11 Skeletal, Hella Bony, Bone Songs 🦴 🩻 | Playlist 🎧

11 Skeletal, Hella Bony, Bone Songs features music courtesy of Demi Lovato, Doja Cat, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Ghostemane and Maren Morris. 

It’s all about bones – 🦴 well, this playlist that is! What better month than October to drop a playlist filled with bones, boniness, and skeletal songs? 🎧 11 Skeletal, Hella Bony, Bone Songs 🦴 🩻, hence, is what it is.  Keeping things petite at 11 songs, 🎧 11 Skeletal, Hella Bony, Bone Songs 🦴 🩻 features music courtesy of 🎙 Demi Lovato, 🎙 Doja Cat, 🎙 George Thorogood & The Destroyers, 🎙 Ghostemane, and 🎙 Maren Morris among others. Prepare yourself to rock TF out with these skeletal 🩻 gems encompassing pop, rap, rock, blues, country, and alternative! 

1. George Thorogood & The Destroyers, “Bad to the Bone”  

💿 Bad To The Bone • 🏷 EMI • 📅 1982 

“Bad to the bone / Bad to the bone / B-b-b-b-bad  / Bad to the bone.” 🎙 George Thorogood & The Destroyers exemplify badassery in their 1982 classic, 🎵 “Bad to the Bone”. Although “Bad to The Bone” has become a fixture in pop culture, surprisingly, the record was NOT a hit 🤯!  Utter blasphemy if you ask me.  Nonetheless, Thorogood’s 1982 album, also titled, 💿 Bad To The Bone, was certified gold by the RIAA in 1985.  Now that accomplishment right there is pretty badass!

“Bad to the Bone” interpolates a 1950s blues classic, 🎵 “Mannish Boy (I’m a Man)” by the legendary 🎙 Muddy Waters.  Besides the interpolation, George serves as the writer.  Furthermore, he’s the lead vocalist and guitarist. Who helps to elevate the bad-assery besides Thorogood’s playful vocals? Well, 🎙 Hank Carter blows the hell 😈 out of the saxophone 🎷,  🎙 Ian Stewart handles the keys 🎹, Billy Bough covers the low end (the bass),  and 🎙 Jeff Simon is on drums 🥁. Thorogood has no shortage of personality, with plenty of fun lyrics.  In the first verse, he speaks of the nurse’s assessment of his bad-ness: “The head nurse spoke up / Said, ‘Leave this one alone,’ / She could tell right away / That I was bad to the bone.” The second verse is suggestive: “I broke a thousand hearts / Before I met you / I’ll break a thousand more, baby / Before I am through.” There are two more verses, finding Thorogood confirming the fact that he is – wait for it – 🎵 “Bad to the Bone”. Billboard Hot 100 chart be damned, this song right here is the sugar honey iced tea. 

Appears in 🔻:

• George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Bad to the Bone: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 150 (2023)

2. Doja Cat, “Skull And Bones”  

💿 Scarlet • 🏷 Kemosabe / RCA • 📅 2023

“It’s cold, I mean really cold / But my blood is warm (My blood is warm) / What’s inside of me but skull and bones.” Has 🏆 Grammy winner 🎙 Doja Cat sold her soul the devil? According to some, that’s the allegation. Honestly, despite the darker, edgier moments of her fourth album, Scarlet, it seems the rapper/singer is trolling haters.  On 🎵 “Skull And Bones,”  which features  🎛 Ayo The Producer and Kaeyos behind the boards, she continues in the chorus, “Ask the Lord / There’s a price for yours (Price for yours) / What’s inside of me now but my soul.” Despite the demonic nature of Scarlet at times, the backdrop on “Skull and Bones” is celestial. Also sweet is the warmth of the sung vocals in the chorus. The chorus marks one of my favorite moments from the album. The sound and – wait for it – the vibe go a long way. There is a nice contrast of rapping in the verses following the warmth of the chorus (“The only thing I sold was a record / The only thing I folded under was pressure”). There are ear-catching lines, as always, including, “You need to mind your business, Helga Pataki,” a 📺 Hey Arnold reference. Doja’s flow remains potent (“Bitches cryin’ with full face, that’s animal cruelty”).

