Finally! This post is about four years in the making! We are fast approaching the end of October and Halloween and every year I've wanted to do a post highlighting some of my favorite creepy, dark country songs. And it's never happened. Until now. As I said in my video spotlight on Two Story Road's wonderful a cappella version of their song "Arson", I've always found dark songs to be the most interesting of songs, particularly from a songwriting perspective. Especially in times like this when there's so many party songs out there. I like listening to dark country songs to balance that out sometimes. In fact, I actually have a playlist made up of 59 of these kinds of songs. I know there's a lot more to be found out there.
Maybe it's weird, but I genuinely enjoy listening to these kinds of songs. Not all the time. It definitely requires a certain type of mood. I feel like I always listen to them more this time of year because what better time of year to listen to these songs? Songs about murder. About a love gone terribly wrong. Songs about revenge and betrayal. As you may have gathered, this is not what I'd consider an uplifting blog post. In fact, I'm going to include a trigger warning on this one. Because I fully recognize that these songs are not for everyone. For those of you more interested in the, shall we say, slightly more lighthearted side of Halloween, there may be a video spotlight coming up before the month ends. This spotlight may or may not feature a group of five guys that you might say I'm rather fond of. So be on the lookout for that one.
For those of you reading on, when I compiled this list of songs, I didn't expect how tough it was going to be to narrow it down. I tried to avoid the more obvious of these songs that tend to end up on most lists like this. For instance, as much as I love it, you won't be seeing "The Thunder Rolls" on here. Or "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia". That said, ultimately I went with what I'd consider to be my favorites. Or at least, my favorites at this point in time. Because favorites always change over time.
Let's get to it, shall we?
1) We're going to kick this off with the very talented Ashley Monroe. In all honesty, she has a few songs that could have made this list. I decided to go with "I Buried Your Love Alive" from her fantastic album The Blade - if you haven't heard that one, please go check it out. It was easily one of my favorite albums from 2015 and I'm still loving it now. Anyway, "I Buried Your Love Alive" is about a woman who is haunted by the memory of a past love and can't take it anymore. As she sings, "I cried out your name against my will/ A memory I can't kill/ I buried your love alive". Well then. Whatever works, right? It's a cool song and I love the way it feels.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-buried-your-love-alive/id999120669?i=999120671
2) "Looking Back Now" by Maggie Rose. I have such a hard time understanding how Maggie Rose isn't more popular. I love listening to this woman sing; her voice has such a cool inflection to it. "Looking Back Now" can be found on her Cut To Impress album from 2013. Some wise advice to be found in this one. Namely, don't piss off a woman holding whiskey and a gun. It's not a good idea. It's just not. Maggie released a video for this song last year, so I thought, why not include it?
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/looking-back-now/id1006859310?i=1006860219
3) "Pallbearer" by Josh Turner featuring Iris DeMent and Marty Stuart. This song was included on Punching Bag, which came out back in 2012. It's another great album and you can read my review of it here, if you're so inclined. "Pallbearer" is all about a man whose woman has left him all alone, leaving him to carry the weight of their dead relationship. Making him, you guessed it, basically a pallbearer. This was my favorite track from Punching Bag and it's one that Josh wrote by himself. Sometimes I forget what a great songwriter he is. The music is perfect for this song; simplistic, but hauntingly beautiful. Really like this one.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/pallbearer-feat.-iris-dement/id528741730?i=528742025
4) "Black Tears" by Jason Aldean. One of the few songs I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt were going to make it on this list. It's here that I remind everyone that you can't completely know an artist until you listen to their album cuts. So many people judge artists solely by their radio singles. I get it, I do. If you don't like what they have on radio, you're not going to care about hearing what else they have to offer. But what's important to remember is that most songs released to radio get released not because they're the best an artist has, but because they think they'll do well on radio. There are absolutely times when a single is, in fact, one of their best songs. But there's a lot of gems to be found on the album cuts. "Black Tears" in on Jason's Night Train album. It was not a single. And it's fantastic. It was also written by Canaan Smith and Tyler Hubbard (you know, from Florida Georgia Line). It's a song about a woman who has become a stripper to make money, even though it takes a toll on her. Even though it causes her pain and she cries. Black tears.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/black-tears/id556017018?i=556017137
