Sure as November follows October, so does Dia de los Muertos follow Halloween. In that spirit, I offer ten songs about death and dying.
1. The Long Black Veil – The Chieftains with Mick Jagger
2. Very Fine Funeral – Eddie From Ohio
3. The Banks of the Ohio – Asylum Street Spankers
4. Last Words – Austin Lounge Lizards
5. I’ll Fly Away – Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch
6. After You’ve Gone – Elena James
7. St. James Infirmary – Flying Fish Sailors
8. On We Go/Drink To Me – The Mollys
9. Nebraska – Bruce Springsteen
10. And When I Die – Blood, Sweat, & Tears
A little dark, but that’s okay. A little violent, too, as “The Long Black Veil”, “The Banks of the Ohio”, “On We Go/Drink To Me”, and “Nebraska” all involve murder. Who doesn’t love a good murder ballad, I ask you? Strictly speaking, “After You’ve Gone” is a breakup song, not a death song, but in the context of the movie “All That Jazz”, which is always how I think about it, it works perfectly well for a more permanent kind of good-bye. What death-related songs do you jam to?