# Murder songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 23, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548 "2006-11-23T15:01:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/1 "2006-11-23T15:01:09Z")
[This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=397282) got me thinking about songs about murder. Particularly this post: [QUOTE=cosmosdan] a murder song thread might be interesting. [/QUOTE] So here it is. **Tom Dooly**. The way I learned it was like this: _I met her on the mountain Swore she’d be my wife But the gal refused me So I stabbed her with my knife_ The Kingston Trio version, which a _very_ cursory search seems to be the more popular version uses: _I met her on the mountain, there I took her life Met her on the mountain, stabbed her with my knife_ And then there’s **The Banks Of The Ohio** : \*I held a knife against her brest As into my arms she pressed She cried, “Oh, Willie, don’t murder me, I’m not prepared for eternity” - Refrain I started home 'tween twelve and one I cried, “My God! what have I done ? Killed the only woman I loved Because she would not be my bride”\* At least in **Frankie And Johnny** Frankie was ‘done wrong’ by the cheating Johnny. But in _Tom Dooly_ and _The Banks Of the Ohio_ the victims did nothing but decline marriage proposals. ‘Will you marry me?’ ‘No.’ '_YOU DIE NOW!’_ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/2 "2006-11-23T15:07:48Z")
**Miss Otis Regrets** _When she woke up and found that her dream of love was gone, madam She ran to the man who had led her so far astray And from under her velvet gown She drew a gun and shot her love down, madam Miss Otis regrets, she’s unable to lunch today_ ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/3 "2006-11-23T15:08:38Z")
Nick Cave did a whole album of murder songs – “Murder Ballads.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/4 "2006-11-23T15:36:55Z")
Here’s a Wiki article on [Murder ballads](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_ballad). I haven’t heard most of them. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/5 "2006-11-23T15:37:22Z")
One of the creepiest is [Little Mary Phagan](http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/littlemary/littlemary.html), given the backstory. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/6 "2006-11-23T15:53:41Z")
Frankie and Johnny I haven’t heard it but there’s an opera about slain SF politician Harvey Milk so I imagine that the murders of him and SF mayour George Moscone by Dan White are sung about. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/7 "2006-11-23T16:18:30Z")
I’m a fan of [‘Murder by Numbers’](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/sting+&+police/murder+by+numbers_20132243.html) by The Police. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/8 "2006-11-23T16:27:39Z")
A couple of modern country murder songs: [Independence Day](http://www.lyrics007.com/Martina%20McBride%20Lyrics/Independence%20Day%20Lyrics.html) by Martina McBride [Goodbye Earl](http://www.purelyrics.com/index.php?lyrics=optttcso) by the Dixie Chicks And [The Thunder Rolls](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/garthbrooks/thethunderrolls.html) and [Papa Loved Mama](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/garthbrooks/papalovedmama.html) both by Garth Brooks ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/9 "2006-11-23T16:29:24Z")
**You’re All I Need** by Motley Crue “The blade of my knife Faced away from your heart Those last few nights It turned and sliced you apart This love that I tell Now feels lonely as hell From this padded prison cell” ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/10 "2006-11-23T16:32:34Z")
**I used to Love Her But I Had to Kill Her** by Guns N Roses “I used to love her, but I had to kill her I used to love her, but I had to kill her I knew I miss her So I had to keep her She’s buried right in my back yard” ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/11 "2006-11-23T16:41:12Z")
The first one that came to mind was [Mack the Knife](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_knife) which has been recorded in various versions. The song mentions various crimes by Macheath, including murder. > [@](#): > > The song attributes many crimes to Macheath: > > ``` > * A dead man in London, on the famous street Strand > * A rich man, Schmul Meier, disappeared for good > * Jenny Towler, killed with a knife in the chest > * Seven children and an old man killed in an arson fire > * Rape of an underage widow (minderjährige Witwe) in her bed > > ``` > > The arson and rape were omitted from the Blitzstein version. ---
**Author:** ![Campion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Campion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Campion)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/12 "2006-11-23T16:49:10Z")
**Jess** , I came in to mention those, as well as SheDaisy’s _A Night To Remember_. What better anniversary gift for a cheating spouse than a murder-suicide? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/13 "2006-11-23T16:49:19Z")
Well, now about: _Maxwell Edison was studying medicine?_ and of course: _I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die_ ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/14 "2006-11-23T16:53:49Z")
“_Hey Joe_” - **Jimi Hendrix** “_Smoking Gun_” - **Robert Cray** “_I Shot the S_heriff” - **Bob Marley (Clapton)** “_Don’t Take Me Alive_” - \*\*Steely Dan \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/15 "2006-11-23T16:56:11Z")
Interesting note: Tom Dula (correct spelling) was tried and hung in the same town I went to high school in, just a few miles from where I grew up. That wouldn’t mean much if the town were, say, St. Louis, but Statesville, NC does not have many famous residents, past or present. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/16 "2006-11-23T17:02:36Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] **Miss Otis Regrets** _When she woke up and found that her dream of love was gone, madam She ran to the man who had led her so far astray And from under her velvet gown She drew a gun and shot her love down, madam Miss Otis regrets, she’s unable to lunch today_ [/QUOTE] Well, I was going to say “Mack The Knife” (with Armstrong burbling along) and “Hey Joe” (“I’m going down to shoot my old lady, caught her messin’ 'round with another man, that ain’t too cool,”) but if you’re going to bring Lady Fitzgerald into this, I think “To Keep My Love Alive” is the definitive Ella-on-a-murderous-streak song: Sir Philip played the harp/I cussed the thing. I crowned him with his harp/to bust the thing. And now he plays where harps/are just the thing, To keep my love alive. Who can blame her? What a bunch of losers she married. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/17 "2006-11-23T17:11:48Z")
Thanks for reminder of “Smoking Gun.” EXCELLENT song. mmmm, mmmm. My contribution: Bohemian Rhapsody. Mama, just killed a man Put a gun against his head Pulled the trigger, now he’s dead Also, “Well, a man fell over my razor In the middle of a barroom brawl But don’t you see it was him or me And my back was up against the wall” ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/18 "2006-11-23T17:12:56Z")
They’re Hanging Me Tonight by Marty Robbins \* That night he came and took my Flo and headed in to town I knew I had to find this man and try to gun him down As I walked by a dim cafe and I looked through the door I saw my Flo with her new love and I couldn’t stand no more, I couldn’t stand no more. I took my pistol from my hip and with a trembling hand I took the life of pretty Flo and that good for nothin’ man That good for nothin’ man! I think about the thing I’ve done I know it wasn’t right They’ll bury Flo tomorrow, but they’re hanging me tonight, They’re hanging me tonight.\* ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/19 "2006-11-23T17:16:23Z")
Stagger Lee by Lloyd Price \*“Stagger Lee,” said Billy, "Oh, please don’t take my life! "I’ve got three hungry children, “And a very sickly wife.” Stagger Lee shot Billy Oh, he shot that poor boy so hard That a bullet went through Billy And broke the bartender’s bar.\* ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548/20 "2006-11-23T17:20:15Z")
Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash: _When I was just a baby my mama told me. Son, always be a good boy, don´t ever play with guns. But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die When I hear that whistle blowing, I hang my head and cry_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-songs/381548.md?page=2)