# What's your favorite "haunting" song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 9, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741 "2016-04-09T23:48:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [April 14, 2016, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/81 "2016-04-14T00:14:05Z")
“Man in the Long Black Coat”- Bob Dylan “Who Are The Brain Police”- Mothers of Invention ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/82 "2016-04-14T00:21:45Z")
For some reason, the first thing that came to mind was _[Red Right Hand](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrxePKps87k)_ by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/83 "2016-04-14T00:42:07Z")
“With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm,” by The Kingston Trio. It’s about Anne Boleyn. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/84 "2016-04-14T04:02:35Z")
[Nuages](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEpzZjB6_D4) (clouds), nocturne no. 1 for orchestra by Claude Debussy. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/85 "2016-04-14T04:18:33Z")
[Agnus Dei/Lux Aeterna/Requiem Aeternam](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RSMcgQfM9E) from Gabriel Faure’s _Requiem_. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/86 "2016-04-14T04:35:27Z")
I’m a little surprised no one has mentioned D.O.A by Bloodrock yet. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/87 "2016-04-14T06:04:10Z")
Different songs haunt me in different ways. A few that come to mind: Handel - Sarabande Arvo Pärt - Spiegel im Spiegel Peter, Paul and Mary A Soalin’ Zupfgeigenhansel Andre, die das Land so sehr nicht liebten Frühling dringt in den Norden Gustavo Santaolalla - Secreto en la montaña Vienna Teng - The Hymn Of Acxiom Ich Hatt Einen Kameraden Beethoven - Allegretto from Symphony No. 7 La bruja- Tlen Huicani Gustavo Santaolalla - Pa’ Bailar ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/88 "2016-04-14T13:15:27Z")
I struggle with threads like this that deteriorate to lists, even if they have YouTube links. Where is the “why” behind the choices? I would much rather hear one recommendation - your best, something interesting, whatever - with some of your thoughts on it. I will take a shot: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_jwv2QMtAo) This is **Music for 18 Musicians** by **Steve Reich**. It is _Minimalist_ - played on orchestra instruments, but they all play little note-patterns, which are written to weave in and out with each other over time, like listening to rain drops off different parts of your gutters and the plops run in and out of sync with each other. Philip Glass is probably the best-known minimalist composer. It was revolutionary in the '60’s and influenced music, including Pete Townshend’s synth work on Who’s Next (he typically name-checks Karlheinz Stockhausen) Why haunting? It is not music as much as a sonic landscape. It starts off sounding totally mechanical, but as you hear the note patterns weave in and out, it starts to sound like…breathing? And the Reich adds in vocal elements to increase the non-mechanical feel. The sonic landscape feel of the piece is immersive, when you get lost in the patterns you go places you don’t go with other types of music. Sorry, that is the best description I’ve got ;). What is haunting about this is that, once you get this feel, it stays with you. If your brain flashes on something that gets Music for 18 Musicians going in your brain, you can be transported back to that place. The feel of the patterns stay with you. Freaks me out sometimes 😉 So that’s my Why. Worth a try! ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/89 "2016-04-14T13:35:08Z")
Haunting as hell… and I don’t even know what they’re saying: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FEMZqYM3Peg/hqdefault.jpg "Cirque Du Soleil O, Nostalgie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEMZqYM3Peg) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/90 "2016-04-14T13:36:14Z")
Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/91 "2016-04-14T13:55:00Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > “Sally Go Round the Roses,” by the Jaynetts. > > [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uc9KB9JAD-4](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uc9KB9JAD-4) > > Spooky as hell. Is it about suicide, insanity, or an illicit (1963) lesbian love affair? You tell me… This is one of my favorites. Really unusual for 1963. I think of it as a folk song, although it isn’t. There are, of course, truckloads of folksongs that are haunting, both in the subject matter and in the musical setting… some really traditional, like “The Silkie of Sule Skerry” and “Cruel Sister”, which deal with death and the supernatural, and others more recent, like “Morning Dew”, which is about nuclear apocalypse. Another bunch of haunting songs came out of the West Coast sound of the late 60s, in which a mysterioso feel was one of the major elements. (It’s no coincidence that a lot of the West Coast musicians started as folk artists.) The Doors have already been mentioned (the song that first came to mind for me was “End of the Night”)… Jefferson Airplane had some very haunting songs, both sweet (“Comin’ Back to Me”, “Today”) and scary (“The House at Pooneil Corner”). Another favorite of mine is the trancelike “Bulgaria” by It’s a Beautiful Day. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/92 "2016-04-14T17:33:42Z")
