38 Projects

Song #1.

Song title: Whiskey Lullaby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVp7yKSUq0Q

Artist: Brad Paisley

This song talks about how guilt and heartbreak can lead to alcoholism and death. People who love alcoholics often feel guilty for that person’s actions. In this case, the woman feels guilty because the man she ended a relationship with succumbed to his alcoholism and died. This led her to follow in his footsteps. This reflects how alcoholism is a cycle that is hard to stop. This song can resonate with victims of abuse. It is easy to blame yourself for someone’s actions against you, especially when you love them. People can convince themselves that the alcoholic loves them and that somehow the abuse is their fault. It is good to process those emotions and realize that it is a popular feeling amongst that demographic.

Song #2

Song title: July

Artist: Noah Cyrus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwIV0ymLFDA

This song represents how hard it is to leave a relationship with an alcoholic. It is a feeling of never being enough because. It feels like that person continues to choose alcohol over the relationship. It is so hard to get out of that relationship because you want to prove you are enough. I chose this song because it relates to the guilt the family of an addict can have. It can feel like there should be enough for that person to change, but it is not that simple. Alcoholism is a disease that someone does not simply choose to stop. It takes a lot of strength. It can be hard for family members to think logically though. It is a miserable position to be in.

Song #3

Song title: Falling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSDehTfGYK4

Artist: Harry Styles

What does this song say to you?

This song is a view into the mind of an alcoholic who knows if they stop they can repair their relationships. There is a lyric that says “And there’s no one to blame but the drink in my wandering hands”. This implies that the person knows that alcohol is what is causing their relationship issues. I chose this song because it can explain the thinking of an alcoholic to someone who is not. It is easy to wonder why a person does not just stop drinking. This song explains the helpless feeling of being unable to stop and watching that person’s life fall apart.

Song #4

Song title: Sorry for the Things

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrALeWSNelg

Artist: Benjamin Tod

This song is from the perspective of someone who struggles with alcohol abuse. They recognize that they are hurting someone they love. They even say that they did not mean the things they said when they were drunk. Never in the song does it say that they will stop drinking. I chose this song because it is another example of alcoholics mistreating those they love because of their drinking habits. They do not consider not drinking because it is a normal activity for them. They feel they need it to survive.

Song #5

Song title: Sober

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_YoIe_CGFA

Artist: P!nk

This song tells of someone becoming everything they do not want to be. This can be the product of loving someone who struggles with alcoholism. As contradictory as it sounds, people who are hurt by alcoholics often become one themselves. I chose this song because it shows that people can use alcohol to numb the pain, but in the end, it causes more.

Song #6

Song title: Growing Sideways

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7LmVZFPhpw

Artist: Noah Kahan

This song touches on the depression associated with being in an abusive relationship with an alcoholic. It is very easy to act like nothing affects you and keep moving along. The lyrics go “If my engine works perfectly on empty, I guess I’ll drive”. These are the words of a person who is just trying to survive. I chose this song because living with the trauma of a relationship with an alcoholic can feel like survival mode. It can also feel shameful, so those feelings are never told to anyone else. It is a very sad way to live and can be fatal if not processed properly.

Song #7

Song title: Family Line

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0siR6U54-iE

Artist: Conan Gray

This song discusses how it feels like fate to follow in your family’s footsteps. The singer in this song is kind of convincing himself that he does not have to be like his family. I chose this song because preventing addiction is hard as a young person, especially in college environments. This song is saying that a person is not tied to the family they were born into. They do not have to follow the family patterns, alcoholism in this case. They can recognize that what they experienced was wrong and grow from it.

Song #8

Song title: Long Sleeves

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEVycttF4SM

Artist: Gracie Abrams

What does this song say to you?

This song is a heartbreaking song about leaving someone because of the damage they have caused. It is very hard to leave an alcoholic because there is often hope they will change their ways. I chose this song because it is a plea to the alcoholic to let them leave. Not many people can leave this situation, so this song highlights how hard it is. It is not as simple as walking away. A person has to cut ties and beg to be left alone.

