Out of the 13 tracks on Carrie Underwood‘s latest album, Cry Pretty, only four of them were not co-written by her. One of those songs is “Ghosts on the Stereo.”
Written by Hillary Lindsey, Tom Douglas, and Andrew Dorff, “Ghosts on the Stereo” falls in the second slot on the album. The smooth jam is quite the change of pace from the album’s soaring title track, which most fans know well by now.
While “Cry Pretty” and many of the album’s other tracks have pop leanings, “Ghosts on the Stereo” is distinctly country in sound and theme. In fact, the whole premise of the song is to offer a nod to classic country music.
You see, the “ghosts” that Underwood references in the title are actually country music legends who have passed away. She calls three of them out by name in the song, “Hank [Williams], [Merle] Haggard, and [George] Jones.”
But while these three iconic singers are the only ones named in the song, it’s clear that Underwood is referring to all country legends who have left this world behind.
As she sings, “No I ain’t alone. I feel right at home, with my ghosts on the stereo.”
Those words echo the way that country fans feel about their favorite artists. Although many of them have passed on, such as Patsy Cline, Waylon Jennings, and Keith Whitley, their music is still being played by the original fans who loved them, and by new generations as well.
It’s even easier to relate to “Ghosts on the Stereo” when you watch Underwood perform it live. In doing so, you see just how passionate she is about the country icons who blazed the trail before her, which makes the song all the more meaningful.
Thankfully, Underwood chose to perform the track during a pre-taped appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! The sweet sound of the smooth jam somehow gets even sweeter in a live setting like the Kimmel stage.
So what are you waiting for? Check out Underwood’s ode to classic country music by tuning in to her performance below.
Underwood references “Hank, Haggard, and Jones” in the track, but who is your go-to “ghost on the stereo?”