Line #37 Main/TunelessSongOfMadness


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6
7	->''"What is that melody?!"''
8	-->-- '''Dr. Siebren de Kuiper/Sigma''', ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}''
9
10	Sometimes, insanity isn't easily noticeable in a character. Sometimes the MaskOfSanity remains fixed very carefully in place, to the point that the character really could seem just as sane and rational as anyone else on the face of the Earth...
11
12	...right up until they start singing.
13
14	Perhaps they're suffering a very nasty case of SanitySlippage; perhaps they were demented all along and this is just the final reveal; or if you're really unlucky, perhaps their lunacy is even ''worse'' than anticipated. Whatever the case, a character's insanity is firmly demonstrated via an inappropriately-timed song -- or at the very least, a very spirited attempt at it. As further proof of madness, [[HollywoodToneDeaf chances are that the character's enthusiasm will far outweigh their ability to actually carry a tune]].
15
16	May possibly overlap with SoundtrackDissonance if the choice of music ''really'' doesn't match the mood of the scene, IronicNurseryRhyme for a darkly childlike edge to the madness, MadnessMantra if the singer gets stuck on repeating the lyrics, or HellIsThatNoise if the song is played for horror. Compare also DerangedDance, when dancing is a sign of failing sanity, and which sometimes overlaps with this trope
17
18	Please note that this is '''not''' the same thing as a SanitySlippageSong or a VillainSong: this trope does not involve musical numbers, is rarely if ever accompanied by background music, and most commonly takes place in a non-musical work -- hence why the use of singing is considered so out-of-the-ordinary by both the audience and the other characters in the story.
19
20	----
21
22	!!Examples
23	[[foldercontrol]]
24
25	[[folder:Audio Plays]]
26	* ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'':
27	** In ''[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho040Jubilee Jubilee]]'', the [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} demonstrably insane]] Miriam Rochester idly hums a few bars of "God Save the Queen" while getting ready to usurp her husband's throne -- concluding by singing "God save ''me''". For added lunacy, she [[LackOfEmpathy barely reacts to the fact]] that her lover's severed head has just been dumped on the dressing table in front of her.
28	** [[MonsterClown The Jester]]'s earliest scenes in ''[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho056AxisOfInsanity Axis of Insanity]]'' feature him chanting "We're Off to See the Wizard" and "Doctor Foster" as he leads the Doctor deeper into [[EldritchLocation the Axis]] -- and a trap. Also, he's [[TheMadHatter very upfront]] about the fact that spending an interminable amount of time stuck in a GroundhogDayLoop [[SealedEvilInACan within the Axis]] has driven him a little loopy.
29	** ''[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho079NightThoughts Night Thoughts]]'' plays this for tragedy: during her audio diary, Maude reveals the circumstances that led up to her daughter Eadie's surgically assisted MercyKill -- and the fact that the whole thing was [[ShootTheShaggyDog completely pointless]]. Growing less and less lucid as the recording continues, the now-suicidal Maude concludes by singing Eadie's favorite nursery rhyme -- "Oranges and Lemons" -- [[BrokenTears breaking down in tears as she does so]]. [[spoiler:In the present, Eadie's reanimated form can be heard whistling the same tune while hunting down the research team.]]
30	** Over the course of ''[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho121EnemyOfTheDaleks Enemy of the Daleks]]'', Lieutenant Beth Stokes has been clinging to sanity by a very narrow thread as the Daleks' winning streak begins hammering on her TraumaButton, until the prospect of [[FateWorseThanDeath being captured alive]] -- and having to relive the horror of her childhood enslavement all over again -- causes her to completely break down. Ace finds her collapsed in the kitchen, borderline catatonic and whimpering a lullaby.
