11 Songs That Get A Bit Heavy | Playlist 🎧

“11 Songs That Get A Bit ‘Heavy’” features songs courtesy of Anne-Marie, Linkin Park, Meek Mill, Oh Wonder, and Zac Brown Band among others.

“‘Cause it’s about to get heavy / It’s about to be on!” Yes, Shinedown, YES! It truly IS about to get “heavy” on this playlist, which is composed of 11 songs featuring that weighty keyword. Merriam-Webster serves up multiple definitions of the word (shocker), including “having great weight,” “difficult to bear,” and “characterized by depth or intensity.”  All of those come into play here.  Artists contributing to this most “difficult to bear” list includes Anne-Marie, Linkin Park, Meek Mill, Oh Wonder, and Zac Brown Band.

1. Anne-Marie, “Heavy”

Speak Your Mind • Asylum • 2018

Question: “When did we get so lost inside ourselves?” That’s one of many questions that British pop artist Anne-Marie asks on “Heavy,” the ninth rack from her debut album, Speak Your Mind.  On this smooth, groovy, relationship-driven pop record, Anne-Marie laments love becoming bogged down.  “When did it get so heavy? The love that’s in between us,” she sings on the chorus, continuing, “We never used to feel this / Feel’s so heavy / Can’t get up off the ground / It’s weighing us down.” At least the song isn’t too heavy itself.

2. Linkin Park, “Heavy”

Ft. Kiiara

One More Light • Warner Bros. • 2017

“I’m holding on / Why is everything so heavy? / Holding on / So much more than I can carry.” As the promo single for One More Light, sadly, the final Linkin Park album with Chester Bennington, “Heavy” felt lackluster upon release.  Instead of being ‘heavy’ like much of The Hunting Party was, this is a big pop single as opposed to alt-rock or metal. As he did throughout much of One More Light, Bennington held back as opposed to pushing. With Bennington now deceased, the record, featuring Kiiara, feels more meaningful and shows a snapshot of some of the emotions Bennington was experiencing prior to suicide. Give Linkin Park credit for the poetic lyrics and the heaviness and weight of the subject matter.

3. Meek Mill, “Heavy Heart”

Wins & Losses • Atlantic • 2017

“I gave this hustle everything I got / Always kept it real from the very start / N*ggas ain’t thorough like I always thought / Damn, the game left me with a heavy heart.” “Heavy Heart,” the second track off of Wins & Losses, finds Meek Mill reflecting on his losses.  This ranks among the better songs of his career because he truly gets personal.  Sure, he doesn’t eschew toughness or even tone down the profanity, but there’s definitely more authenticity compared to some of his songs throughout his career.  The production work is lush and passionate, yet anchored by a soulful beat.

4. Neck Deep, “Heavy Lies”

The Peace and the Panic • Hopeless • 2017

“Baby, there’s a world inside your room tonight / And it’s yours and mine / The sun goes down / But we stay up all night.” Okay Ben Barlow, okay.  So, what exactly does this Neck Deep song, “Heavy Lies,” from their 2017 album The Peace and the Panic have to do with the absence of the truth? As Barlow sings on the chorus, to his girlfriend: “I’ve heard some heavy lies / So, say you’re true / And take off your disguise / ‘Cause I want you.” After saying she’s “Better off with [him]” on the bridge, Barlow concludes, “And I’ve heard some heavy lies / Like ‘I love you.’”  “Heavy Lies” also appears on another playlist, 13 ‘Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire’ Songs.

5. Oh Wonder, “Heavy”

Ultralife • Island • 2017

“I could be the only, I could be the only one.” “Heavy” by alt-pop duo Oh Wonder, is among the sweetest songs on this playlist to be so ‘heavy.’ The record features smooth production work composed of gentle synths and a groovy beat that superbly anchors things down.  This is the perfect joint for lovers, period, best exemplified by the chorus.  “We can get heavy on it all night, all night, all night / Shoot into the sky until we’re too bright, all night, all night.”  Basically, the two lovebirds imagine the beauty of lifelong love and dedication: “And I could hold you endlessly/ Ultralife, just you and me.”

6. Cody Jinks, “Heavy Load”

I’m Not the Devil • Cody Jinks Music • 2016

“I can’t think of one damn thing to say / Stuck where I’m going / Stuck in a lot of ways.” Country musician Cody Jinks delivers a truly dark, mysterious record with “Heavy Load,” the ninth track from his 2016 album, I’m Not the Devil.  Clearly, his headspace seems cloudy, pessimistic, and quite introspective; he’s definitely in a mood and not a happy, optimistic one.  “The train jumped track some time ago / You can’t root that heavy load / It’s all downhill from now / And sure we paid the toll / Train jumped track some time ago.” No, he may not be the devil, but this outlaw-styled country joint definitely possesses some hellishness, and apocalypticism from the book of Revelations (“I heard the voice of the fourth beast say / Come and see”).

