History LyricalDissonance / LiveActionTV

* ''Series/MadTV'' has the solution for fans of gangsta rap and barbershop quartet who want to listen to them both at the same time: the "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPmJWBurnlU Gangsta Shop Quartet]]", gangsta songs about carjacking and murder arranged in barbershop quartet medleys. Timeless classics to enjoy with that special someone or for when the whole gang is over.

** 'In The Club is a catchy, jazzy number emphasizing that only rich, white, straight men are allowed in the country club.
** 'The Boom' is an energetic, peppy number, with a high-energy dance routine to match...all about the inevitability of death by nuclear bomb and the futility of duck and cover drills.
** And of course, 'Election Song', a rousing musical-theatre style number, about how sick the school staff are of the student council election.

* The theme song to ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'' is the chorus of the song "Secret" by Music/The Pierces. It's very catchy, but the lyrics are absolutely bone-chilling:

* The theme song to ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'' is the chorus of the song "Secret" by [[The Pierces]]. It's very catchy, but the lyrics are absolutely bone-chilling:

* The theme song to ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'' is the chorus of the song "Secret" by The Pierces. It's very catchy, but the lyrics are absolutely bone-chilling:

* In a RunningGag on ''Series/TheMaryWhitehouseExperience'', they make fun of Robert Smith of [[Music/TheCure The Cure's]] (brief) attempts to show his cheerful, happy side in his music. They perform songs such as "Ernie, The Fastest Milkman in the World" and "The Laughing Policeman" to the band's signature melancholic style.

** There's a lounge arrangement of the Music/CannibalCorpse song "Rancid Amputation", which has some very graphic lyrics about dismemberment, cannibalism, you name it.

* The song "What A Difference A Day Makes" from ''Series/{{Mongrels}}'', a happy melodious love duet about underage sex and statutory rape. Just [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4p3IQS3pKI listen to it here]].
* The ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' "Newborn King" is a ChristmasEpisode, so it's not too surprising that a Christmas Carol would be used... except it is while Ziva is gunning down several Russian mercenaries while Gibbs is the DeliveryGuy for a female army lieutnant.
* ''Neighbours'': The opening theme's lyrics are about neighbourly support and friendship, and while the show does explore such themes, it also necessarily thrives on common soap opera themes such as deception and betrayal. There have been a few incarnations of the tune over the show's long run - it was originally sung jovially by Barry Crocker - but all of them are upbeat.
* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'', the episode [[Recap/OnceUponATimeS6E20TheSongInYourHeart "The Song in Your Heart"]] features a VillainSong, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-LUmgY_D_o Wicked Always Wins]]", sung by Zelena, in which she revels in the prospect of bringing down her sister (along with Prince Charming and Snow White). The dissonance comes in when the music is a cheerful, upbeat ''heroic'' musical theatre number -- which, thanks to Rebecca Mader's bright, peppy vocals, sounds eerily like that of a Disney princess! This could be seen as an AffectionateParody of ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''.
* The theme song to ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'' is the chorus of the song "Secrets" by The Pierces. It's very catchy, but the lyrics are absolutely bone-chilling:
-->"''Got a secret, can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save\\
Better lock it in your pocket, takin' this one to the grave\\

Cause two can keep a secret [[HeKnowsTooMuch if one of them is dead.]]''"
* The jaunty, upbeat ''Series/RedDwarf'' theme: "It's cold outside, there's no kind of atmosphere, I'm all alone, more or less..."

* The ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfiLAcERNQ4 This Is Not a Feminist Song]]" has the season 41 female cast members, and Music/ArianaGrande, perform a stirring anthem about...the difficulty they experienced trying to write a stirring anthem about feminism. [[spoiler:Fortunately, they decide in the last verse that by writing and singing the song without help from any men, they actually ''did'' make a feminist song.]]
* Mr G's songs in ''Series/SummerHeightsHigh'' when he's trying to write an upbeat musical about a girl at the school who [[RefugeInAudacity died from an ecstasy overdose.]]
--> Annabelle Dickson\\
When girls take drugs\\
And then they die\\
Who would have thought\\
At Summer Heights High\\
On days like these\\
It's a Bummer Heights High

** "Doctor, Please" has an upbeat tune, but it is about why the people and animals are at the doctor, and some—> 8 of them are quite bad (such as, "this fever's got my goat").
** "When Bert's Not Here" has a bouncy tune, but it has lyrics about how Ernie feels when he misses Bert that can be quite dark (e.g. "When Bert's not here, the hours last forever, the toys aren't fun and the cookies don't crunch/When Bert's not here, I don't feel so clever and [[TooUnhappyToBeHungry I never even feel like having lunch]].")

* In an episode of ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' John Henry and Savannah sing the Scottish novelty song "Donald Where's Yer Troosers?" It's sung slow and hauntingly over images of Sarah being arrested and Derek being buried.
* Lampshaded in ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'' episode "Chocolate Diddlers or My Puppy's Dead". Charlie is writing a jingle for a new cereal called Chocolate Diddlers. But he's depressed after a breakup, and composes a piece with bouncy lyrics and a somber melody. Alan points out that the music sounds like "my puppy's dead" and that he needs to make it more upbeat.
* ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' does this from time to time, the most recent being "Freak the Freak out" a techno-pop, autotune, dance song about someone getting fed up with being ignored.
** Also, Robbie’s song “Broken Glass” from the episode “The Diddly-Bops,” where the gang tries to come up with a song to perform at a child’s birthday party. It starts out innocently enough, but takes a bizarre turn.
--> '''Robbie''': It’s fun to run, it’s fun to play\\
It’s fun to make things out of clay\\
It’s fun to fill your car with gas\\
It’s fun to break…things made of glass!\\

And then you’ll bleed across the land\\
Ask any—\\
'''Tori''': WE’RE NOT DOING THAT!\\

* Pretty much all the music-based games in ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' are built around this trope - except when it's Colin Mochrie trying to sing, then it's funny for [[SoBadItsGood a different reason.]] And even some that aren't -- in one round of "Scenes From A Hat", Drew picked out "Professions where breaking into song is discouraged".
--> '''Ryan:''' (''in an upbeat, cheery tone'') We're gonna ''fry you this morning, fry you this morning...''
* ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger'' has "Yorokobi no Uta" (Song of Happiness), which is very much a VillainSong that Candelila first sings on Brave 6. Already there you can see that it's a bouncy J-Pop song that talks about Deboss destroying the world, but when she (in her human guise) sings it again in Brave 11, the lyrics go into further detail, by exalting Deboss as Earth's true overlords and stating that all humans should be maimed and killed, all this in front of a crowd of adoring fans. While still sounding very much like a J-Pop song. You couldn't get a better musical representation of SugarApocalypse if you tried.

* On ''Series/ANTFarm'', Chyna wrote a few songs like this. First, when she and Fletcher are trying to get Gibson to stop from hanging out with them so much. The tempo and melody are upbeat and happy, however the lyrics are quite dark. She says things like, "...feed him fatty foods till his heart explodes" and "dehydrating his skin and make Gibson-jerky".
** And again when she forms a phony children's band in which the band is dressed in stuffed animal costumes. Some of the songs are safe but just plain odd, such as "You Gotta Wear Pants in Public" and "Don't Go Potty in the Tub", however, there is a song with an up-tempo PunkRock melody that even has a Gothic teen saying "Wow, they're dark."
--->''''When you're doing crafts with art supplies,\\

You can stab your chest, your arms, your thighs,\\
[[EyeScream You could lose one or even both your eyes]].
* The ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' episode "Afternoon Delight" involves a running gag in which several characters belatedly realize that the song of the same name is much more overtly sexual than its innocent tune suggests.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In "Once More, With Feeling", Buffy sings "Going Through The Motions" and "Something to Sing About", two cheery-sounding tunes about losing the will to live.

