10 Disturbing Songs You Hear Then Never Forget

7. Down By The Water - PJ Harvey

It doesn't get much more straight-forwardly disturbing than PJ Harvey's Down by the Water, a song which follows a mother as she drowns her daughter, as the title suggests, 'down by the water'.

The lyrics cover the erratic thought process of the murderer, as she holds her daughter's head under the water despite her cries for help. It's undeniably difficult subject matter, yet it's delivered with an off-putting swagger by the singer. Sonically, it's not necessarily a dark song, but that juxtaposition only makes the actions of the song's subject all the more impactful.

It's the refrain towards the end that sticks with you the most though, as Harvey almost whispers "little fish, big fish swimming in the water/come back here, man, gimme my daughter" over and over again.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.