11 Captivating Songs Where the Hunt is on | Playlist 🎧

11 Captivating Songs Where the Hunt is on features music courtesy of Björk, Ghost, Jess Williamson, Rauw Alejandro, and Ryan Beatty.

HUNTING is a hobby for many people. As a native Kentuckian, there are many people in select parts of the state that take part in the sport.  While admittedly I have never hunted (don’t revoke my KY card, please), and guns make me feel some type of way, I can respect a hunter’s enthusiasm even if it’s not my thing.  I say all that to say that you DO NOT have to be a hunter in the traditional sense to enjoy 🎧 11 Captivating Songs Where the Hunt is on.  This musical compendium focuses on the word HUNT and things associated with hunting.  While most of the songs feature some form of the word in their title, there are a couple of exceptions that are related to hunting – a deer stand and archer, to be precise.  🎧 11 Captivating Songs Where the Hunt is on features music courtesy of 🎙 Björk, 🎙 Ghost, 🎙 Jess Williamson, 🎙 Rauw Alejandro, and 🎙 Ryan Beatty among others.  There is a blend of alternative, rock, Americana, country, Latin, pop, and R&B on this eclectic, hunt-driven list.  So, let’s dive right into this sheee-it, shall we? 

via GIPHY

1. Ryan Beatty, “Hunter”  

💿 Calico • 🏷 Atlantic UK / Elektra / Ryan Beatty • 📅 2023    

🎵 “Hunter” is by far the longest song from 💿 Calico, the third studio album by underrated singer/songwriter 🎙 Ryan Beatty. This early seven-and-a-half-minute record is EPIC and worth every second of its duration. The lyrics are gorgeous, arguably, the crowning achievement.  Likewise, Beatty’s vocals are gorgeous too, serving up ample musical excellence. “I swallowed the beer / While a man who was holding a deer made his amends,” he sings in the first verse, adding, “And that’s when I realized / All this time that I’ve been living in my head.” Over the course of four compelling verses and refrains, he shows us how truly skilled his pen game is 💪. The poetry is on-point, and, perhaps, sexual (“But now and again I’ll put on your movie / When no one is around”).  The production alongside 🎛 Ethan Gruska continues to be ear-catching.  There is a degree of subtlety at times that pays major dividends, never usurping the vocals.  Still, there are also truly lush moments, accentuated by emotional strings.  Harmonized vocals also add to the allure of “Hunter.”  

Appears in 🔻:  

• Hunt: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 38 (2023) 

2. Jess Williamson, “Hunter” 

💿 Time Ain’t Accidental • 🏷 Mexican Summer, LLC • 📅 2023

“When you’re young, you’ll live through hell for the dream / But hell is a real place.” Ooh wee! Truer words have never been spoken! It’s the HUNT baby! Hunting and Americana/singer-songwriter go hand in hand, right? RIGHT! That is the case with 🎵 “Hunter,” which arrived as a promo single from 💿 Time Ain’t Accidental, the 2023 LP by 🎙 Jess Williamson. A stunning track, Williamson makes the listener’s ears perk up with her cool but expressive, gorgeous vocal delivery.  The superbly penned number (Williamson solely) is backed by relatively simple but highly effective accompaniment including guitar and keys (🎛 Brad Cook produces). Revisiting the songwriting, the biggest selling point of the second track from Time Ain’t Accidental, the crowning achievement should come as no surprise – the tuneful chorus! In the chorus, the hunting comes into play:  

“I want a mirror, not a piece of glass 

We went a hundred down the highway
I’ve been known to move a little fast
I’m a hunter for the real thing
My love is pure as the universe
Long as an ashtray
Baby, it’s fine, I’ve blown your mind
But I guess I’m gonna give you space.” 

3. Luke Bryan, “Prayin’ In A Deer Stand” 

🎵 “Prayin’ In A Deer Stand” • 🏷 Row Crop / UMG Recordings, Inc. • 🗓 2022

“I do my prayin’ in a deer stand / On my back-forty church / Thinkin’ ‘bout life on a cold sunrise / Yeah, that’s my Heaven on Earth…” On 🎵 “Prayin’ In A Deer Stand”, 🎙 Luke Bryan sounds true to self.  Vocally, the tone, with a southern twang, is firmly intact.  Thematically, Bryan plays to his base: farming, fishing, hunting, and God.  If you’re from the south or have experienced the south, you can relate.  If not, well, you’re likely not part of Bryan’s base, to begin with.  Nothing brand-new or game-changing comes out of this record because it is tried-and-true, with no frills.  The remainder of the chorus says it best:   

Me and God in a cornfield 

Gotta think He understands 

I might miss a Sunday from time to time 

But I get there when I can 

We’re all good in these woods ‘causе here I am 

Prayin’ in a deer stand.” 

