Melanie Grace

Category: Song Details

  • Witches Waltz

    Witches Waltz

    Witches Waltz is the first true waltz on the album, and it is where the record quietly starts setting up the grand ball that arrives in act three. Moonlight on cobblestone, broomsticks tapping, capes flying, silhouettes across the sky. Pizzicato strings, harp glissandos, and a whole coven turning in three-four time. Whimsical and eerie at once, a magical ballroom at midnight.

    The part I am proudest of is the bridge, which I think of as the rule of three. The witches invite you to dance, but the invitation carries a price. One more turn and you’ll forget every name you’ve carried yet. Take my hand and don’t let go, three times round and out you go. And underneath, whispered, once for sorrow, twice for flight, third time keeps you here tonight. Suddenly the pretty waltz has teeth. That is the whole album in a single moment. Beautiful on the surface, with something waiting just underneath.

    That layered feeling is exactly what I think Halloween music has been missing. The old standards are wonderful, but most of them play one note, either purely silly or purely spooky. A song can be both. It can be a lovely waltz you would happily hum and also a curse you would not want to be caught inside. Kids feel that mix instinctively. It is the same reason they love a story that is thrilling and safe at the same time. New songs let me chase that in-between space instead of picking one lane.

    A small honest note for the curious. The track is titled Witches Waltz, but the hook actually sings waltz of the witches. I love both, so do not be surprised if you see it listed either way while I finalize the details.

    Take my hand and follow me so you do not miss what comes next.

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    Why Pre-Saving A Folklore Christmas Means the World (And How It Helps You!)

    If you’ve ever wondered why artists are always asking you to pre-save their upcoming music on Spotify, here’s the secret: it’s the single best way to make sure you don’t miss a beat, while giving independent music a massive boost!

    Whether you’re excited for the spooky ghost stories or the tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago, here is what pre-saving actually does for you, and for the album:

    • It drops right into your library on launch day: The moment A Folklore Christmas goes live, Spotify will automatically add it straight to your Liked Songs and library. You won’t have to search for it, set a reminder, or worry about missing release day.
    • It feeds the Spotify algorithm: Algorithms pay close attention to pre-save numbers. A high pre-save count signals to Spotify that listeners are eager for these songs, which helps push our holiday tracks onto official curated playlists, radio feeds, and recommendation charts for brand new listeners.
    • It helps independent music thrive: Every single pre-save gives independent artists a louder voice on major streaming platforms, helping us share these rich holiday traditions and old-world stories far and wide.

    It only takes one click, but it makes a huge difference!

    Pre-save A Folklore Christmas on Spotify here

  • Cackling Carnival

    Cackling Carnival

    Now we are indoors and the shadows are getting longer. Cackling Carnival is a haunted midway at night, all calliope and accordion and spinning lights, where every game has a haunted name and every prize has got a trick. This is act two, where the whimsy stays but the mood starts to sink into something a little wicked.

    I love a good carnival barker, and this song gave me one. There is a bridge where the whole thing shifts into a fast, half-spoken barker’s pitch. Step right up, three throws a dime, win a shadow, win some time, ring the bell and take your pick, every prize has got a trick. And then the turn that gives the song its bite. Nobody’s lost and nobody’s won, nobody leaves till the ride is done. That single line takes it from a fun fair to a place you might not be able to walk away from, which is exactly the shiver I wanted as the album starts easing into the dark.

    The behind-the-scenes version of that bridge is a good look at how I revise. In the earlier draft, the bridge was mostly describing the instruments, the calliope and the brass. When we did our polish pass, we realized the most interesting thing in a haunted carnival is not the sound of it, it is the barker who will not let you leave. So we threw out the instrument description and wrote an actual pitch, and gave it that closing threat. The song went from atmosphere to a little story with a hook in it.

    And listen for the very end, one of my favorite production touches on the record. The calliope winds down and detunes, like the ride slowly grinding to a stop in the fog. It is a tiny detail, but those details are what make a new song feel crafted rather than cranked out.

    Step right up. Then follow me so you catch tomorrow’s song.

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    One click for the road: pre-save A Folklore Christmas on Spotify and it will be waiting in your library the moment it launches.

  • Yeti and Bigfoot

    Yeti and Bigfoot

    Yeti and Bigfoot is the last fully innocent moment on the album, and I planted it right at the edge of the record’s turn on purpose. After this song, we head indoors for good, and the night starts getting strange. So this is the calm before, a warm campfire song full of wonder.

    It is a mid-tempo cryptid tale told like a storyteller leaning in close. One cousin lives high in the Himalayas, white as winter, walking icy peaks through blizzards and snow. The other roams the Pacific forests, brown as the earth, leaving tracks in the mud beneath a starry sky. The song is part gentle nature lesson about two of the world’s favorite legendary creatures, and part pure sense of wonder. They are different, but they are the same, and on Halloween night they are watching me and you.

    One production idea I really wanted here was two contrasting textures that finally meet. The Yeti verse is icy and airy, high strings, bells, a breathy flute. The Bigfoot verse is earthy and woody, low guitar, toms, forest sounds. Then they combine on the chorus, which is exactly what the lyrics are arguing. Different, but the same. When the sound and the story say the same thing at the same time, that is when a song really clicks.

    And here is why a song like this belongs on a fresh Halloween album. Cryptids are having a real moment with kids right now, but Halloween music has not caught up. There is no shortage of ghost and witch songs, yet the Yeti and Bigfoot, two creatures a lot of kids are genuinely fascinated by, have basically never had their own singalong. Writing new music lets you chase what kids actually love today, instead of only what was popular in 1958.

