Songs of Murder
- Thread starter dolores haze
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Wow. You guys are... creepy. 
I didn't even know there WERE songs about murder.
Well, except for Warren Zevon's Excitable Boy.
Oh, and I guess the Beatles' Maxwell's Silver Hammer.
I didn't even know there WERE songs about murder.
Well, except for Warren Zevon's Excitable Boy.
Oh, and I guess the Beatles' Maxwell's Silver Hammer.
Here's one on the Black Donnellys (of Canada), though it's not the only I remember:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDVEK1egMVw
The family was massacred by their neighbors, FWIW. Interesting stuff.
Then there's the classic "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia", recently redone by Reba McIntyre. I prefer the original Vickie Lawrence version, but the YouTube options suck:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4GMUlCBgd0&feature=av2e
And Hazard, by Richard Marx: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdmHHoI9beM&feature=av2e
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDVEK1egMVw
The family was massacred by their neighbors, FWIW. Interesting stuff.
Then there's the classic "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia", recently redone by Reba McIntyre. I prefer the original Vickie Lawrence version, but the YouTube options suck:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4GMUlCBgd0&feature=av2e
And Hazard, by Richard Marx: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdmHHoI9beM&feature=av2e
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Murder has been a staple of folk ballads forever. The iconic tale is Banks Of The Ohio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uL4SVdN9Pw&feature=related
Written in 1959, the classic country song of a murder and consequences is Long Black Veil
Most famous is perhaps this version by The Band:
Long Black Veil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uL4SVdN9Pw&feature=related
Written in 1959, the classic country song of a murder and consequences is Long Black Veil
Most famous is perhaps this version by The Band:
Long Black Veil
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Tori Amos did a cover version of Eminem's '97 Bonnie and Clyde and it's chilling, far more so than the original, IMO.
This is the song as Tori recorded it on her Strange Little Girls cd, but it's not Tori in the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szw_9GmRDsI
This is a live version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDTdfkwByic
This is the song as Tori recorded it on her Strange Little Girls cd, but it's not Tori in the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szw_9GmRDsI
This is a live version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDTdfkwByic
Thanks for the music, guys. Y'all are wunnerful!
This guy was huge, wasn't he? But somehow I've never heard this song before. I'd love to hear a stripped down acoustic version. Loved the video!
I love this song, but I don't get it. Did he really kill the dude?
My favorite version is by The Chieftans w/ Mick Jagger.
This guy was huge, wasn't he? But somehow I've never heard this song before. I'd love to hear a stripped down acoustic version. Loved the video!
Best version I've ever heard - and I've heard this song a lot!
I love this song, but I don't get it. Did he really kill the dude?
My favorite version is by The Chieftans w/ Mick Jagger.
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No, it was a case of mistaken identity. But the only way he could produce the alibi that would have cleared him was to come clean about where he was at the time of the murder -- which would have destroyed the lives of his best friend and the friend's wife. So he kept silent and swung for the murder, innocent though he was.
I used to play that song with a former band, before I started writing my own (inferior) songs.
That was great! I love a good revenge song.
Very cool take on that song. Never heard this before.
So the guy swung rather than 'fess up to banging his best friend's wife. And she watched him swing without saying a word or shedding a tear. Who ARE these people?
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This one is based off of the Axeman of New Orleans:
The Flatline - Axman's Jazz
Dr. Blaine S. Mosley - The Axeman
The story about this song was that during the terror of the serial killer, people believed that if they played the song they would not be visited by the Axeman.
The Flatline - Axman's Jazz
Dr. Blaine S. Mosley - The Axeman
The story about this song was that during the terror of the serial killer, people believed that if they played the song they would not be visited by the Axeman.
I don't know how I forgot Dirty Frank. Pearl Jam wrote this about their sketchy bus driver. At the time they were touring with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the song deliberately mocks their style.
Dirty Frank Dahmer he's a gourmet cook, yeah.
I got a recipe for anus ankle soup, yeah.
Wanted a pass. So she relaxed. Now the little groupie's getting chopped up in the back.
I got a cupboard full of fleshy fresh ingredients
A very careful at the same time quite expedient.
Eats meat. A release.
Bus driving's harder on your head than on your feet.
Dirty Frank Dahmer he's a gourmet cook, yeah.
I got a recipe for anus ankle soup, yeah.
Wanted a pass. So she relaxed. Now the little groupie's getting chopped up in the back.
I got a cupboard full of fleshy fresh ingredients
A very careful at the same time quite expedient.
Eats meat. A release.
Bus driving's harder on your head than on your feet.
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Has no one mentioned Murder By Numbers by The Police yet? Holy smokes!
And Ted, Just Admit It by Jane's Addiction. Perry Farrell claimed it wasn't about Bundy, but it's so obvious who it's about. Especially when there are recordings of him speaking in the song.
And Ted, Just Admit It by Jane's Addiction. Perry Farrell claimed it wasn't about Bundy, but it's so obvious who it's about. Especially when there are recordings of him speaking in the song.
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Coming a little late to this, but I love Nick Cave's material. Most of it is pretty dark, even if not about murders. It was also possibly THE BEST live gig I've been at.
Have you heard his earlier work? I really like Let Love In (Loverman is fabulous), as well as Henry's Dream (Papa won't leave you Henry is one of my all-time favorites from him).
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Me and My Uncle - John Stewart wrote it, Grateful Dead did it really well (I promise, no neverending noodling!) : about a couple of card cheats. Really more about the cards.
Where the Wild Roses Grow - Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue : well, it's Nick Cave (eta: it's been pointed out to me that this song is on the album you're listening to now. Oops...)
Suffer Little Children - The Smiths : about Myra Hindley, the Moors Murderer
Stone Cold Dead in de Market - Louis Jordan and Ella Fitzgerald : humorous Caribbean number about a woman who kills her abusive husband
Peg and Pete and Me - Stan Ridgway : again, not so much about the murder, but more about being framed for it
The Roadblock - Stan Ridgway : Town vigilante crimestopper exercise gone wrong
Where the Wild Roses Grow - Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue : well, it's Nick Cave (eta: it's been pointed out to me that this song is on the album you're listening to now. Oops...)
Suffer Little Children - The Smiths : about Myra Hindley, the Moors Murderer
Stone Cold Dead in de Market - Louis Jordan and Ella Fitzgerald : humorous Caribbean number about a woman who kills her abusive husband
Peg and Pete and Me - Stan Ridgway : again, not so much about the murder, but more about being framed for it
The Roadblock - Stan Ridgway : Town vigilante crimestopper exercise gone wrong
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"Sussex Ghost Story" by John Wesley Harding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK-GAkhZgeI
And, as people have pointed out, enough folk ballads to choke a horse or two.
And, as people have pointed out, enough folk ballads to choke a horse or two.