Five great songs written about ghosts

But the ghost song also has a long and glorious tradition. It may not be as downright scary as its non-musical counterparts, but it’s just as important to us. However, number six on the list would be: Black Sabbath’s self-titled song It’s a chilling song if ever there was one, from their self-titled album.

They can be powerful, moving, exciting and, in some cases, downright funny. Since winter is here, it’s dark outside, and it’s always spooky season in our hearts, here are the five best songs that capture the spooky side of life.

The five best songs about ghosts:

‘Wuthering Heights’ – Kate Bush

The first 30 pages of Emily Brontë’s masterpiece contain one of the most influential pieces of horror fiction of the age. The novel’s narrator, the mild-mannered Mr. Lockwood, spends a single night at the titular mansion and encounters a ghost of the owner’s true love, who begs to be allowed in through the window while cowering in mortal fear.

The 1967 BBC adaptation of the novel so shocked 18-year-old Kate Bush (yes, she wrote this when she was 18) that she wrote a song about it in a few hours (yes, she wrote it in a few hours). On that fateful night, she created one of the true touchstones of British pop, making her an icon for weirdos and goths everywhere, as Emily had done a century before.

‘Ghosts’ – Laura Marling

But sometimes the ghosts are all in your head. Speaking of female songwriters whose precociousness is unconvincing, Laura Marling There was an affectionate but sarcastic generalization about a 16-year-old girlfriend who was obsessed with her ex. At such a young age, he had the empathy to admit that his girlfriend was trying to forget these “ghosts” that broke my heart before we met. but he was still world-weary enough to roll his eyes at his fruitless efforts to move on.

“Darling, please don’t get on your knees, it’s not like that/It’s not like I believe in eternal love” is one of the best lyrics of that decade, and for a very good reason.

‘The Lost River’ – Murder by Death

This list could be all Murder By Death tracks and still be cuts from the cult giants of American(a) Gothic. We decided to go with one of their more romantic pieces, reflecting the comfort of feeling like someone you love is guiding you from beyond. Of course, this being Capital Murder, there’s a huge sting in the tail.

You see, the song’s narrator guides their living loves to “swim that lost river towards me” and “lay their heads on the riverbed” to join them forever. A perfect fit for one of the darkest and most irresistible bands of its time.

‘The Ghost of Yesterday’ – Billie Holiday

Not every paranormal visit has to be scary. There are probably more recent recordings about ghosts than those that play straight, and then there are recordings like this classic from Lady Day herself. Records that shatter the image of the grieving ghost with every drop of melancholy. Over a typically stellar vocal performance, Billie spins a story that could easily fit into Sinatra’s story in the early morning in its pure, elegant sadness.

The ghost here is one of romantic regret. A Sleepless Vacation finds an ex-lover lurking in her room, and while on paper it’s the terrifying vision of a murder victim, I believe “The madness of a love I’m smothering” is a metaphor for breaking her love. heart rather than a real thing. In Holiday’s sigh, “You’re here every night, Whispering away / “It could have been, it could have been, oh dear” /
The foolish heart must pay for it” This is the sound of not knowing what you had until it was gone and realizing that what you mourn never truly left you.

‘Ghost’ – Rina Sawayama

The penultimate track of Sawayama’s 2022 record, Hold the Girl, sees him coming to terms with a less salient vision of who we might be after. Not another entity, instead the ‘Ghost’ of this piece is the person we used to be. In this case, the call really comes from inside the house, with Sawayama pleading: “I need you now, I need you close / How can you hold a ghost? / The child inside me, come back to me / I want to tell you: I’m sorry”.

As in many ghost stories, we must be perceived for who we once were, respected, and justice must be done before we can truly be at peace.

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