Oh, and another: Donovan [Season of the Witch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gblXJ8j_AU). There are other good versions, but he wrote it. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/93 "2016-04-14T18:56:53Z")
The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunckle. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/94 "2016-04-14T19:27:09Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” I’d choose Pink Floyd’s, _ **The Wall** _ as the most haunting _album_—all of the songs are equally disturbing, yet beautiful. You can’t get much darker of a theme than tracking a man’s degeneration into insanity. The tone of the total package is surreal, but believably real at the same time. The music, lyrics, inter-cut dialogue/sound bites, even the movie animation, all come together to make this a chilling, unforgettable masterpiece. …not a good album to listen to if you’re depressed, however. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/95 "2016-04-14T19:39:48Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > I’d choose Pink Floyd’s, _ **The Wall** _ as the most haunting _album_—all of the songs are equally disturbing, yet beautiful. > > You can’t get much darker of a theme than tracking a man’s degeneration into insanity. The tone of the total package is surreal, but believably real at the same time. The music, lyrics, inter-cut dialogue/sound bites, even the movie animation, all come together to make this a chilling, unforgettable masterpiece. > > …not a good album to listen to if you’re depressed, however. While we’re on the subject of Pink Floyd, I find “High Hopes” (from The Division Bell) to be quite haunting as well. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/96 "2016-04-14T19:50:02Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > While we’re on the subject of Pink Floyd, I find “High Hopes” (from The Division Bell) to be quite haunting as well. Good one. \*\*The Division Bell \*\*seems to get panned in some quarters, but I’ve always liked it quite well. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/97 "2016-04-14T20:01:18Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > I’d choose Pink Floyd’s, _ **The Wall** _ as the most haunting _album_—all of the songs are equally disturbing, yet beautiful. > > You can’t get much darker of a theme than tracking a man’s degeneration into insanity. The tone of the total package is surreal, but believably real at the same time. The music, lyrics, inter-cut dialogue/sound bites, even the movie animation, all come together to make this a chilling, unforgettable masterpiece. > > …not a good album to listen to if you’re depressed, however. And Mother is SOOOOO creepy. 🙂 I just don’t respond as emotionally to it as I do to Wish You Were Here. Of course, you have to know its history to really get it. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/98 "2016-04-14T21:42:32Z")
_In Dulce Decorum_ by The Damned > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > “Blue Velvet” > > I always thought the song had a bit of weirdness going on, and then David Lynch apparently agreed, because he made it central to a really disturbing movie. Now I can’t hear the song without it stirring up all the movie bizarreness. Orbison’s “In Dreams” is also ruined. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/99 "2016-04-15T14:16:34Z")
Ironically, a love song written in 1937 has always haunted me: Lili Marleen. [Vera Lynn’s version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSMuTm649Hk); [Marlene Dietrich’s version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZAV4hsP5WU) (this is the one that affects me most). The song was popular with both Allied and Axis soldiers in WWII’s European Theater. A love song about a soldier and the girl he yearns for, listened to by soldiers on both sides during a devastating war, knowing many of those listeners would be going back to their girls in body bags is sobering and haunting. Although I wan’t born yet, WWII affects me on an emotional level. My father was in the Army Air Corps (385th Fighter Squadron of the 364th Fighter Group) and recounted how many of his friends did not return from their P-38 and P-51 missions, or crashed and burned on their return to base. My mother witnessed even more horror, seeing her neighbor blown into the next block by a doodlebug and being being bombed out of three houses during the war, the last one killing her dog and nearly killing her). ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741/100 "2016-04-17T17:54:29Z")
1. [Haunted](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLpcyHVhM4U) by The Pogues (vocals by Cait O’Riordan). 2. [Haunted](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8oyxrrEk58) by Shane MacGowan and Sinéad O’Connor. 3. [Haunted](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QPL_YRen04) by Amanda Jones. 4. [Haunted](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkFZB9Kb-8k) by The Pogues, demo version. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-haunting-song/751741.md?page=6)