Feeling lost, broken and weary from being bound by the chains of addiction, this 2003 song talks about feeling vulnerable. Unable to quit alone, the singer is asking for help with recovery.
Here is a continuation of songs about addiction, dependency, getting sober, and the process of recovery — because each day of being clean and sober should be cause for celebration. Make a playlist to remind yourself just how far you have come. Or make a playlist for someone you love who is on this journey.
You are not seeking out your “demons;” instead, they are running towards you.
Keney Chesney – Demons
This song portrays addiction as what it is: a chronic mental health condition that is surmountable but requires intervention and rehabilitation.
You are not seeking out your “demons;” instead, they are running towards you.
The Weeknd (featuring Ed Sheeran) – Dark Times
In my dark times I’ll be going back to the street
Promising everything I do not mean
In my dark times, baby this is all I could be
Don’t think my mother could love me for me
In my dark times, in my dark times.
This 2015 song is about drugs. Living a fast-paced, dangerous and unpredictable life, and issues a warning to women – don’t fall in love with a druggie. (That always works, right?)
The Lone Bellow – Then Came The Morning
When it comes to songs about addiction, “Then Came The Morning” is an important one.
It features optimistic lyrics that center on the concept of the sun still rising even in your darkest hour. It reminds listeners that each day is a new chance to take on the recovery process.
George Jones – If Drinking Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will)
“Lord, it’s been 10 bottles since I tried to forget her, but the memory still lingers lying here on the ground.”
It’s all fun and games until someone’s passed out on the steering wheel. The lesson here, as in all of these cautionary tales, is that there are real consequences to drowning your sorrows in your chosen vice. Jones knew that better than most.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis – Starting Over
When writing “Starting Over,” Macklemore decided to be completely open about his recovery. In this powerful hip hop song, he shares his relapse after three years of recovery.
He writes, “If I can be an example of getting sober, I can be an example of starting over.” Macklemore’s lyrics are powerful and heartfelt, and will make you realize how lucky you are to be sober.
Whenever you need a little extra inspiration to get you through your day, try plugging in your earbuds and turning the volume up with these motivational songs about addiction and recovery. You will feel empowered to keep moving forward with every lyric.
U2 – Bad
Feelings of loneliness often make overcoming addiction very difficult. You may think there isn’t anyone in the world who understands what you’re going through.
In their song “Bad,” U2 expresses a wish to help those suffering from drug abuse. Though overcoming addiction requires hard work, knowing that you have people, even strangers, who are on your side can offer the comfort you need.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under the Bridge
Written in 1991, this hit song by Red Hot Chili Peppers is about member Anthony Kiedis’ struggle with drug addiction and how, ultimately, it lead him to indescribable loneliness.
The bridge that the title is named after refers to a bridge that the song writer used to purchase his drugs under. This song is a good reminder of the ugly things you leave behind when you decide to cut ties with addiction for good.
Keith Urban – Nobody Drinks Alone
Keith Urban’s country songs are often emotionally stirring and powerful, and “Nobody Drinks Alone” is no exception. In this powerful ballad, you can hear the pain that Urban pulls from his own struggle with addiction (he is now close to 15 years sober).
The lyrics read “There’s nothing but empty there inside that glass, so you pour a little more. And there’s no one there to judge you, at least that’s what you tell yourself. But don’t you know, nobody drinks alone? Every demon, every ghost, from your past, and every memory you’ve held back follows you home.” This song is perfect for those moments of weakness when you need inspiration and powerful words to pull you out of a slump.
Staind – It’s Been Awhile
And it’s been awhile since I can say that I wasn’t addicted
And it’s been awhile since I can say I love myself as well.
Recovery has been a long road for the narrator in this 2001 rock song. He’s finally calling an old love whom he hurt with his addiction. He apologizes and explains that it’s been awhile since drugs didn’t control his life. It feels good to be clean again.
The Cranberries – Salvation
Often, individuals abuse substances to feel something or escape their realities.
“Salvation” by The Cranberries is a song that everyone going through recovery needs to hear. Lead singer Dolores O’Riordan encourages listeners to “Inject [their] soul[s] with liberty” and not drug use because it’s “not what it seems.” Her voice’s heartbreak leads listeners to believe that drug use is not worth it and that there are healthier, more productive ways to achieve the “salvation” she desires.
Gary Allan – It Ain’t The Whiskey
With last night on his breath, the narrator in this 2013 country song stands up in an AA meeting and tells the group that it’s not the whiskey, the cigarettes, or the the stuff he smokes that is killing him. Instead, he claims, it’s the memories of the woman who left him and the hole that is left in his heart. He’s tried in vain to fill it with addictions, topped with a double heap of denial
Demi Lovato – Old Ways
“Old Ways” is a powerful rebuttal to those who doubted Lovato could achieve recovery. She belts, “But if somebody tells me, I’ll go back to my old ways, “I’m gonna say no way, I’m out of the doorway.”
This song encapsulates an experience that people in recovery are all too familiar with: hearing that you will fail but striving toward and achieving recovery anyway.
“Old Ways” also tells of how great life in recovery is for Lovato. One particularly memorable line states that “Who knew it’d be so bright without the blindfolds.”
Third Eye Blind – Semi-Charmed Life
Do not let the upbeat and pop-like tune fool you. While “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind ruled the radio airwaves for the better part of the late 1990’s, very few realized that the lyrics are actually very thought-provoking, and centered around addiction.
