Country music is known for its storytelling. Since the genre formed, songwriting and an emphasis on lyricism have been cornerstones of the music. While country music offers plenty of light-hearted, beer-friendly songs, the genre also has dark undertones. That’s exemplified in songs like “Fancy” and “Red Headed Stranger” which offer seedy storylines centered around intriguing characters. With its roots planted in the South, it’s no wonder that country music and southern gothic storytelling have blended so naturally over the years.
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1. “Red Headed Stranger” by Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson has long been a compelling storyteller, and nowhere does he prove this better than with “Red Headed Stranger.” Written by Edith Lindeman Calisch and Carl Stutz, the title track of Nelson’s groundbreaking 1975 album tells the gripping tale of a mysterious man with eyes like the thunder and a heart was heavy as night. Nelson keeps the listener engaged the whole way through as the man shoots and kills a woman who tries to steal his trusty horse, the only thing left in his life that has meaning. He gets away with the crime and continues on his lonesome journey, the story lingering in one’s mind even after the song is over.
2. “Ain’t Enough Rocks” by Brandy Clark
Brandy Clark’s “Ain’t Enough Rocks” is dark from start to finish. The sinister story of a pair of young sisters who are sexually abused by their father and take matters into their own hands by teaming up to end his life. The imagery goes from dark to darker as they roll up his corpse in a rug tied to rocks that they sink to the bottom of the river. Inspired by a phrase in Forrest Gump, the haunting tale opens Clark’s self-titled 2023 album, and ends with an eerie, yet empowering message: Some crimes don’t deserve a jury/Or a penitentiary/Or the possibility of parole/In a quarter century/Sometimes the only cure for a certain kind of problem/Is the right amount of limestone/To keep it at the bottom. “Ain’t Enough Rocks” is dark country songwriting at its finest.
3. “Iuka” by The Secret Sisters
This ghastly story by the Americana duo The Secret Sisters will have you hanging on every word. The lyrics follow a young couple who long to be wed, but the young woman’s disapproving and domineering father proves to be a violent roadblock. After the two lovers fled to the small town of Iuka, Mississippi, which is known in southern folklore for being the home of a justice of the peace who would secretly marry young couples without parental permission, their story comes to a bitter end when her father sends them both to her graves. It’s southern gothic storytelling at its best.
4. “Devil’s Backbone” by The Civil Wars
There’s a deep sense of desperation embedded into The Civil Wars’ “Devil’s Backbone.” The title alone offers imagery as striking as the lyrics. The song tells the story of a woman who falls in love with a bandit, bearing three of his children. I’ve fallen for someone who’s nothing like you / He’s raised on the edge of the devil’s backbone, Joy Williams sings with bone-chilling vocals, pleading with the Lord to spare his life and in return, she’ll take on his burdens. It’s an equal parts haunting and beautiful southern gothic tale.
5. “Fancy” by Reba McEntire
Though there’s no murder in “Fancy,” originally sung by Bobbie Gentry and made more famous by Reba McEntire, the song still packs a dark punch. The tale of an 18-year-old woman turned out by her mother in order to make money for the poverty-stricken family is tragic in and of itself. After her mother spent every last penny we had to buy me a dancin’ dress, Fancy is then forced to become a stripper in hopes of getting enough money to cure her sick mother and starving younger sibling. The story gets even sadder when the baby is taken away by DSS and Fancy’s mother dies. But it ends on a high note as Fancy meets a “benevolent man” who gets her off the street and into a life of luxury, making for a song full of twists and turns that’s captured the attention of fans of all ages.
6. “Church Bells” by Carrie Underwood
Following in the footsteps of “Fancy” is Carrie Underwood’s powerhouse single, “Church Bells.” With Underwood describing it as “‘Fancy’s little sister,” “Church Bells” follows the story of Jenny, a woman who comes from poverty, yet her beauty strikes the fancy of an “oil man” who takes her hand in marriage. But the story takes a violent twist when it’s revealed that the man is a domestic abuser who leaves her with bruises covered in makeup / Dark sunglasses. But Jenny gets the final word, slipping an untraceable substance into his glass of Tennessee whiskey that leads to his demise. The story ends with Jenny hearing the same church bells at her husband’s funeral as she did the same day they wed, making for a hair-raising country song that’s also one of Underwood’s best.
7. “Better Dig Two” by The Band Perry
As natives of the Deep South, The Band Perry has an affinity for southern gothic literature. They proved this when they recorded “Better Dig Two” for their sophomore album, Pioneer. The eerie song finds Perry as an obsessive woman who professes to her husband that not even death can do them part. The song crosses the line between passionate and possessive, as told through the lens of compelling songwriting. So if the ties that bind ever do come loose / Tie them in a knot like a hangman’s noose / ‘Cause I’ll go to heaven, or I’ll go to hell/Before I’ll see you with someone else, Perry belts with conviction over an intoxicating melody of banjo and a haunting fiddle, making for a prime example of modern southern gothic country storytelling.
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