3 Rock Songs That Tell Stories Just as Dark as Any Horror Film

While most of the time, songwriters like to tell their own stories, for a change of pace, they might look to others for inspiration. Songwriters often do this when they want their song to have a twisted edge. Many artists have sung about murder and other crimes over the years, including the three below. These rock songs tell stories that are just as dark as any horror film, from the perspective of someone else. Revisit these chilling tracks.

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“Down by the River” (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)

Despite his stature in the folk scene, Neil Young is often regarded as an early forefather of grunge. If that doesn’t resonate with you, the song below will change your mind. Young & Crazy Horse’s “Down by the River” is a hypnotizing listen. You’re sucked in by Young’s edgy playing, only to be haunted by the lyrics he’s written.

Down by the river, I shot my baby, Young sings in this tale of murder. The legendary artist claims to have written this track while suffering from a high fever, which only adds to its mystique. Though Young has assured that there is no truth behind the words, he sings them with enough earnestness to leave the listener uneasy.

[RELATED: The Artist Neil Young Credited With Redefining His Genre: “Threw a Molotov Cocktail Onto Rock & Roll”]

“Polly” (Nirvana)

Grunge has never shied away from dark topics. The first two entries on this list of rock songs that could double as horror movie scripts attest to that. Nirvana‘s “Polly” saw Kurt Cobain detail the horrifying story of the kidnapping of a young girl.

Cobain did many things to support victims of sexual assault, including this track. Although at first glance this song might seem like Cobain empathizing with the kidnapper, Cobain is actually delivering a searing look into the reality of evil in the world. Cobain shed light on the issue in his own, eerie way.

“Nebraska” (Bruce Springsteen)

“Nebraska” sees Bruce Springsteen sing from the perspective of a murderer, Charles Starkweather, who killed 11 people alongside his girlfriend in 1958. Springsteen walks in the shoes of a killer, daring to dig into his psyche.

I can’t say that I’m sorry / For the things that we done / At least for a little while, sir / Me and her, we had us some fun, Sprigsteen sings matter-of-factly. It’s really Springsteen’s delivery that gives this song a chilling edge. He’s rather blasé about the whole thing, which makes the events ten times scarier.

(Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)