To which you can add an Irish version, by Christy Moore on his album "Smoke And Strong Whiskey".Originally Posted by (Undercover Brother @ May 23 2007, 11:56)
Martin
To which you can add an Irish version, by Christy Moore on his album "Smoke And Strong Whiskey".
Martin
Thanks for the correction, mandopete. #I wouldn't doubt that Utah Phillips wrote 'Rock Salt and Nails'. #I heard it years ago on an old cassette by the Bluegrass Cardinals, and that cold-blooded last line came to mind when I saw this thread. #Good topic, BTW.
Another good one I haven't seen mentioned is 'The Hills of Roane County'. #I know the Stanley Brothers' recorded it, but I don't think they wrote it. #Apparently it was based on a true story in Tennessee circa 1884-85.
"Over Yonder" by Steve Earl is one of the best executiion songs I've heard. I too like all of the Larry Stephenson murder songs, many of which were written by Tom T. and Dixie Hall.
Lee
I'm surprised "Dirty Old Town" by the Pogues hasn't surfaced. I have a bluegrass/folk version by The Ecclestons? A touch off but "Come With Me." Dan
Play em like you know em!
It's not my fvorite at all,but "Little Mathie Grove" is one.It gave me the chills when I first herd it.
I like mandolins.
Here's one that nobody will know, as the songwrier died a few years ago just as he was beginning to get the recognition he deserves. His name is Dave Carter, and the song is "Preston Miller." Played with Tracy Grammer, who released an album of his music after he died. They did a few CD's before he passed. Give him a google.
"Crime I'm Guilty Of"-Blue Moon Rising Band
Collings MF
Collings MT2V
I love those "murder ballads," cause most of the time the villan get his/her just desserts. Has " Girl in the Blue Velvet Band been mentioned?" "The guilty one now lies dying."
"In the Gravel Yard" "I killed a man I caught with my wife"
Have you noticed that many times the murderer is named Willie? G.B.
What could have happened--did!
2002 F-5L Gibson
Eastman 915
23 Gibson Snake Head
62 Gibson J-50
No name A-oval hole
Not your everyday bluegrass band, but check out With a Gun by Steely Dan, from Pretzel Logic. That's just cryin' to be a bluegrass tune.
"Thats the night that the lights went out in Georgia" qualifies by lyric, if not genre
What could have happened--did!
2002 F-5L Gibson
Eastman 915
23 Gibson Snake Head
62 Gibson J-50
No name A-oval hole
One of my all time favorites is "Perfume, Powder and Lead" as done by the Lonesome River Band. That song makes me cry.
Delia - Johnny Cash
Ella Speed - Mance Lipscomb
Careless Love - Lonnie Johnson version
and of course the whole of the Nick Cave album of the same title, particularly the unbeatably bloodthirsty O'Malley's bar (parts one, two, and three!!)
There's also a great song on the new Ry Cooder about a pig called J Edgar Hoover who eats the 'hired man' Bob. I'm not actually aware of any other songs of this nature...
Best
Robin
No. No es una bandurria ni una guitarra muy pequeñita
Turn It On, Turn It On, Turn It On! Rock County...7 shootings and an electric chair execution, not bad!
Jason
Lefty JBovier F5 Tradition, Lefty Mid-Mo M1
Yes, of course, Leaving home/Frankie - "from underneath her silk kimono she pulled her 44 gun. These love affairs are hard to bear"
Nick Cave by the way is Australian and the woman who 'keeps him in tune' on one song (Where the wild roses grow) is Kylie Minogue, who is not normally known for her murder ballads
Best
Robin
No. No es una bandurria ni una guitarra muy pequeñita
Well it appears we've beaten this topic to death! Thanks for all the replies. I now have enough info for a nice compilation.
Regards & Thanks,
Charlie Carr
the Blue Sky Boys also recorded a version of it and so did Charlie Moore, Wilma Lee Cooper, Tony Rice and Mac Wiseman. Bill Monroe also recorded it as "Roane County Prison", a great song. coincidentally its also where Frank Wakefield spent his early childhood, and it name drops my hometown- which is definitely a first.
I have also it spelled Roan with out the 'e' in the song title, which i guess is just a typo.
it is based on a true story, here is the song background that someone from back home researched
Wes
"i gotta fever...and the only prescription is more cowbell!!"
'87 Flatiron A5-JR/'25 Gibson A-JR
Got to include several tracks off of Springsteen's Nebraska:
- Nebraska (kills everything in his path, but they had some fun)
- Highway Patrolman (the guy in the bar probably died)
- State Trooper (not quite murder - so long as the state trooper doesn't stop him)
And a couple of good Dylan songs
- The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
- Percy's Song
Don
Regional Jams and Music Programs:
The Folk School
Mandolin Cafe Social Groups:
St. Louis and area Mandolin Players
Kansas City area Mandolin Players
Song a Week Club
Will Kimble Mandolins
Silverangel Mandolins
FFcP fans/support
I'm more than guilty of loving murder ballads, I could be accused of playing little else... Then again, when you play in an HP Lovecraft/pulp horror inspired country band... I like songs that deal with death, so forgive me if I amuse some different aspects...
Vincent Black Lightning (RIchard Thompson): Not strictly a murder ballad, but then again...
Another vote for Nick Cave and Tom Waits... Adding "Mercy Seat" and "Black Wings" respectively - though both deal with death from other directions.
Goin' Down to Die (Glenn Danzig): It's a well known fact that Danzig wrote "13" for Mr. Cash... This was the song Johnny didn't choose. On a less "countrified" note, "Die Die My Darling" makes a heckuva western swing tune.
Cottonseed (Drive By Truckers): Unrepentant, vicious, and downright mean.
Fistful of Demons (Ghoultown): Here you have Spaghetti Western Twang combined with infantcide and beyond the grave revenge. Not for the squemish.
Weightless Again (The Handsome Family): Does suicide count? Creepier than many a true murder ballad while still keeping that "charm".
The Road Goes On Forever (Robert Earl Keen): ...and the party never ends...
They're Hanging Me Tonight (Marty Robbins): Heck the whole "Gunfighter..." album is pretty darn good in this topic...
In The Trunk of My Cadillac Car (Unknown Hinson): This is about as inappropriate a tune to croon as any have written. Simply put, he is the King of Country Western Troubadors...
Bang Bang My Baby Shot Me Down (Nancy Sinatra): Yeah, I heard it on the Kill Bill soundtrack... It gave me chills when I first heard it... Still does...
---Not to mention all the great tunes I've already seen mentioned---
Couldn't resist the topic...
Dave "Grimm Pickins"
1984 Flatiron A5-2
1930 (?) Regal Tenor
Toil without song is like a weary journey without an end.
H. P. Lovecraft
Not to beat a dead horse too bloody, but
Sinkhole by Drive-By Truckers, Farm foreclosure and murder all rolled into one.
Ballad of Hollis Brown as performed by Leon Russell
Country Death Song by Violent Femmes.
Three desparate farmer songs from the heartland.
R
that's a classic right there!
Wes
"i gotta fever...and the only prescription is more cowbell!!"
'87 Flatiron A5-JR/'25 Gibson A-JR
Don't know if it's been mentioned (don't have time to sort through whole thread), but my favorite murder ballad is:
Country Death Song -- The Violent Femmes
"I gave her a push, I gave her a shove.
I pushed with all my might, I pushed with all my love.
I pushed my darlin' into a bottomless pit.
She screamed as she fell, but I never heard her hit.
She screamed as she fell, but I never heard her hit."
And for a traditional murder ballad, it would be a tie
between Mathie Groves or Willow Garden.
Jim
Glad to see some other Drive By Truckers fans here - Decoration Day is a great one too!
Aw, man. You're a day late, but I didn't even think of it.
R
A lovely C/W ballad my wife has done for years: "The girl who loved the man that robbed the bank in Santa Fe and got away". A haunting tune, and probably the longest title I've seen.
"Did She Jump Or Was She Pushed?" - Richard Thompson (Hand of Kindness)
"Poor Murdered Woman", "Murder of Maria Marten" - Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band (No Roses)
"Arthur McBride" - Paul Brady & Andy Irvine (Paul Brady and Andy Irvine) In #Paul Brady's great rendition, I really get the impression the the beatings of the recruiter and his drummer are probably fatal.
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