October Songs: 35 Songs for Spooky Season

Welcome to October. As the leaves begin to change colors and drop away from branches, candy gets stockpiled for trick-or-treaters and jack-o’-lanterns are lit from within, its time for a seasonal playlist.

In the below list, we’ve rounded up 35 songs for exactly that. Not all of them explicitly mention October in their titles or lyrics, but they’re still deserving of a spot here.

So while you’re making squash soup, raking the yard or designing your Halloween costume, here are some tunes to listen to.

1. “Sekret October,” Duran Duran

From:  1983 B-side to “Union of the Snake”

“Sure eyes awake before the dancing is over / Wise or naked in secret Oktober.”

2. “October’s Song,” Skid Row

From: The Gang’s All Here (2022)

“Mother change in the seasons I see / Winter’s on the rise / Autumn still in my eyes / Reborn as daylight dies.”

3. “October the Twelfth,” Roy Harper

From: Sophisticated Beggar (1966)

The lyrics to this song don’t actually mention October, much less a specific date, but for those that don’t know: Roy Harper is an English folk musician who heavily influenced Led Zeppelin, hence their song “Hats Off to (Roy) Harper.”

4. “August October,” Robin Gibb

From: Robin’s Reign (1970)

“In August October the grass grew / The sky was blue and I want you / Now as I look out my window / I see the world carry on.”

5. “October,” U2

From: October (1981)

“October and the trees are striped bare / From all they wear / What do I care?”

6. “Harvest Moon,” Neil Young

From: Harvest Moon (1992)

Technically, this song doesn’t reference October but we felt it necessary to include as this year’s real life harvest supermoon will take place on Oct. 6, 2025.

7. “When October Goes,” Barry Manilow

From: 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe (1984)

“And when October goes / The snow begins to fly / Above the smokey roofs / I watch the planes go by.”

8. “October Road,” James Taylor

From: October Road (2002)

“Well I’m-a going back down maybe one more time / Deep down home, October road / And I might like to see that little friend of mine / That I left behind once upon a time.”

9. “Summer Soft,” Stevie Wonder

From: Songs in the Key of Life (1976)

“And so you wait to see what she’ll do / Is it sun or rain for you / But it breaks your heart in two / When you find it’s October / And she’s gone.”

10. “Moondance,” Van Morrison

From: Moondance (1970)

“Well, it’s a marvelous night for a moondance / With the stars up above in your eyes / A fantabulous night to make romance / ‘Neath the cover of October skies.”

11. “Portland Town,” The Kingston Trio

From: Something Special (1962)

“I was born in Portland town / Yes, I was / Oooh, yes, I was / October third, I’m on my way.”

12. “All This Time,” Sting

From: The Soul Cages (1991)

“Saw the sad shire horses walking home / In the sodium light / Two priests on a ferry / October geese on a cold winter’s night.”

13. “Peaceful Waters,” Gordon Lightfoot

From: Lightfoot! (1996)

“The dead leaves of autumn / That cling so desperately / Must fly before the cold October wind / Their simple life is ended / Must they be born to die again?”

14. “Leningrad,” Billy Joel

From: Storm Front (1989)

“And in that bright October sun / We knew our childhood days were done / And I watched my friends go off to war / What do they keep on fighting for?”

15. “Tears in the Holston River,” Johnny Cash With the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

From: Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Volume III (2002)

“On October 23rd, 1978 / I lost a loved one and I confess, I cried / In the joyous celebration of the lady and her music / There were tears in the Holston River.”

16. “Rock Cradle Rock,” Chuck Berry

From: From St. Louie to Frisco (1968)

“I was born under the sign of Libra / October, eighteen, seven o’clock / I must have had it bad, because in the cradle I had / My mother said, before noon I was trying to rock.”

17. “Do You,” Spoon

From: They Want My Soul (2014)

“Someone get Popsicles / Someone do something ’bout this heat / ‘Cause it’s late in October / And tar’s still melting in the streets.”

18. “Heavy Horses,” Jethro Tull

From: Heavy Horses (1978)

“Iron-clad feather-feet pounding the dust / An October’s day, towards evening / Sweat embossed veins standing proud to the plough / Salt on a deep chest seasoning.”

19. “Bitters End,” Roxy Music

From: Roxy Music (1972)

“You were the raven of October (bizarre) / I knew the sign you flew around (bizarre) / Up in the air so high above me / Never needed to look down.”

20. “Sinking of the Reuben James,” Pete Seeger

From: Waist Deep in the Big Muddy and Other Love Songs (1967)

“Well, a hundred men went down in that dark watery grave / When that good ship went down only forty-four were saved. / ‘Twas the last day of October we saved the forty-four / From the cold ocean waters and the cold icy shore.”

21. “Here on Earth,” Prince

From: One Nite Alone… (2002)

“Imagine a young woman / Running for her very life / Tr-tr-trying to get away from the one who loves her / This young woman, ha, your wife / Into an alley, cold and rainy / October, just before dawn.”

22. “Adios Hermanos,” Paul Simon

From: Songs From The Capeman (1997)

“It was the morning of October 6th, 1960 / I was wearing my brown suit / Preparing to leave the House of D / Shook some hands, then adios, Brooklyn amigos.”

23. “Last Chance Train,” Bon Jovi

From: 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (2004)

“October leaves are falling, so am I / A harvest moon is calling me and I know why / The traffic’s like a symphony in blue.”

24. “Old Tennessee,” Dan Fogelberg

From: Captured Angel (1975)

“End of October / The sleepy brown woods seem to / Nod down their heads to the winter / Yellows and grays / Paint the sad skies today / And I wonder when you’re coming home.”

25. “Poet’s Justice,” Uriah Heep

From: Demons and Wizards (1972)

“Shine hard October moon / Eagle take me to her soon / Run swiftly silver stream / Find my love or let me dream.”

26. “Feel the Thunder,” Blue Oyster Cult

From: The Revolution by Night (1983)

“On October 31st many years ago / Three friends went out for a ride / For it was a famous party night / And to party was to get high.”

27. “Home,” Tom Petty

From: Expanded Edition of Highway Companion (2007)

“I was born in October / Turned the hourglass over / My hair was dripping / My shirt was stained / Hit the ground running / Shackled and chained.”

28. “Minerva,” The Smashing Pumpkins

From: Cyr (2020)

“October loves you / Strawberries love you / Who wouldn’t love you?”

29. “The Fugitive,” Iron Maiden

From: Fear of the Dark (1992)

“On a cold October morning / As frost lay on the ground / Waiting to make my move / I make no sound / Waiting for the mist to cover all around / I carefully picked my time / Then took the wall.”

30. “He Don’t Live Here Anymore,” Robert Cray

From: I Was Warned (1992)

“A chilled wind was blowin’ / A cold October rain / And, as I stood before the house / It was silently saying: / ‘Sorry about your father’ / ‘He don’t live here, no more.'”

31. “Ulalume,” Jeff Buckley

From: Closed on Account of Rabies (1997)

“The skies were ashen and sober / The leaves they were crisped and sere / The leaves they were withering and sere / It was night in the lonesome October.”

32. “After Halloween,” Fairport Convention

From: Rising for the Moon (1975)

“October has gone and left me with a song / That I will sing to you although the moment may be wrong / Could it be the sea’s as real as you and I? / I often wonder why I always have to say.”

33. “Copenhagen,” Lucinda Williams

From: Blessed (2011)

“It’s late October in Copenhagen / The skies are grey / The snow is falling / I see my breath outside, I’m freezing.”

34. “Back in the Good Old World (Gypsy),” Tom Waits

From: Night on Earth (1992)

“On October’s last, I’ll fly back home rolling down winding way / And all I’ve got’s a pocket full of flowers from my grave / But now summer is gone I remember it best.”

35. “The Torch Singer,” John Prine

From: Diamonds in the Rough (1972)

“I was born down in Kansas / ‘Neath the October sky / Work the day shift from seven to three / And the only relief that I receive / Is nearer my God to Thee.”