7. Twenty One Pilots, “Heavydirtysoul”

Blurryface • Fueled by Ramen • 2015

“Heavydirtysoul” opens Blurryface, the sophomore LP by Twenty One Pilots, ‘bursting at the seams’ with energy. Quite the tone setter, there is heaviness about the opener despite how delightful it is. Tyler Joseph kicks off the standout rapping with incredible agility, establishing a cool swagger.  He contradicts his ‘hard’ perceptions with lyrics like “this is not rap, this is not hip-hop” and later the sung vocals “Gangsters don’t cry / Therefore, therefore I’m Mr. Misty eye…” The chorus becomes a humble, spiritual petition, “Can you save my heavy dirty soul,” referencing Joseph’s religious background and specifically, his self-acknowledged imperfections.

8. Zac Brown Band, “Heavy is the Head”

Ft. Chris Cornell

JEKYLL + HYDE • Republic • 2015

“Heavy is the head that wears the crown.” My, my, my, how an altered Shakespearean-popularized reference has lived on hundreds of years beyond an appearance in Henry IV.  Georgia country band Zac Brown Band teamed up with the now deceased Chris Cornell on the ultimate mix of country and rock.  “Heavy is the Head” finds Zac Brown being eclectic, electric, and disregarding labels.  Cornell sings the aforementioned chorus enigmatic refrain throughout the course of the song. As for Brown, he contrasts Cornell, with distorted, more countrified vocals, but doesn’t overstep in the twang department.  His grit is huge selling point, not to mention the musical adventurousness in regards to meter shifts and use of riffs.  If Cornell is used sparingly on the first half of the record, he is used liberally on the second half, killing it.

9. Mali Music, “Heavy Love”

Mali Is… • RCA • 2014

“You can’t move it, you can’t shake it / You can’t beat it, you can’t take it / It’s unchanging, heavy love / It ain’t changing, heavy love.” It’s a shame that more folks didn’t partake of the Grammy-nominated Mali Is…, the debut R&B album of contemporary gospel artist Mali Music.  One of many standouts on this neo-soul infused urban contemporary album is “Heavy Love.” “Heavy Love” shines radiantly thanks to its thoughtful message. “I wanna live in a world where / Fathers and daughters, fathers and sons / are coming up together as one,” he sings on the spirited second verse.  “Heavy Love” is definitely a throwback to the 70s, thanks in part to concept and its overall sound.

10. Lady Gaga, “Heavy Metal Lover”

Born This Way • Interscope • 2011

“I want your whiskey all over my blonde south / Red wine, cheap perfume, and a filthy shout.” Hmm, Lady Gaga is no stranger to pushing the envelope.  That’s exactly what she does on “Heavy Metal Love,” one of the more under-appreciated songs from Born This Way.  It’s understandable why it’s under-appreciated, with the likes of “Born This Way”, “Judas” “Hair”, “Scheiße”, and “The Edge of Glory” just to name a few of the huge hits. Without being profane, Gaga depicts sex without ever explicitly saying so.  The remainder of the first verse suggests an orgy (“Tonight bring all your friends, because a group does it better… / Let’s have a house full of leather”), but the three-letter word is eschewed.

11. Gucci Mane, “Heavy”

The State vs. Radric Davis • Warner • 2009

“Heavy, real heavy, it feels heavy / Somebody help me, my neck hurt my chain heavy / Heavy, doe heavy, flow heavy / Gucci bag full of cash, it’s so heavy.” Repetitive much? Sigh, we close out the heaviness with “Heavy,” a Gucci Mane record from his 2009 album, The State vs. Radric Davis.  Nah, it’s not ‘heavy’ on depth and definitely not variation in regards to lyrics on the hook, but the East Atlanta MC raps about cooking up and selling dope and reaping the benefit of the money. Poetic it’s not: “I got birds like Atlanta zoo bitch you a fool / I got goons like a scary movie, yeah that is true / And I change cars like a rich white girl change shoes / Gotta go, go get them the money, little cuz wanna duce.”

Photo Credits: Asylum, Atlantic, Cody Jinks Music, Fueled by Ramen, Hopeless. Interscope, Island, RCA, Republic, Warner