History Main / VillainousLament

* ''WebVideo/UndertaleTheMusical'' has "[[https://youtu.be/vn_MDtg2FE4 Bergentrückung]]" [[AntiVillain Asgore's]] VillainSong. While being epic and intimidating, it also shows [[spoiler:how wracked with guilt he is by his actions and is only doing this to give his people hope.]] In particular is the verse where he [[spoiler:briefly entertains the idea of giving up and going with Frisk to return to Toriel and be a happy family again, but ultimately decides IveComeTooFar.]]

--> '''Asgore''': ''[[spoiler:If we could be a family\\

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIUWGCNOB1o My Darkness]]'' is one for Darth Vader, who is singing about how he wants to return to the light side, but doesn't think he can be redeemed.

* "I'm so Ronery", Kim Jong Il's song in ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice''.
* Dr. Frank N Furter's final song in ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'', "I'm Going Home."
-->'''[[Creator/TimCurry Frank]]: Everywhere it's been the same... feeling... Like I'm outside in the rain... wheeling... Free, to try and find a game... dealing... Cards for sorrow, cards for pain...

-->"There was that time we evicted the entire orphanage!"
-->"I remember them standing in the cold with their frostbitten teddy bears!"
-->"Doh-ho-ho-ho! [[MadeMyselfSad *shudder*]]"
* "It's a Sad, Sad World When your Head Looks Like a Pizza" from ''Film/GoingOverboard''.

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

* Music/TwistedSister's "Burn In Hell": "You can't believe all the things I've done wrong in my life / Without even trying, I've lived on the edge of a knife…."
* Music/{{Mothy}}'s "Regret Message" from the ''Music/EvilliousChronicles''. The [[spoiler: tyrannical princess Riliane]] looks back on what she did and realizes that not only is she a horrible, horrible person for it, but she's lost the one person who truly cared about her. Since she can't apologize, she writes her grief on a note in a bottle and throws it into the ocean.
* The Music/{{Coolio}} song "Gangsta's Paradise" is about a hoodlum who obviously knows that his lifestyle is morally wrong and self-destructive, but has given up hope on changing for the better.
* ''Music/CG5'': "Let Me Through" has a melancholy waltz tune, and it features [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys Foxy]] singing about how he's lonely and sad because the security guard won't let Foxy into his room. Subverted in that Foxy also makes some thinly veiled death threats, and the music video shows him violently attacking the other animatronics, implying that Foxy's sadness is [[CrocodileTears just an act]].
* "bellyache" by Music/BillieEilish, is about the singer is implied to have murdered her compatriots in a [[TheCaper heist]] to [[NoHonorAmongThieves keep the money for herself]]. According to Billie, the song is about "a [[TheSociopath psychopath]] who regrets being a psychopath [[spoiler: [[ZigZaggedTrope but doesn't really care"]]]].
-->Thought that I'd feel better\\
But now I got a bellyache

* Both of Tybalt's songs from Gerard Presgurvic's ''Theatre/RomeoEtJulietteDeLaHaineALamour," but especially "C'est pas ma faute".
* "Die Unstillbare Gier" from ''Theatre/TanzDerVampire'', in which both the audience and Alfred realize that Count von Krolock is a ''person'', capable of great longing and regret.
* "No Good Deed" from ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''.
-->Sure I meant well\\
Well, look at what well-meant did!
* "Accursed All Base Pursuit" from Gounod's ''Faust''. Yep, an actual operatic example.

* "The Madness of King Scar" from the stage version of ''Theatre/TheLionKing''.
* [[spoiler:"Javert's Suicide"]] from ''Theatre/LesMiserables'', during which Javert realises that he ''hasn't'' really been pursuing justice all these years, and [[spoiler:he decides he just can't live with that]].

** Not a straight example as Elisabeth, who sings the lament, isn't the villain. While not an entirely likeable person, she is in fact the protagonist. A better example is "Bellaria," sung by the Archduchess Sophie, in which we find that the domineering, cruel woman we've seen her as until now has given everything for her son.
* "I Loved Her, Too" from ''Theatre/StreetScene''.

* "Reviewing the Situation" from ''Theatre/{{Oliver}}''. Fagin wonders whether he should give up crime and make an honest man of himself.

* "The Best at Being the Worst" from Team Rocket in the ''Theatre/PokemonLive'' musical.
* "Pore Jud Is Dead" from ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}'' counts as both a [[TheVillainSucksSong Villain Sucks Song]] and this -- Judd is a really self-loathing person, and even though Curly is insulting him in the song, he likes the idea that if he killed himself, people would feel sorry for shunning him.

