"Do You Love An Apple" fits in that odd category of songs with lovely melodies and purely poetic lyrics, expressing sentiments that are perhaps best described as pathological. There are in contrast lots of songs of upstanding content that are trite and unmelodic; I know a lot of people who sing "...Apple" because of its virtues of singability; but no one who can really get behind it.

A similarly dark and attractive song without the foolish romanticism is "Liverpool Lullaby" (DT) wherein the coping mechanism is the faint hope of winning a lottery, and the protagonist's love and hope for the future of her child.

Another, which I never cared for much, is Stan Rogers' "Lies", where she copes by anticipating Friday night, when at least he takes her out to the Legion dance....

Then there's "The Black Freighter"...

Kill them now? Or kill them later?

(Ouch)

Bill