* Deliberately, blatantly, and hilariously invoked by Andrew Hansen of ''Series/TheChasersWarOnEverything'', in his lounge arrangement of the Music/CannibalCorpse song "Rancid Amputation".
** During "Yes We Canberra", they had a song with fast-paced and cheery music about the candidates. It's called the [[ClusterFBomb "Fucked Song"]].

** "Troy and Abed, off to Dreamland, catching the train to Sleepytown. And when they wake up, the Dean will be here staring at you... Sweet Deans!"

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHoopcEz_IU "Feeling Kinda Naughty"]] sounds like a Katy Perry song and starts off like one...before it turns into a ''{{Literature/Misery}}''-like obsession song.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH3FPrI_Cuw "Sex with a Stranger"]] starts like a traditional pop song about stepping into the club and taking a guy home...until the singer starts hoping that the guy isn't a murderer and won't harvest her kidneys.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgUKQCVieWM "You Stupid Bitch"]] is a Whitney Houston-like ballad, but all about self-loathing and self-hatred.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ix3qJPS1b4 "I'm a Good Person"]], in which the singer attempts to make one guy believe she is, indeed, a good person... and, in the process, threatens: "Say [that I'm a good person]! Say it or I'll gut your husband! I'll do it, I'll gut him like a fish!" to a Pharrel-inspired tempo.
** There's also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg4SF3_dlRM "Friendtopia"]], completely inspired by The Spice Girls, that details having such a close bond with your friends, you're going to stage a coup and turn America into an Orwellian dystopia.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu3FE7BswYI "Let's Generalize About Men"]] isn't actually that bad up until you get to the very final stanza... [[spoiler: Her sons are gonna be rapists!]] Ironically, it's set to a tune very similar to "It's Raining Men".
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuTYrcnm_i4 "Greg's Drinking Song"]]is a traditional cheery drinking song but it's about a serious alcoholic. His description starts with him peeing his pants and escalates rapidly to insulting his boss, stealing his cousin's truck, driving it, puking on his cat, having sex with a bush and trying to get into the cockpit to fly a plane.

** The full version of Murray Gold's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95rTEbYUdH0 Song for Ten]] (featured in part at the end of Creator/DavidTennant's first full episode) is a cheery tune with lyrics describing his eventual separation from Rose.
---> "''So have a good life\\

And wherever you are,\\

Oceans apart.''"
** In "The Runaway Bride," during Donna's wedding reception, the first song heard playing is "Love Don't Roam", a happy, upbeat, peppy orchestral pop song about being separated from your loved one forever. Accordingly, while the song is playing, the Doctor's gaze falls upon a blonde woman wearing a blue dress that reminds him of the blue jacket that Rose wore during their trip to New Earth, and when her partner dips her, the Doctor has a flashback of catching Rose in his arms after Lady Cassandra left her body for the last time.
** There's also "Tick Tock Goes the Clock", which is an example of CreepyChildrenSinging in that it sounds like a happy little nursery rhyme but it has lyrics like "Tick tock goes the clock and all the years they fly./Tick tock and all too soon, you and I must die."
* ''Series/DrewCareysImprovaganza'' had an Elizabethan era song about ''strippers''.[[note]][[RealityIsUnrealistic Those were pretty common, actually.]][[/note]]
* ''Series/{{Galavant}}'' is largely ''made'' of this trope, including multiple cheery tunes about various characters plotting various murders and assassinations, dramatic tunes with humorous or otherwise ill-fitting lyrics, a cheerful love song highlighting the prevalence of death and disease among peasants in the era, a love-song tune entitled "Maybe You're Not The Worst Thing Ever", and more. Yet another love song plays with the trope a bit, as it is primarily the singers pointing out flaws in each other, yet sincerely affectionate in doing so.
* On ''Series/{{Glee}}'' Blaine decides "Candles" by HeyMonday is [[spoiler: the perfect song to sing a romantic duet with Kurt at regionals]]. The problem? It's about a girl who is alone for the first time after breaking up with her abusive boyfriend.
** Also, similar to the ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' example above, Emma decides that Afternoon Delight is the perfect song to sing with [[CrossesTheLineTwice the celibacy club.]] When Holly informs her that it's about a nooner, we get this gem:
---> '''Emma:''' Exactly! A nooner is when you sneak out for dessert in the middle of the day... right?
** And we can't forget Glee's choice for a graduation song, GloryDays by Music/BruceSpringsteen. The problem? It's about a bunch of people who look back fondly at their high school years while wallowing in the drunken monotony of their adult lives.