    Gather round the campfire and give it a listen. Then follow me, because after this the album turns.

    Follow me so you never miss a new song or album:

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    Why Pre-Saving A Folklore Christmas Means the World (And How It Helps You!)

    If you’ve ever wondered why artists are always asking you to pre-save their upcoming music on Spotify, here’s the secret: it’s the single best way to make sure you don’t miss a beat, while giving independent music a massive boost!

    Whether you’re excited for the spooky ghost stories or the tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago, here is what pre-saving actually does for you, and for the album:

    • It drops right into your library on launch day: The moment A Folklore Christmas goes live, Spotify will automatically add it straight to your Liked Songs and library. You won’t have to search for it, set a reminder, or worry about missing release day.
    • It feeds the Spotify algorithm: Algorithms pay close attention to pre-save numbers. A high pre-save count signals to Spotify that listeners are eager for these songs, which helps push our holiday tracks onto official curated playlists, radio feeds, and recommendation charts for brand new listeners.
    • It helps independent music thrive: Every single pre-save gives independent artists a louder voice on major streaming platforms, helping us share these rich holiday traditions and old-world stories far and wide.

    It only takes one click, but it makes a huge difference!

    Pre-save A Folklore Christmas on Spotify here

  • Goblin’s Fart

    Goblin’s Fart

    Alright, let us be honest about who this one is for. Goblin’s Fart is a silly kids’ singalong, and it is exactly what it sounds like. A goblin and a vampire are best friends out trick-or-treating, the goblin eats too much candy, and, well, nature takes its loud course.

    The chorus is a call-and-response that no small child can resist. What’s that smell, what’s that smell, something stinky, can’t you tell. Then poot poot poot goes the goblin green, the stinkiest creature you’ve ever seen. Underneath it is oom-pah tuba and low brass, honky-tonk piano, banjo, a slide whistle, a kazoo, and a comedic brass raspberry on every single poot. I am not going to pretend it is deep. It is a giggle machine, and it is built with total commitment.

    But even this one has a sweet heart, which is a rule I try to keep across the whole album. The vampire covers his nose, says maybe lay off the beans, and then sticks around anyway. A best friend stays, even when the air gets thick and your buddy’s got a gassy trick. And they lived stinkily ever after. Silly on top, kind underneath.

    Here is the fresh-music case for a fart song, and I promise it is real. Kids have loved bathroom humor since the beginning of time, and it is a huge part of why they fall in love with a song and play it a thousand times. Christmas has its silly kids’ songs. Halloween mostly does not have a modern one. So I wrote the goofiest, most gleefully immature singalong I could, on purpose, because a five year old deserves a Halloween song that is just for them. If you have a little one, I am about to become the most requested artist in your car. I am sorry, and you are welcome.

    Follow me so you never miss the next one.

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    P.S. My next album, A Folklore Christmas, is on the way. Pre-save it here so you do not miss release day.

  • Monster Scare Off

    Monster Scare Off

    Monster Scare Off might be the best little story on the whole album. Four monsters, a vampire, a demon, a zombie, and a ghost, meet on Halloween night and hold a contest to decide who is the scariest. It does not go the way any of them planned, and that is the joke.

    Here is the whole arc. The monsters prowl the neighborhood hunting for kids to scare, but the kids just laugh and run off, thrilled instead of frightened. So the monsters get frustrated and start trying to out-scare each other. The ghost yells boo, the startled vampire jumps and bites the zombie, the zombie chomps right back through the ghost, and then a skeleton comes rattling down the track and all four of the toughest monsters in town completely lose their nerve and pile on him until his bones go flying everywhere. Nobody wins. Everybody gets spooked. The kids watching think it is the funniest thing they have ever seen.

    The set piece is the bridge. Rattle rattle clack clack clack, and a skeleton came down the track. That chant is the moment kids will remember and shout along to, and I made sure the percussion lands hard on it so it does not get buried. Writing a complete story with a real setup, a chain reaction, and a punchline, all inside four short verses, is harder than it looks, so this is one I am quietly proud of.

    And it does something I think Halloween music almost never does. It lets the monsters be the punchline instead of the threat. The scariest creatures in town scare themselves. That is a very kid-friendly, very reassuring idea, and it is exactly the sort of fresh take you can build when you are writing new songs instead of replaying the old scary ones.

    Follow me so the party keeps rolling into your feed.

    Follow me so you never miss a new song or album:

    Join my email list so you hear each new release first.

    Come say hi: Instagram | YouTube | Facebook

    Why Pre-Saving A Folklore Christmas Means the World

    (And How It Helps You!)

    If you’ve ever wondered why artists are always asking you to pre-save their upcoming music on Spotify, here’s the secret: it’s the single best way to make sure you don’t miss a beat, while giving independent music a massive boost!

    Whether you’re excited for the spooky ghost stories or the tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago, here is what pre-saving actually does for you, and for the album:

    • It drops right into your library on launch day: The moment A Folklore Christmas goes live, Spotify will automatically add it straight to your Liked Songs and library. You won’t have to search for it, set a reminder, or worry about missing release day.
    • It feeds the Spotify algorithm: Algorithms pay close attention to pre-save numbers. A high pre-save count signals to Spotify that listeners are eager for these songs, which helps push our holiday tracks onto official curated playlists, radio feeds, and recommendation charts for brand new listeners.
    • It helps independent music thrive: Every single pre-save gives independent artists a louder voice on major streaming platforms, helping us share these rich holiday traditions and old-world stories far and wide.

    It only takes one click, but it makes a huge difference!

    Pre-save A Folklore Christmas on Spotify here