Country music in its purest form is about the expression of emotions and experiences. A country song is made with story elements related to love, broken hearts, drugs, hardships, suicidal thoughts, and sometimes all in one song. Now that isn’t to say country songs can’t be energetic, fun, and filled with good times…but those types aren’t expressed all the time.
The purest elements of country music are, or have largely been about the saddest moments of a person’s life. So, it isn’t much a stretch to believe that some of the legendary musicians of country music may not have ever moved on to the other side. But instead their spiritual energy may still roam from town to town, or perhaps preferring to stick around places—or people—they once loved or knew while alive.
Our guest this on this edition of the podcast is Penn State researcher and journalist, Matt Swayne. Matt has written numerous books, and the Ghosts of Country Music is the second such “Ghosts of” book, his first focused on the Ghosts of Rock and Roll.
Mysterious Matters: Archive - Dark Matter AM 2026