Halloween season is upon us and we are already carving our pumpkins and purchasing some costumes for our children - mine will be a cowboy this year. Whether you are throwing a Halloween party or just trick-or-treating with your little ones, then you might want to accompany yourself with a playlist that combines the twang of country music with the spookiness of Halloween. Well, you are in luck. Let's check out four spooky country songs that should definitely be included in your Halloween playlist. Spoiler alert: I'm all for the classics, so sorry to everyone under 30.
Videos by Wide Open Country
(Ghost) Riders in the Sky - Johnny Cash
Written by Stan Jones in the late 1940s, I couldn't help but include the Man in Black's version of (Ghost) Riders in the Sky. A tale about chasing the Devil's cattle forever as a ghostly cowboy should be enough of a theme to make it to the top of any Halloween song list.
However, if you add the bassy and unique Johnny Cash voice, then you have both a chilling and haunting version of a song that pretty much stands on itself. A supernatural song and a supernatural voice, how could you go wrong?
Midnight in Montgomery - Alan Jackson
Now, as soon as the electric guitar started playing at the beginning of the song, I thought that I was about to experience an old-school slasher film powered by some hard-hitting synths. And while Midnight in Montgomery is anything but that, that sensation completely sold me on the eerie nature of the song, goosebumps included.
Contrary to the other entries in this list, the song was written by the singer himself. Alan Jackson's ballad is a tribute to Hank Williams, a legendary country artist, with Jackson singing how he meets Williams's ghost after visiting his grave. Williams then thanks Jackson for paying him this tribute in the form of a song. The aforementioned use of the guitars, the whole ambience of the production, the chorus melody, and, of course, the music video, make this a spooky country song indeed.
Gravedigger - Willie Nelson
Dave Matthews wrote and released Gravedigger back in 2003, making it the very first single in his solo career following his work in the Dave Matthews band. He went on to win a Grammy for the song. Personally, I prefer Willie Nelson's version, with one user perfectly stating my sentiment: "Dave's version is a young man who has everything to live for. Willie's version is an old man who's accepting death."
The lyrics depict the protagonist walking through a graveyard and singing about the many people buried there. Three different stories for three different people, all who encountered death or dealt with death in different ways. The song's chorus in particular is very memorable, using the word "gravedigger" as a resource repetition that rounds it up perfectly, aligning itself with the message the song conveys.
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia - Vicki Lawrence
Finally, we have The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia. You might have heard Reba McEntire's version, but I chose Vicki Lawrence's version instead. Part of me chose it because I'm a sucker for the golden oldies. Another part of me chose it because it has a disturbing aura that I think aligns way better with the Halloween-Spooky theme we are talking about here. I don't know if it is the keyboard or maybe the double vocal tracking that makes it spooky, but I really appreciate the arrangement, shining above the much more produced and modern-sounding Reba McEntire's version of the song.
A story about a man who was hanged after being wrongfully sentenced to death for the death of his wife and his lover, this is an example of great storytelling that only a few artists have been able to achieve. The key change in and out of the chorus is marvelous, and it gets me every time as we move from the gritty to the upbeat and back to the gritty. Overall, a murder ballad that will connect with you and profoundly move you.
