hopelessness before salvation

I agree, the song was perfect. I can think of a few other angsty songs that might have served better, but they would have clashed with the folksy motif they have goin' on.

Part of the reason it worked so well was the contrast--it helped add to the hopelessness of that sequence (which culminated with Trent hitting the dog and the subsequent sprial into apparent doom), and made the ending all the more unexpected and powerful. Another part of it, though, (and maybe this is just me) is that I instictively associate most sad songs with my feelings for little girls. I've never felt unbridled joy about a girl--always, there is what I cannot do, what I cannot say. It is the greatest source of happiness in my life, but it is also the greatest source of misery. Thus, depressing, angsty songs are most likely to make me think about my own depression, my own angst, and the slender hopes that lie therein.