5) "Concrete Angel" by Martina McBride. I'd say that this is by far the saddest song on this list. It's also one of the oldest, going back to 2002. It did very well for Martina, making it up to #5 on country music charts. That said, I wonder how many newer country fans are familiar with it. This is arguable to toughest song to listen to on this list as it deals with child abuse. Abuse that other people notice, but no one wants to get involved until it's way too late. It's a heavy song with an equally heavy video. One that's worth your attention.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/concrete-angel/id256344266?i=256345310
6) "Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry. I think it's safe to say that this song has ended up on many a list like this one. But it's too good for me to leave out. We join a family during dinnertime where our narrator's mother just kind of casually mentions that "Billie Joe McAllister has jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge". What's interesting about this song is the way that the rest of the family is treating this news - they may as well be talking about the weather. Our narrator, however, has completely lost her appetite. The plot thickens when her mother offhandedly mentions the Pastor saw Billie Joe and a girl who looked a lot like our narrator throw something off the bridge. Yesterday. What did they throw? Well, isn't that the million dollar question. We never get a definitive answer to that question. Some of the most common guesses are an aborted baby or a wedding ring. It's such a fascinating song. I'd say this is one of the best country songs ever written.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ode-to-billie-joe/id714598375?i=714598597
7) "Lightning" by Eric Church, This is the second song on this list that features someone on death row. The first was "Looking Back Now". "Lightning" is on Sinners Like Me and, in my opinion, one of Eric's best lyrically speaking. This song is about a man sentenced to death via the electric chair after killing a liquor store attendant. He regrets what he's done and if he could go back and undo it, he would. But he can't. And now he's about to pay the final price. Terrific song that comes complete with an equally chilling video. I hadn't watched it in a long time and had forgotten how good it is. Check it out.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lightning/id714565844?i=714567028
8) "Mountain Angel" by Dolly Parton. The longest song on the list. This one clocks in at 8 minutes and 23 seconds. Yes. You read that correctly. Almost 8 and a half minutes long. Don't let that scare you. It really is a great song and one of my favorite Dolly Parton songs. It's a song about a beautiful young woman who lived in the mountains and lived "a charmed and peaceful life/ The perfect mountain angel/ 'Til he arrived". Uh-oh. It's classic story of a woman falling for the wrong man who steals her heart and then disappeared. "They say he was the devil and he had come to steal her soul/ And she never loved another/ It is told". Unfortunately for our mountain angel, he seemed to have taken her mind along with her heart. And left her with a child that she lost. As the song comes to a close, our mountain angel has "laid down upon her baby's grave and died". Now her ghost is said to remain in the mountains, calling out to those that she loved. It's a terribly sad story, but a gripping one. You get so caught up in the story that it doesn't feel as long as it is. Dolly Parton is a master storyteller and this is a great example. You can find a version of "Mountain Angel" on Dolly's Live and Well double album. Which you can purchase right here.
9) "Room 205" by Chase Rice. Remember my mini-rant from about how you can't fully know an artist until you listen to their album cuts? This is another fantastic example. "Room 205" is found on Dirt Road Communion which I reviewed back in 2012. You can read that review here. This was one of my favorite songs on that album and probably the one that I've listened to the most often. I said it in my review, but this is such a well-crafted song. It's from the perspective of a hotel room that has seem some things. Like, you know, infidelity and murder. Yep. This is the love story of Johnny and Katie. A love story that, spoiler alert, doesn't end well. The production on this one is spot on, in my opinion. Great delivery of what really is a great song. If you've never heard it, please go and give it a listen.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/room-205/id657601755?i=657601939
10) "If It Hadn't Been for Love" by the SteelDrivers. So the guy who sings lead on the album version is a guy who I think might just have a future in the music business. Maybe you've heard of him. This time last year was a pretty good time for him. What with him bringing home New Artist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and what was that other one? Oh that's right. Album of the Year at the 2015 CMAs. I'm talking, of course, about the incredibly talented Chris Stapleton. Yeah, that's right. If you didn't know, he used to be in the SteelDrivers. They're a wonderful bluegrass band that is definitely worth checking out. "If It Hadn't Been for Love" is featured on the SteelDriver self-titled album and is another song about a love gone wrong. So wrong that our narrator has found himself in jail after killing his cheating lover. All because of love. I'd say it's the perfect dark song to wrap up this list of my top 10 favorite creepy country songs!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/if-it-hadnt-been-for-love/id380427232?i=380427255
So with that in mind, I do hope you enjoyed this list! What are some of your favorite creepy country songs? Or favorite creepy non-country for that matter. Let me know down below! '
Thanks for reading!
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