Looking for some autumn-themed music to listen to this season? Here are ten songs I recommend adding to your rotation!
- “Curses” by The Crane Wives
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This is a jazzy and passionate but haunting piece that recalls images of an old house, bones, ghosts, and fire. “Not the Ghost” from the same album is also worth a fall season listen!
There’s still cobwebs in the corners
And the backyard’s full of bones
Won’t you stay with me, my darling
When this house don’t feel like home?
- “MANIAC” by Baby Storme
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This song was released in October of 2021 and has an accompanying music video that demonstrates the chilling lyrics of obsessive love, set to a creepy tune.
You’ll take me seriously after
I’ll cause a natural disaster
I’m a maniac, woah-oh…
- “Ballad of Lost” by Amethyst Kiah
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While not explicitly autumnal, this song of loss and sorrow feels like a melancholy walk through a forest of orange leaves.
Every time the wind blows
My mind goes too
My heart keeps on wandering
And my head is in the clouds…
- “In the Woods Somewhere” by Hozier
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Perhaps an underrated one in terms of Hozier songs, this song by title alone invokes images of wandering the woods. It tells the story of someone being hunted by a creature in a forest.
When I awoke
The moon still hung
The night so black that the darkness hummed…
- “Into the Unknown” by The Blasting Company
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For those of you familiar with the ten-episode animated series Over the Garden Wall, this is required listening for October. The song and several other equally wonderful ones are featured in the show, and I strongly recommend giving it a watch, and this song, a listen!
How the gentle wind
Beckons through the leaves
As autumn colors fall…
- “A Song in Praise of Sonoma Mountain” by Ismay
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The lyrics in this song describe images of nature and sounds like birds chirping behind an acoustic guitar to create a highly naturalistic feeling. I could easily see it applying to various seasons, but it feels most like autumn to me.
Fox and the blackbird are crying aloud
But they’re not in pain
They’re simply singing your name…
- “time” by feel so sleep
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You may have heard this instrumental piece floating around social media before. It’s a beautiful piece of music with undeniable spooky, fun vibes.
- “ivy” by Taylor Swift
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Similar to “Curses,” this song feels like a haunted house, not in a jumpscare-way but in the atmosphere of a decrepit place. Death and love are prominent themes with ivy serving a significant metaphor.
How’s one to know?
I’d meet you where the spirit meets the bones
In a faith-forgotten land…
- “Long Lost” by Lord Huron
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This song belongs in this season primarily for how it feels to listen to. Slightly mystical, evocative of decay, and oddly hopeful despite the subject matter.
Leave me where the moonbeams
Carve through the leaves like blades
Lay me in the tall grown grass in a shallow grave
Let it have me…
- “‘Tis Autumn” by Nat King Cole
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Lastly, I’d be remiss to leave this song out, as it’s a classic for this time of year. Perfect for a slow autumn day and a cup of tea. It’s truly beautiful and frankly, I don’t see it often enough on peoples’ autumn playlists!
The trees say they’re tired, they’ve borne too much fruit
Charmed on the wayside, there’s no dispute
Now shedding leaves, they don’t give a hoot
La-di-dah di-dah-di-dum, ‘tis autumn!