Songs of Murder

Subway Song by The Cure. Try listening to it in the dark and with no other sounds around you.

Delilah by Tom Jones

There's also songs that have been murdered. Step forward, Westlife. Or Boyzone. They might even be the same band for all I know!

But getting back on topic, The Smiths did a ditty about roast beef and hamburgers.

And the Human League - Seconds. All about JFK if Kid Jensen was telling the truth.

I Hold Your Hand in Mine - Tom Lehrer

The night you died, I cut it off
I really don't know why
For every time I kiss it,
I get bloodstains on my tie

poetinahat said:

I Hold Your Hand in Mine - Tom Lehrer

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Or Lehrer's The Irish Ballad:

About a maid I'll sing a song,
Sing rickety-tickety-tin.
About a maid I'll sing a song,
Who didn't have her family long.
Not only did she do them wrong ---
She did every one of them in,
Them in,
She did every one of them in.


Back in early '81, a few months before She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed and I got married, we went ot the Exit-In in Nashville to see John Prine. Riders in the Sky opened for him, but before they came on, some guy, I have no idea who, sat at the piano in front of the stage and sang I Hold Your Hand in Mine. I don't know why he did that, but it was hilarious.

Bang, Bang by Nancy Sinatra (Kill Bill soundtrack)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5Xl0Qry-hA

I Shot the Sheriff (but I didn't shoot the deputy) ... if you can stomach that one.

I've got two that I don't think have been mentioned yet.

Ex Lover's Lover by Volatire. It goes into a lot of detail about body disposal.


My Name is Mud by Primus.

Copacabana by Barry Manilow, of course. And Hide Your Heart By Kiss, covered by Ace Frehley & Molly Hathet & Bonnie Tyler.

Stack Shot Billy, The Black Keys.

Are you just thinking about electric/rock type material? There are countless traditional ballads from many cultures about murders of all kinds. Sibling rivalry, incest, political assassination - you name it.

Lightning by Eric Church is about a man who commits a murder, not really ABOUT murder though. Still a great song, worth a listen or two:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f59hjVW-fZI

Here's another Me and my uncle from the Dead. This one is a little more brutal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywQwWvBOzzY&feature=related

My favorite (but I'm guessing you've already heard it: "Where the wild roses grow" with Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXA-9mWGCXk

Also Delilah by Tom Jones, here in a music video with Christopher Walken from the film Romance & Gigarettes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEH5zmAtLks&feature=related

John Wayne Gacy Jr. by Sufjan Stevens: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otx49Ko3fxw
not exactly a murder ballad, but a song about a murderer.

you could also check out Bob Dylan songs, "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" and "Hurricane"

Hope you get some inspiration

heh,

y'all are too young to remember Timothy by The Buoys

I think it was also voted worst song ever to make it to top 25.
The DJ's always played it during meal times

Timothy
by Ruppert Holmes
Trapped in a mine that had caved in
And everyone knows the only ones left
Were Joe and me and Tim
When they broke through to pull us free
The only ones left to tell the tale
Were Joe and me
Timothy, Timothy, where on earth did you go?
Timothy, Timothy, God why don't I know?
Hungry as hell no food to eat
And Joe said that he would sell his soul
For just a piece of meat
Water enough to drink for two
And Joe said to me, "I'll have a swig
And then there's some for you."
Timothy, Timothy, Joe Was looking at you
Timothy, Timothy, God what did we do
I must have blacked out just around then
'Cause the very next thing that I could see
Was the light of the day again
My stomach was full as it could be
And nobody ever got around
To finding Timothy
Timothy

rtilryarms said:

heh,

y'all are too young to remember Timothy by The Buoys

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No, I remember it. I just wasn't going to bring it up in polite society.

Hello, This is Jonie - Paul Evans.

Not that it's autobiographical or anything, but the circumstantial evidence, we had a fight and she left home, points to murder, with a good alibi, surely?

Off to post the song on another thread.

Thought of another one. This is called Jack Straw, it was written by Robert Hunter and tells the tale of two cowboys: one good one bad and their short adventure.

The opening line and closing line "We can share the women we can share the wine." is spoken by the bad cowboy. The middle of the song is a conflict between these two cowboys as the good guy gets fed up with the actions of the bad guy until the bad cowboy just shoots the good guy. The final line is the bad cowboy's opening line to the next poor sap he meets. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-xY-_B4RgY

At the risk of derailing this thread into "bad 80s hair music," let me add:

- 18 and Life by Skid Row
- Uncle Tom's Cabin by Warrant

I'm sorry.