I don’t know why it happened.
Or when.
But sometime in the last 20 years, zombies took off.
Their popularity soared in movies and TV shows. And in music.
That has left us with a long list of songs about zombies.
We’ve whittled that down to the 24 best.
Keep reading for our favorite songs about the undead. Hopefully you will discover some great new music you enjoy!
Songs About Zombies
As always, we tried to include as many different genres as possible. That way, there is a higher chance that everyone will find a few songs about zombies below that they can enjoy.
RE: Your Brains by Jonathan Coulton
Coulton’s Re: Your Brains begins with eerie music typical of a horror film. The protagonist/singer is a zombie named Bob. He urges his colleague, Tom, to let him inside the mall where he (Tom) is hiding with the rest of the humans.
Bob assures Tom that he is still the same, although “technically, he is a zombie” and can only think of eating human brains. Bob also asks all humans to surrender to his kind, because he foresees a painful death for all of them. He also states that the zombies are making reasonable demands.
I Walked With A Zombie by Roky Erickson
Roky Erickson’s song I Walked With a Zombie has just a few lyrics describing how he walked with a “zombie” the previous night. R.E.M. also has a version of this great song.
The haunting and enigmatic track describes the singer or protagonist getting caught in the world of the undead. The word zombie here could be a metaphor for an addiction or a force that the protagonist cannot escape.
Zombies also represent an entity that does not have a will of its own. They also have a hidden agenda and mean harm.
Zombie Zoo by Tom Petty
The song is not about the living dead. Rather, singer Tom Petty might have dedicated it to all the partygoers who frequented a popular Los Angeles nightclub named Zombie Zoo in the 1970s. The singer felt that the girls who frequented that club were wasting their lives and they often showed up “half-dead” like zombies.
Walk Like a Zombie by HorrorProps
HorrorProps released Walk Like a Zombie in 2005. It is a spooky song perfect for Halloween or zombie-themed parties. The word zombie here could be a metaphor for accepting someone as they are, even if it means they walk and talk like a zombie.
Zombie Prom by Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Freaks’ Zombie Prom lyrics talk about zombies “rolling back in their crypts and moaning and groaning for brains”. It is from their 2020 album Zombie Prom (Halloween At Home Edition).
Frontman Ricky Wilson based the song on everyone’s pandemic experience which, he felt, had a Halloween-like feel. Since we weren’t allowed to trick-or-treat or go out dancing and partying, the band wanted to invite everyone to dance and sing along to this dance track.
Living Dead by Sixthells
Living Dead is a metaphor for feeling trapped and frustrated by our inner turmoil and demons. It represents the singer’s distress at feeling stuck, stagnant, and bogged down by life’s sorrows. He feels trapped and is just going through the motions.
The singer is expressing his negative emotions by talking about cutting off someone’s head and throwing it in a ditch. The line “demons breaking out” indicates that problems and issues keep cropping up like zombies in his life. In the end, he also says that no one will control him and that he will try and live life on his terms.
Drinking With The Living Dead by Ghoultown
Ghoultown released Drink With the Living Dead, on October 10, 2008. It was written by lyricist Lyle Steadham. The song tells the story of the time when the singer/protagonist meets a stranger (death) at a bar.
The stranger challenges him to a drinking session. The protagonist easily wins the game while Death passes out after several drinks. The song could be a message about facing death and not being afraid and about taking life by the horns.
Now I’m Feeling Zombified by Alien Sex Fiend
Alien Sex Fiend is a band known for their gothic dark songs with manic vocals. The singer is probably awake all night as he is obsessed with his partner.
He wants to hug and squeeze her lifeless until she is hypnotized. He feels like a zombie, because she has trapped him in her dungeon. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot escape the maze she has placed him in.
Zombie Jamboree by Harry Belafonte
The song is also known as Jumbie Jamboree. Jumbies are evil spirits that make people dance wildly. The song might represent the carnival spirit and stilt walkers and dancers. The celebratory fun song also pokes fun at expats from the Caribbean Islands living in New York.
Zombies Ate My Pirate Ship by Alestorm
Zombies and pirates in one song! Alestorm sure knows how to make their songs addictive. This is a catchy and fun rock metal song. Do watch the video till the end for a pleasant surprise!
Zombies Ate Her Brain by The Creepshow
The Creepshow’s 2015 track Zombies Ate Her Brain depicts a woman who visits a graveyard and is attacked by a mysterious entity. Next thing we know, she is chasing humans and trying to eat their brains.
Outnumbered by The Devil Wears Prada
Heavy metal band The Devil Wears Prada starts their track Outnumbered with a warning about a virus that has triggered a zombie outbreak. According to the announcer, humans are outnumbered, so he urges them to seek shelter.