3. Paramore, “Thick Skull”  

💿 This Is Why • 🏷 Atlantic • 📅 2023 

🏆 Grammy-winning band, 🎙 Paramore, conclude their sixth studio album, 💿 This Is Why, with a ballad, 🎵 “Thick Skull.”  Though it is a bit more restrained initially, it percolates more as 🎙 Hayley Williams continues to open up.  “Only I know where all the bodies are buried,” she sings, continuing, “Thought by now I’d find ‘em just a little less scary.” Woo! “What’s the body count up to now, captain?”, she questions, eventually adding “Thick skull never did / Nothing for me / Same lesson again?” Criticism has hurt her tremendously over the years and continues to bother her.  “Thick Skull” speaks to coping and moving beyond such criticisms which is none too easy. 

4. Imagine Dragons, “Bones” 

💿 Mercury – Acts 1 & 2 • 🏷 KIDinaKORNER / Interscope • 📅 2022

“My patience is waning, is this entertaining? / Our patience is waning, is this entertaining?” Um, I’d say, yes, the song, 🎵 “Bones”, IS entertaining. “Bones” commences the second disc of 💿 Mercury – Acts 1 & 2, the 2022 double album by 🏆 Grammy-winning alternative/rock collective, 🎙 Imagine Dragons.  Furthermore, “Bones” was released as a single, prefacing the complete edition of Mercury (💿 Mercury – Act 1 arrived first).  🎙 Dan Reynolds and company keep things short but potent. “Bones” doesn’t focus on skeletal things… haha.  Sure, “There’s magic in my bones” per Dan’s big chorus, but the big takeaway is about embracing and living life.  Life is filled with plenty of hardships, many of which Reynolds has faced, including the death of his sister-in-law, but he’s not giving up or giving in.  In the first verse, he asserts at the end, “Never gonna get me out alive / I will live a thousand lives.” That’s the spirit! In the chorus, he emphasizes “this feeling in my soul,” encourages to “Go ahead and throw your stones / ‘Cause there’s magic in my bones.” Uplifting! Despite the negative happenings in the second verse (“Seein’ all the vultures circlin’”), ultimately, by the bridge, Reynolds is “Pickin’ the pieces up and buildin’ to the sky.” 

Appears in 🔻:  

• Bone: 5ive Songs No. 50 (2022)  

5. Demi Lovato, “Bones”  

💿 HOLY FVCK • 🏷 Island • 🗓 2022   

“The second you walked into the room my legs started to shake / Blood racing, heart pounding like there’s a fucking earthquake.” Well, day-ummm! Ah, sex – it’s universal, isn’t it? Everybody wants some! Clearly, 🎙 Demi Lovato is thinking sexually on 🎵 “Bones”, one of many electrifying records from their 2022 album, 💿 HOLY FVCK.  In the pre-chorus, the 🏆 Grammy-nominated, pop-turned-pop-punk artist further exhibits lust: “So many feelings / When you said her name / ‘Cause I want you so mad / That I need restraints.” Oh, the horniness! 

It should go without saying that the third is real on “Bones.” It gets even more real in the chorus, the centerpiece:     

“Let me jump your bones  

Start to lose control  

Taking off your clothes  

No one has to know.”   

Yah, holy fizzuck, Demi! That said, can you blame them? Think about someone whom you longed for so much and had ‘naughty intentions.’  We’ve all been in a situation where we wanted to jump someone’s bones. Ah, there’s nothing more fulfilling and stimulating than a rocking joint about sex, right? HOLY FVCKING, RIGHT! “Bones” is a guilty pleasure from HOLY FVCK that features beastly production and titillating lyrics.  We all want to F– sometimes 😈.     

Appears in 🔻:  

• Demi Lovato, Bones: After Dark 🕛 🌃 No. 67 (2022)    
• Bone: 5ive Songs No. 50 (2022)  

6. Maren Morris, “The Bones” (with Hozier)  

🎵 “The Bones” • 🏷 Sony Music Entertainment • 📅 2019   

🏆 Grammy-winning country musician 🎙 Maren Morris returned in 2019 with her second major label album, 💿 GIRL. 🎵 “The Bones” appeared as the 12th track. Following the original version, Morris tapped 🏆 Grammy-nominated Irish singer/songwriter 🎙 Hozier for a duet version. “The Bones” was produced by 🎛 Greg Kurstin, who always seems to get the best out of artists.  Once again, he strikes gold with Morris. Co-written by Morris, 🎼 ✍ Jimmy Robbins, and Laura Veltz, “The Bones” plays on the idea of a house having good bones with some updates needed.    