* "Call From The Grave" and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfa0mkvbmX0 "Epitaph"]] from BertoltBrechts ''Theatre/TheThreepennyOpera''. (Titles vary depending on the translation - "Ruf aus dem Gruft" and "Grabschrift" are the original titles.)
* It's kind of hard to pinpoint a "villain" in ''Theatre/{{Evita}}'', but all three main characters do villainous things and have songs where they regret something. Eva has (depending on the production) "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" (about people taking advantage of her) and "You Must Love Me" (showing her love for Peron). Che has "High Flying, Adored" and the DarkReprise of "Oh What a Circus" (which are both technically laments for Eva, not himself). Peron has "She is a Diamond", which is a lament for Eva. The entire ''ensemble'' has the opening song, "Requiem for Evita". "You Must Love Me" was written specifically for the movie, and "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" belongs to another character in the stage version. However, both the movie and stage versions end with the appropriately titled "Lament," in which Eva wonders whether all of her scheming and manipulating were worth the toll it took on her life.
* Le Blues du Businessman from Starmania may count.

* In ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', Aaron Burr, Hamilton's [[WeUsedToBeFriends friend turned enemy]], after [[LateArrivalSpoiler killing Alexander in their infamous duel]], is horrified by the realization that Hamilton had always planned to throw away his shot, and the rest of "The World Was Wide Enough" is given over to his lament.
--> Now I’m the villain in your history \\
I was too young and blind to see...\\
I should’ve known\\
I should’ve known\\
The world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me\\
The world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me\\

--> If I can't even read my own feelings\\

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', in a hugely spoileriffic example, has [[spoiler: the main theme, Edge of Dawn]]. It's about [[spoiler: Edelgard]] wishing they could just live out their life in peace at the Academy, and that the bonds they formed there didn't have to be a ruse, but that [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans they have to go through with their plan for the good of the world, regardless of what their heart wants.]] Fittingly for this trope, the full lyrical version of the song only plays on the routes in which [[spoiler: Edelgard is fought as an antagonist and dies.]]
-->Cross my heart
-->Making vows I know will be betrayed
-->A sad girl's pleas
-->Live only for a breath and then they fade

* ''WebVideo/PotterPuppetPals'': "Have you ever had a bad day? Do you know what they'd call you if every day of your life was like that? They'd call you Snape..."

* [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Sideshow Bob]] had a plan to kill Krusty the Klown, and he was about to see the plan come to fruition when Krusty sang a song about how he really missed working with Bob. In turn, Bob sang about how he would really miss Krusty when he had killed him, and this made him have second thoughts and prevent his trap from killing Krusty.

* "Those Canaan Days" from ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''. Marks the brothers' HeelFaceTurn as they realize they miss Joseph.

* "Reviewing the Situation" from ''Oliver''. Fagin wonders whether he should give up crime and make an honest man of himself.

* "Pore Jud Is Dead" from ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}!'' counts as both a [[TheVillainSucksSong Villain Sucks Song]] and this -- Judd is a really self-loathing person, and even though Curly is insulting him in the song, he likes the idea that if he killed himself, people would feel sorry for shunning him.

* Edgeworth's song in ''Turnabout Musical'', "Decree of the Prosecutor", has him question his own tactics as a prosecutor. "For if I cheat in the court can I say with a straight face/ that I'm a better man than the sort that I prosecute every case?".

* Wrestling/{{Edge}}'s theme, "Metalingus", was a really twisted inversion, or maybe just a subversion. It's a song about a Christian triumphing over personal shortcomings through faith in God....but Edge started using it ''after'' he became so obsessed with winning the WWE Championship that [[FaceHeelTurn the desire turned him into a villain]]. So he basically saw championship gold as his "salvation" - even if he had to betray [[Wrestling/ChrisBenoit his tag-team partner]] and screw and corrupt his rival's girlfriend along the way.

--> Does my pen only write bitter words for those who are dear to me?\\

* Spinel from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie'' gets two major songs. "Other Friends" is a straight-up VillainSong, but "Drift Away" is the story of how she was [[spoiler: abandoned by Pink Diamond, forced to [[AndIMustScream stand in their garden, alone, for 6000 years, under the guise that they were just playing a game.]] She spent all those millenia by herself, standing so still she became literally rooted to the ground as plants began to grow around her, wondering if it was her fault Pink wasn't coming back ("Is this how it works? Am I doing it right?") while the garden decayed and everyone moved on without her. When she saw Steven's message, she realized that Pink never intended to come back, and had a complete mental breakdown, which led to the events of the movie.]]

* Both of Tybalt's songs from Gerard Presgurvic's ''Romeo et Juliette", but especially "C'est pas ma faute".

* The 128th chapter of ''Fanfic/HopeForTheHeartless'' provides an example where the resident VillainProtagonist doesn't sing, but lyrics from a song have been added to the narration in order to give depth to introspective musings. During one rainy night, the [[ResurrectedForAJob resurrected]] BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'', the Horned King, reflects on how he has [[TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget cast aside memories]] from an existence of a millennium during his single-minded quest to [[TakeOverTheWorld conquer the world]] and doesn't remember [[WasOnceAMan who he used to be]] before becoming {{the dreaded}} warlord lich he's now known as. He also laments on how [[TheSleepless he is unable to dream]] or stand in the rain without being [[WeaksauceWeakness hurt by it]] like his MoralityPet [[PurityPersonified Avalina]] and how [[BeingEvilSucks he couldn't possibly regain all that]] despite having already [[spoiler:regained a living heart]]. The lyrics added to the narration are from "Nemo" of Music/{{Nightwish}} with slight alterations.

