Tear Jerker / Judas Priest

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• "Victim of Changes" from Sad Wings of Destiny might be an Epic Rocking song with some energetic moments, but the lyrics are really dark: it's about a woman losing her man to someone else because of her drinking problem. To anyone with first- or second-hand experience with alcoholism, lyrics like "Takes another drink or two, / Things look better when she's through" will hit pretty close to home.
• "Here Come the Tears" from Sin After Sin has lyrics fitting the title, about loneliness and being left behind:
  Once I dreamed that love would come and sweep me up away.
  Now it seems life's passed me by, I'm still alone today.
  Here come the tears.
• Stained Class is overall a quite bleak and nihilistic album, tackling such subject matter as the inherent darkness within humanity, but undoubtedly the capstone is the near-seven-minute epic known as "Beyond The Realms of Death". A true "power ballad" in every sense, the riffing of Downing and Tipton combine with Halford's vocals to tell the tale of a depressed man who regresses to a near-catatonic state before ultimately dying (most likely taking his own life). Around the time of the subliminal message trial (also on this page), Halford confirmed in an interview that the song ultimately has an anti-suicide message, discussing how depression can cause one to withdraw from society. It is simultaneously extremely moving and overwhelmingly cathartic.
  Yeah I've left the world behind
  I'm safe here in my mind
  I'm free to speak with my own kind
  This is my life, this is my life
  I'll decide not you
  Keep the world with all its sin
  It's not fit for livin' in
  Yeah I will start again
  It can take forever, and ever whatever, whenever, but I'll still win
• "Before the Dawn" from Killing Machine: unlike most of the band's music, this one is a slow, gentle and just plain heartwrenching ballad. Rob Halford said that he wrote the song about his first heartbreak, and it shows. It's probably best to have something on hand to cry into before you start listening to it.
  I've waited too long, and now you're leaving,
  Oh please don't take it all away...
• "Angel" from Angel of Retribution is another beautifully sad ballad, with lyrics about desperately wanting to escape this world and longing for a better place.

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