ChordEvery feeling › Shame

Songs for shame

The heaviest one to name. These songs are tender about it, with no judgment anywhere in them.

Chosen from 1,134 songs in Chord's library that carry shame. Every description below is written about that specific recording.

Songs to sit with it

No rushing. These stay at the weight you're already at.

  1. Shame
    Harvey Milk

    Crushing sludge-doom riffs move at tectonic pace beneath Creston Spiers' howled vocals. Feedback-drenched chords sustain like open wounds, the song collapsing inward rather than resolving. Heavy in every sense.

    1997 · distorted · dense · guitar-driven · descending arc
  2. Condemened
    Zach Bryan

    Raw, lo-fi acoustic confession recorded like a voice memo, Zach Bryan's cracked voice laying bare self-condemnation in a sparse arrangement that feels like eavesdropping on a private breakdown.

    2019 · acoustic · sparse · vocal-forward · descending arc
  3. Guilty Conscience
    070 Shake

    070 Shake's voice cracks over a hollowed-out beat, half-sung, half-confessed, as bass pulses like a slowing heart. Minimal production amplifies the weight of every unvarnished admission.

    2020 · electronic · sparse · ambient · descending arc
  4. ASHAMED
    HEALTH

    Industrial noise-rock confession: crushing bass, glitching percussion, and Jake Duzsik's vulnerable vocals drowned in reverb. Self-laceration as sonic exorcism.

    2024 · electronic · distorted · dense · descending arc
  5. Crucify (Remastered)
    Tori Amos

    Raw piano and unfiltered vocal expose the anatomy of self-laceration. Each verse tightens the knot before the chorus releases a scream dressed as prayer.

    1992 · piano-led · vocal-forward · sparse · descending arc
  6. Shame In You
    Alice In Chains

    Tripod's slowest rot: detuned guitars ooze like tar, Staley's voice fractures under self-loathing. The sound of addiction eating its host.

    1995 · guitar-driven · dense · distorted · descending arc

Songs to move through it

These don't leave you where they found you.

  1. Onanist
    Ethel Cain

    Brutally intimate confession over stark piano. Cain's voice cracks under the weight of religious guilt and sexual shame. No production tricks, just raw exposure. Demands full attention and offers no easy exit.

    2025 · sparse · piano-led · vocal-forward · descending arc
  2. Runaway
    Kanye West, Pusha T

    Nine-minute opus opening with a solitary piano motif, expanding into a maximalist confession of flaws. The distorted coda is a cathartic scream.

    2010 · piano-led · orchestral · dense · ascending arc
  3. The Prodigal Son, Op. 46, Scene 2: VIII. Awakening and Remorse
    Neeme Järvi & Royal Scottish National Orchestra

    A turbulent, dramatic orchestral onslaught by Prokofiev that builds from uneasy quiet into a harrowing storm of psychological distress.

    1989 · orchestral · dense · distorted · ascending arc
  4. Let You Down
    NF

    Confessional rap with piano-loop foundation, raw vocal delivery, and lyrical vulnerability about fame's toll on relationships.

    2017 · piano-led · electronic · dense · ascending arc
  5. How Much A Dollar Cost
    Kendrick Lamar, James Fauntleroy, Ronald Isley

    Minimalist piano and Isley's haunting chorus frame Kendrick's harrowing encounter with divinity in a homeless man.

    2015 · sparse · piano-led · orchestral · ascending arc
  6. Blame
    Korn

    Heavy, down‑tuned guitars and Jonathan Davis's anguished vocals create a crushing wall of nu‑metal angst.

    2002 · distorted · dense · guitar-driven · descending arc

Songs that lift

The turn upward, when you're ready for it.

  1. Shame
    St. Lucia

    Glistening '80s-pop arpeggios and propulsive drum machines frame Jean-Philip Grobler's yearning falsetto. The track builds into a euphoric, dancefloor-ready chorus that transmutes shame into kinetic release.

