10 Classic Rock Songs About Boredom And Restlessness

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Boredom can feel quiet, restless, lonely, or explosive, and rock artists have captured every version of it. These 10 songs turn monotony, isolation, laziness, and the hunger for escape into memorable performances by Blind Melon, The Kinks, Iggy Pop, Paul McCartney, Supertramp, and more.

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Our “10 Classic Rock Songs About Boredom” article presents a series of songs that capture, in multiple ways, the sadness and despair that can accompany boredom. Boredom comes to us in many forms. Some people choose to live boring lives and somehow find joy in that. Others who live exciting lives become bored very easily. These are usually adrenaline junkies who just can’t take living a simple life. There are many different levels of boredom and various factors that contribute to it. We tried to pick a wide selection of songs that look at boredom from different angles while also choosing some really special pieces that capture the concept in memorable ways. Some of these are popular songs, and others are not. A few may surprise you. What would be your picks?

# 10 – “No Rain” – Blind Melon

We open our classic rock songs list about boredom with a wonderful song recorded by Blind Melon. This is one of those videos that went into heavy rotation on MTV and turned the band into a household name. Everyone felt that little girl’s pain; everyone could relate to it in some way or another. This song contains so many sad lyrics, so many words that point to the helplessness of loneliness and boredom. Those two terms go hand in hand. Some choose to live a life of boredom, while others become captured by it. The late Shannon Hoon delivered a mesmerizing vocal performance on this one. The song was released on the band’s 1992 debut album, Blind Melon.

# 9 – “Phenomenal Cat” – The Kinks

The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society

Our celebration of The Kinks’ music continues with another song from the band that finds its way onto one of our song genre lists. “Phenomenal Cat” by The Kinks is not just a song about boredom; it’s a song about a character choosing to be bored and being completely content with it. Of course, the song is open to interpretation, but I think it’s pretty obvious what the band was singing about. The song was released on the album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society.

# 8 – “Hang Fire” – The Rolling Stones

If you’re not familiar with what the term “hang fire” means, it simply refers to delaying something or waiting a while to make a decision. Of course, that indecisiveness can sometimes be a result of simple boredom, or it can lead to boredom. In The Rolling Stones’ song “Hang Fire,” that’s pretty much all they’re talking about. This is a song that presents themes of laziness and boredom that can easily be heard in lyrics such as, “In the sweet old country where I come from, nobody ever works, nothing ever gets done. We hang fire, we hang fire.” “Hang Fire” was released on The Rolling Stones’ 1981 album Tattoo You.

# 7 – “Going Down to Liverpool” – The Bangles

This is not just a song about boredom; it’s a song about embracing boredom. It’s the ultimate “I want to do nothing” song. It’s right there in the lyrics: “I’m going down to Liverpool to do nothing, I’m going down to Liverpool to do nothing all the days of my life.” It’s interesting, though, that this song sounds nothing like a song about boredom. It’s a fun, well-written, highly melodic song fueled by a sensational performance by The Bangles.

The song was originally recorded by Katrina and the Waves in 1983, a year before The Bangles released their version. Kimberley Rew wrote the song. However, we thought the video The Bangles made was really worth showcasing in this article. Have you ever seen it? If not, you might want to take a look.

# 6 – “I’m Bored” – Iggy Pop

We tried to stay away from the obvious ones, but this one is just too good to pass up. Iggy Pop doesn’t pull any punches with this one. No clever lines, no poetic prose; he just tells it like it is. “I’m Bored” was released on Iggy Pop’s third studio album, New Values. The album was released by Arista Records in July 1979.

# 5 – “Johnny and Mary” – Robert Palmer

Now, talk about a perfect vocal performance showcasing the idea of boredom. Robert Palmer usually sizzles in most of his performances, but in this one, he plays the perfect actor in a song about a relationship lacking any sort of excitement or value. The man is searching for some sort of value in this world while the woman stays at home, completely bored, counting the walls and knowing full well that they aren’t going anywhere. It’s a pretty sad one, but such a cool song.

The song was originally released on Robert Palmer’s Clues album in 1980. Interestingly, it was later used to advertise Renault cars. I don’t know why they would use a song like this to advertise a product; I guess they just weren’t really listening to the lyrics.

# 4 – “Too Much Time on My Hands” – Styx

One of Styx’s all-time great songs fits perfectly on this list. The sensational track “Too Much Time on My Hands” showcases the concept of boredom with lyrics like, “Well, I’m so tired of losing, I’ve got nothing to do, and all day to do it.” And, of course, there is the chorus: “Is it any wonder I’ve got too much time on my hands? It’s ticking away with my sanity. I’ve got too much time on my hands, it’s hard to believe such a calamity.”

This classic Styx song was written by Tommy Shaw. It was released on the Paradise Theatre album in March 1981 as the album’s second single. At the time, the band consisted of Tommy Shaw, Dennis DeYoung, James Young, Chuck Panozzo, and John Panozzo. “Too Much Time on My Hands” became a Top 10 hit for the band. It was the most commercially successful song Tommy Shaw had written for Styx.

It’s also probably one of the cheesiest videos the band ever made. Oh, my Lord!

# 3 – “Boredom” – Deftones

Sometimes we don’t need clever lyrics or a song filled with meaning. Sometimes all we need is a lyric like this: “I get bored, I get bored, I get bored, I’m bored.” I think we get the point rather easily. There are times when that’s all we need, that’s all we want. Just say it like it is, tell it to our face, spit it out, and boom, you’re done. The song captures the madness in a very angry fashion, which is often a result of boredom. That’s why this is so important to listen to; at the end, you can hear his pain and suffering from one of the worst experiences everyone can have in this life: boredom. The song was released by Deftones on their 1995 album Adrenaline.

# 2 – “Another Day” – Paul McCartney

If there ever was a song about living a life that never changes, it was Paul McCartney’s masterpiece, “Another Day.” This song not only captures the concept of boredom but also addresses sadness, which is often a result of boredom. Paul McCartney lays it out in a perfectly titled tune that so many people can relate to. This is an important song in Paul McCartney’s career, as it stands as his first solo single following the breakup of The Beatles. Released on February 19, 1971, it became a major hit for McCartney.

# 1 – “From Now On” – Supertramp

Oh, that piano sounds so good at the opening of this song. Rick Davies had such great piano chops. Of course, his vocal performance was also spectacular. Kudos to engineer Peter Henderson, who got such a great sound out of that piano. This is a killer tune to close out this list of songs about boredom. Rick Davies dreams of a better life while working in a mundane job that leaves him bored to death. His life has become all about dreaming and living in a fantasy. The music wrapped around those lyrics is perfectly matched with the subject. The song was released in 1977 on the band’s fifth album, Even in the Quietest Moments… This became Supertramp’s first gold album. What a great one it was!