31	[[/folder]]
32
33	[[folder:Comic Books]]
34	* In ''ComicBook/CaptainBritainACrookedWorld'', the main-universe counterpart of [[BigBad Mad Jim Jaspers]] spends most of his tenure appearing ''relatively'' sane; he's got the same [[RealityWarper powers]] and [[ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil goals]], but prefers to play at being [[PresidentEvil prime minister]] for the time being. However, as his abilities grow, so does his insanity, eventually resulting in a scene in which he gleefully unleashes his true power on Downing Street and everyone in it, ultimately [[ForcedTransformation transforming the Vixen into a fox]] while singing "A Four-Legged Friend".
35	* In ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}: Son of Man'', [[LondonGangster Harry Cooper]] is introduced inanely singing "Roll Out the Barrel". However, rather than making him creepy, it's meant as an indication of just how far he's fallen: he's [[DarkLordOnLifeSupport seriously ill]], looks as though he's swallowed a zeppelin, and [[ScatterbrainedSenior oblivious to the world around him]]; by this point, singing the tunes of his childhood is literally the only thing he can do. [[spoiler:He's actually ''[[MisterSeahorse pregnant]]'' with TheAntichrist, courtesy of the demon animating his son's body, and it's left ambiguous as to whether Harry's current behavior is due to the biological effects of playing host to a demon fetus or simply due to the trauma of being cut open and raped by his own son.]]
36	* Rajijah Juice sometimes has this as a side-effect in ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'', the main effect being {{Cloudcuckoolander}}[=-=]style madness. Having observed the random singing in other victims, Tintin himself mimics this in ''[[Recap/TintinTheBlueLotus The Blue Lotus]]'' while [[ObfuscatingInsanity pretending to be under the drug's influence]], leaving the villain's office while singing nonsense at the top of his lungs.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Fan Works]]
40	* PlayedForLaughs in the ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13208214/1/After-The-Burial After The Burial]]''. Here, Elizabeth goes completely out of her mind due to a combination of alcohol, drugs and long-term depression, then goes on an increasingly destructive rampage around Rapture. At one point, she teleports a huge chunk of modern-day Paris into Dionysus Park, resulting in widespread destruction, violence and confusion, and is seen merrily drifting through the carnage while singing ''La Vie En Rose''.
41	* ''Fanfic/BetterToReignInHeaven'': During his stay in the "Slalom Challet" simulation, Stanislaus Braun goes for a wild skiing adventure through the alps -- with the other residents tied to him, being routinely smashed into every obstacle that Braum skis past. Throughout this, Braun is belting out "The Happy Wanderer". For good measure, he replaces the final lyric "beneath God's clear blue sky" with "beneath ''[[AGodAmI my]]'' clear blue sky".
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
45	* ''WesternAnimation/ChickenRunDawnOfTheNugget'': After being fitted with a [[HypnoTrinket mind-control collar]], [[spoiler:Ginger]] begins singing "I'm H-A-P-P-Y" loudly and somewhat tunelessly while in the middle of a chicken nugget facility.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
49	* ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' provides one of the most famous examples of this: having gone violently insane due to a LogicBomb, HAL-9000 is given the electronic equivalent of a lobotomy and forcibly deactivated, resulting in him singing "Daisy Bell" as his mind slowly goes down the drain.
50	* In ''Film/AguirreTheWrathOfGod'', the eponymous main character's [[TheDragon second-in-command]] has a habit of singing monotonously to himself just before doing something nasty. As such, it's his singsong muttering of "la, la, la, la" as he destroys one of the rafts that first reveals Perucho to be just as demented as Aguirre himself.
51	* Combined with IronicEcho in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''. Having already used [[WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} "I've Got No Strings"]] to illustrate his [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters newfound independence]], Ultron can later be heard singing a creepy reprise of the song during the final battle, undergoing a VillainousBreakdown while strafing the Avengers.
52	* In ''Film/BlackChristmas1974'', after the [[PsychopathicManchild utterly deranged]] 'Billy' murders Clare, he sings "Daddy's Gone A-Hunting" to her corpse.
