![[Dark Side] Songs with scary lyrics. Tracks that make you shiver with chilling phrases.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/NTrm_idbhUk/maxresdefault.webp)
There are many kinds of songs in music, but are you familiar with so-called “songs with scary lyrics”? It’s not just horror or dark themes—there are also songs where the raw emotions of love or the struggles of living come through so vividly that you can almost feel them.
And even with upbeat songs, some people might find certain phrases a little unsettling.
One of the fascinating things about music is that if you reinterpret even bright, motivational songs from a different angle, you can discover a darker side hidden beneath.
In this article, we’ll spotlight lyrics that reveal that kind of eerie edge, focusing on tracks that are often cited online.
If you enjoy those spine-tingling moments while listening, this is a must-read.
- A spine-chilling, terrifying song. Japanese music that evokes madness and horror.
- [Yami Song] A mental breakdown track that sings the true feelings of a melancholic heart
- A seemingly scary nursery rhyme: a children’s song that gives you the chills when you hear it
- A spine-chilling scary song: masterful tracks that evoke fear and eerie recommended songs
- Masterpieces that sing of despair. Recommended popular songs.
- [Ghosts & Yokai] Horror Song Collection [Monsters & Zombies]
- Disgusting music. A classic of Japanese pop/rock.
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- Chills down your spine. A collection of Vocaloid songs that are scary but irresistibly listenable.
- Stalker’s Song: A Rhapsody of Twisted Love
- [Melancholy] For when you want to sink all the way. Masterpieces that depict various kinds of gloom.
- Hidden gems of yami songs. Recommended popular tracks.
- [Dark Songs] A carefully curated selection of deeply dark tracks and heartbreaking songs that accompany you in tough times
[Dark Side] Songs with scary lyrics. Tracks that make you shiver with spine-chilling phrases (1–10)
Love me, love me, love meKikuo
It’s a striking Vocaloid track that draws you into a worldview where “love” is described as a “curse.” Created by Kikuo, a Vocaloid producer whose avant-garde style has been attracting attention from overseas music fans, the song was released in 2015.
While it has a somewhat pastoral, waltz-like feel, in reality the sound, lyrics, and music video are packed tight with fear.
This madness-filled Kikuo world is a bottomless swamp—once you’re hooked, there’s no escape.
Turn up the volume and entrust your entire being to this music.
a May flyRADWIMPS
RADWIMPS’ “May’s Fly” is packed with so much hatred it can’t be contained in a single song.
Released in 2013 as a double A-side single together with “Last Virgin,” it portrays a protagonist who seems to have been made to feel unbearably awful by a woman presumed to be his lover.
His resentment and hatred are laid out through every possible turn of phrase.
No matter how much she suffers from now on, he’ll neither help nor pity her—he’ll laugh, and tear her heart and body to shreds… What on earth did she do? It’s a track that inspires fear with the protagonist’s overflowing, unrelenting malice.
curseYamazaki Hako
A song by Hako Yamasaki that already exudes a scary atmosphere from its title, “Curse.” It’s included on the 1979 album “Ningen Magai” (“Almost Human”).
The lyrics depict what’s known as an ushi-no-koku-mairi—the act of hammering nails into a straw doll—but when that scene is sung over a dark melody, it feels downright eerie.
What’s more, the very sounds of the hammering are sung, lending it a sense of realism that makes you shiver just hearing the voice.
That said, the song isn’t merely dark; it’s said to also carry a resolve to admonish oneself for living with resentment toward others.
Even so, the vivid, film-like lyrics and unsettling melody can be summed up in a single word: frightening.
Your Dissection Pure Love Song ~Die~aimyon
Even from the title, it’s already pretty dire.
It’s the debut single by Aimyon, the singer-songwriter behind numerous hits like “Marigold” and “Naked Heart,” released in 2015.
The song has a breezy guitar-rock feel, but the lyrics are quite grotesque.
Taken literally, the line “I want everything—body and soul—of the one I love” could be called pure love in a sense… but I wonder how it feels to be on the receiving end of that.
I’m hooked on the gap between the upbeat sound and the message.
Kagome Kagome
Did you know there are urban legends about the traditional Japanese children’s song “Kagome Kagome”? People say it’s a courtesan’s song, a ghost’s song, a prisoner’s song, and so on—you’ll find all kinds of rumors if you look it up.
Some of you might be shocked, thinking, “I used to sing that without a care as a child—who knew?” Other nursery songs like “Sacchan” and “Akaikutsu (Red Shoes)” are also said to be secretly scary.
That said, a rumor is just a rumor.
Be careful not to let it keep you up at night.
COTTON COLORTaniyama Hiroko
Hiroko Taniyama’s “COTTON COLOR,” which became a hot topic online as “scary.” The song was originally written for singer-songwriter Yoko Ueno and was self-covered on the 1991 album “Boku wa, Kimi ga, Suki.” If you just listen normally, most people will think it’s a cute song, even though the lyrics are sung in mysterious words.
However, if you read the English-sounding part of the lyrics backwards, a murderer’s mother appears.
A mother who took the lives of many boys—and even her own child.
The deliberate reversal and obfuscation of the lyrics itself evokes a certain fear.
The horror movie–like development hidden behind the cute melody almost makes you want to scream.
CountdownCocco
The lyrics of Cocco’s “Countdown,” which relentlessly corner the person who causes her pain, are terrifying.
Released in 1997, this song was her debut.
It starts off quietly and then erupts into a heavy, explosive chorus.
The protagonist seems to have been cheated on by her lover; it’s long past the point where an apology could fix anything, and the lyrics demand that the price for betrayal be paid with one’s life.
While betrayal is certainly wrong, the irresistible sense of intimidation that permeates every word goes far beyond the norm.
Listening to it might make you lose any desire to betray someone you care about in an instant.