Call Sherlock: 4 Magnificent “Mystery” Songs

Everybody loves a good mystery, don’t they? Only in this case, we’re not talking about the whodunits solved at the last minute by some clever sleuth. We’re focusing on songs that utilize the word “mystery.”

There have indeed been a lot of songs throughout the years with that word in the title. In the case of these four brilliant examples, you won’t need a private eye to solve their greatness.

“Magical Mystery Tour”

Paul McCartney, worried that The Beatles might start to drift a bit following the 1967 death of their manager Brian Epstein, quickly revved up a brand-new project for the second half of the year. The Magical Mystery Tour film was a glorified home movie that became perhaps the first bona fide flop of the band’s career. But the music connected to the movie continued the band’s incredible hot streak in 1967. McCartney conceived the title track as if he were a carnival barker, shouting out to the world about the merits of this “mystery trip.” The song, with its psychedelic trappings combining with grandiose brass, makes a standout case for joining this journey.

“Mystery Train”

Junior Parker and Sam Phillips wrote “Mystery Train” in 1953. Phillips later went on to produce Presley when he recorded the track. Although it was only a B-side when he released it in 1955, Presley’s version caught the attention of discerning music fans. It’s since been hailed as a classic. Yet as good as Elvis’ version was, we’re singling out the take done by The Band on Moondog Matinee, their 1973 collection of covers. Robbie Robertson wrote some new lyrics in the verses to flesh out the tale a little bit. Meanwhile, Levon Helm’s hard-charging vocals and Garth Hudson’s quirky keyboard touches made this evergreen sound bracingly fresh and haunting.

“She’s A Mystery To Me”

Roy Orbison’s comeback was in full swing when he died suddenly in December 1988. He was earning rave reviews for his work on The Traveling Wilburys’ first album. And he had a stellar solo album in the can that was eventually released posthumously in January 1989. The album’s title (Mystery Girl) came from the song “She’s A Mystery To Me”. Bono and The Edge wrote the song for Orbison, joining a long list of top stars that penned tracks for that record. The song leaves plenty of open spaces in between Jim Keltner’s thumping drum beat for Orbison to work his wonders on the melody. A few years later, U2 released a song called “So Cruel” from Achtung Baby that had a similar feel.

“Let The Mystery Be”

There are so many wonderful singer-songwriters within the Americana genre that some can get a little taken for granted. But it’s hard to put an artist like Iris DeMent on any backburner after you hear a song as lovely and wise as “Let The Mystery Be”. Considering it’s the first song on her very first studio album, it’s fair to say that DeMent made quite a statement right off the bat. It quickly became a popular commodity as a cover. But DeMent’s original, simple, understated version is the one you want. Instead of sweating the unknown of it all, she accepts that some things are always going to elude us. In that way, the song offers a strange sort of comfort.

(Photo by John Downing/Getty Images)

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