "you leave with a start when i open my eyes, you get shy if i look at you" meaning shes a spirit or he see's her in his dreams
"Love please come and haunt me always
I'll let you come and take me on
Love come taunt me through the whole night
I need to, need to feel your soul"
This could mean he wants her to say with him all night because he can't get over her. You cannot tell if she is a real ghost or if the guys is going crazy from his distress. I think that this song meaning is so interesting and cool for some reason, its pretty much representing that true love never dies.
2. Nine Inch Nails - Hurt:
Trent was going through some serious drug addiction and depression, most likely due to his grandmother (who had raised him) passed away. During this time and it caused a lot of problems in his life and the ones he loved. His singing is so sorrowful and you can feel his emotion. If you dont get choked up to this song, i dont think you have a soul.
Its hard to add detail to this song, mainly because he doesn't layer his lyrics with hidden messages he just gets straight to the point: I let everyone i love down and if i could start again, i would fix everything.
3. The Clash - Lost In the Supermarket
I'm not completely sure if this is a full on ballad but it very light (the lightest off of London Calling) and it is a bit depressing in a way. This song's about how disenchanted people become with modern society and the way its strips us of our identity.
"I can no longer shop happily
I came in here for that special offer
A guaranteed personality"
He lived his life like the commercials told him to, as in he followed all the trends thinking they had the answers ("I save coupons from packets of tea / I've got my giant hit discoteque album"). But when he wanted something substantial, personality, although modern culture promised it, it isn't there, hence is lost in the supermarket of modern culture. The meaning alone is great and the singing/instruments are great, one of my favorites
4. Green Day - Macy's Day Parade
Probably my favorite song from Warning. Billy pretty much looks at his fame and the world and how materialistic we are and how we put all our hopes in getting things and having fame and fortune. He sings about how even though he is rich and can get whatever he wants, it is not what makes him happy in the world
"Because Im thinking abouta brand new hope
The one Ive never known,
cause now I know its all that I wanted"
All he wants is for people (including himself) to have hope and interest in something that matters that people take for granite (friends, family, a good life etc.) not in big corporate companies like Macy's who have a parade to advertise all these things you "need" that don't matter. Its a great song with a very deep meaning involved with it.
5. Metallica - Low Man's Lyric
WHAT!?!?! METALLICA? DOING A BALLAD!?! Yes and i would say this is one amazing ballad with a amazing meaning to it. Its is about asking for forgivness from a loved one(family friends etc.) after you hurt them in some way. The lyrics "my fingers feel my veins" represents his depression from all this so he uses drugs to numb his pain. These drugs left the man homeless and is using the remainder of his life looking for forgiveness. "The trash fire is warm" The only place where he finds comfort and warmth from the rest of the worlds problems but it doesn't last long. This could also represent James's alcohol addiction at the time, which he could not control.