-->''''Keeping your head above water,\\
Making a way when you can.\\
Temporary layoffs! (Good times!)\\
Easy credit ripoffs! (Good times!)\\
Scratchin' and survivin'! (Good times!)\\
Hangin' in the chow line! (Good times!)\\

Good times!
* Since ''Series/HorribleHistories'' is much about the gorier, grimmer parts of history (within reason for the younger viewers) and many of their songs are quite upbeat, it's a given they'd have some of these. A few examples are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF_U4VGl1Jk Work, Terrible Work]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51aHb_U8Zr0 Do the Pachacuti]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0_z-MbODVo The Evil Emperors Song]]. All cheerful numbers about, respectively, the horrors of Victorian child labour, the various ways Incan warlord Pachacuti would dismember his dead enemies and make use of their body parts, and the atrocities four [[TheCaligula Caligulas]] (including the TropeNamer) commited.
* "ALMIGHTY", the opening theme of ''Series/KamenRiderSaber'' has an upbeat tune thanks to the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra that would probably be best described as ''going out on a trip with friends on a lazy Sunday morning''. The lyrics are about returning from the brink of DespairEventHorizon and moving on.
--> The secret kindness blooms\\
unknowingly and scatters\\

knows the value of a promise\\
ALMIGHTY! Believe in the coming future!
* ''Series/MadTV'' has the solution for fans of gangsta rap and barbershop quartet who want to listen to them both at the same time: the "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPmJWBurnlU Gangsta Shop Quartet]]", gangsta songs about carjacking and murder arranged in barbershop quartet medleys.
-->Court date's today\\

I'm afraid they're gonna lock me away\\
\\

In a drive-by massacre\\
\\

It all happened in a blur\\
\\

'Cause my third strike landed me in jail
** Timeless classics to enjoy with that special someone or for when the whole gang is over.
-->Don'tcha give me no sass\\

And her booty is on loan\\
\\

(Yes, I do own)
* Inverted in a RunningGag on ''Series/TheMaryWhitehouseExperience'', where they make fun of Robert Smith of [[Music/TheCure The Cure's]] (brief) attempts to show his cheerful, happy side in his music. They perform songs such as ''Ernie, The Fastest Milkman in the World'' and ''The Laughing Policeman'' to the band's signature melancholic style.

* Pretty much all the music-based games in ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' are built around this trope - except when it's Colin Mochrie trying to sing, then it's funny for [[SoBadItsGood a different reason.]]

--> '''Robbie''': It’s fun to run, it’s fun to play//
It’s fun to make things out of clay//
It’s fun to fill your car with gas//
It’s fun to break…things made of glass!//
But broken glass can cut your hand//
And then you’ll bleed across the land//
Ask any—//
'''Tori''': WE’RE NOT DOING THAT!//

** "Doctor, Please" has an upbeat tune, but it is about why the people and animals are at the doctor, and some of them are quite bad (such as, "this fever's got my goat").

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuTYrcnm_i4 "Greg's Drinking Song"]]is a traditional cheery drinking song but it's about serious a alcoholic. His description starts with him peeing his pants and escalates rapidly to insulting his boss, stealing his cousin's truck, driving it, puking on his cat, having sex with a bush and trying to get into the cockpit to fly a plane.