    2022 · synth-heavy · polished · groove-forward · ascending arc
  2. Shame
    Nahko And Medicine For The People

    Nahko's warm baritone rides a rolling folk-groove with hand percussion and layered harmonies, turning shame into communal testimony. Chant-like chorus invites singalong release.

    2023 · acoustic · groove-forward · vocal-forward · ascending arc
  3. Walk of Shame
    P!nk

    A punchy, cheeky pop-rock anthem with a driving beat and P!nk's signature gritty, self-deprecating humor.

    2012 · guitar-driven · polished · ascending arc
  4. Hate On Me
    Jill Scott

    Bold R&B with assertive vocals, great for an empowering transition.

    2007 · vocal-forward · piano-led · polished · ascending arc
  5. Guilt
    The Long Blondes

    Spiky, danceable indie pop with sharp post-punk rhythms and a spoken-sung vocal full of sardonic edge.

    2008 · guitar-driven · groove-forward · ascending arc
  6. Sad B*tch
    Borgore

    Classic Borgore gorestep: squelching mid-range bass, aggressive half-time drums, vocal chops twisted into hooks. Confrontational energy that turns self-loathing into a mosh pit.

    2020 · distorted · dense · groove-forward · ascending arc

Songs to celebrate

Full brightness, nothing held back.

  1. Shame (feat. Andy Pickett)
    White Denim

    Tight, funky rhythm section locks with jagged guitar interplay and Andy Pickett's soulful guest vocal. White Denim's signature virtuosity keeps it light on its feet. Shame as a groove you dance through, not wallow in.

    2023 · guitar-driven · groove-forward · polished · flat arc
  2. Shameless
    Camila Cabello

    Upbeat, synth-heavy dance track with a focus on Camila Cabello's vocals.

    2019 · synth-heavy · electronic · vocal-forward · ascending arc
  3. The Feminine Urge
    The Last Dinner Party

    Baroque indie pop explosion featuring soaring operatic vocals, theatrical piano flourishes, and dramatic emotional catharsis.

    2024 · orchestral · guitar-driven · vocal-forward · ascending arc
  4. Shona Phantsi / On Da Floor (feat. Smilo)
    Ciza, ZVRI, Ney the Bae & Mavo

    Aggressive, high-energy dance track with a focus on driving beats and catchy synths.

    2025 · electronic · groove-forward · polished · ascending arc
  5. Rich White Girls
    mansionz

    Bouncy, trap-inflected pop with satirical lyrics about privilege and desire, driven by a minimal beat and catchy hook. More smirk than sincerity.

    2017 · electronic · groove-forward · polished · flat arc
  6. Loyal
    Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Tyga

    DJ Mustard's minimal ratchet bounce. Sparse synth melody, heavy 808s, chantable hook. Cynical lyrics ride a beat engineered for maximum club singalong, frictionless and infectious.

    2013 · electronic · groove-forward · dense · flat arc

Arcs that pass through shame

Chord's playlists move. These start or end here.

shame → tendernessTender the whole way, no judgment anywhere in it.shame → hopeOut from under it, gently.

Feelings next to shame

Close enough that the same night often holds both.

Tenderness17,050 songsHope11,171 songsLove10,290 songsDesire12,127 songsJoy18,325 songsEuphoria8,515 songs

Want this shaped around your own music?

Chord reads your own library and builds an arc that moves the way you need to move today.

Build a shame playlist

Questions

What songs are good for shame?

The 24 on this page, drawn from 1,134 in Chord's library that carry shame. They're grouped by what each is for, because the right song for sitting in a feeling is rarely the right song for leaving it.

How does Chord know a song is about shame?

Every song is read for emotional content: what it carries, how intensely, whether it rises or falls, and what it's useful for. That reading is what these pages are built from, not genre tags or chart position.

Can I get a playlist made from my own music?

Yes, free and with no account needed. Tell Chord how you feel in your own words, and it builds an arc from music you already love: a beginning, a turn, an arrival.