He warns again and again that this is not a test message and that the human species as we know it, is over! Many fans of The Devil Wears Prada declared Outnumbered as the (un)official song of the 2020 Coronavirus outbreak!
All You Zombies by The Hooters
The Hooters lament the lack of leadership in church in All You Zombies. The word zombies is a metaphor for people who mindlessly follow religion. The song talks about Moses and Noah having the power to question God, but the mindless zombies who follow religion today all lack that strength.
Zombies by Childish Gambino
The song Zombies by Childish Gambino talks about how society puts pressure on humans, how we are all caught up in buying things, and how we lose our uniqueness. The word ‘zombie’ is a metaphor for people who do what everyone else does without thinking about it.
Just like zombies eat brains or walk around without a thought, today, many people keep buying stuff without knowing why. The singer also questions humans whether they feel alive living such a life. Zombies is from Gambino’s 2016 album Awaken, My Love!
Zombie Bastards by Weezer
Weezer refers to some of their fans as zombies in this track, since they keep demanding the same types of tunes as those on their Blue Album or Pinkerton. But the lyrics mention that music has saved the singer’s life and that people and record companies should let him write the songs he wants to.
Zombie Dance by The Cramps
There’s not much to say here. Zombie Dance is just another cool horror-themed song by The Cramps, who wrote many such songs. Written by The Cramp’s lead lyricist Rorschach, the 1:55 minute song is from their 1980 album Songs the Lord Taught Us.
Braineaters by The Misfits
Braineaters is based on the 1958 horror movie The Brain Eater. The metaphorical track is about everyone having brains but no one having the courage (guts or balls) to speak the truth. The lyrics also lament the fact that the zombies only get to eat brains for lunch, dinner, and brunch, although they are craving some guts.
Living Dead by MARINA
In MARINA’s song Living Dead, the singer expresses dissatisfaction for not having lived her life to the fullest. She laments the fact that she cannot restart her life since every day feels repetitive and unfulfilling and she is going through the motions without truly experiencing anything.
This sense of monotony and emptiness makes her feel like she is merely existing rather than truly living, comparing herself to the walking dead.
Living Dead Girl by Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie’s Living Dead Girl starts with the lyrics from Lady Frankenstein movie: Who is this irresistible creature who has an insatiable love for the dead?
It describes a girl who likes creepy stuff and doing mean things like hurting people and tricking strange folks. The chorus of the song is repeated several times: “crawl on me, die on me, sink into me living dead girl.”
Walking Dead Man by TX2
The song Walking Dead Man by TX2 talks about a person who feels ignored and neglected. He is struggling with drug addiction and his life is falling apart.
He got his girl pregnant and then got stoned. He feels that his dreams are buried in the ground. He hates the month of December which should ideally bring him holiday cheer but makes him lonelier than ever.
He feels like no one cares about his problems or well-being, which is why he calls himself a ‘walking dead man’. It is a sad song that expresses the pain and loneliness of the protagonist.
The Zombie Song by Stephanie Mabey
Cool song, cooler animation! The Zombie Song by Stephanie Mabey states that even if she (the singer) is a zombie, she would never eat her beloved’s brain. She’d even try to protect him from her other undead friends.
She hopes that he will choose to marry her despite her being a zombie while he is still human. She proclaims that “their love would be greater than Edward and Bella’s”.
My Body’s a Zombie For You by Dead Man’s Bones
The song My Body’s a Zombie For You has two interpretations. The first is that the singer is self-mutilating to get his lover’s attention. Second is that he has a macabre way of looking at love. He has become a zombie for his lover and his mind is not into anything else.
Zombie Apocalypse by Kirby Krackle
In Zombie Apocalypse, Kirby Krackle sings about Zombies ruining his life. The lyrics mention that all he wants to do is hang out with his friends, watch his TV shows, and tweet on X. But the Walking Dead apocalypse has come in the way of his plans. Do check out the cool animated video in the link above.
Zombie by The Cranberries
The Cranberries’ Zombie is not a song about the living dead or brain eaters. It is a protest song that condemns the mindless killing of kids in Ireland in 1993 by the Irish Republican Army.
Some people also believe that the word Zombie represents the memories of the dead that haunt the region in Ireland. Our examination of the Zombie lyrics has much more.
Songs About The Undead: Final Thoughts
As mentioned, we tried our best to include songs about zombies in as many different musical genres as possible, but I know some genres are underrepresented and others are missing altogether. You can help!
If you know of any other good songs about the undead, especially in genres that are not featured, please let us know in the comments below. We will be happy to add any good suggestions to the article in a future update.
And if you enjoyed this article, you should also check out some of our other lists, like our article featuring songs about ghosts, or our list of songs about witches.
Leave a Reply