Yes, I do own

* ''Series/MadTV'' gives us the "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPmJWBurnlU Gangsta Shop Quartet]]", gangsta songs about carjacking, murder and other things, all arranged as barbershop quartet pieces.

* Inverted in a RunningGag on ''Series/TheMaryWhitehouseExperience'', where they make fun of Robert Smith of [[Music/TheCure The Cure's]] (brief) attempts to show his cheerful, happy side in his music. They perform songs such as ''Ernie, The Fastest Milkman in the World'' and ''The Laughing Policeman'' to the band's signature melancholic style.

* In an episode of ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' John Henry and Savannah sing the Scottish novelty song "Donald Where's Yer Troosers?" It's sung slow and hauntingly over images of Sarah being arrested and Derek being buried.
* The song "What A Difference A Day Makes" from ''Series/{{Mongrels}}'', a happy melodious love duet about underage sex and statutory rape. Just [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4p3IQS3pKI listen to it here]].
* Mr G's songs in ''Series/SummerHeightsHigh'' when he's trying to write an upbeat musical about a girl at the school who [[RefugeInAudacity died from an ecstasy overdose.]]
--> Annabelle Dickson\\
When girls take drugs\\
And then they die\\
Who would have thought\\
At Summer Heights High\\
On days like these\\
It's a Bummer Heights High
* ''Neighbours'': The opening theme's lyrics are about neighbourly support and friendship, and while the show does explore such themes, it also necessarily thrives on common soap opera themes such as deception and betrayal. There have been a few incarnations of the tune over the show's long run - it was originally sung jovially by Barry Crocker - but all of them are upbeat.
* The jaunty, upbeat ''Series/RedDwarf'' theme: "It's cold outside, there's no kind of atmosphere, I'm all alone, more or less..."
** The song "Tongue Tied" is an upbeat pop song which graphically deconstructs the CardiovascularLove trope.

* Pretty much all the music-based games in ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' are built around this trope - except when it's Colin Mochrie trying to sing, then it's funny for [[SoBadItsGood a different reason.]]
* Series/{{Victorious}} does this from time to time, the most recent being "Freak the Freak out" a techno-pop, autotune, dance song about someone getting fed up with being ignored.
* The theme from ''Series/{{Mash}}'' was usually played in instrumental form, and if not overly cheerful, it's at least a nice, relaxing tune. Then there are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gO7uemm6Yo the lyrics]], [[DrivenToSuicide which are less so]].
* On ''Series/{{Glee}}'' Blaine decides "Candles" by HeyMonday is [[spoiler: the perfect song to sing a romantic duet with Kurt at regionals]]. The problem? It's about a girl who is alone for the first time after breaking up with her abusive boyfriend.
** Also, similar to the ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' example above, Emma decides that Afternoon Delight is the perfect song to sing with [[CrossesTheLineTwice the celibacy club.]] When Holly informs her that it's about a nooner, we get this gem:
--> '''Emma:''' Exactly! A nooner is when you sneak out for dessert in the middle of the day... right?
** And we can't forget Glee's choice for a graduation song, GloryDays by Music/BruceSpringsteen. The problem? It's about a bunch of people who look back fondly at their high school years while wallowing in the drunken monotony of their adult lives.
* ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger'' has "Yorokobi no Uta" (Song of Happiness), which is very much a VillainSong that Candelila first sings on Brave 6. Already there you can see that it's a bouncy J-Pop song that talks about Deboss destroying the world, but when she (in her human guise) sings it again in Brave 11, the lyrics go into further detail, by exalting Deboss as Earth's true overlords and stating that all humans should be maimed and killed, all this in front of a crowd of adoring fans. While still sounding very much like a J-Pop song. You couldn't get a better musical representation of SugarApocalypse if you tried.
* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', the full version of Murray Gold's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95rTEbYUdH0 Song for Ten]] (featured in part at the end of Creator/DavidTennant's first full episode) is a cheery tune with lyrics describing his eventual separation from Rose.
--> "''So have a good life\\
Do it for me\\
Make me so proud\\
Like you want me to be\\
And wherever you are,\\
I'm thinking of you\\
Oceans apart.''"
* ''Series/DrewCareysImprovaganza'' had an Elizabethan era song about ''strippers''.[[note]][[RealityIsUnrealistic Those were pretty common, actually.]][[/note]]
* The theme song to Series/PrettyLittleLiars is the chorus of the song "Secrets" by The Pierces. It's very catchy, but the lyrics are absolutely bone-chilling:
-->"''Got a secret, can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save\\
Better lock it in your pocket, takin' this one to the grave\\
If I show you, then I know you won't tell what I said\\
Cause two can keep a secret [[HeKnowsTooMuch if one of them is dead.]]''"

