The Regional Requiems of our Haunted Mountain Home:

 

Bluegrass is often touted as the music of the Appalachian people. Is this fact? This form of music started in these Southern Appalachian regions and continues to maintain popularity.

 

This is a collection of titles of music within this genre that is rooted deep within the "horror," of life. Title, artist (when available), and story behind the song is noted.

 

Note: Songs that are very old and have been rerecorded through the years will not have specific artists listed.

More Lyrics Coming Soon!

 

Bringing Mary Home- Mac Wiseman

This song is about the infamous phantom hitchhiker. The singer picks up a girl, Mary, who is hitchhiking in the rain. He agrees to take her home. He turns to where she sits in the back seat only to find she disappeared.

 

He continues following the directions she gave him and arrives at an old house. He is greeted by Mary's mother who informs him that 13 years earlier, Mary died, and she has been trying to return home since then.

 

 

Legend of the Wooly Swamp- Charlie Daniels

This story is of Lucius Clay and what happens. He was a greedy hermit who lived in a swamp. He was relatively well-to-do, yet kept his money on his property, buried in Mason jars.

 

Local thieves catch word that Clay's fortune is buried in his yard and they wait for him to come outside. Clay comes outside, as usual, to look at all his money. He is ambushed and the boys attempt to run with his money.

 

Their luck changes once they kill Clay and grab the money, they find they are marooned in quicksand. The murderers die as the spirit of Clay is laughing.

 

Clay never really leaves and can still be heard in his swamp.

 

 

 

Ghost Riders in the Sky- Johnny Cash

 

This song has been recorded tens of times through the years by many artists. The story never changes. The lyrics are often compared to the Norse myth of the Wild Hunt.

 

The singer is witness to a ghostly round-up. The cattle have hooves of steel and breathe fire. The cowboys are malevolent and warn the singer that if he doesn't change his ways, he'll be riding with them for eternity, herding the Devil's cattle.

 

 

 

Big, Bad John- Jimmie Dickens

 

This song has often been used for comedy, but the essence of the song contains elements of horror. The main her of the song is John. John is a legendary miner who can work harder, faster, and is stronger than any other.

 

Yet, he is trapped when a mine caves in and never emerges. Legend has it that people can still hear him swinging his hammer and pick today.

 

 

 

The Silver Ghost- Misc.

 

The Silver Ghost is about a ghost train, the Old 41. The legend within the song states the train was thrown from it's rails by a mountain slide 50 years earlier. Yet, witnesses still see and hear the train go by.

 

Brown Mountain Lights- Country Gentlemen

 

The legend of the Brown Mountain Lights has been in existence for centuries. Even before the white man settled North Carolina , the Native American had their own legends about this phenomena.

 

The song discusses one theory of a loving and devoted slave seeking a master who disappeared. The lights, in this song, is the "lantern," used by the slave during his search.

 

Other theories about the lights are even older, such as the one based on Native American lore. A great tribal war occurred centuries ago and the lights are the devoted Native maidens seeking their brave husbands who had been lost in battle.

 

 

 

Devil Went Down to Georgia- Charlie Daniels

 

This song was originally by Charlie Daniels, but has been redone by such bands as Primus.

 

In this song, a musical war is waged between a fiddle expert and the Devil himself. In the end, the fiddler wins.