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Murder Ballads
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Murder Ballads
Killer Tunes in the American Folk Tradition
A ballad can simply be defined as a narrative song. A murder ballad, then, is a song telling the story of a murder. It originated in pre-modern times in Scandinavia, England and Scotland, so its origins are probably to be found in Germanic culture.
Murder ballads sometimes tell the story from the point of view of the killer (frequently trying to portray her/him in a sympathetic light), and sometimes they adopt the point of view of the victim. Some resolve to a third-person narrator, often reporting the events of the murder without taking anybody's part.
Revenge is often featured, and, while most of the times it is exacted by a friend, a lover, or a parent, some murder ballads are about supernatural revenge wrought upon the murderer by ghosts, demons, or the devil himself.
When the tradition traveled to the New World, it was adapted to the American locale and its society. African music traditions blended with the original form, like in the folk-blues murder ballad.
The Twa Sisters (Scotland)
The European Tradition
The Brumble Briar (England)
The Maid and the Palmer(Ireland)
Mississippi John Hurt, Frankie and Johnny
The American Tradition
The Kingston Trio, Tom Dooley
Johnny Cash, Delia's Gone
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Stagger Lee
Contemporary
Songs & Renditions
Bob Dylan,
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
Nirvana, Where Did You Sleep Last Night