An example from the third Ar tonelico game comes from EXEC_Z/. Sounds a lot like a dance track. The command part is used to strip all Reyvateils of their free will and give total control to the humans.
The opening song of Disgaea 2, "Sinful Rose", is a cheerful, upbeat song about betrayal and slaughter. This is what happens when we let demons sing theme tunes.
Disgaea 3's opening song, "Maritsu Evil Academy", has about the same content, being the theme song of a school for demons. However, what with the A Nightmare Before Christmas vibe the music has, it's probably less of an example.
The Japanese "Song of Ashley" from WarioWare intentionally used this, having an ominous melody, but fluffy pop lyrics about how wonderful Ashley is.
The US version substituted mock-sinister lyrics to match the melody... then ran into this trope itself when a more upbeat remix was done for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Another Nintendo example is Ai no Uta(Song of Love). It has a cute melody, with a happy tone, typical cute J-pop song... Turns out that it's about the Pikmin loving Olimar despite doing his dirty work and probably getting eaten in the end . And they are painfully aware of he only seeing them as a Red Shirt Army. Ouch.
Today once again we'll carry, fight, grow and then be eaten
Dug up, we'll meet again and be thrown around
But we'll you follow forever...
Which makes a lot of sense really. The game itself is a version of this trope. Cutsey characters, a horrible dog eat dog world. Pikmin 2 rams this home with it's oddly bittersweet feel and depressing back story shown in Olimar's letters.
''Omoide was Okkusenman!'' ("Memories are 110,000,000") is a song made of Japanese lyrics fitted to the Mega Man 2 Wily Castle theme and originally with that set as the background. The lyrics are of a man reminiscing about his childhood, wondering where his friends are, lamenting that all the seasons have passed him by, and continually nostalgizing about his childhood hero.
Aozora from AIR is an example; the song is probably one of the most distressing melodies ever composed, but the lyrics are all happy and uplifting. If you read the lyrics and never heard the song, you would never suspect that it's used during the infamous "GOAL" scene in which Misuzu dies.
A lot of the remixes in The Idolm@ster are like this, most notably the remix of My Best Friend, which is a song about having a close friendship with a person the singer has a crush on put to deathmetal.
Or the song Inferno has a rocky beat, a hint of a love song in it and basically says that the end of the world is near and everything should burn to ashes. Still in a rocky fashion which can turn this into an Ear Worm.
Dance Dance Revolution: The song "Destiny", a 160-BPM Eurobeat-style tune, with very sad lyrics, eg "You were my destiny, I was clearly for eternity, something came and took you away from me".
Similarly, "Broken My Heart".
At first, "Sweet Sweet Magic" sounds like a typical happy hardcore tune, but when it gets to the bridge, the lyrics turn darker and sadder.
The Overworld Music is not exempt from this, (the fact that it's sung in heavily affected English doesn't help make the meaning any clearer). Minato's theme music, When The Moon's Reaching Out Stars is a peppy song about someone who is miserable because they can't bring themselves to confess their love to someone. Hamuko's theme music, A Way Of Life is about the aftermath of a breakup. Souji's overworld scenes typically don't suffer from this. The Sunny Weather song Your Affection has suitably cheerful lyrics, though. "Heartbeat, Heartbreak" is still a bit peppy for a song about a breakup.
Primal Rage has "Gorge!", an upbeat rock song about mass human sacrifice. It's more played for laughs, though, considering it's the player that the humans are willingly being eaten by.
In Command and Conquer Red Alert 2, the Iraqi Desolator unit subverts a cheery Beatles song title for one of his taunts, referencing his radioactive fire weapon: "HERE COMES THE SUN!"
Silver's theme from the Sonic games sounds like a boy-band love song, the guy who sings it even looks like a boy band member - but it has lyrics like "Look around you and maybe then you'll realize / That happiness lies trapped in misery". The entire song is about a kid's quest for redemption for letting his friends die. It also becomes weirder when you realize part of the song sounds like the cheerful Green Hill Zone music.