53	* By day four of ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject'', the stress of being lost in the woods with no map and being attacked at night by ''[[NothingIsScarier something]]'' has pushed Mike and Josh to the brink of a meltdown; as such, Heather's insistence that it's impossible to stay lost in America prompts Mike start loudly singing "The Star-Spangled Banner". [[SanitySlippage The two men are still singing a cut later]].
54	* Another famous instance of this trope appears in ''Film/AClockworkOrange'', in which the undeniably psychopathic [[VillainProtagonist Alex DeLarge]] bursts into a house, assaults the homeowner at length, smashes up a good deal of his personal belongings, and then [[ForcedToWatch forces him to look on as he rapes his wife]] -- all while merrily warbling "Film/SinginInTheRain".
55	* ''Film/{{Fallen}}'': Convicted serial killer Edgar Reese gleefully sings [[Music/TheRollingStonesBand "Time Is on My Side"]] on his way to the gas chamber, even continuing to belt it out as he dies. Unfortunately, Reese was just a host for the FallenAngel Azazel, who can also be heard singing the same song in [[BodySurf most of the bodies he possesses]] throughout the film, highlighting his narcissistic belief in his own inevitable victory and his psychopathic playfulness. For good measure, Detective Hobbes has Azazel's true nature driven home rather forcefully when Azazel shows up at his office just to mess with him before body-hopping away through his various colleagues, each one singing "Time Is on My Side" [[{{Troll}} just to freak him out]].
56	* The second half of ''Film/TheFly1986'' begins with Seth Brundle well into his fateful mutation and most definitely at the end of his psychological tether; when the time comes for him to reveal the [[TeleporterAccident source of his problem]] to Veronica, he absently begins singing "[[IronicNurseryTune I know an old lady who swallowed a fly/perhaps she'll die...]]"
57	* Towards the end of ''Film/{{Highlander}}'', the Kurgan captures Brenda and goes on a joyride through the city streets, playing chicken with traffic and running cyclists off the road, rounding off the whole experience by singing "New York, New York".
58	* ''Film/InTheTallGrass'': [[spoiler:Ross Humboldt]] is eventually revealed to have been driven completely insane by touching [[EldritchAbomination the rock]] at the center of [[EldritchLocation the field]], and when the others refuse to join him in worshiping the rock, he begins stalking them across the field, merrily singing "Midnight Special" as he catches up.
59	* One of the many ways Jack Griffin demonstrates his [[PsychoSerum monocaine]]-induced insanity in ''Film/TheInvisibleMan1933'' is by singing while causing chaos: in one instance, he chases a terrified woman down a country lane while dressed in [[InvisibleStreaker nothing but a stolen pair of trousers]], singing "Here We Go Gathering Nuts in May" as he skips after her; in another, he steals a large amount of cash from a bank and nearly sparks a riot by [[MoneyToThrowAway throwing it at passers-by]], gleefully belting out "Pop Goes the Weasel" as the crowd scrambles for the money.
60	* Already quirky and eccentric, Salvatore of ''Film/TheNameOfTheRose'' is left completely broken after his torture at the hands of [[KnightTemplar Bernado Gui]]; when the time comes for him to be executed as a heretic alongside Remigio and the nameless girl, he's so disengaged from reality that he can only sing a lullaby as the pyres are lit.
61	* Not long after being exposed to [[EldritchAbomination Satan's liquid form]] in ''Film/PrinceOfDarkness'', Calder begins loudly singing Amazing Grace in a desperate attempt to hang onto his sanity. Creepily enough, he can't finish the verse of "I was lost but now I'm found", the last word dissolving into [[LaughingMad demented giggling]]. [[spoiler:Then he stabs himself in the throat and rises again as one of Satan's mindless zombies.]]
62	* ''Film/ReservoirDogs'' features a rather infamous scene in which the [[AxCrazy demonstrably psychopathic]] Mr. Blonde [[ColdBloodedTorture tortures]] the captive police officer and [[EarAche slices off his ear]] while singing along to "Stuck in the Middle with You".
