October Skies, Nights & Trees: 15 Songs About the 10th Month of the Year

Ah, October — beacon of pumpkin spice lattes, cinnamon-scented candles, Gilmore Girls reruns and Halloween decor. It’s the time of year when autumn finally feels like it’s kicking into high gear, and the perfect playlist for the month is a must. 

With that in mind, it’s no wonder why the 10th month on the calendar has been a muse to so many musicians over the decades, from tried-and-true 20th century songwriters to fresh-faced Gen Z artists. October love also knows no genre bounds; everyone from Eric Whitacre to Deadmau5, James Taylor and Alessia Cara have turned in tributes to the coziest, spookiest, most colorful 31 days of the year, spanning classical, electro house, folk rock, pop and beyond. Simply typing “October” into Spotify’s search field yields hundreds of results.

Even more vast is the canon of songs devoted to autumn itself, from Sinatra classics such as “Autumn Leaves” to Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” (“Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place”), or Ed Sheeran’s entire 2023 album, Autumn Variations. There’s also a lot to be said about the subgenre of music dedicated to Halloween alone, although you won’t see “Monster Mash” or “Spooky Scary Skeletons” on this list. This roundup is specifically for tracks with “October” in the name, odes to the month as a whole in all its versatility and warmth.

With the change of seasons, it’s time to give your music a refresh, too. To properly get in the spirit, queue up Billboard‘s favorite odes to October listed below.

• U2, “October”

  

  Year Released: 1981
  Genre: Rock
  That Fall Feeling: “October and the trees are stripped bare/ Of all they wear/ What do I care?”

  Listen here.

• Barry Manilow, “When October Goes”

  

  Year Released: 1984
  Genre: Vocal jazz
  That Fall Feeling: “And when October goes/ The snow begins to fly/ Above the smokey roofs”

  Listen here.

• Eric Whitacre, “October”

  

  Year Released: 2000
  Genre: Classical
  That Fall Feeling: “October is my favorite month,” Whitacre wrote of his six-minute concert band composition. “Something about the crisp autumn air and the subtle change in light always makes me a little sentimental, and as I started to sketch I felt that same quiet beauty in the writing.”

  Listen here.

• Yellowcard, “October Nights”

  

  Year Released: 2001
  Genre: Punk rock
  That Fall Feeling: “Tear me off a piece of blanket/ Keep me warm and we can make it/ Here’s my heart, I’ll let you break it”

  Listen here.

• James Taylor, “October Road”

  

  Year Released: 2002
  Genre: Country
  That Fall Feeling: “Let the sun run down right behind the hill/ I know how to stand there still till the moon rise up right behind the pine/ Oh, Lord, October road”

  Listen here.

• Amy Winehouse, “October Song”

  

  Year Released: 2003
  Genre: R&B
  That Fall Feeling: “With dread, I woke in my bed/ To shooting pains up in my head”

  Listen here.

• Broken Bells, “October”

  

  Year Released: 2010
  Genre: Indie rock
  That Fall Feeling: “See the stars aligned and leave you behind … I come by light of an autumn moon”

  Listen here.

• deadmau5, “October”

  

  Year Released: 2012
  Genre: EDM
  That Fall Feeling: The plinking staccato notes near the two-minute mark perfectly emulate steady raindrops landing on sidewalks covered by fallen leaves.

  Listen here.

• The Helio Sequence, “October”

  

  Year Released: 2012
  Genre: Rock
  That Fall Feeling: “Keep in mind the last time you go away at night/ Keep in mind the last time but don’t ignore the first”

  Listen here.

• Ron Pope, “October Trees”

  

  Year Released: 2012
  Genre: Rock
  That Fall Feeling: “I once loved your grace, and the innocence that/ Fell from you like leaves spiral off October trees”

  Listen here.

• Icarus, “October”

  

  Year Released: 2016
  Genre: Electronic
  That Fall Feeling: Dissonant notes and an eery layer of near-constant wind sounds give this track a slightly spooky edge, perfect for the build-up to Halloween.

  Listen here.

• Girl in Red, “We Fell in Love in October”

  

  Year Released: 2018
  Genre: Indie pop
  That Fall Feeling: “We fell in love in October/ That’s why, I love fall”

  Listen here.

• Mumford & Sons, “October Skies”

  

  Year Released: 2018
  Genre: Folk rock
  That Fall Feeling: “I’m blinded by the lights/ Of October Skies/ These postcard memories/ Evade my eyes”

  Listen here.

• Alessia Cara, “October”

  

  Year Released: 2019
  Genre: Pop
  That Fall Feeling: “The nerve of autumn time, days flyin’ by, every sunrise healin’ me/ And we’re OK, we’ll live this way ’til it’s done/ I’m gonna miss this when it’s over/ I hope we never see October”

  Listen here.

• Yebba, “October Sky”

  

  Year Released: 2021
  Genre: Alternative R&B
  That Fall Feeling: “So we fell through the door like the autumn leaves/ And I wrestled my brother down to his knees/ Just to watch as her rocket shot into the October sky”

  Listen here.

• Sadie Jean, “October 25th”

  

  Year Released: 2023
  Genre: Indie pop
  That Fall Feeling: “I’ll learn the same lesson over and over/ The 25th day of October/ It feels like I’m 16 again.”

  Listen here.

• Pet Shop Boys, “My October Symphony”

  

  Year Released: 1990
  Genre: Dance
  That Fall Feeling: “So we’re all drinking/ As leaves fall to the ground/ Because we’ve been thinking/ How October’s let us down.”

  Listen here.

• Duran Duran, “Secret Oktober”

  

  Year Released: 1983
  Genre: Rock
  That Fall Feeling: “Sure eyes awake before the dancing is over/ Wise or naked in secret Oktober.”

  Listen here.

• Richy Mitch & the Coal Miners, “October Moon”

  

  Year Released: 2024
  Genre: Soft rock
  That Fall Feeling: “Oh, October moon/ Halcyon breezes in the navy sky/ Change you each day from blue to white/ The reminder of impending night.”

  Listen here.

• Bad Bunny, “Mr. October”

  

  Year Released: 2023
  Genre: Latin
  That Fall Feeling: “Caminando en la luna, Michael Jackson/ Mr. October, Reggie Jackson.”

  Listen here.