Great songs/Music made after terrible tragedies?

[AnthonyO'Brien]

I've had to leave my apartment after many years and am having trouble adjusting to the move. Youtubing these songs has picked me up a bit :

Def Leppard - Pour some sugar on me. Drummer won't let losing an arm stop him banging.

ACDC - Back in Black. The boys come back bigger and stronger after Bon Scott's death.

The early Foo Fighters albums Dave Grohl made after Kurt Cobain's death.

Others?

[TriggerWarning]

New Order. After Ian Curtis committed suicide the surviving members continued on as New Order. Their first single, Ceremony, was actually supposed to be a Joy Division song and there is a poor quality demo out there of it with Curtis singing, he killed himself just days after recording the demo, but the final product was New Order with Bernard Sumner singing.

[WillieMorgan]

The Rising album from Bruce Springsteen immediately comes to mind. It was written and recorded in the wake of 9-11 and was kind of The Boss' response to such a colossal tragedy.

I find The Rising to be a really inspiring record. Springsteen judged the tone and themes of the record just right. Instead of getting on some sort of philosophical, declamatory soapbox Springsteen instead crafted a set of songs that dealt with the aftermath of tragedy and loss but also, crucially, in that part of the human condition that gradually manages to find new meaning and happiness in life again after time. It was an album that preached tolerance and forgiveness and focused on working past grief to find a fresh sense of purpose in life. It's a well judged album musically also as it seems to 'rise' in spirit as it progresses, in keeping with the album title.

There was no self recrimination or finger pointing on display here. Just a very uplifting record about humankind's ability to overcome immense grief and find contentment in life again.

Like a lot of modern albums it's a touch too long. You could have ditched a couple of the tracks here and the album probably would flowed slightly better. Nevertheless this was a triumphant return for both Springsteen and the E-Street Band after a separated and difficult 1990's for them.

[AnthonyO'Brien]

I like Eminem's Beautiful and Phenomenal. Made after the death of his best friend and his following battle with drugs.

The Pretenders had a horrible week in the 80's with the suicide of one member and another OD'ing. What great songs would you say came after that period?

[Iron Maiden]

Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven"