You can find the link to the playlist here:
Southern Gothic is a style of storytelling that thrives where beauty and decay live side by side. It’s a world of red clay and judgment, grace and guilt, front-porch kindness and backroom secrets. In this tradition, the South is not just a setting—it is a character: shaped by memory, burdened by history, and haunted by what refuses to stay buried.
When I used to teach American literature, these Southern short stories and novels both haunted and intrigued me. I was beginning to understand that “Southern hospitality,” smiles, and Jesus talk didn’t always match reality.
The most Southern Gothic thing my grandmother ever said was:
“Christian is as Christian does.”
Southern Gothic literature emerged as a distinct voice through writers like William Faulkner, whose tangled families and moral wreckage revealed the weight of the past in places like Yoknapatawpha County. Flannery O’Connor sharpened the edge of the genre with her stark portrayals of sin, grace, and violent revelation—often showing that redemption comes in unsettling, unexpected ways. Authors such as Eudora Welty and Tennessee Williams added to the tradition, exploring isolation, eccentricity, and the quiet desperation beneath polite society.
At its core, Southern Gothic isn’t about ghosts in the traditional sense—it’s about the past that won’t stay dead, the moral contradictions of faith and failure, and the tension between who people pretend to be and who they truly are. It’s filled with flawed characters, decaying places, and moments where the sacred and the profane collide.
Over the past two years, I’ve tried to capture that spirit in a style that honors the South’s particular kind of “quirkiness.”
These songs take that literary spirit and place it into a musical landscape—front porches, church pews, riverbanks, back roads, and small towns where everyone knows your name, but not always the truth. The stories lean into exaggeration, dark humor, and hard truths, embracing the strange edges of Southern life while never losing sight of its deeper weight.
“Bama Gothic” isn’t just about Alabama—it’s about a way of seeing the world:
where grace walks hand in hand with judgment,
where the land remembers everything,
and where even the quietest places have something to say.
If you want to read the lyrics for these 15 songs, you can find them below:
And also- here’s the inspiration and background for each track: Bama Gothic Lyrics
1. Bama Gothic – This was originally a song called “Southern Gothic” that tried to include Easter egg allusions to Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, etc. I worried a lot of listeners wouldn’t catch those references, so I shifted to something more thematic. I aimed for a Southern rock base, but it drifted more toward a country sound.
2. Small Town Sins – My wife once said something like, “She acted so small-town,” and it stuck with me. We all knew what she meant—too much gossip, too little openness. This isn’t a knock on small towns (the roots are good—honestly better than the “big city”), but no place is immune from human sin.
3. Zombie Chickens – I was walking with a copier technician at school one day, talking about the strange things we grew up with that kids today wouldn’t believe. We both had traumatic memories of chickens with their heads wrung off—and also talked about maps, rotary phones, etc. He used the phrase “Zombie Chickens,” and I wrote the song that night. A week later, he came back, I played it for him, and he loved it—they even played it for their whole office. My favorite lines:
Now you know where we get that sayin’
Ain’t a word of this I’m playin’
’Bout a chicken with its head cut off runnin’
Lord, that thing just kept on comin’
4. Fool’s Gold – This also came from my wife, Lisa, sharing a morning devotion on Colossians 2:8:
“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit…”
5. Up From the Coosa – This is a true story about a man who jumped out of a plane to avoid felony financial crimes, faked his death, and stayed at the creepiest spot on Hwy 280 in Harpersville—the Harpersville Motel (I ended up writing “hotel” in the lyrics). On most of these songs, you can click “Behind the Song” to find a blog post with more detail. This one is especially quirky.
6. Unforgiven – I’m not sure this fully fits Bama Gothic—it comes straight from the Clint Eastwood movie. Thematically it works, but it leans more Western.
7. Three-Quarters Empty – My most popular song, built on lyrics I first wrote in 1982—the same year I fell in love with American literature and Southern Gothic. It has nearly 7,000 plays since I published it on November 24, 2025.
8. I Just Stopped Digging – This came from a Lane Kiffin quote in a documentary. I took it from there—again, “Behind the Song” has more detail.
9. Through It – This started from a quote in a news story about the tragic floods in Texas (Camp Mystic), but I also connect it to people dealing with tornadoes in Alabama. It reflects how we live in the South—we lean on each other and get through it. We don’t get over it.
10. Justice Ran Hot in South Alabama – I hope this playlist brings more attention to this one. It’s based on a true story told to me by my friend Gary Cartee, a state fire marshal, about working a difficult case in Washington County, Alabama. I turned it into a short story and later into a song. The “Behind the Song” link includes both.
11. Cause and Effect – This song came from a blog title: “Snoozin’ and Losin’.” I spent a rainy day building phrases around it and eventually shaped the lyrics. It was later re-published by songwriter Frank L. Wilken.
12. Check Engine Light Is Red – I wrote this as a metaphor comparing my aging body to a car from my birth year—a 1964 GTO. It took about two weeks to get the lyrics right. My favorite line: “Mountain Dew leaking out the radiator cracks.” I even worked to give it a George Strait feel. When I first played it for my wife, she didn’t react much—until I explained, “No, the car is me.” Then it clicked. It hasn’t caught on (about 200 listens since March 2025), but maybe George will record it someday.
13. Climbin’ Out of a Bad Hole – This came from the frustration of projects at work—especially construction with tight deadlines—running into issues. I played with the idea of different kinds of “holes” and leaned into a Dierks Bentley vibe.
14. A Lot Right by Living a Lot Wrong – I have two versions of this: one with a SteelDrivers/Stapleton feel, and an earlier, simpler country version (which I actually prefer, even if the sound isn’t as polished). The idea came straight from Landman and Billy Bob Thornton’s character.
15. Hemingway – I know—Hemingway wasn’t Southern Gothic. But his style and themes fit this idea of “Bama Gothic.” This song draws on the “Hemingway hero” and works as a closing anthem about survival in the South.
Put on this playlist sometime and let me know what you like—no need to send any hate. LOL.
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