1. A Most Peculiar Man - Simon & Garfunkel
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"He had no friends, he seldom spoke,
And no one in turn ever spoke to him"
This song from the album "Sounds of Silence" deals with not only social anxiety but suicide.
2. I Am a Rock - Simon & Garfunkel
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"I am a rock,
I am an island.
I’ve built walls,
A fortress steep and mighty"
"Sounds of Silence" produced not one song about solitude but two. The lyrics of "I am a rock" reflect shutting yourself off from the world to protect yourself from pain.
3. How Soon is Now - The Smiths
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"I am the son and the heir
of a shyness that is criminally vulgar"
"How Soon is Now" is a song about shyness, alienation, and social isolation.
4. Ask - The Smiths
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Shyness can stop you
From doing all the things in life you'd like to"
Again, the Smiths put together a song about shyness and awkwardness.
5. Creep - Radiohead
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"When you were here before,
Couldn't look you in the eye
You're just like an angel,
Your skin makes me cry"
This song from Radiohead is about feeling awkward around a girl.
6. People Are Strange - The Doors
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"People are strange when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven when you're down"
Jim Morrison sang about feeling like an outsider in the song "People are Strange".
7. Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day
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"I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone"
A reference to Sunset Boulevard, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" reflects the solitary existence of someone with social anxiety.
8. The Quiet One - The Who
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"Everybody calls me the quiet one
You can see, but you can't hear me
Everybody calls me the quiet one
You can try, but you can't get near me"
John Entwistle wrote this song to tell the world, and The Who, that he was not who he appeared to be.
9. Things the Grandchildren Should Know - Eels
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"I don't leave the house much
I don't like being around people
Makes me nervous and weird"
"Things the Grandchildren Should Know" deals with topics such as introversion and avoidant tendencies.
10. Every Day is Exactly the Same - Nine Inch Nails
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"I think I used to have a voice
Now I never make a sound
I just do what I've been told
I really don't want them to come around"
"Every Day is Exactly the Same" is about living a life without joy or sorrow; without ups or downs. It is the experience of many with social anxiety who live isolated and compartmentalized lives.