In “The Bones,” Morris shifts ‘good bones’ from a house to a relationship.  In the first verse, she sings, “We’re in the home stretch of the hard times,” later adding, “We built this right, so nothing’s ever gonna move it.”  She goes on to sing in the chorus: 

“When the bones are good, the rest don’t matter  

Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter  

Let it rain ‘cause you and I remain the same  

When there ain’t a crack in the foundation  

Baby, I know any storm we’re facing  

Will blow right over while we stay put  

The house don’t fall when the bones are good.”  

In the duet version, Hozier arrives on the second verse, singing the first two lines solo, before Morris joins him in the final two.  Then, the pair joins forces for the majority of the chorus, originally sung only by Morris. In the bridge, Morris holds the reins, with Hozier joining her at select moments, while both generally sing the final chorus. All told, Morris and Hozier strike gold with “The Bones” in its duet form.  

Appears in 🔻:  

• Bone: 5ive Songs No. 50 (2022)  

7. Dying Fetus, “Skull F🤬cked” 

💿 Purification Through Violence • 🏷 Blunt Force • 🗓 2003   

I’d argue that death metal is synonymous with controversy. 🎙 Dying Fetus is a controversial, insensitive name.  So, with DF being a death metal band, the point is, controversy is the expectation.  Capping off the controversy is 🎵 “Skull Fucked”, which appears on the band’s album, 💿 Purification Through Violence.  Purification, huh? Wow! Put two and two together, and you have your definition of what it means to be ‘skull fucked.’  If not, (1) check out Urban Dictionary, the definitive slang source or (2) simply listen to/read the lyrics of this unsettling song.  For good measure, “Skull Fucked,” which features an aggressive backdrop, commences with the endearing lyrics, “I hate you motherfuckers.” Charming, and it doesn’t end there, folks! Throw in the optimistic, sunny lyrics “Hating, ripping, tearing, scraping /… Mangling, fucking, choking, dying…” – you get the idea.  Making things worse is the insensitivity shown to women:   

“Looking for pussy  

That’s all that’s on my mind  

Sluts that are ready for fucking  

Ready for sucking   

Ready to die when I’m done  

Copulate and kill without reason  

I never need ‘em  

As long as they make me cum  

Bitches have no power of reason  

Never believe ‘em, just kill and fuck…”   

Wow… Speechless… Honestly, the controversy of “Skull Fucked” speaks for itself.  To recap: Dying Fetus = controversial band name. “Skull Fucked” = controversial, unapologetic song title and subject matter. The lyrics = outlandish, insensitive, violent, etc.  Controversial to the core, essentially.   

Appears in 🔻:  

• Dying Fetus, Skull Fucked: Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 No. 25 (2021) 

 8. G-Eazy, “Bone Marrow” (Ft. Danny Seth)  

🎵 “Bone Marrow” • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2016   

“The British are here / the Bay is here, you know?” Woo! On 🎵 “Bone Marrow” a collaboration with British rapper 🎙 Danny Seth, 🎙 G-Eazy proclaims himself to be “bad to the bone, yeah, the bone marrow.” He’s accurate, judging by the rest of his rhymes, which include a couple of playboy ways.  Consistently, he asserts how easy he gets girls, particularly easy girls: “Yo bitch called me daddy, daddy, that’s my new name / Pass her after, all aboard the choo-choo-train.” Day-um, Gerald! Furthermore, once Gerald steals your girlfriend, he’s going to ‘destroy’ her with his incredible sex acumen. You can read into that one for yourself. “If I take your bitch, then that pussy doomed,” he brags, continuing, “Eat it like a spoon / Your bitch coming soon.”  While G-Eazy is a lot all by himself, Danny Seth isn’t to be overlooked, talking his shit too. The self-characterized “Skinny white boy from Britain,” bad to the bone like his colleague, asserts, “I’m bad to the bone, yeah, the bone marrow / All I wanna do is fuck and take a Xanny / They say, ‘You a fool man, what’s wrong with Danny?’” Eazy & Seth split the third verse, trading bars and keeping things unapologetic AF.    

