Top 10 Wolf-related songs- Halloween fun

3 wolf moon

As we approach Halloween, I like to get into the spirit by playing wonderfully weird, haunted, scary and heavy metally songs.  After watching last week’s Psych episode, “Let’s Get Hairy” I decided a list of wolf songs was extremely necessary. (Oh and the popularity of the 3 wolf moon shirt might have been another reason as well.)

I’ve been wanting to do a list of the best Wolf-related songs for a while, and I think this list I have created has some of the best of the best. You’re ranking might vary, but  below is MY LIST of the top 10 wolf-related songs.

#10 The Wolf by Rancid

Well back in 1998 Rancid burst onto the scene with their punky ska raspy voice sound and The Wolf was an excellent song that used “the wolf” terminology as a simile for possibly “the man” or “the system”. Whatever man, F society! Buy the album Life Won’t Wait from Amazon.

#9 DMX’s intro from It’s Dark and Hell is Hot

DMX has always used dogs as a metaphor for his posse in almost all of his songs, but the introduction from It’s Dark and Hell is Hot hits with an eerie vibe and mentions hunters and wolves and the famous line “Arooooo howlin’ at the moon on the roof”.  Great song from a great artist who seems to lost himself to the wolves.

Remember it here:

#8 You’re a Wolf by Sea Wolf

If you’re band name has “wolf” in it.. and you write a song entitled “You’re a wolf“, you had better bring the wolf. The video does contain a taxidermized wolf. There is also a forest background and a gypsie woman running around. “You’re a wolf, boy” is unfortunately all you will hear mentioned in the song and kinda left me cold.  The song itself is very pretty.

#7 Of Wolf and Man – Metallica

Great song of the Black Album. You get the hunting imagery, you get a chorus about shapeshifting, crunchy guitars and the whole WOLF and MAN metamorphosis. Can it get any better? This live version contains a howl too!

#6 She-wolf by Shakira

The newest addition to awesome songs about wolves, Shakira took the wolf theme to a whole ‘nother level. She even uses the word “lycanthropy”. Plus, you have a half naked woman in a cage dancing with wolf poses and her howl is beyond sexy. That’s how you get higher than Metallica on the list.

#5 Little Red Riding Hood by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs

Probably one of the first songs you will hear as a child about wolves. This song by Sam the Sham introduced us to the howl of the wolf using the classic Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. Check out Sam the Sham’s website. I apologize in advance for the slideshow below.

#4 Wolf Like Me -TV on the Radio

Probably one of my favorite songs of all time, “Wolf Like Me” is just an excellent song about wolves. The video is even better with stop motion animation of wolves tearing up a club! “God I Like it!”

“When the moon is full, goin to teach you tricks that will blow your mongrel mind!”

“Howlin’ forever”

These are lyrics of geniuses. You also get acapella howling in the song too. TV on the Radio made the quintessential wolf song.

Watch the video below, but you must doubleclick to go the youtube page to watch the video because the universal group does not allow embedding.

#3 Hungry like the Wolf- Duran Duran

“Hungry Like the Wolf” is part of my childhood and probably part of yours too. Hearing this in the Psych episode “Let’s get Hairy” was just a classic bit of 80’s throwback. You get the hunt metaphor, scent and sound senses in check and an intense hunger.

The closest thing you get to a wolf in the video is a lady running through what we can guess is the Amazon jungle acting all wolf-like. Simon sports some claw marks on his face at the end of the video. That’s fine by me. This Duran Duran video is still a classic part of MTV history. Love it.

#2 Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon

Warren Zevon made an instant classic with “Werewolves of London.” His howl cannot be beat and that is why his song sits at number 2 on my list. Just look at this live video from 1982. Holy crap. Half of the band LOOK like werewolves with all that hair. Purely awesome.

#1 Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf- Disney

Disney made “Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf” the number 1 song you will think of when you hear the tale of the three little pigs and from what I have read, Disney coined the phrase “the big bad wolf”. The flute and the violin help make this song great, but its the piggy’s voices that set this song above and beyond greatness.

And that is not it! Here is an honorable mention to the new Wolfmother CD coming out entitled Cosmic Egg. The song is “New Moon Rising”. I’m including it only because of  the like word association of Wolf and Moon.

Check out a sample below: