RIP Robin Williams

[lionfish-eater]

Tears of a Clown Written by stevie sung by smokey


Now if there's a smile on my face
It's only there trying to fool the public
But when it comes down to fooling you
Now honey that's quite a different subject
But don't let my glad expression
Give you the wrong impression
Really I'm sad, oh sadder than sad
You're gone and I'm hurting so bad
Like a clown I pretend to be glad
Now there's some sad things known to man
But ain't too much sadder than
the tears of a clown
When there's no one around
Oh yeah baby, now if I appear to be carefree
It's only to camouflage my sadness
In order to shield my pride I try
To cover this hurt with a show of gladness
But don't let my show convince you
That I've been happy since you decided to go
Oh, I need you so, I'm hurt and I want you to know
But for others I put on a show
Now there's some sad things known to man
But ain't too much sadder than
the tears of a clown
When there's no one around, oh yeah
Just like Pagliacci did
I try to keep my sadness hid
Smiling in the public eye
But in my lonely room cry
the tears of a clown
When there's no one around
Oh, yeah baby
Now if there's a smile upon my face
Don't let my glad expression
Give you the wrong impression
Don't let the smile I wear
Make you think that I don't care
Really I'm sad I'm hurting so bad


Songwriters
WONDER, STEVIE/ROBINSON, SMOKEY/COSBY, HENRY
Published by
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing


Read more: Smokey Robinson - The Tears Of A Clown Lyrics | MetroLyrics

 

[drrich2]

It's worth remembering that some people we would consider materially poor, such as in small tribes in jungles or what-have-you, are happy with a sense of purpose and meaning in their lives, and some much wealthier, far better educated and prominent people in much larger societies are not.

As I recall, Biblically Solomon had great wisdom and learning, great wealth and political power, commanded great works to be done, had wives & concubines, and basically decided it was vanity. He, too, was successful and could pursue most any passion he might have, and got to try a number of them. So money doesn't equal happiness, and neither does fame, accomplishment or a good sense of humor.

I have to wonder if highly successful people, who've gained the wealth, fame and status, yet still at times agonize in dark despair, perhaps think there's not much hope left. After all, if you've achieved what there realistically was to achieve in your life, and you're still despondent, what then?

Ideally professional treatment and probably antidepressant or other relevant medication (there are different kinds of depression), but perhaps he'd tried a number of these? I haven't followed his case.

True clinical depression can be overwhelming and incapacitating. It's not comparable to the reactive upset/depressed moods most all of us get from time to time in bad situations. Be mindful that the will and self control, which people often believe we should 'fight' depression with, can be undermined by the biological compromise that can occur with severe depression. Suicidally depressed people retain some free will, yes, but can't just 'snap out of it' or 'pick a better attitude.'

Richard.

 

[boulderjohn]

We disagree....wholeheartedly.

And the great thing for you is you are not a celebrity, so you don't have to apologize.

Fox News Anchor Shepard Smith and Todd Bridges Apologize for Insensitive Comments About Robin Williams' Death | Comcast

 

[AngloFish]

Serious depression is not something someone can simply "get over". Calling him a coward is simply showing you have no idea how the various root causes result in symptoms of depression. There are many, but the end result is a complete inability to find joy or happiness in anything, and I'm talking anything and everything, all the time. I can't imagine what that's like but from what I understand it's not a matter of people who get to that point not caring about how it will effect their loved ones. but rather that they absolutely believe their loved ones will be better off without them. Their own brain, something deep within themselves is telling them it's the right thing to do.
That is freaking terrifying to contemplate, and apparently he had battled depression for most of his life.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Suicide can indeed be a permanent solution to a temporary problem, but it is often not that simple. For example, read the section of this Hemingway biography about his death, and the inherited disease that caused his mental abilities to to deteriorate badly. His father, brother, and sister all committed suicide, all probably with the same disease.

In Williams' case, he really didn't have obvious problems with his life that needed a temporary solution. He had just finished a very productive and profitable work period, and things were looking good for the future. The exception was his growing depression. People with severe depression or other disorders do not come to rational decisions about their lives. Cowardice is the decision of a rational mind. Someone who is not capable of thinking clearly cannot be blamed for poor thinking any more than a person with a broken leg can be blamed for poor walking.

Thanks for the reminder about why I have a select FEW people on Ignore..

 

[Steve_C]

Heavy alcohol and drug use may indeed be an attempt to deal with something like depression or PTS and those are real problems. But the fact is that drugs and alcohol do not help and they usually eventually make the problem much worse.

