# Songs About Crime **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 24, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722 "2009-11-24T01:36:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/41 "2009-11-24T04:51:20Z")
Don’t forget father raping! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/42 "2009-11-24T04:54:32Z")
One of the modern classics, [Merle Haggard’s Mama Tried](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxQbvSjQy9A), containing some of the greatest lines in American music: _And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole. No-one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried. Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied. That leaves only me to blame 'cos Mama tried._ Once you get past the Maypole songs, and the Methodist adaptations of them to a Protestant context, American and British music are all about the crimes, from the 15th century to now. However, imagine my folky disappointment to learn that [The Highwayman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2CFM4ev-g8)’s author, Alfred Noyes, died four years AFTER I was born. Which means that he was still alive when Mad Magazine did its parody, though some years before I read it and, upon hearing this song, connected “The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,” with Harvey Kurtzman(?)'s illustration. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/43 "2009-11-24T06:02:37Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Don’t forget father raping! Mother stabbing! ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/44 "2009-11-24T07:05:18Z")
**Lynching** : Strange Fruit, Miss Otis Regrets ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/45 "2009-11-24T07:13:38Z")
Prostitution Roxanne - The Police Tomorrow We’ll See - Sting ---
**Author:** ![HISSNLISSN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed8c4c/32.png) [@HISSNLISSN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HISSNLISSN)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/46 "2009-11-24T07:14:34Z")
Neil Young’s “Down by the River” is a classic. A bit under the radar, a somewhat similar tale reversed, and a definite favorite: “Rene,” by Knife in the Water. You can use [this Google link](http://www.google.com/search?q=knife+in+the+water+rene) to hear the song via Lula player, lyrics are the first or second result. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/47 "2009-11-24T07:16:49Z")
Rape: Tori Amos “Me and a Gun” Sublime “Date Rape” Murder: The Unfinished Sympathy “I Killed Her But That’s Not The Point” Le Tigre “Bang! Bang!” Chuck Prophet “West Memphis Moon” the Violent Femmes “Country Death Song” ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/48 "2009-11-24T07:17:37Z")
[Kate Bush “There Goes a Tenner”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bYXYlCbBJ0#t=11s) (Bank robbery) As a bonus, here’s [the same song covered and updated](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3CJI5dEQN0) to a modern criminal argot. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/49 "2009-11-24T07:17:52Z")
Murder: El Paso Indiana Wants Me ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/50 "2009-11-24T07:20:13Z")
Spousal abuse and murder The Thunder Rolls by **Garth Brooks** ---
**Author:** ![independentminded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed8c4c/32.png) [@independentminded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/independentminded)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/51 "2009-11-24T07:20:25Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > **Sexual Assault of a Child** : > “Prison Sex” - Tool > “Janie’s Got a Gun” - Aerosmith > “Jordan, Minnesota” - Big Black (great, scary song) > “Kentucky F\*\*\* Daddy”- Brutal Juice (ditto) > > **Robbery With a Deadly Weapon** : > “I Fought the Law” - Sonny Curtis and The Crickets (popularized by the Bobby Fuller Four) > > **Burglary with Intent to Commit Sexual Assault** : > Tyler (I Will Be With Her Tonight) - The Toadies > > **Seuxal Assault and/or Murder** : > “Possum Kingdom” - The Toadies > > **Serial Murder** : > “Dead Skin Mask” - Slayer (about serial killer Ed Gein) > > **Genocide** : > “Angel of Death” - Slayer (about Auschwitz - Birkenau “doctor” Josef Mengele) > “Holiday in Cambodia” - Dead Kennedys (about Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge) > > Others? What about _Don’t Fear The Reaper_ by Blue Oyster Cult, and _The End_, by the Doors, both of which are about suicide? ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/52 "2009-11-24T07:22:16Z")
Murder Water’s Edge by **Seven Mary Three** ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/53 "2009-11-24T07:27:54Z")
Violence Against gays: Sponge “Death of a Drag Queen” School Shootings: Flyleaf “Cassie” POD “Youth Of The Nation” My Chemical Romance “Teenagers” ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/54 "2009-11-24T07:29:12Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > School Shootings: > Flyleaf “Cassie” I have that CD and I never knew that that’s what the song is about. Thank you for posting that. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/55 "2009-11-24T08:06:05Z")
