Top Five Songs That Prove George Michael Could Write Lyrics Just as Depressing as Your Favorite Goth Band.

One time I was DJing an 80s night that leaned towards the goth/post-punk side of the decade, and in between all the Cure, Joy Division, and Depeche Mode, I played Wham!’s “Everything She Wants.” A dude right in front of the DJ booth who had been dancing to everything all night suddenly stopped in his tracks, folded his arms, and shook his head like a toddler refusing to eat his dinner. He was just too cool to dance to George Michael.

Thankfully this attitude toward Wham! and Michael’s solo career has changed more and more in the last few years, because although there’s no denying George Michael had pure escapist fun with songs like “Outside” or “Too Funky,” he was also capable of writing some of the darkest lyrics in pop music history. Feelings of loneliness, uncertainty, and heartache were always lurking underneath the surface, and like “Fastlove” suggests, the party was often just a way to run or hide from those darker emotions. I mean, he is the same George Michael who in 1984 said on an episode of Eight Days a Week, “I thought [Joy Division’s] Closer, the second side of Closer, is one of my favorite albums. It’s just beautiful.”

In hopes that the Goth scene moves more and more toward inclusivity, it’s time he’s welcomed into the canon with open arms. So, here’s a short list to get it started, with an emphasis on the dancier songs that are deceptively depressing:

“Fastlove”

"In the absence of security / I made my way into the night / Stupid Cupid keeps on calling me / But I see loving in his eyes / I miss my baby”

“Everything She Wants”

“I'll tell you that I'm happy if you want me to” or “My god, I don't even think that I love you”

“Hard Day”

“Take me where their eyes can't find us / Without you I may as well just...”

“Nothing Looks the Same in the Light”

I mean, the entire song is secretly a gut punch, but:

“I watch the sun upon the sheets / I hear a car out on the street / And gently pull you close, it’s over too soon / What can I do but wait and see / Hold on to you, please stay with me / Who am I now, your love, or a fool?”

“The Strangest Thing”

“Take my life / Time has been twisting the knife / I don't recognise / People I cared for”

Those lyrics could easily have been found anywhere on The Cure’s dark trilogy.

Leave a comment with your favorite George Michael/Wham! moments…