Appears in 🔻:   

• 13 Songs Where G-Eazy Proves He’s a Total Playboy (2017) 
• Bone: 5ive Songs No. 50 (2022)  

9. The Killers, “Fire in Bone”  

💿 Imploding the Mirage • 🏷 Island • 📅 2020  

🎵 “Fire in Bone” arrived as a single from 💿 Imploding the Mirage, the sixth album by the Las Vegas band, 🎙 The Killers. “Fire in Bone” features colorful production including atmospheric pads, a robust bass line, and an infectious groove.  The ear candy is ample, both musically and vocally.  That 🎙 Brandon Flowers – he’s special! Sure, Flowers’ pitch is imperfect and wobbly at times, but that’s been part of his charm over the years. “Fire in Bone” is intriguing, while simultaneously being quirky. Even if it’s ‘left of center’ in some respects, the form is standard, save for a refrain section in addition to the chorus that reappears.  Lyrically, “Fire in Bone” has its moments, such as, “I felt washed up / I felt tempest-tossed and seasick / But I felt fire in bone.” Some moments are simpler and more minimal early on, making the record slightly confusing initially. Still, after it’s all said and done, “Fire in Bone” is one of the better moments from Imploding the Mirage. 

Appears in 🔻:  

• Bone: 5ive Songs No. 50 (2022)  

10. Ghostemane, “Bonesaw” 

💿 N / O / I / S / E • 🏷 Blackmage • 📅 2018

“I’m in a million fuckin’ pieces / Pick me up off the floor.” Dark stuff, 🎙 Ghostemane (Eric Whitney).  The alternative rapper/singer catches the ears in frightening, rough around the edges fashion on 🎵 “Bonesaw,” the fourth track from his 2018 album, 💿 N / O / I / S / E.  There is nothing easy about this listen, and that is clearly Whitney’s intent.  There are no shortage of captivating, hellish lines.  In the first verse, he asserts, “Had to be the one to run up in front of the bus of unpopular opinion / And become a martyr for smaller voices than me.” WOO!  In the bridge, we first hear about this bonesaw, which he bought “to cut my hands off.” He “had to get the cuffs off, you kept me down too long.” Ooh-wee! There’s also the mic drop moment in the second verse where “Everything is a pathetic aesthetic,” while in the interlude, filled with angst, Ghostemane states, “I’m not gonna make!” Intense AF, Ghostemane makes a brief, sub-two-minute hellish joint sound heavenly… well, maybe heavenly is pushing it! 

11. Alice in Chains, “Them Bones”  

💿 Dirt • 🏷 Sony Music Entertainment • 📅 1992

“I believe / Them bones 🦴 are me / Some say / We’re born into the grave.” Dark, damning, and morbid lyrics, 🎙 Alice in Chains! Those lyrics hail from 🎵 “Them Bones,” the opening track on the band’s 1992 album, 💿 Dirt.  Guitarist and then background vocalist Jerry Cantrell penned the two-and-a-half-minute song. Although it is brief, “Them Bones” is a jam-packed two-and-a-half minutes. Notably, “Them Bones” thrives off chromaticism, giving it a distinct, dark sound that complements the lyrics.  Furthermore, the band incorporates mixed meter, specifically 7/8 for the majority of the song.  No worries as the chorus returns to good, old common time (4/4).  

“Dust rise / Right on over my time…” Aiding in the sound, the bass and guitars 🎸 kick some serious ass and take names 💪.  This includes awesome guitar soloing, in addition to the riffs and wall of sound.  Also, a staple of AIC are the harmonized lead vocals, which add an eeriness to this bone-driven joint. The centerpiece is the chorus, where late, great front man 🎙 Layne Staley sings, “I feel so alone / Gonna end up a big ol’ pile of them bones 🦴.”  

11 Skeletal, Hella Bony, Bone Songs  🦴 🩻 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Atlantic, Blackmage, Blunt Force, EMI, Interscope, Island, KIDinaKORNER, RCA, Sony Music Entertainment; 3530416, Dina Dee, OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay]