Top Ten Murder Ballads (with recommended versions)
Pretty Polly (Mary Chapin Carpenter/ Edgar Meyer/ Darol Anger)
There Is Something On Your Mind, parts 1 & 2 (Bobby Marchand)
Love Henry (Judy Henske)
Frankie & Johnny (Sam Cooke)
Down By The River (Neil Young)
Hey Joe (Jimi Hendrix)
Knoxville Girl (Louvin Brothers)
Irish Ballad (Tom Lehrer)
I Hold Your Hand In Mine (Tom Lehrer)
Long Black Veil (Lefty Frizell)
Last edited by Squaredancecalling Steve; June-15th-2010 at 01:55 PM.
Pretty Polly (Mary Chapin Carpenter/ Edgar Meyer/ Darol Anger)
There Is Something On Your Mind, parts 1 & 2 (Bobby Marchand)
Love Henry (Judy Henske)
Frankie & Johnny (Sam Cooke)
Down By The River (Neil Young)
Hey Joe (Jimi Hendrix)
Knoxville Girl (Louvin Brothers)
Irish Ballad (Tom Lehrer)
I Hold Your Hand In Mine (Tom Lehrer)
Long Black Veil (Lefty Frizell)
Down By the Willow Garden - Everly Brothers
Red Dog Tracks - Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez
Red-Headed Stranger - Willie Nelson
El Paso - Marty Robbins
Last edited by Robert de St. Loup; June-15th-2010 at 02:05 PM.
"What does one mean when one says that things are getting worse? It’s becoming more like the future, that’s all." - Paul Bowles
I saw MCC at many coffeehouse gigs here in DC, but I don't own any of her albums and don't recall hearing her do "Pretty Polly."
She does it on Darol Anger's great album Heritage (w/ Mavis Staples, Willie Nelson, Vassar Clements, John Hartford, Bela Fleck, David Grisman, and others).
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have a killer (no pun intended) interpretation of 'Long Black Veil' on the album 'Kicking Against the Pricks'. They also have a whole album of traditional murder ballads that's excellent.
"Psycho" Written by Leon Payne. Was his the definitive version? I know others have recorded it including Elvis Costello but I seem to remember hearing another version before Elvis's.
"I've been on food stamps and welfare. Did anybody help me out? No."
"Psycho" Written by Leon Payne. Was his the definitive version? I know others have recorded it including Elvis Costello but I seem to remember hearing another version before Elvis's.
Jack Kittel and Eddie Noack recorded it. I like Kittel's version the best.
Last edited by Robert de St. Loup; June-15th-2010 at 10:20 PM.
"What does one mean when one says that things are getting worse? It’s becoming more like the future, that’s all." - Paul Bowles
I'm not sure if Long Black Veil should really be considered a murder ballad.
The protagonist is unjustly executed, which is a technically a murder, but the point of the song is that he didn't murder anyone himself, but remains mute on his alibi due to his concern for his best friend and his wife.
Obviously this harkens back to a different era of moral behavior.
However, I would add this to the list: Dehlia.
I'm most familiar with Dave Bromberg's version, but I'm sure a lot of other folkie folk have recorded it.
I'm not sure if Long Black Veil should really be considered a murder ballad.
The protagonist is unjustly executed, which is a technically a murder, but the point of the song is that he didn't murder anyone himself, but remains mute on his alibi due to his concern for his best friend and his wife.
Somebody got murdered! That's how the song starts off.
Somebody got murdered! That's how the song starts off.
Yes, but that murder is secondary to the protagonist. He's neither the murderer or the victim. The murderer is never mentioned or speculated upon, and the victim is mentioned only once and incidentally. It's not technically a murder ballad, or at best an atypical example of the genre. It's a classic song, but I wouldn't put it in the top ten of murder ballads for that reason.
Description of the genre
A broadsheet murder ballad typically recounts the details of a mythic or true crime — who the victim is, why the murderer decides to kill him or her, how the victim is lured to the murder site and the act itself — followed by the escape and/or capture of the murderer. Often the ballad ends with the murderer in jail or on their way to the gallows, occasionally with a plea for the listener not to copy the evils committed by him as recounted by the singer.
Some murder ballads tell the story from the point of view of the murderer, or attempt to portray the murderer in a somewhat sympathetic light, such as "Tom Dooley". A recording of that song sold nearly four million copies for The Kingston Trio in 1958. Other murder ballads tell the tale of the crime from the point of view of the victim, such as "Lord Randall", in which the narrator takes ill and discovers that he has been poisoned. Others tell the story with greater distance, such as "Lamkin", which records the details of the crime and the punishment of the criminals without any attempt to arouse sympathy for the criminal. Supernaturalrevenge wrought by the victim upon the murderer sometimes figures in murder ballads such as "The Twa Sisters" (also known as "Binnorie," Child Ballad #10).
Last edited by groover; June-16th-2010 at 03:19 PM.
In The Pines aka Black Girl aka Where Did You Sleep Last Night? (Leadbelly)
That's another great old song, but who got murdered---her daddy? I always figured that he'd been decapitated in a railroad accident. (I'm going by a distant memory.)
My daddy was a railroad man,
Died a mile and a half from town.
His head they found 'neath the driver's [driving?] wheel,
His body has never been found.
Last edited by bluenoter; June-16th-2010 at 08:01 PM.
Not sure that this one qualifies: Louis Collins -- Mississippi John Hurt
I guess it's questionable but it's set up in such a way, by the lyrics and MJH's performance, to make you sympathetic to Louis and especially to his mother. Therefore, I tend to think that Louis pulled his gun in self defense and lost.
But if not, then certainly Frankie (aka Frankie and Albert) by MJH qualifies.
Last edited by me wag; June-16th-2010 at 07:27 PM.
Square, are you familiar with this album? I haven't heard it, but I've been wanting to get it
Hey, Sergio!
I haven't checked out any of Charlie's recent efforts. Actually, I was only aware of his 2007 s/t record that was nominated for a Grammy -- hadn't realized he'd put out a gospel album, a live album, and a couple of others since then until I looked for this one. I'll look into them more, but I remember thinking Charlie's voice sounded pretty dried up when I listened to samples of the s/t one in 2007.
Well, he went down to dinner in his Sunday best
Excitable boy, they all said
And he rubbed the pot roast all over his chest
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he's just an excitable boy
He took in the four a.m. show at the Clark
Excitable boy, they all said
And he bit the usherette's leg in the dark
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he's just an excitable boy
He took little Susie to the Junior Prom
Excitable boy, they all said
and he raped her and killed her, then he took her home
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he's just an excitable boy
After ten long years they let him out of the Home
Excitable boy, they all said
And he dug up her grave and built a cage with her bones
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he's just an excitable boy
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Originally Posted by Squaredancecalling Steve
Good call, Cem!