All told, 🎵 “Prayin’ In A Deer Stand” is respectable, regardless of the fact that it doesn’t move the needle necessarily.   

Appears in 🔻:  

• 13 Intriguing Songs That Reference Animals (2023)
• Pray 🙏: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 13 (2023) 
• 11 Songs Where, I Pray, The Prayers Go Up (2023) 

4. Björk, “Hunter”  

💿 Homogenic • 🏷 Elektra • 📅 1997  

“If travel is searching / And home what’s been found / I’m not stopping.” Icelandic singer/songwriter 🎙 Björk asserts herself to be a hunter on 🎵 “Hunter,” a highlight of her critically acclaimed 1997 album, 💿 Homogenic. “Hunter,” the opening song, precedes the album’s juggernaut, 🎵 “Joga”.  Even if “Joga” is the crowning achievement, “Hunter” is no slouch itself. In the chorus, Björk asserts, “I’m going hunting / I’m the hunter / I’ll bring back the goods / But I don’t know when.” Um, sure… Björk, who penned “Hunter” herself and produced alongside 🎛 Mark Bell.  There is no shortage of compelling lyrics, including the likes of “I thought I could organize freedom / How Scandinavian of me / You sussed it out, didn’t you?” from the bridge. Besides the intriguing, hunting lyrics, the backdrop is epic, with its enigmatic, skittering synths (keys) and drums, as well as divine strings.    

Appears in 🔻:  

• Hunt: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 38 (2023)

5. Rauw Alejandro, “Hunter” 

🎵 “Hunter” • 🏷 Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC • 📅 2021  

“To’ los día’ son wake and bake (Bake) / Con las Vans y la skate (Uh) / Ayer otra portada Vogue (Bitch) / Louis V (Rick Owens; ah).” 🎙 Rauw Alejandro – “What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty” fine man 🥵 😍 😂! Not only does the Puerto Rican singer have the looks, but he also has the talent, which, despite that objectifying opening statement, is what matters the most 💪. He dropped a kick-ass banger in 2021 with 🎵 “Hunter” where he exudes no shortage of confidence and swagger. Sure, unless you’re fluent in Spanish it is a bit hard to follow, but the energy, the flow, and the vibes are ¡muy caliente! just like Rauw 🤩! In the excerpt from the coro (aka chorus), Alejandro references smoking weed, Vans and skating, being featured on mag covers, and wearing ultra-lux clothing – Louis Vuitton and Rick Owens. Alejandro is backed by hard-nosed, trap production which fuels his fire 🔥. So, where does hunting come into play? “Sacamo’ a pasear los del bunker con mis hunters / Dale, ronquen.” WOO – methinks! Rauw flexes hard as a mofo and honestly, it’s a GOOD LOOK on him (see what I did there).  

6. Taylor Swift, “The Archer” 

💿 lover • 🏷 Taylor Swift • 📅 2019  

“I’ve been the archer, I’ve been the prey / Who could ever leave me, darling? But who could say?” On 🎵 “The Archer”, the fifth track from 💿 lover, 🏆 Grammy winner 🎙 Taylor Swift focuses on relationships, as well as how she is perceived by others. In the lyrics excerpted from the chorus she might as well say that she’s had her good and bad moments in respective relationships. In the verses, she questions her current relationship, specifically her own actions and insecurities from the past.  This is quite pronounced in the second verse: “And I cut off my nose just to spite my face / Then I hate my reflection for years and years.”  Later, in the bridge, she tussles with stating “‘Cause they see right through me” versus asking her current man, “Can you see right through me?” Lyrically, “The Archer” is quite interesting. Musically, it’s also alluring, dipping back into the 80s. A cool feature is how it builds as it progresses. 

7. Ghost, “Hunter’s Moon”  

💿 IMPERA • 🏷 Loma Vista • 📅 2022

“Under a headstone, sister / I’m dying to see you, my friend.” Well, that’s morbid AF! 🎵 “Hunter’s Moon” arrived as a promo single from 💿 IMPERA, the fifth studio album by 🏆 Grammy-winning metal collective, 🎙 Ghost.  For some context, it is important understand what 🎙 Tobias Forge is talking about. So, what is a hunter’s moon?  Well, it is a full moon that appears during the month of October, per Universe Today. Ah, it makes sense: October, Halloween, Swedish metal band, etc. Perhaps it is NOT the deepest cut from the Ghost catalog – it is straightforward all in all – it is enjoyable and easily gets stuck in the head. Case in point, the chorus:   

“Though my memories have faded 
They come back to haunt me once again 
And though my mind is somewhat jaded 
Now, it’s time for me to strike again 
Tonight, it’s a Hunter’s Moon.”    

