Jun 16, 2007
Dead and Lovely
What’s more chilling yet romantic than to hear someone sing a spine tingling tale of murder? Especially when the song involves a story of the victim being a loved one of the killer. Murder ballads have always been part of our musical history, but never seem to lose their disturbing impact.
I buried my first victim when I was nineteen
Went through her bedroom and the pockets of her jeans
And found her letters that said so many things
That really hurt me bad
I never breathed her name again
But I liked to dream about what could have been
I never heard her calls again
But I like to dream
~ Sun Kil Moon / Glenn Tipton ~
I used the picture above as a small homage to the fantastic Tom Waits song “Murder in the Red Barn” which actually would have been a very good addition to the playlist below. Instead I chose his song “Dead and Lovely” as it so well balances on the fine line between morbidity and romanticism with lyrics like “What’s more romantic than dying in the moonlight?”
- Nancy Sinatra – Bang, Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)
How Does That Grab You? (Sundazed, 1966) - Tom Waits – Dead and Lovely
Real Gone (Anti, 2004) - Sun Kil Moon – Glenn Tipton
Ghosts of the Great Highway (Jet Set, 2003) - Alasdair Roberts – Molly Bawn
No Earthly Man (Drag City, 2005) - Wilco – Via Chicago
Summerteeth (Reprise, 1999) - Dolorean – Hannibal, MO
Not Exotic (Yep Roc, 2003) - Sixteen Horsepower – Outlaw Song
Folklore (Jet Set, 2002) - The Louvin Brothers – Knoxville Girl
Tragic Songs of Life (Capitol, 1956) - Alvarius B. – Dracula Frizzi
Blood Operatives of the Barium (Abduction, 2005)
Further reading
The Secret Life of the Murder Ballad by James Nichols
I highly recommend “Victim” by The Golden Palaminos.
Bang Bang doesn’t work… ?
Oh shit, that song is way too scary for me Sarah, haha! I might be able to use this song for a new list that I’m working on, thanks for the recommendation. :-)
@ Emilio: What exactly doesn’t seem to be working? I can both download and stream that song on my computer.
No problem, and yeah, that song is really scary, but I thought it might be appropriate for such a playlist. ;)
Bubba,
Another one you probably considered was ‘Hey Joe’. If you find the right version its a song full of menace (that famous, growling guitar lick, for instance). The song conveys a sense of fierce inevitability mixed with a haunted regret at what has been done.
There’s a good live version by Roy Buchanan, although the voice isn’t quite right.
Regards,
Jack
Hi Jack, thanks for your comment. Absolutely, ‘Hey Joe’ would have been a very strong addition to the list. I think it even might be my favorite song that deals with this topic. I just didn’t really like the way it sounded in combination with the other tracks so I omitted it from the playlist. I haven’t heard that Roy Buchanan version thought, I will have to check that one out too, thanks!
Re: Tom Waits’ Dead & Lovely: I kept hearing (in my mind/ear) Louis Armstrong singing this song, trumpet break of course. Aren’t there some Murder Ballads on the Harry Smith collection: “The Anthology of AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC?
Hahaha, yeah that song would be even scarier if it was Louis Armstrong singing it. From Tom Waits you can expect such lyrics, but not from Louis Armstrong I guess.
Haven’t you ever felt the need to write a murder ballad, Ed? I think I would feel really uncomfortable just by writing down those words, let alone singing them. ;-)
[...] see also: Dead and Lovely, Gambari Pour Madame Sankare image : wgdavis [...]
I think you have made a glaring omission, nowhere in the track listing do I spot ‘Where the wild roses grow’ by Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue. Brillinat choices otherwise.