* On ''Series/ANTFarm'', Chyna wrote a few songs like this. First, when she and Fletcher are trying to get Gibson to stop from hanging out with them so much. The tempo and melody are upbeat and happy, however the lyrics are quite dark. She says things like, "...feed him fatty foods till his heart explodes" and "dehydrating his skin and make Gibson-jerky".
** And again when she forms a phony children's band in which the band is dressed in stuffed animal costumes. Some of the songs are safe but just plain odd, such as "You Gotta Wear Pants in Public" and "Don't Go Potty in the Tub", however, there is a song with an up-tempo PunkRock melody that even has a Gothic teen saying "Wow, they're dark."
--->''''When you're doing crafts with art supplies,\\
Don't [[RunsWithScissors run with scissors]], it's not too wise\\
You can stab your chest, your arms, your thighs,\\
[[EyeScream You could lose one or even both your eyes]].
* The ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' "Newborn King" is a ChristmasEpisode, so it's not too surprising that a Christmas Carol would be used... except it is while Ziva is gunning down several Russian mercenaries while Gibbs is the DeliveryGuy for a female army lieutnant.
* Since ''Series/HorribleHistories'' is much about the gorier, grimmer parts of history (within reason for the younger viewers) and many of their songs are quite upbeat, it's a given they'd have some of these. A few examples are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF_U4VGl1Jk Work, Terrible Work]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51aHb_U8Zr0 Do the Pachacuti]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0_z-MbODVo The Evil Emperors Song]]. All cheerful numbers about, respectively, the horrors of Victorian child labour, the various ways Incan warlord Pachacuti would dismember his dead enemies and make use of their body parts, and the atrocities four [[TheCaligula Caligulas]] (including the TropeNamer) commited.
* ''Series/{{Galavant}}'' is largely ''made'' of this trope, including multiple cheery tunes about various characters plotting various murders and assassinations, dramatic tunes with humorous or otherwise ill-fitting lyrics, a cheerful love song highlighting the prevalence of death and disease among peasants in the era, a love-song tune entitled "Maybe You're Not The Worst Thing Ever", and more. Yet another love song plays with the trope a bit, as it is primarily the singers pointing out flaws in each other, yet sincerely affectionate in doing so.
* The opening theme to ''Series/GoodTimes''. If you don't pay attention to the lyrics, it almost sounds like an upbeat gospel song.
-->''''Keeping your head above water,\\
Making a way when you can.\\
Temporary layoffs! (Good times!)\\
Easy credit ripoffs! (Good times!)\\
Scratchin' and survivin'! (Good times!)\\
Hangin' in the chow line! (Good times!)\\
Ain't we lucky we got 'em?\\
Good times!

