Popular songs about murder have a long tradition in America and it didn’t start with Goodbye Earl, The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, or even Tangled Up in Blue.
In an article for CrimeReads, Ashawnta Jackson discusses the history and implications of murder ballads: traditional folk songs about violence done to women by the men in their lives. Covered by some of the most renowned names in popular music, the subjects may sound familiar even if you don’t recall the songs themselves: Delia Green, Stagger Lee.
More recently, murder ballads have turned the tables, describing the deaths of men at the hands of women to whom they’ve done wrong, but these generally rely on fictional characters rather than the torn-from-the-headlines subjects of the songs of the early 20th century.
Might you find inspiration in the lyrics of a murder ballad or wish to write one yourself?