Sitting on my rittle throne.\\

And so, I'm ronery *sniffles* A rittle ronery.\\
Poor rittle me...''

* Music/{{Mothy}}'s "Regret Message" from the ''Franchise/EvilliousChronicles''. The [[spoiler: tyrannical princess Riliane]] looks back on what she did and realizes that not only is she a horrible, horrible person for it, but she's lost the one person who truly cared about her. Since she can't apologize, she writes her grief on a note in a bottle and throws it into the ocean.

* Spinel from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie'' gets two major songs. "Other Friends" is a straight-up VillainSong, but "Drift Away" is the story of how she was [[spoiler: abandoned by Pink Diamond, forced to [[AndIMustScream stand in their garden, alone, for 6000 years, under the guise that they were just playing a game.]] She spent all those millenia by herself, standing so still she became literally rooted to the ground as plants began to grow around her, wondering if it was her fault Pink wasn't coming back ("Is this how it works? Am I doing it right?") while the garden decayed and everyone moved on without her. When she saw Steven's message, she realized that Pink never intended to come back, and had a complete mental breakdown, which led to the events of the movie.]]

* The Coolio song "Gangsta's Paradise" is about a hoodlum who obviously knows that his lifestyle is morally wrong and self-destructive, but has given up hope on changing for the better.

* ''Music/CG5'': "Let Me Through" has a melancholy waltz tune, and it features [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys Foxy]] singing about how lonely he is, and how sad he is that the security guard won't let Foxy into his room and listen to Foxy's song. Subverted in that Foxy also makes some thinly veiled death threats, and the music video shows him violently attacking the other animatronics, implying that Foxy's sadness is [[CrocodileTears just an act]].

[[folder:FanWorks]]

[[folder: Videogames]]

[[folder:Web Originals]]

* The 128th chapter of ''Fanfic/HopeForTheHeartless'' provides an example where the resident VillainProtagonist doesn't sing, but lyrics from a song have been added to the narration in order to give depth to introspective musings. During one rainy night, the [[ResurrectedForAJob resurrected]] BigBad of ''Disney/TheBlackCauldron'', the Horned King, reflects on how he has [[TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget cast aside memories]] from an existence of a millennium during his single-minded quest to [[TakeOverTheWorld conquer the world]] and doesn't remember [[WasOnceAMan who he used to be]] before becoming {{the dreaded}} warlord lich he's now known as. He also laments on how [[TheSleepless he is unable to dream]] or stand in the rain without being [[WeaksauceWeakness hurt by it]] like his MoralityPet [[PurityPersonified Avalina]] and how [[BeingEvilSucks he couldn't possibly regain all that]] despite having already [[spoiler:regained a living heart]]. The lyrics added to the narration are from "Nemo" of Music/{{Nightwish}} with slight alterations.

* "If I Can't Love Her" from the ScreenToStageAdaptation of ''Disney/{{Beauty and the Beast}}''.

* "Rudolf, wo bist du?" from ''Theatre{{Elisabeth}}''.

* "Rudolf, wo bist du?" from ''Film/{{Elisabeth}}''.

* It's kind of hard to pinpoint a "villain" in ''{{Evita}}'', but all three main characters do villainous things and have songs where they regret something. Eva has (depending on the production) "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" (about people taking advantage of her) and "You Must Love Me" (showing her love for Peron). Che has "High Flying, Adored" and the DarkReprise of "Oh What a Circus" (which are both technically laments for Eva, not himself). Peron has "She is a Diamond", which is a lament for Eva. The entire ''ensemble'' has the opening song, "Requiem for Evita". "You Must Love Me" was written specifically for the movie, and "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" belongs to another character in the stage version. However, both the movie and stage versions end with the appropriately titled "Lament," in which Eva wonders whether all of her scheming and manipulating were worth the toll it took on her life.

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIUWGCNOB1o My Darkness]]" is one for Darth Vader, who is singing about how he wants to return to the light side, but doesn't think he can be redeemed.

* "Undertale: The Musical" has "[[https://youtu.be/vn_MDtg2FE4 Bergentrückung]]" [[AntiVillain Asgore's]] VillainSong. While being epic and intimidating, it also shows [[spoiler:how wracked with guilt he is by his actions and is only doing this to give his people hope.]] In particular is the verse where he [[spoiler:briefly entertains the idea of giving up and going with Frisk to return to Toriel and be a happy family again, but ultimately decides IveComeTooFar.]]