# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/61 "2009-11-24T09:10:43Z")
Killing spree (multiple homicides): Bruce Springsteen, _[Nebraska](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qd4RGTQxf4&feature=related)_. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/62 "2009-11-24T09:22:22Z")
Outlaw on the run: Allman Brothers - [“Midnight Rider”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpQwvUN4yqA) Styx - “Renegade” Serial murder: Neko Case - “Deep Red Bells” Bruce Springsteen - “Nebraska” Serial rape/murder: Rolling Stones - “Midnight Rambler” Rape, torture, incest, and murder: Elvis Costello - “Less Than Zero” Prostitution: Lou Reed - “Walk on the Wild Side” Organized crime: Bruce Springsteen - “Murder, Incorporated” Bootlegging/Drug Dealing: Steve Earle - “Copperhead Road” Theft of women’s clothing: Pink Floyd - “Arnold Layne” Auto theft: Beastie Boys - “Car Thief” Assault with eggs: Beastie Boys - “Egg Man” Long-term embezzlement of auto parts: Johnny Cash - “One Piece at a Time” BTW, is the OP also interested in songs about prison and execution? ---
**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, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/63 "2009-11-24T09:24:25Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > BTW, is the OP also interested in songs about prison and execution? I hope so because I’m offering up Criminal about to be hanged Renegade by **Styx** ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/64 "2009-11-24T09:34:20Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > I hope so because I’m offering up > > Criminal about to be hanged > Renegade by **Styx** I had that one too. Here’s another: Led Zeppelin - [“Gallows Pole”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1kxb1FC3Vg) ---
**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, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/65 "2009-11-24T09:38:55Z")
Pretty good. One that I don’t think was a radio single Scream of Anger by **Europe** ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/66 "2009-11-24T14:45:07Z")
“Another One Bites the Dust,” Queen ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/67 "2009-11-24T15:15:46Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > BTW, is the OP also interested in songs about prison and execution? Sure, why not. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/68 "2009-11-24T20:32:09Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Sure, why not. Well then, how about most of the cuts from Johnny Cash’s [Live at Folsom Prison](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000028U0Y/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00000254Z&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=13KD7ARV0GFK8DDJQ1GA)album? Also: Humble Pie - “30 Days in the Hole” Thin Lizzy - “Jailbreak” AC/DC - “Jailbreak” Webb Piece and many other artists - “In the Jailhouse Now” ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/69 "2009-11-24T21:00:19Z")
Did I miss it or has no one mentioned “Bohemian Rhapsody” yet? Robbery & murder – “Dupree’s Diamond Blues” by Grateful Dead; “The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde” by Georgie Fame Murder – “Parchman Farm” by Mose Allison Robbery – “Muddy Water” by Johnny Rivers Prostitution – “House of the Rising Sun” ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/70 "2009-11-24T21:13:22Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > All excellent. Love the Tom Lehrer and the Muppets. > > **Murder** : > “Cocaine Blues” - Johnny Cash (also drug abuse) > “Delia’s Gone” - Johnny Cash These are just 2 of the 16 tracks on the Cash compilation album [**Murder**](http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Johnny-Cash/dp/B00004TB89/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1259097095&sr=1-1), devoted exclusively to, well, you can guess. ---
**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, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/71 "2009-11-24T23:23:28Z")
Drug use Cocaine by **Eric Clapton** Lit Up by **BuckCherry** Under the Bridge by **Red Hot Chili Peppers** Mr. Brownstone by **Guns N’ Roses** ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/72 "2009-11-25T00:57:25Z")
Haven’t seen “underage drinking” yet, so… “Drunk Teenagers” by the Joel Plaskett Emergency And how did this thread get here without “Been Caught Stealing” by Jane’s Addiction? ETA: One more, because I can’t stop listening to this band lately: Murder and flight from authority: “Killed My Parents and Hit the Road” by The Twilight Sad ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/73 "2009-11-25T01:05:11Z")
Embezzlement, Prostitution, and Armed Robbery (as well as a chorus that encompasses general crime): [Cage the Elephant - Ain’t no Rest for the Wicked](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t99bpilCKw) ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/74 "2009-11-25T06:42:17Z")
Incarcerated: Sam Cooke - “Chain Gang” Escaped convict: Grateful Dead - “Friend of the Devil” Murder: The Police - “Murder by Numbers” Assault and battery: Ramones - “Beat on the Brat” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/75 "2009-11-25T06:56:13Z")
Exceeding the posted speed limit: “I can’t drive 55” - Sammy Hagar ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/76 "2009-11-25T07:23:57Z")
Shoplifting: “Been Caught Stealing” by Jane’s Addiction Grand Theft, Auto: “In the Street” by Big Star Homicide: “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” by The Beatles ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/77 "2009-11-25T14:08:26Z")
Spousal abuse and murder: “Goodbye Earl” by the Dixie Chicks. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/78 "2009-11-25T15:43:15Z")
Stagger Lee, Frankie & Johnny, Knoxville Girl etc [Murder Ballads](http://www.planetslade.com/murder.html) ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/79 "2009-11-25T16:12:07Z")
“Shouldn’t Have Given Him A Gun For Christmas” - Wall Of Voodoo ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722/80 "2009-11-25T16:15:35Z")
Robbery: _Tennessee Plates_, John Hiatt [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-crime/518722.md?page=5)