63	* For most of ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'', Professor Moriarty has been very careful to hide his "[[TheSociopath moral insanity]]" beneath a veneer of good manners; however, after catching Holmes infiltrating his base of operations, Moriarty finally lets the mask drop, merrily singing along with [[WickedCultured Schubert's "Die Forelle"]] as he [[ColdBloodedTorture tortures]] his nemesis with a meat hook.
64	* ''Music/TheWall'': Following "Waiting for the Worms", Pink is in a bathroom stall, mumbling the words to "Stop" and other fragments from his little black book (actually part of a song from "The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking").
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Literature]]
68	* In ''Literature/TheGreenMile'', William "[[AxCrazy Wild Bill]]" Wharton can be heard singing mocking songs about the [[CruelAndUnusualDeath horrific death]] of [[spoiler:Eduard Delacroix]] -- scant hours after the body has been removed from the chair.
69	* During Henry Bowers' stay at [[BedlamHouse Juniper Hill]] in ''Literature/{{IT}}'', he notes that the pyromaniac Benny Beaulieu has gotten into the habit of half-screaming half-singing "[[Music/TheDoors try to set the night on fire]]", all while masturbating until he bleeds.
70	* In ''Literature/LifesLottery'', Mary "Scary Mary" Yatman is renowned for her fits of psychotic rage as a child; as an adult, she appears to have reformed, but she later admits that she only learned how to hide her "monster" -- a fact that she demonstrates in various plotlines; in one, she wanders off into the nightmarish darkness of Sutton Mallet, cheerily singing "Nellie The Elephant", forcing you to follow -- an encounter that can led to you and Mary degenerating into psychopathic monsters.
71	* In the ''Literature/LordPeterWimsey'' novel "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club", one of George Fentiman's PTSD episodes found him dancing naked in a field and singing to the sheep "like a hoarse and rumbling wind in a chimney".
72	* The introduction of [[HumanoidAbomination the Beast]] in ''Literature/TheMagicians'' firmly establishes him as a serious threat to the students of [[WizardingSchool Brakebills]] when he magically freezes time in Professor March's class, leaving everyone inside [[AndIMustScream fully conscious but unable to move]], and devours one of the students alive for good measure. However, he's also revealed to be a pretty obvious example of a PsychopathicManchild during his exit, in which he can be heard cheerily singing [[IronicNurseryTune "Bye, Baby Bunting"]].
73	* Having been jailed just prior to the apocalypse in ''Literature/TheStand'', Lloyd Henreid ends up trapped when the virus wipes out everyone else at the prison, eventually finding himself [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty trying to pick meat off the arm of the prisoner]] in the neighboring cell, all while continuously singing the nonsense chorus lyrics from "Camptown Races".
74	* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'': The Travelers note that the Simurgh's [[MoreThanMindControl Scream]] keeps changing whenever they think there's an identifiable melody.
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
78	* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' gives [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Gyp Rosetti]] a spectacular VillainousBreakdown in "Margate Sands", during which he claims that he's actually "Barney Google with the Goo-Goo-Googly Eyes". Then, after calming down, he begins singing the Barney Google song in an increasingly demented fashion, finally screaming the refrain. [[spoiler:Then one of his three remaining henchmen stabs him in the back.]]
79	* An early scene in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E2GhostLight Ghost Light]]" features the character of Gwendoline singing "That's the Way to the Zoo" and accompanying herself on the piano. The fact that she's doing this with no audience and no logical prompting serves as a clear hint that she's [[CuteAndPsycho not as stable as she looks]]. [[spoiler:Of course, given the eventual fate of Reverend Matthews at the hands of Gwendoline and Josiah, this probably also counts as {{Foreshadowing}}.]]
80	* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'':
81	** Stark introduces himself in "[[Recap/FarscapeS01E19Nerve Nerve]]" by [[MadnessMantra repeatedly explaining]] the nature of [[ThisIsMySide his side of the room]], then scurrying off into a corner and singing gibberish in soprano. Later subverted when it turns out that Stark intentionally plays up his instability so that the guards won't bother him.
