# Songs That Are Also Ghost Stories **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 20, 2021, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342 "2021-02-20T12:15:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/41 "2021-02-21T00:03:33Z")
Has this been mentioned yet? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wRWCK9zGynA/maxresdefault.jpg "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRWCK9zGynA) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/42 "2021-02-21T00:38:22Z")
[Payton Oswald Voice] “Angie Baby” by Helen Reddy is _kind of_ a ghost story? [/POV] ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/43 "2021-02-21T00:45:34Z")
There’s also something to be said for Gordon Lightfoot, with _If You Could Read My Mind_. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/44 "2021-02-21T01:36:19Z")
This is either a love story or a ghost story…or maybe both? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jttWyvL6iIM/hqdefault.jpg "Neko Case - Furnace Room Lullaby") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jttWyvL6iIM) ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/45 "2021-02-21T11:55:31Z")
I mentioned **Kate Bush** and **Wuthering Heights** earlier and that is definitely a ghost story. I’m now going to offer the more ambiguous **The Man With The Child In His Eye** s which was Kate’s follow up single. Kate herself has said it’s a song about a young girl in a relationship with a much older man. Years later Kate (who according to varying accounts was 13, 14 or perhaps about 16 when she wrote the song) confirmed she was herself always attracted to older men although part of the appeal is that men always seem to maintain a juvenile quality: Hence the song title. However the general lyrics and music have a haunting quality. Kate’s man arrives at night, no one else knows about him which could just be suggesting an illicit relationship. Until more specifically the lyrics include the man is _ **Telling me about the sea,** _ _ **All his love, 'til eternity.** _ Point being this, for some, ties the song to the (book and film) **The Ghost And Mrs Muir** where a woman moves into a house haunted by the ghost of a sailer and a romance ensues between them. Eventually the woman dies (of old age) and the ghost carries her away - presumably for eternity. It is of course possible the song is exploring both concepts. The dreamy soft focus ‘Yoga’ video doesn’t really provide any additional clues. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NAj8suae3WY/hqdefault.jpg "Kate Bush - The Man with the Child in His Eyes - Official Music Video") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAj8suae3WY) TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/46 "2021-02-21T13:38:07Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > …but still draw a blank for Dylan… there’s the great famous line from “Visions Of Johanna”, “the ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face”, and though it’d be stretch to call it a ghost song, it has a spooky and otherworldly atmosphere… In the same spirit (pun intended this time 'round) - how about Tangled Up In Blue? OK, it’s not a conventional ghost story, but I have long held the view that one of the ways to interpret it is as a story of lovers trapped in a succession of reincarnations, cursed to play out the same story in each lifetime, with the song ending as the cycle starts again. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QKcNyMBw818/maxresdefault.jpg "Bob Dylan - Tangled up in Blue (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKcNyMBw818) j ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/47 "2021-02-21T16:15:55Z")
Steeleye Span? Saw them live a couple of times, collected most of their recordings. Lots of ghost stories there. The British folklore tradition has plenty. The Child ballads collection is chock-full of them. And probably more than one song about the unquiet grave. Scotland has _Annan Water_, Ireland _The well below the valley_ and _She moved through the fair_ (the usual version, an alternative version has a playful explanation). In a nautical vein, _The Bay of Biscay-o_. Not so much ghostly as morbid, but the Welsh song _The ash grove_. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/48 "2021-02-21T18:28:27Z")
How about Neil Young’s “Powderfinger”? I’ve always assumed the narrator died at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/49 "2021-02-21T21:16:57Z")
Molly Malone, for the last verse at least. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EUWb1jcmMnk/hqdefault.jpg "MOLLY MALONE (Cockles and Mussels)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUWb1jcmMnk) Ghost Trains [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZjbjUy4KDYI/maxresdefault.jpg "Hank Snow - Ghost Trains") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjbjUy4KDYI) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/50 "2021-02-21T23:48:05Z")
In the folk ballad category, how about [“Unfortunate Miss Bailey”?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vju3geb1yc0) > [@](#): > > A captain bold in Halifax, who dwelt in country quarters, > seduced a maid who hung herself one Monday in her garters > His wicked conscience smited him > He lost his stomach daily > He took to drinking ratafia and tho’t upon Miss Bailey > > Oh, Miss Bailey! Unfortunate Miss Bailey! > > One night betimes he went to bed for he had caught a fever. > Said he, “I am a handsome man and I’m a gay deceiver.” > His candle just at twelve o’clock began to burn quite palely > A ghost stepped up to his bedside and said, “Behold, Miss Bailey!” > > Oh, Miss Bailey! Unfortunate Miss Bailey! […] ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/51 "2021-02-23T13:13:29Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > How about Neil Young’s “Powderfinger”? I’ve always assumed the narrator died at the end. For sure-- “then I saw black, and my face splashed in the sky”. “Remember me to my love, I know I’ll miss her”. Similar to ‘The Long Black Veil’, it is definitely a dead narrator song. I’m surprised I didn’t think of that one. When I was 15 or so I wore out my LP of ‘Rust Never Sleeps’, and ‘Powderfinger’ was one of my favorite songs on the album. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/52 "2021-02-23T13:43:02Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned yet… is it a ghost story or not? Love Vigilantes [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlHQSIMHqjA) ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/53 "2021-02-23T14:56:54Z")
Waltzing Matilda. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/54 "2021-02-23T16:17:20Z")
Kind of a giveaway from the title, but “Ghost Radio” by Brian Setzer and Joe Strummer [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DJfVYT_fNzw/hqdefault.jpg "Brian Setzer Ghost Radio") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJfVYT_fNzw) ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/55 "2021-02-23T16:35:28Z")
Concrete Blonde’s Ghost of a Texas Lady’s Man gets some points for the line You don’t scare me you don’t scare me I cried To my ectoplasmic lover from the other side ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/56 "2021-02-23T21:07:01Z")
And in the ever-popular Children’s Round category, [“Have You Seen the Ghost of John?”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mO_fQmIuiA) ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/57 "2021-02-23T21:13:19Z")
I had it on 8 track. I also have it on CD now. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/58 "2021-02-26T07:26:39Z")
[_Riding With Private Malone_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4uGb_6JREs), David Ball, 2001. Singer is pulled from fiery car crash by ghost of previous owner, a solder who died in Viet Nam. (Video includes lyrics full of spelling errors, and consistently mis-spells “riding” as “ridding”.) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/59 "2021-02-26T07:39:17Z")
Just google for “ghost songs” and you’ll find many lists of them. Here’s one, for example: [http://www.top2040.com/2014/07/top-40-songs-about-ghosts.html](http://www.top2040.com/2014/07/top-40-songs-about-ghosts.html) Includes a few already mentioned in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/60 "2021-02-26T07:47:57Z")
List of 102 songs with the word “Ghost” in the title. Although I didn’t listen to them, I would assume that at least some of them are actually about ghosts. In fact, the lede here says that most of them are about ghosts: > **[The Best Songs With Ghost in the Title](https://www.ranker.com/list/the-best-songs-with-ghost-in-the-title/ranker-music)** > > Have you ever thought about how many songs with ghost in the title have been written? This list ranks the best songs with ghost in the name, regardless of genre. Most of the tracks listed here are songs about ghosts, but almost all of them have... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342.md?page=4)