* The ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfiLAcERNQ4 This Is Not a Feminist Song]]" has the season 41 female cast members, and Music/ArianaGrande, perform a stirring anthem about...the difficulty they experienced trying to write a stirring anthem about feminism. [[spoiler:Fortunately, they decide in the last verse that by writing and singing the song without help from any men, they actually ''did'' make a feminist song.]]
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In "Once More, With Feeling", Buffy sings "Going Through The Motions" and "Something to Sing About", two cheery-sounding tunes about losing the will to live.
* Played with in the full version of the theme to ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', "Where Everybody Knows Your Name". The song's melody is quite uplifting and sweet, but the lyrics describe increasingly depressing things happening to the subject of the song. However, the point of the chorus is that it's nice to have a place to go where you can escape your troubles, where you feel safe and loved and where [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin everybody knows your name]], so it can also be quite sincerely sweet and uplifting as well.
* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'', the episode [[Recap/OnceUponATimeS6E20TheSongInYourHeart "The Song in Your Heart"]] features a VillainSong, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-LUmgY_D_o Wicked Always Wins]]", sung by Zelena, in which she revels in the prospect of bringing down her sister (along with Prince Charming and Snow White). The dissonance comes in when the music is a cheerful, upbeat ''heroic'' musical theatre number -- which, thanks to Rebecca Mader's bright, peppy vocals, sounds eerily like that of a Disney princess! This could be seen as an AffectionateParody of ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''.
* ''Series/SesameStreet'':
** "Doctor, Please" has an upbeat tune, but it is about why the people and animals are at the doctor, and some of them are quite bad (such as, "this fever's got my goat").
** "When Bert's Not Here" has a bouncy tune, but it has lyrics about how Ernie feels when he misses Bert that can be quite dark (e.g. "When Bert's not here, the hours last forever, the toys aren't fun and the cookies don't crunch/When Bert's not here, I don't feel so clever and I never even feel like having lunch.")
** Little Jerry's "Sad" song is about sadness, yet it has a jaunty doo-wop tune.
** "Lead Police" talks about lead and how it can get in your body and make you sick and that it could be anywhere, but it's sung in a jaunty way.
** "You Have to Be Patient to Be a Patient" is relatively upbeat-sounding, but its lyrics talk about staying in bed and resting.
* The chirpy EndingTheme from ''Series/CaptainScarletAndTheMysterons'': "They crash him, and his body may burn. They smash him, but they know he'll return... to live again". Accompanied by images of a terrified Captain Scarlet in a variety of perilous and painful-looking situations.

* Lampshaded in ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'' episode "Chocolate Diddlers or My Puppy's Dead". Charlie is writing a jingle for a new cereal called Chocolate Diddlers. But he's depressed after a breakup, and composes a piece with bouncy lyrics and a somber melody. Alan points out that the music sounds like "my puppy's dead" and that he needs to make it more upbeat.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuTYrcnm_i4 "Greg's Drinking Song"]]is a traditional cheery drinking song but it's about serious a alcoholic. His description starts with him peeing his pants and escalates rapidly to insulting his boss, stealing his cousins truck, driving it, puking on his cat, having sex with a bush and trying to get into the cockpit to fly a plane.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuTYrcnm_i4 "Greg's Drinking Song"]]is a traditional cheery drinking song but it's about serious alcoholic. His description starts with him peeing his pants and escalates rapidly to insulting his boss, stealing his cousins truck, driving it, puking on his cat, having sex with a bush and trying to get into the cockpit to fly a plane.

Yes, I do own

* ''Series/MadTV'' gives us the "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPmJWBurnlU Gangsta Shop Quartet]]", gangsta songs about carjacking, murder and other things, all arranged as barbershop quartet pieces.

* The chirpy EndingTheme from ''Series/CaptainScarletAndTheMysterons'': "They crash him, and his body may burn. They smash him, but they know he'll return... to live again". Accompanied by images of a terrified Captain Scarlet in a variety of perilous and painful-looking situations.

** "You Have to Be Patient to Be a Patient" is relatively upbeat-sounding, but its lyrics talk about staying in bed and resting.