82	** John Crichton has a habit of singing when his sanity drops a notch. For example, in "[[Recap/FarscapeS02E04CrackersDontMatter Crackers Don't Matter]]", when the entire crew of Moya begins cracking up as a result of the MonsterOfTheWeek, Crichton gets angry about Rygel obsessing over the crackers and starts yowling "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream".
83	** After being trapped on an isolated world with Aeryn for decades on end in "[[Recap/FarscapeS02E16TheLocket The Locket]]", an elderly Crichton exasperatedly sings "The Maid of Amsterdam" as he waits to be rescued for the umpteenth time.
84	** A rare instance of this actually being a ''good'' sign occurs in "[[Recap/FarscapeS02E18AClockworkNebari A Clockwork Nebari]]". After being mind-cleansed by the Nebari, Crichton is able to resist the drug's influence and -- after a bit of ObfuscatingStupidity -- reintroduces himself to Chiana by doing a little disco dance and singing "She's gonna gitcha-gitcha-gitcha-gitcha!" proving that he's every bit as crazy as he used to be.
85	** The final scene of "[[Recap/FarscapeS02E21LiarsGunsAndMoneyPlanB Liars, Guns and Money 3: Plan B]]" features Crichton suffering a meltdown as the [[EnemyWithin Scorpius neural clone]] begins taking over his mind, trying vainly to shut out the voices in his head by singing "Daisy Bell" and growing more and more upset as his attempts fail -- until he finally [[ICannotSelfTerminate begs D'Argo to kill him]].
86	* Season four of ''Series/{{Grimm}}'' introduces the demonic spirit of UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper, who turns out to be every bit as violent and psychopathic as his reputation suggests; after being discovered to be [[spoiler:possessing Captain Renard]], he kidnaps Sgt. Wu and goes on a joyride through the streets of Portland, triumphantly chanting a MurderBallad as he does so.
87	-->''"As I set out from London town/Upon a foggy day/I came across a fair young maid/And stole her heart away/But not the way you think it done/I did not use me charm/Instead I used a blade so sharp/She could not raise alarm! [[EvilIsHammy ALTOGETHER NOW!]]"''
88	* Mr. Hyde is established as [[PsychopathicManchild a fan of children's music]] early in ''Series/{{Jekyll}}''; not only does he introduce himself by whistling "Boys And Girls Come Out to Play", but he later kills a lion at the zoo, throws its body over the wall and onto a parked van outside, then spends the next few minutes clowning around in the animal's blood whilst gleefully belting out "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".
89	* ''Series/Legion2017'': During a visit to David's mind in "[[Recap/LegionS1E5Chapter5 Chapter 5]]", Syd stumbles upon David's image, singing "The Rainbow Connection" and accompanying himself on the banjo. From his tone of voice, it's clear that he's terrified beyond description of something Syd can't see, but it's not until later that we realize why: [[EnemyWithin the Devil with Yellow Eyes]] is [[SplitPersonalityTakeover taking over]], once again driving David to madness.
90	* In the ''Series/RedDwarf'' episode "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonIIITheLastDay The Last Day]]", the replacement android Hudzen-10 has [[RoboticPsychopath worn out his sanity chip]] after thousands of years spent trying to catch up with the ship, and when the crew refuse to allow him to replace Kryten, he attacks head-on while crooning a lullaby.
91	* In the ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'' episode "Lady Blue", a woman's mind is destroyed by a "narco-hallucinogenic highball", and she's reduced to singing "I know where my head is at, won't somebody find my body?" over and over again.
92	* A more comedic example occurs in the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E4TheNakedTime The Naked Time]]". Kevin Riley, having been affected by the problem of the week, holes up in engineering, pronouncing himself the captain. As further evidence of his loopiness, he [[IncessantMusicMadness drives the crew nuts with his continual and badly sung renditions]] of "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen".