 Another selling point: the music is #WINNING.   

Appears in 🔻:  

• Hunt: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 38 (2023)

8. Kesha, “Hunt You Down”  

💿 Rainbow • 🏷 Kemosabe • 📅 2017   

“I wanna be your baby, your angel all in black / Your little blue-eyed gypsy who’s always got your back / Yodel-odel-oh-oh-oh.” Oh my! 🎵 “Hunt You Down” finds 🏆 Grammy-nominated pop singer/songwriter 🎙 Kesha embracing country music 🤯.  What the what? This unexpected moment from her 2017 album 💿 Rainbow probably shouldn’t work.  However, given the eclectic nature of the album, and honestly, the personality and evolution of Kesha, it fits. Among the best lyrical moments: “You say you’ve had your fun / But that you’re done and I’m the one / Just know that if you fuck around / Boy, I’ll hunt you down.” Woo! Again, Kesha exudes personality and delivers superb vocals.  Yeah, it’s hard to wrap your finger around the fact that she’s singing country, but I dig the ambition.  

Appears in 🔻:  

• Hunt: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 38 (2023) 

9. Pharrell Williams, “Hunter”  

💿 G I R L • 🏷 Columbia • 📅 2014  

“Just because it’s the middle of night / That don’t mean I won’t hunt you down.” Oh sheee-it, 🎙 Pharrell Williams! The 🏆 Grammy winner adds, in the chorus of 🎵 “Hunter,” “If I can’t have you, nobody can / This an animal speakin’ that’ll hunt you down /… Sex is callin’, ooh-hoo.” The third track from 💿 G I R L finds Mr. Williams exhibiting some naughtiness 😈.  Post-chorus lyrics like “My love has come…sex has come” pivot from the emotional side of the relationship to what goes down in the bedroom.  Regardless, Williams maintains a level of class, never taking things too far.  Still, his falsetto is so ‘nasty’ that his sensual intentions and thoughts can be heard audibly.  Williams penned and produced the four-minute vibe.   

Appears in 🔻:  

• Hunt: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 38 (2023) 

10. The Flaming Lips, “One Night While Hunting for Faeries and Witches and Wizards to Kill”  

💿 Oczy Mlody • 🏷 The Flaming Lips / Warner • 📅 2017 

🎵 “One Night While Hunting for Faeries and Witches and Wizards to Kill” – what a fkn song title! It easily earns the best song title from 🎙 The Flaming Lips’ 2017 LP, 💿 Oczy Mlody 💪.  Like many songs on the album, the groove is king 👑.  In addition to signature TFL cues, there’s a distinct dash of hip-hop – the band puts some stank on it. No, it isn’t trap by any means, but there’s a sense of experimentation. The lyrical content of “One Night While Hunting for Faeries and Witches and Wizards to Kill” is also ambitious.  🎙 Wayne Coyne imparts the ultimate tall tale:   

“One night while hunting for faeries / and witches and wizards to kill 

I came across a hole in a tree in the forest 

I climbed inside the tree hole with small fear and loaded my gun 

I should have heeded that small fear 

I walked towards the wizard’s cave shooting to 

Shoot out his wizard brains…”  

11. Galantis, “Hunter” 

💿 The Aviary • 🏷 Atlantic • 📅 2017 

“I am the hunter; I am the great unknown / Only my love can conquer.” Woo, 🎙 Galantis!  The Swedish dance music project of 🎙 Christian “Bloodshy” Karlsson was still a duo when 🎵 “Hunter,” a highlight from 💿 The Aviary (2017), arrived.  “Hunter” is picturesque, as to be expected from dance records. That said, via IG, Galantis said of “Hunter”: “we decided to serve something different and dress it down.” This dressed down approach delivers marvelous results.  The vocals by the uncredited female singer sound terrific.  The songwriting is also solid, particularly for a dance joint. The chorus, excerpted above, takes the cake, continuing, “Give up your heart, surrender / ‘Cause I am the, I am the hunter.” Prior to it, however, the verses are compelling, while the energetic, tuneful pre-chorus gives the chorus a run for its money (“Got them red eyes in the night / Like a panther, outta sight / Gonna sing my battle cry ‘Cause I am the, I am the, I am the…”). “Hunter” failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 – dance just doesn’t get its just due – but it did peak at no. 21 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.  

11 Captivating Songs Where The Hunt is On [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Atlantic, Columbia, Elektra, Kemosabe, Loma Vista, Mexican Summer, LLC, Row Crop / UMG Recordings, Inc., Ryan Beatty, Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC, Taylor Swift; Harrison Haines via Pexels]