 

[tomfcrist]

We disagree....wholeheartedly.

And the great thing for you is you are not a celebrity, so you don't have to apologize.

Fox News Anchor Shepard Smith and Todd Bridges Apologize for Insensitive Comments About Robin Williams' Death | Comcast

If they had any backbone, they wouldn't apologize either.

When folks call it a disease(which it is not), or say that these people are unable to make logical decisions, it basically says that they are no longer responsible for their individual actions. Therefore the mothers with postpartum depression must not be accountable for suffocating their children, and depressed people that use alcohol and narcotics to numb the pain are not accountable for driving 95mph down a residential street and running over a 5 year old.

We all have pain, we all suffer some sort of depression to varying degrees, but we still make decisions that are well thought and that we are accountable for. People that commit suicide are perfectly capable of thoughtful planning, and making what they consider logical decisions. He made a decision to give less than 2 Sh!tes about how this would affect his family, and decided that his problems were more important than his family having to deal with the pain of losing him...that is why I call it cowardice. You don't agree with me, and the great thing is...I'm not asking you to. But if people are going to spew their guts about how awesome of a man he was(and I have to see it on every media outlet on earth for the next week or so until everyone quits giving 2psi about him), then I am going to share my opinion as well.

I realize that you have been very civil in your responses to me, and I applaud you for that. What makes this country great is that we can disagree and still be civil. Bravo Zulu to you John. Your reaction is not the norm in this ridiculously PC, touchy feely world we live in.

 

[drrich2]

Tom:

There are degrees/shades of grey. There are also a number of different kinds of depression, often distinctive from each other, and some more powerfully biologically rooted than others. Major Depressive Disorder with or without psychotic features, Bipolar Disorder depressed or mixed episode, etc...

The issue of decisional capacity also varies. Most severely depressed people are not psychotic, but some of them are. And depression, taken to an extreme, can distort a person's thinking to the point where the capacity for rational judgment is compromised.

You raise an interesting point that applies not just to the depressed, but also people with terminal or debilitating conditions that so degrade the quality of life that the individual decides his or her life is not only not worth living, but markedly worth ending. Bone cancer, progressing Huntington's disease, some quadriplegia (depending on how well one adapts to it), etc... If a person is in such torment, and over time and various treatments concludes that satisfactory resolution this side of death is not reasonably expected to be forthcoming, does that person 'owe' it to other people to survive?

If so, is this debt so great that ending one's suffering via is suicide 'cowardice' because it will hurt the feelings of other people who aren't in your misery?

There is so much cultural diversity in belief system today, and the value/obligation inherent in Life is rooted in one's value system, such that when people make blanket judgments like whether suicide is cowardice, I'm left wondering according to what value system that is?

Richard.

 

[jord1990]

If they had any backbone, they wouldn't apologize either.

When folks call it a disease(which it is not), or say that these people are unable to make logical decisions, it basically says that they are no longer responsible for their individual actions. Therefore the mothers with postpartum depression must not be accountable for suffocating their children, and depressed people that use alcohol and narcotics to numb the pain are not accountable for driving 95mph down a residential street and running over a 5 year old.

We all have pain, we all suffer some sort of depression to varying degrees, but we still make decisions that are well thought and that we are accountable for. People that commit suicide are perfectly capable of thoughtful planning, and making what they consider logical decisions. He made a decision to give less than 2 Sh!tes about how this would affect his family, and decided that his problems were more important than his family having to deal with the pain of losing him...that is why I call it cowardice. You don't agree with me, and the great thing is...I'm not asking you to. But if people are going to spew their guts about how awesome of a man he was(and I have to see it on every media outlet on earth for the next week or so until everyone quits giving 2psi about him), then I am going to share my opinion as well.

I realize that you have been very civil in your responses to me, and I applaud you for that. What makes this country great is that we can disagree and still be civil. Bravo Zulu to you John. Your reaction is not the norm in this ridiculously PC, touchy feely world we live in.

I was going to let it slide at first but since you keep on going. First of all I'm not angry and I can forgive all the not so smart remarks. From what you said you probably have never really been depressed so you just don't know any better, But as Jim said not more then a week ago. Never judge someone before you have walked in their shoes.

Jord

 

[lionfish-eater]

The sad part for me is that someone I used to turn to for a reprieve from the miseries of human existence is now a part of it. I would have felt a lot better if he just spit the reg, then we could at least argue about where his buddy was.