Song #9

Song title: Affection

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr4NAvPGmxY

Artist: Between Friends

This song relates to how a relationship with someone who abuses alcohol can mess with other relationships. When someone is mistreated by a person they love, it messes with their mental state. They may think that they deserve to be treated like that. I chose this song as a recognition of the pattern of toxic relationships a person in this situation can get. The lyrics talk about “looking for affection in all the wrong places”. It is hard to know what healthy love looks like when a person has been exposed to alcoholism. It would not be a surprise if that person continued to get into relationships with people who treat them poorly.

Song #10

Song title: Matilda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBvEdTURLfI

Artist: Harry Styles

This song shows how people will hide their experiences so as not to burden others. This song says that it is okay to feel that pain and also to leave the people who are causing it. This song is reassurance that it is okay to leave an alcoholic. It is not that person’s responsibility to fix their loved one. Just because they are family does not mean that they need to be in that person’s life. That relationship does not define the person.

DJ Statement:

I chose alcoholism because the disease changed my life. My dad developed alcoholism when I was around thirteen. He was physically abusive to my mom and emotionally abusive to both of us. It became so bad that we often had to sneak out of the house and feared for our lives. I felt super alone at this time. I had older siblings, but they were in different cities. They did not know that most of the stuff was happening and did not check in with me. I could not tell people at school about this. At the time, I found it embarrassing.

This playlist is directed at family members of alcoholics. Alcoholism is an awful disease that affects everyone around it. For me, it was helpful to hear music and stories that related to mine. It is good to see and hear about other people who overcame this obstacle. It is also helpful to process the negative emotions. That can sometimes mean listening to sad songs and grieving to them. It may not seem productive, but allowing yourself to give in to the bad feelings does help. It is not good to just push those feelings down. Instead, you should think about them. Then you can start to rationalize and move forward.

I ordered this playlist in the order that I felt my emotions when going through this experience. The first two songs are pure sorrow. It feels like you will never escape the situation, especially because the person you love is hurting you. It makes you feel like you are not enough. The third and fourth songs are the realization of the problem. It is not always obvious that someone is abusing alcohol. So the third and fourth songs recognize that alcohol is the problem. The fifth and sixth songs show how hard it is to carry that trauma. They also discuss the ways of surviving the trauma, whether that be alcohol or completely ignoring the issues. This seventh song is where the anger comes in. When you realize you do not deserve the treatment you are getting, it is infuriating. This song is a good transition into the eighth song. The eighth song expresses the feeling of someone ready to leave the relationship with the alcoholic. It is not easy to let go of someone you love, but it is the next step after you recognize that you are being mistreated. The ninth song shows how it is hard not to get into relationships similar to the one you were in before. It is sad, but being mistreated or abused can be someone’s normal. It could be the only type of relationship someone knows how to be in. The tenth song is the acceptance of it all. It is saying that it is okay that people were left behind, even if they were family. Ultimately, taking care of yourself is the most important.

The track I want to highlight is song #6, “Growing Sideways” by Noah Kahan. This song is about depression, but that depression is caused by the alcohol abuse in this playlist. This song underscores the bleak reality of people with trauma from alcohol abuse. It is normal to be angry at those who wronged you. The singer states that he is angry at his parents for something their parents did to them. This shows familial cycles. He recognizes that his parents also went through something similar. This is often the case with alcoholism. It can be genetic. The singer goes on to state that he ignores things until he can “forget” about them. It is hard to process that someone you love is an alcoholic. You want to help them, but it is their decision if they let you or not. It can feel easier to just ignore this and keep on moving with life. At the end of the verse the singer sings “At the end of the day, I know there are worse ways to stay alive”. I interpret this as falling into the cycle of alcohol abuse. It feels like you are doing everything to get by and not develop alcoholism. The whole song talks of how the singer is barely getting by, but he has not died yet so he is going to continue whatever he is doing. Life can feel very out of control when dealing with an alcoholic, so making it to another day can be the only control a person has.

Noah Kahan is a very popular folk-pop artist. He writes a lot of songs similar to “Growing Sideways”. He is known for writing songs about his mental health. He is also very open on social media about his mental health. In my opinion, it is refreshing to hear someone so willing to admit they have a mental illness. Songs like his helped me through the hardest point in my life. Raw honestly can help people acknowledge their own pain and process it. I hope that this playlist can also help people process their emotions the way a lot of his songs do. The healing process starts when we recognize the pain we experience.

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