One of the spookiest weekends of the year is upon us. Ghosts, witches, zombies and werewolves roam the streets for Halloween weekend. While it is so easy to find country songs about Christmas, it is rare for anyone to think of country music and Halloween together, but there are definitely songs out there that get their spookiness on. Listening to them around Halloween time can really escalate their meanings. The night of this spooky holiday is all about the “scaries,” and to get you in the mood, here is a list of 5 of the spookiest country songs through out time that I have complied from research, and from songs that I have personally found to be appropriate for Halloween vibes.
- “It’s a Monster’s Holiday” by Buck Owens
I can’t help but start this list off with this song. If it doesn’t get you in the Halloween mood I am not really sure what will. If you can’t tell merely from the title, this song is all about the creatures that encompass the meaning of Halloween. Dragons, zombies, Frankenstein, gremlins, goblins, Dracula, and Wolfman are all of the monster’s that are being celebrated during the Halloween season. Buck Owens sang one of the most directly Halloween related songs that I have found, and I like it.
- “Two Black Cadillacs” by Carrie Underwood
Don’t ever cheat on Carrie Underwood. “Two Black Cadillacs” is only one of many songs that she has about a cheating boyfriend or husband, but it is arguably the most serious. It is about a wife teaming up with “the other woman” to take out the guy that they both thought was theirs. The music in the song along with the lyrics create an eerie sounding threat that would scare me if I was a cheating guy. The song is very vague about how the women killed the husband, but its sound and the lyrics do make a convincing point to be scared of two pissed off women.
- “Creepin’” by Eric Church
Eric Church’s song Creepin’ is a song is about him looking back on a previous relationship, but his lyrics take it further than him just being reminiscent about his loss, the imagery makes it creepy. “Your cocaine kiss and caffeine love, run under my skin and into my blood.” This line could make any listener’s blood quiver, and the chorus following adds to the creepiness factor. “Ivy crawlin’,” “living in glass,” “like a honeybee beatin’ on my screen door,” and the 30 times the word “creepin’” is used all contribute to the eeriness. I realize that this song won’t really scare anyone, but it’s tune and sound along with vivid imagery make the song perfect for this Halloween season.
- “Ghost Riders in the Sky” by Johnny Cash
Have you ever wondered what hell looks like? Well for a cowboy it would be endlessly chasing around a bunch of mad cows and never being to catch them. And what’s worse? They seem to be devil cows. In this song, Cash has painted a picture of cowboy hell. I picture a very scary setting that is filled with blood and demons, and that is often what I run into on a Halloween night (but the things I run into aren’t real, so I am ok with it.)
- “Better Dig Two” by the Band Perry
This song is actually a bit disturbing if you really pay attention to the lyrics. The Band Perry’s song “Better Dig Two” is about a girl who is so freaky obsessed with her husband that she plans to die if they are ever separated by death or divorce so she won’t have to see him with someone else. She talks about their burial process as the pre-chorus (one of the catchiest parts of the song) for if he dies before her. This girl takes “till death do us part” very seriously, to the point where its spooky.
As Halloween approaches, listen to these songs with this more spooky perspective in mind. When I did, it made me even more aware of the eeriness in so many of these songs. There are many other songs out there that could be included on this list, so as you are listening to country music this week, try to be more aware of the lyrics to see if there is a scary factor that you didn’t even notice before.
Kaki,
This post was really fun and creative. I’ve never thought of country music and scariness together as synonymous objects. I kind of always think of happiness, calmness, and relaxation with country music for some reason, so it was interesting to see the two compared and put together. I love that you included the Carrie Underwood song, “Two Black Cadillacs.” You don’t really think of it as a “scary” song, but when you really dissect the meaning of the song, of two women killing a man they once loved and getting away with it, it sounds perfectly fitting for the focus of a horror movie. Just like you said about The Band Perry song, you really can uncover and decipher more creepily intense meanings in various popular, well- known songs.
This was a great post! Super creative and very entertaining. This is exactly what keeps a blog alive; looking at what is going on in the world and connecting it to your topic of interest in unconventional ways. I remember hearing some of these songs for the first time on the radio and getting chills down my spine (especially “Better Dig Two”), and you are right that listening to these songs in the context of Halloween makes them even spookier. I personally love Halloween, so getting to read about it on this blog was lots of fun. I appreciated the thought you put into choosing the songs you put on the list, and it really paid off! This was an excellent post.
Kaki, this is such a great post especially because it was perfect timing for this past weekend! I would have never thought that country music would talk about Halloween or “spooky” things in their lyrics, so I am glad you shared these with us! I find it very unique that you chose to put in “Two Black Cadillacs” by Carrie Underwood into you’re countdown because most people classify that song as a song about cheating instead of a song relating to Halloween. I have never thought about its “spookiness” before, so I think its a great choice to add it into your post! I really enjoyed reading it!
I love the song “Two Black Cadillacs” by Carrie Underwood, and I completely agree with the creepy tone. Even though I know the song is about two women who had the same man as lover (and you can assumed they plotted his death) I still got a chill when I heard this song for the first time. I was use to Carrie doing her women empowerment spiel, but to hear a more serious song really stopped me in my tracks. I think it was a good song to pick because it takes place at a burial with the two women who caused his death.