Songs That Are Also Ghost Stories

Cafe Society
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I read something recently, probably on these boards, about how a belief in the supernatural was one of the common characteristics of human societies. Not me personally , I like to think – but I have to confess it goes a little deeper than that. I’m not keen on ghost stories because they scare me – even something like The Wife Of Ushers Well can cause a shiver, and that’s a song fer chrissakes.

Which made me think – there must be other songs which are also ghost stories. An interesting little sub-genre for a thread. I’ll kick us off with the aforementioned Wife Of Ushers Well:

I can think of one more example, but it’s a bit of a cheat. I’m guessing there must be quite a few others.

What have you got?

j

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Genesis-Home by the Sea. The second half is all instrumental except for a vocal reprise at the end of the song

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Does a dark song sung from the perspective of a dead man count? Then I offer “Long Black Veil”. Here’s the Johnny Cash version:

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I Come And Stand At Every Door

I prefer the This Mortal Coil to The Byrds or Seeger interpretations:

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All you need, right here.

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Phantom 309 is an obvious example.

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There’s the classic (Ghost) Riders In the Sky, which has been recorded many times. Here are a couple of versions:

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Does “Deep Purple” qualify?

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“Wildfire,” is a ghost story – ghost girl, ghost horse coming to get the hero and ghost him (literally).

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You know someone was going to do it sooner or later so I thought I would just get it done.

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Camouflage by Stan Ridgeway

TCMF-2L

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“With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm”

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In the same spirit (no pun intended) this is the “one more example, but it’s a bit of a cheat” that I mentioned at the top of the thread:

Less a ghost story, more a ghost postscript.

j

PS: to the question “Does this count?”, asked a couple of times - of course!

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That’s what I came in to mention.

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Beat me to it! That’s the one I immediately thought of when I saw the post title. Here’s an atmospheric version I like, by the Chieftains, with Mick Jagger as guest singer:

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(Spoiler) The lovers die at the end (end Spoiler) so it’s a Ghost Story. Blue Oyster Cult and Don’t Fear The Reaper

Also SNL “More Cowbell” sketch

TCMF-2L

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Great version I hadn’t heard, thanks! I’ve also always liked the Band’s take on the song:

ETA: it’s one of those folk songs that sound like it’s old as the mountains, but actually it was written as late as 1959.

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Kate Bush singing as Cathy, who is a ghost, in Wuthering Heights

TCMF-2L