Pretty Polly, by The Stanley Brothers- Folk or Country
A man is cruising in his ride through town, when his woman is disrespected by a cop. He kills the cop, then has to go on the run. But his generosity with the proceeds of his robberies make him a hero to the neighborhood folks and they help him keep free of the cops.
On da nose.
A man meets a woman whom he thinks he is only attracted to for physical reasons, but before long, he finds himself in love with her and weds her. He finds that his spouse is truly his equal, both in terms of love and treachery, and the man loves her even more for these qualities. Of particular note, his wife is even prepared to be an accomplice in the man’s criminal activities.
One day the man receives word that his lover is in trouble and, worried he calls her. Receiving no answer, he comes across a crime scene and starts weeping when he finds his lover dead. The man surmises that his enemies took revenge on him by taking the life of his closest friend.
Just to tie up the loose ends, that was the chirpy mod pop of the Small Faces’ Here Comes The Nice.
To start a new loose end - since I’ve linked to this thread for the Pit - a man kills four others - who killed his brother - in a cocaine deal gone wrong and leaves their bodies abandoned amongst bullet ridden cars. He tried to do right, it, seems, but life had stacked the deck against him. Take heed from his example.
I don’t know that one, but this one is Woody Guthrie’s Pretty Boy Floyd.
Great thread idea…no answers asides knowing Tecumseh Valley right off. Here’s anothersong to guess:
Guy was named after his Daddy, and Daddy before, a moonshine runner, who bought a big ass Dodge Sheriff’s car at auction. Not so good an idea.
Son of a son went to Vietnam, and came back home to work a similar business, but with more roots. This resulted in some government helicopter action, which really flipped out the returned war vet.
Thinking common burial somewhat would be chilly, the narrator asks for an alternate disposition of his body.
Sam Stone;
That would be The Cremation of Sam McGee ??
If so, folk.
Or “Please Don’t Bury Me” - John Prine
Copperhead Road - Steve Earle
That’s it! I guess Steve Earle is Folk Rock Blues.
Man decides to kill his kin during a drunken stupor, pushes daughter off a cliff, after agonizing over it, kills himself.
Ding ding! And I guess it’s ‘folk’.
How about this one:
Having played with his food and indulged in a certain dimly lit theatrical haunch, our protagnist eventually worked in calcium enclosure construction.
A barroom dancing is having an affair with a wealthy married man. One night she reconnects with an old lover, a criminal with a gang who is planning to rob the bank. Her rich lover kills the criminal lover, and in revenge, the rich lover’s wife kills her husband. The wife goes to the gallows, and the dancer thinks about going home.
Uh…uh…Bob Dylan’s Death Is Not The End? I’m thinking in particular of the Nick Cave {and accomplices} cover.
Country Death Song - Violent Femmes (Country, if you take their word for it)
Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts - Bob Dylan (folk, I guess)
A man kills a cop in self defense and flees. As a fugitive, he finds himself accused of more murders than the one he actually committed.
I Shot The Sheriff, Bob Marley, reggae.
I will be amazed if anyone gets this one.
The narrator’s sister is developmentally delayed, and unable to walk, so the family protects her from danger. However, rumor has it that a local bum is a cannibal and a shapeshifter, and his wife is a witch. One day, the sister is sitting alone in the road, and the bum scares her so badly that she runs off. The bum walks on, smiling.
Red-Headed Stranger by Willie Nelson. Country