About to commit murder Angry Johnny by **Poe** ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/56 "2009-11-24T08:20:44Z")
Here are a few… Robbery: Kate Bush - [“There Goes A Tenner”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz4p_UjE7RI) Breaking and Entering, Robbery: Peter Gabriel - [“Intruder”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAzUh_H7yV0) Murder: Peter Gabriel - [“No Self Control”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beQ7YrjLJ2U) Peter Gabriel - [“Family Snapshot”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZTh_NxUX1U) HTR - [“To Live In Your World”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JduP4mn29sY) HTR - [“Murder”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHUwhcwBjcI) Kate Bush - [“The Wedding List”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObRw_MuD1yw) ([lyrics](http://gaffa.org/sensual/l_twl.html)) Kate Bush - [“Mother Stands For Comfort”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRNju3-Xyek) ([lyrics](http://gaffa.org/sensual/l_msfc.html)) (it’s actually about a murderer’s mother covering up for her child) Kate Bush - [“Coffee Homeground”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp0qi80AvZM) ([lyrics](http://gaffa.org/sensual/l_ch.html)) Exene Cervenka - “Cocktail Trees” Murder/Suicide HTR - [“Take Me With You”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBd55sVwN4Q) Domestic/Family Violence: Kate Bush - [“Not This Time”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Waac8sNUNcs) ([lyrics](http://gaffa.org/sensual/l_ntt.html)) Mila Drumke - Constance Katell Keineg - “Franklin” HTR - [“Closer”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCu5rPSQdDE) Incest/Child Abuse: Toni Childs - “Daddy’s Song” October Project - [“Bury My Lovely”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMBEk4RNXpQ) HTR - [“The Chariot”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qn5q8d26DE) HTR - [“Life On Mars”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkeYfBFm-pA) (not a Bowie cover) Kate Bush - [“The Infant Kiss”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUTkdw4C0XA) (based on the movie The Innocents which was based on Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw) Kate Bush - [“The Kick Inside”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5Kz26VSpqg) ([lyrics](http://gaffa.org/sensual/l_tki.html)) (could also go under suicide) Smuggling: Kate Bush - [“Night Of The Swallow”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq-5TvY4BEA) ([lyrics](http://gaffa.org/sensual/l_nots.html)) Genocide: Kate Bush - [“The Dreaming”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wkkuaTvIso) ([lyrics](http://gaffa.org/sensual/l_td.html)) HTR - [“Looking Over Cliffs”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DUqwD89ygM) Prostitution: Kate Bush - [“In The Warm Room”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jchWWJ1wQCc) ([lyrics](http://gaffa.org/sensual/l_itwr.html)) Kidnapping: HTR - [“Case of Glass”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5ZJymJw6Is) Rape (probably): Kate Bush - [“The Handsome Cabin Boy”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDn_3VysILs) ([lyrics](http://gaffa.org/sensual/l_thcb.html)) Ok, reaching… Tresspassing: Kate Bush - [“Rocket’s Tail”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yeimyOsdrA) ([lyrics](http://gaffa.org/sensual/l_rt.html)) Suicide: HTR - [“I Have A Heart”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq68vkHuhfg) HTR - [“Lay Me Down”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF3nyqRTXjM) HTR - [“Suicide Song”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY8kQPe66iQ) HTR - [“The First To Cry”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mmwLgPQpP4) Bullying (maybe not a crime as such, but it should be): HTR - [“If I Ever See The Girl Again”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5vKrKi7u3g) Outlaws: Kate Bush - [“James and the Cold Gun”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c_2QlvdTFc) ([lyrics](http://gaffa.org/sensual/l_jatcg.html)) ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/57 "2009-11-24T08:27:26Z")
Child abuse Luka by **Suzanne Vega** Possible murder, or suicide, or both, by a crazy ex Shame by **Stabbing Westward** ---
**Author:** ![independentminded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed8c4c/32.png) [@independentminded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/independentminded)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/58 "2009-11-24T08:31:23Z")
Hmmm…while I knew that there were songs about crime, I never knew there were so many of them. _Pretty Polly_ is another song about murder, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/59 "2009-11-24T09:06:11Z")
Murder and framing someone else for said murder: Chris de Burgh The Painter ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/60 "2009-11-24T09:10:29Z")
Seriously disturbing song about child rape The childcatcher by Patrick Wolf [Patrick Wolf - The Childcatcher Lyrics](http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/patrick_wolf_lyrics_3996/lycanthropy_lyrics_11896/the_childcatcher_lyrics_138005.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722.md?page=4)