93	* PlayedForLaughs in the ''Series/ThreesCompany'' episode "Two Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", in which Terry invites a stressed-out psychiatrist coworker, Dr. Miller (played by Creator/JeffreyTambor) to dinner at the apartment. Miller has had a patient begging him to sing the song "Three Little Fishes", which he can't remember... until it finally comes to him. Stress has made him twitchy anyway, so Janet and Jack are already uneasy -- and then he remembers the song! He's so happy about it he sings it in an incredibly LargeHam way -- while holding a sharp dinner knife, convincing Janet and Jack that he's an escaped ''patient''.
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
97	* ''TabletopGame/ChroniclesOfDarkness'':
98	** The main villain of the ''World of Darkness: Innocents'' sample scenario "With A Song in My Heart" is John Clerk, an immortal serial killer driven by the need to amplify the music he hears in his head via murder. As such, singing is one of his CharacterTics, but since he's the [[KidHero player characters]]' mild-mannered music teacher, nobody finds anything particularly unusual about this habit... right up until the characters find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere, at night, with the corpse of Mr. Clerk's latest victim in front of them, and ''[[HellIsThatNoise that song slowly closing in]]...''
99	** From the same book, the eponymous villain in the scenario "Mountain Mother" is also prone to this: an [[TimeAbyss ancient subterranean being]] believed to be [[LastOfHisKind the last of her kind]], she's taken to kidnapping children in an effort to raise them as her own, and her most recognizable lines are described as "eerie singing in a language that hasn't been spoken in tens of thousands of years" -- an indication of [[GoMadFromTheIsolation just how lonely she's become over the eons]].
100	* One anecdote about [[EvilSorcerer the Nephandi]] in ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' features an Iteration X operative being witness to a virtual EldritchAbomination devouring a swathe of the Digital Web... all while an innocuous-looking man stood in the background, [[DissonantSerenity smiling to himself and humming a children's song]]. As other books make apparent, Nephandi can range from chaotic PsychopathicManchild-types to ice-cold psychopaths, and while none of them are as delusional as [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity Marauders]], they're [[OmnicidalManiac much more dangerous]].
101	* In ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', the [[TheMadHatter Malkavian]] clanbook often features segments written by the Lunatics themselves, including their views on other clans; when the time comes to describe Malkavian views on the Toreador clan, however, the narrator abruptly bursts into song -- specifically, to the tune of the Toreador March from ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}''!
102	-->''Toreador, go bathroom on the floor-o! Toreador! Toreador!'' Sorry, just had to get that out of my system...
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Theatre]]
106	* During "Die Schatten werden länger" ("The Shadows Grow Longer") in ''Theatre/{{Elisabeth}}'', Rudolf's harmony to Death's melody is an eerie near-monotone whenever the two sing together. Most productions portray Death as either a manifestation of suicidal ideation, or a being actively and knowingly driving Rudolf to madness for his own gains. The Toho production has Death harmonizing with the same tune, emphasizing his otherworldly BlueAndOrangeMorality -- but the final result is the same, with Rudolf being driven mad (more obviously so than other productions, with a case of FightingFromTheInside) in the eventual Mayerling Waltz.
107	* In one of the oldest examples in fiction, ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' features Ophelia being [[BreakTheCutie driven insane]] following the collapse of her relationship with the title character and [[spoiler:the murder of her father]]; true to form, her very first lines in Act IV are the lyrics of a love song. In fact, almost all of her lines from hereon [[spoiler:until her suicide]] consist of insane singing.
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder:Video Games]]
111	* ''Franchise/BatmanArkhamSeries'':
112	** Playing ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' on New Game Plus all the way to the end eventually results in a stinger in which Harley Quinn, [[spoiler:heartbroken over the death of the Joker]], can be heard singing "Hush little baby, don't say a word/[[spoiler:Mama's gonna kill for you the whole damn world]]".