The lyrics by Third Eye Blind read “We tripped on the urge to feel alive, and now I’m struggling to survive… I want something else to get me through this life.” Sometimes the simplest statements can be the most profound.
Brad Paisley – Alcohol
“You’ll have some of the best times you’ll never remember with me, alcohol.”
Paisley‘s unique take on a drinking song is told from the perspective of the actual intoxicating substance. Paisley — who is a complete teetotaler in real life — manages to make a fun song into a warning as well: “I can help you up or make you fall.”
Kelly Clarkson – Addicted
Kelly Clarkson’s normally upbeat, pop chart toppers take a dark turn with “Addicted.”
The powerful ballad describes the struggle between addiction and quitting for good. In her lyrics, she writes “I’ll handle it, quit it. Just one more time, then that’s it.” It is a great reminder of the inner demons you deal with when you quit a substance, and how proud you should be of your accomplishments to get to where you are now.
Billy Cunningham – Walk a Little Straighter, Daddy
Told from the perspective of the son of an alcoholic, this 2003 song is a touching reminder that the children of an alcoholic are impacted tremendously by the disease. In the song, the young boy waits for his father to come home from work, but when he does, the man is drunk and passes out.
Years later, when graduating from high school, the teenager sees his drunk father leave the auditorium before he even receives his diploma. The son vows never to put his own children through the trauma of what he experienced growing up as the child of an alcoholic.
Billy Joel – Captain Jack
Billy Joel described “Captain Jack” as an “anti-drug song” inspired by watching teenagers in the inner-city purchasing drugs from a dealer they called Captain Jack.
The lyrics read “So you play your albums, and you smoke your pot, and you meet your girlfriend in the parking lot. Oh, but still you’re aching for the things you haven’t got. What went wrong?”
The song is a good reminder of the deep, aching sadness that all addicted people feel. It will make you want to pick yourself up, take a deep breath, and keep moving forward.
Natasha Bedingfield – Recover
This beautiful song by Natasha Bedingfield speaks about pain, scars, and the fight left in all of us to survive.
This is the perfect song for those moments when you need a powerful melody to motivate you and keep you on the right path. In it, she writes “The worst is over, all those fires we’ve been walking through, and still we survived somehow.” It is powerful and inspiring for anyone – but recovering addicts will relate with its stirring message the most.
Lil Wayne – I Feel Like Dying
Lil Wayne’s lyrics have always tended toward the self-aggrandizing, which makes the honesty of “I Feel Like Dying,” in its mournful self-loathing, all the more compelling.
Leaked from a 2007 mixtape, the track samples Henry Ate’s acoustic ballad “Once” on its hook, the vocal now a hyperprocessed whine against the skittering backbeat: “Only once the drugs are done/That I feel like dying.”
The track was the subject of a 2008 lawsuit, which has prevented its formal release, but the lyrics — lines like “Jumping off a mountain into a sea of codeine” and “I am a prisoner locked up behind Xanax bars,” that are at once tongue-in-cheek and painfully unironic — are as evocative as anything in Weezy’s catalogue.
Metallica – Master of Puppets
In interviews, Metallica band members have stated that “Master of Puppets” talks about the negative consequences people experience with ongoing drug use. It describes the way in which drugs can come to control life.
The song contains the line, “Blinded by me, you can’t see a thing,” which seems to suggest that drugs take over people’s lives until the people can see nothing but the drugs.
James Hetfield, the lead singer of the heavy metal group, says that it portrays how instead of you controlling your life, drugs come to take over. The story, which begins with the album recorded in 1986, ends on not so good a note: James Hetfield who has spoken of his struggles with drugs and alcohol, and how he once spent seven months in treatment and had been been sober for over 20 years, relapsed in 2019.
The band canceled its tour of Australia and New Zealand after announcing that Hetfield was undergoing treatment for the addiction issues he’s fought for many years.
“James Hetfield has been a friend of mine long before Metallica,” Former Metallica bassist Ron McGovney wrote in a tweet. “I always looked up to him as a musician even when we were in high school. If he needs anything, he has my number. I have been sober for two years. It’s not easy. I’m with you big guy.”
Guitarist Kirk Hammett acknowledged the outpouring of sympathy received after the announcement. “Sending thanks to all of you out there sending your support to us,” he said.
Music is a powerful resource to use during your recovery process
Be sure to check out these additional songs about addiction to inspire you and to get through some of the more challenging days.
If you have been struggling with addiction but haven’t yet sought professional help, do not hesitate to reach out for help. Trust me, I know!
Bonus Track
George Jones – I’m A Survivor
Curated with help from Arrow Passage Recovery | Spinditty | Master Center | VeryWellMind
AA, ADDICT, ADDICTION, ADDICTION-RECOVERY, ALCOHOL, ALCOHOLICS-ANONYMOUS, BLOG, BLOGGING-COMMUNITY, CELEB-RECOVERY, CELEBRITY, DRUGS, MUSIC, RECOVERY, SUBSTANCE-ABUSE
Derek J. Wheeler 
One thought on “[ADDICTION-RECOVERY] Songs That Tell “The” Story Part – II Featuring Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” – U2’s “Bad” – Keith Urban’s “Nobody Drinks Alone” – Macklemore’s “Starting Over”…”