Mega Man 3's Game Over theme, although not having any lyrics, is strangely cheery, but brentalfloss's "WITH LYRICS" version turns it Up to Eleven by, among other things, calling the player a "handicapped vagina scab" and a "wrinkly little poodle cock" and encouraging him to kill himself.
In Sam & Max, Max's theme song, "World of Max", is a gentle lounge song with lyrics about colourful gore and stabbing things with forks. It also contains scat sections which cut mid-bar into superfast "I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major General"-esque breaks played on a hapsichord with the singer jabbering things like 'what the hell's a lagomorph? It's like a rabbit but with several semantic differences'.
The Lebanese song "Al Nadda" was used for the menu for the Civilization: Warlords expansion pack. That treatment of it sounds like this. It plays over a background of a Mongol sitting by a fire at night, resting his sword point on the ground. So what do the lyrics translate as? Gotta be badass shit about killin' infidels or of what is best in life, right?
O' Nadda, Nadda Where roses are blooming on her cheek. And if they refuse to give you to me, I will tear down the high mountains. O' Nadda, Nadda, Nadda. Where roses are blooming on her cheek. And if they refuse to give you to me, I will tear down the high mountains. Nadda was by the water spring. And I asked her why she was not around. Nadda was by the water spring. And I asked her why she was not around. She looked at me with those eyes. And she wanted to talk to me and she did not want to.
Yup. It's a love song. Admittedly, one of longing, and indeed of a woman whom the singer might well threaten to go to war over...but a love song nonetheless.
The song for the Mercenaries 2 commercial "Oh No You Didn't" is a light hip hop/barbershop chorus set to an upbeat piano tune that wouldn't be out of place at an amateur recital or off-Broadway musical. The lyrics are about getting revenge after getting shot in the arse by your employer. And it's totally awesome.
The "Super Energy Apocalypse Theme Song" is a hilarious example of this that is obviously done for laughs rather than seriously. The Game itself that is about a Super Energy Apocalypse involving rampaging zombie hordes in the future, is fairly serious, for the most part. it On the title screen here, enter the Konami Code to see the ending credits, where the song is played.
With the sheer volume of Touhou remixes, it's inevitable we get quite a few examples
Another Alstroemeria Records number is the famous "Bad Apple!!" remix with the shadow art PV. It's lyrics focus around what appears to be a Hikikomori tired of life.
"Still Alive" is certainly upbeat for a gloating song or a song about how the singer was murdered, torn to pieces, and thrown into a fire.
And how it is immortal, and how it will go on long after you're dead.
The sequel has "Want You Gone", which sounds like a breakup song in a catchy upbeat tune.
And the song is sung by Nadia Gifford, otherwise known as the singing of Connie from Steambot Chronicles. So it makes the song extra hilarious when you realize how vastly different the tone of Philistine is compared to In your Voice.
"Reaper, Reaper", that's what people call me! Why?
'Cause they all die!
When I sing, I end their lives
You act as though payback makes you a noble man
Is that a fact?
Well, you're a goddamn Philistine!
Space Channel 5 Part 2 has Purge's Theme, a song in Japanese that has an upbeat tempo and Akira Ishida singing. What could possibly go wron-
People who are troubled and weak
You will be saved soon
Puzzled people in pain and sadness
You will soon be delivered
Melt your heart to the world peace and dancing
...Oh.
The MOTHER soundtrack has Bein' Friends, which has predictably cheery lyrics. However, despite having a peppy tempo to match, most of the song is in a minor key, with the bridge and ending having an overall very eerie tone.
Final Fantasy VIII has Eyes on Me. It's a beautiful song, however, you'd be wrong in thinking its a real love song. It's sung as a lamentation about the fact that the singer only has one more night to spend with their lover before they die. Funnily enough, the song is played before it seems like Rinoa is going to be forced to leave Squall forever, but most people only remember the lovey-dovey theme of the song.
"Love You, My One and Only", the song from Remix 8 of Rhythm Heaven Fever, is a jazzy, up-tempo song which the game admits is about unrequited love.