113	** In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' the hopelessly deranged Professor Pyg [[EstablishingCharacterMoment is introduced]] singing tunelessly along with his favorite opera music while [[MadDoctor performing nightmarish plastic surgery on one of his victims]]. Also, after being arrested and deposited in the GPD lockup, Pyg can occasionally be heard repeating the song -- much to the annoyance of the other captured supervillains.
114	* The Splicers of ''VideoGame/BioShock'' have a habit of singing to themselves, each model having a different song:
115	** [[DoggedNiceGuy Toasty]], obsessive romantic that he is, will occasionally croon "You're the Top" and My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" alongside meaningless nonsense tunes.
116	** [[ChorusGirls Baby Jane]] can be heard sing-songing "a-five six, seven eight, a-five six, seven eight, seven eight..."
117	** [[MadDoctor Dr Grossman]]'s ''VideoGame/BioShock2'' incarnation will sometimes sing about "rusty tumors hiding from the Lamb".
118	** When she isn't grumbling about servants not knowing their place, [[RichBitch Lady Smith]] can be heard muttering the lyrics to "It's Bad for Me".
119	** [[BrokenBird Rosebud]] sings different sections of "[[AmazingFreakingGrace Amazing Grace]]".
120	** As a religious fanatic, [[ReligiousBruiser Waders]] can often be heard croaking out the first stanza of the hymn "Jesus Loves Me".
121	** Fancying himself the CEO of Fontaine Futuristics, the extravagantly deranged Dr. Gilbert Alexander in ''VideoGame/BioShock2'' mockingly shrieks the the company advertising jingle when you try to break into the building, at once preventing you from using the recorded password and shamelessly showboating.
122	--->''"When you're down in the mouth and life's a pain/Weatherman says heavy rain/A little boost is all you need/Average Joe to Hercules/Stronger arm and sharper brain/That's why the future is FONTAAAAAAAAAAAAINE [[LaughingMad HAHAHA!]]"''
123	* Perhaps borrowing a page from the Splicers above, the Huntress in ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight'' is constantly humming a lullaby while HuntingTheMostDangerousGame in a rabbit mask. Unlike some of the other examples listed here, however, the humming works directly to her detriment; even with perks that decrease the terror radius or remove it entirely, nothing can be done to quiet her humming, meaning she's the only killer that can never use stealth while pursuing survivors. She makes up for this by being one of the few killers that possesses a ranged attack.
124	* [[SerialKiller Eddie Gluskin]] of ''VideoGame/{{Outlast}}: Whistleblower'' makes use of this as one of his most terrifying habits: after you manage to escape his initial patrol, he begins singing a haunting rendition of "I Want a Girl" as he stalks you across the vocational block. Quite apart from the fact that he's [[{{Yandere}} audibly expressing his obsessive lust for you]], it's ''really'' difficult to tell just how close or far away he is, because [[ParanoiaFuel his singing seems to come from everywhere at once]]...
125	* Sigma from ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' is a brilliant astrophysicist, but one of his experiments briefly created a black hole, and that very brief exposure left him with severe psychological damage. This leaves him often humming some strange tune that only he can hear, which he claims is the mathematical music of the universe itself.
126	* Both the trailer and the main body of ''VideoGame/ThePark'' feature [[TheWoobie Lorraine Maillard]] nervously reciting the final verse of "Five Little Ducks" as she progresses through Atlantic Island Park, all while suffering a very nasty case of SanitySlippage [[spoiler:courtesy of Nathaniel Winter mind-raping her over the course of the story]]. For good measure, her cameo appearance in ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' makes it clear that the song is still very much embedded in her mind: [[spoiler:her suicide note refers to her long-dead son as "little duck"]].
127	* In ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'', the airwaves of Dubai are currently under the control of [[MouthOfSauron the Radioman]], who appears to have gone [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} a little crazier]] than most of the city. Along with singing his own jingle to introduce himself, during the helicopter attack on Captain Walker's team, the Radioman plays "[[OminousLatinChanting Dies Irae]]" over their earpieces... and proceeds to sing along -- badly.
