# Songs That Are Also Ghost Stories

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342>\
**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:** 1\
**Page:** 4

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**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 26, 2021, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-also-ghost-stories/933342/61 "2021-02-26T14:39:08Z")

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> [@Senegoid](#):
>
> Just google for “ghost songs” and you’ll find many lists of them

Well done for not cutting and pasting the list, tho - that would spoil the game. So: thanks.

I thought of two others, one obvious (and very clearly a ghost story); one obscure and debatable.

The Musical Box by Genesis. In fact, if you’re not familiar with the song, it contains only the second half of the story, with the first half being explained on the album cover. [Wiki summarises it thus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Musical_Box_(Genesis_song)#Composition):

> The lyrics are based on a Victorian [fairy tale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_tale) written by Gabriel, about two children in a country house. The girl, Cynthia, kills the boy, Henry, by cleaving his head off with a [croquet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquet) mallet. She later discovers Henry’s [musical box](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_box). When she opens it, “[Old King Cole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_King_Cole)” plays, and Henry returns as a spirit, but starts aging very quickly. This causes him to experience a lifetime’s sexual desire in a few moments, and he tries to persuade Cynthia to have [sexual intercourse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_intercourse) with him. However, the noise causes his nurse to arrive, and she throws the musical box at him, destroying them both [ie the ghost ad the musical box].

The song begins as the musical box is opened:

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZR3vl3tHrNc/maxresdefault.jpg "Genesis - The Musical Box") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR3vl3tHrNc)

And then there’s Paris 1919 by John Cale, which appears the describe a ghost “casually appearing from the clock across the hall”

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/q5YHqWqhFkU/hqdefault.jpg "John Cale - Paris 1919") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5YHqWqhFkU)

j

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