Murder-Song Monday: Henry Lee

'Henry Lee.' This song appears on Crooked Still's most recent album, but I've already featured them once in this series, so here's Nick Cave doing the dirty work. Scottish ballads filtered down along the Appalachians from Nova Scotia to Georgia, and settled in the dells and hollows like dry leaves. Amazing how many songs tell this story of love and murder.

Murder-Song Monday: Barton Hollow

Is this a murder song? I believe it must be, although it's lyrics are a little obscure for me. Still, something happened, and the dude is feeling very guilty, that's clear. The duo is called The Civil Wars, and the album was produced by Charlie Peacock. I love the energetic and doomed harmony here, as well as the dreamlike imagery.

Murder-Song Monday: The Banks of the Ohio

You can find lots of old bluegrass versions of this song by the likes of Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, the Louvin Brothers, Jim & Jesse, etc. All I can say is, courtship in "the old South" must have been a touch-and-go affair for the women! I like Joan Baez's version, so she gets the nod.

Murder-Song Monday: Stagger Lee

Talking 'bout the bad man . . . Stagger Lee!

Murder-Song Monday: Caleb Meyer

This is one of the most brutal and dramatic murder-songs ever. There is an amazing toughness about the narrative voice, as of one who has endured much. It is a murder-song, but also a ghost-story. Written by Gillian Welch, but it has all the feel of a traditional ballad. It is lyrically sparse, feeling almost claustrophobic, like many murder-songs of the past, as if the singer is carrying on a long and burdensome conversation with herself.



BTW, Joan Baez's version is beautifully told.

Murder-Song Monday: The golden Vanity

This song, 'The Golden Vanity,' is a ballad about a heroic cabin-boy and a deceitful captain. At one time music answered our need for stories and our thirst for adventure every bit as much as TV does for us now. I can see some kid in the hills, some kid who'd maybe never even seen the ocean, hearing this song and going misty-eyed with dreaming. They call this a "traditional" song, meaning no one knows who wrote it. I love it as story, and I love it as song. Also, I love Crooked Still.

Murder-Song Monday: You Led Me to the Wrong

Ola Belle Reed. She was truly "old time." A preservationist of mountain music, her voice seems to come out of a time long past. In this murder-song, the "narrator" is going to his execution with no apparent regret. He did what he thought right, killing his best friend for courting his girl. This is a piece of Americana more vivid than anything you will read in the history books.

Murder-Song Monday: the Cold Rain and Snow

Start of a new series (because every blogger needs one). I'm not sure how long this one will last, but I know there are an awful lot of great murder-songs in our musical heritage. Plus, the phrase "Murder-Song Monday" was irresistible to me.

For a murder-song, this one's fairly understated. In fact, that's the beauty of this lyric. This seems to be the rumination of a man alone with his guilt, replaying his self-justification {"she ran me out in the rain and snow"), and seeing, over and over, "her cheeks as red as the rose." This seems to be an old English ballad. It has been recorded numerous times, most famously I suppose by The Grateful Dead. Rowan's voice is plaintive and lonely, and seems to me to shiver with unspoken regret.



The Be Good Tanyas also do a nice version.