128	[[/folder]]
129
130	[[folder:Web Originals]]
131	* ''LetsPlay/{{Robbaz}}'': In "Hitman Christmas - [=Murd3r=] Claus", Robbaz sings "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" in a deranged voice while playing a BadSanta and gunning people down in the game.
132	* LetsPlay/{{Pokecapn}}'s famous ''LetsPlay/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' Lets Play exhibits pronounced SanitySlippage as the bugs, badly-implemented controls and difficulty spikes slowly take their toll, eventually forcing some of the players to resort to song as a coping mechanism: pokecapn himself takes to blaring out an a cappella rendition of [[VideoGame/MegaMan2 Flash Man's theme]] whenever boring gameplay begins to get on his last nerve, while KFJ's journey through the [[ThatOneLevel End Of The World level]] is punctuated by him reciting the lyrics to various songs in [[CreepyMonotone a dead monotone]], concluding with "Land Down Under". After finally winning this section, ''the entire group'' bursts into song.
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder:Western Animation]]
136	* In the ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode "[[Recap/AmericanDadS5E2TheOneThatGotAway The One That Got Away]]", Sidney Huffman has his life ruined by Roger (unaware that Sidney's a SplitPersonality of his), and he's soon reduced to sobbing on the floor while singing "[[WesternAnimation/MelodyTime The Lord is Good to Me]]".
137	* The ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' [[Recap/GravityFallsS2E20WeirdmageddonPart3TakeBackTheFalls series finale]] features [[BigBad Bill Cipher]] belting out a refrain of "We'll Meet Again" (and playing the piano for it) while reintroducing himself to Stanford Pines. Definitely an example of the third kind, for while Bill is already a megalomaniacal psychopath, his impatience to get out of Gravity Falls has made him even crazier than usual.
138	* In the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E5And6OnlyADream Only a Dream, Part 2]]", John Dee's failed attempt to wipe out the Justice League as Dr. Destiny leaves his mind broken and himself imprisoned in a catatonic state, endlessly humming "Frere Jacques" over and over again. For bonus points, it's the very song Batman was humming to [[PsychicStatic keep Dr. Destiny out of his head]].
139	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'': In "[[Recap/RecessS1E17TheBox The Box]]", T.J. is forced to spend time in a "box" drawn on the blacktop. By the end of his sentence, he's in a TroubledFetalPosition while singing "This Old Man".
140	* Todd does this in ''WesternAnimation/{{Wayside}}'' while suffering SanitySlippage from being the kindergartners' king; by the time Myron finds him, he's singing "Patty Cake" in a TroubledFetalPosition.
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143	[[folder:Real Life]]
144	* It's not unknown for schizophrenics to sing or hum insistently; however, though this behavior ''appears'' irrational to observers, it's actually a subversion: people who suffer from auditory hallucinations need a method of drowning out the stimuli until it passes, including talking, humming, or [[IgnoringBySinging singing]]. In some cases, it's actually considered a legitimate coping mechanism.
145	** Music/WesleyWillis made a career out of this. He was a paranoid schizophrenic, and did so many songs about [[BestialityIsDepraved bestiality]] because he believed the demons he thought were constantly attacking him were disgusted by it and the songs would drive them off.
146	* [[TheMisophonic Misophonia]], a psychological condition where certain sounds cause great emotional distress -- up to and including feelings of intense anger and hatred -- to those with the condition, often manifests as the person attempting to block out the noise by humming, singing or other noises, in much the same way as the schizophrenia example above. If they are unable to, they'll usually then remove themselves from the stimulus, but if they can't (or worse still, if the source is someone who's knowingly being annoying to the misophoniac), they may even respond with [[PercussiveMaintenance violent impulses against the source of the noise]].
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149	----
150	I'm AxCrazy all for the love of you...

Context Main / TunelessSongOfMadness