Back in 2009, the year I started Broken Hearted Toy, I embarked on a month-long quest to post a different Halloween-appropriate song for each day of October. Some were fun, some were scary, and they came from different genres. I was unemployed and had a lot more time on my hands.
I’ve posted a few Halloween songs each October over the years, so there’s quite a collection for anyone who cares to scroll through my archives. My very first Halloween post was a song by Over The Rhine. Led by vocalist/guitarist Karin Bergquist and bassist/keyboards player Linford Detweiler, the Cincinnati-based band is still very active in 2020 and often comes to Chicago to perform. I did an interview with them for the Illinois Entertainer several years ago, and they were every bit as cool as their music would lead one to believe. They’ve garnered critical acclaim for weaving elements of folk, country, and indie rock behind thought-provoking lyrics.
“Jacksie,” the haunting opening track from Over The Rhine’s 1992 Patience CD, was inspired by the book, A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis. It deals with the loss of a loved one. Still, a casual listener could be forgiven for thinking this is a classic ghost story, especially with lyrics like, “They laid her in the ground./She still comes around./A love that never dies takes you by surprise.” Bergquist’s ethereal vocals, set to a slow, enticing arrangement, sends chills up your spine, especially the way her “la la la la la la la” echoes like you’re traveling through a dark forest.
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