Songs About Crime

Robbery, Assault and Battery
“Robbery, Assault and Battery” - Genesis

Covers murder and theft, at least. Prostitution, arguably. Rape, arson, and probably a few others, depending on the version.

And a crime not yet covered…

Necrophilia:
Cold Ethyl - Alice Cooper
I Love The Dead - Alice Cooper
Dead Girls - Voltaire
UNDEAD necrophilia:
Zombie Prostitute - Voltaire
Night of the Loving Dead - Lordi

Murder:

“Tom Dooley” - folksong
…and probably hundreds more

“Ride Like The Wind” by Christopher Cross

Billy Joel did one about Billy the Kid, I think…

All excellent. Love the Tom Lehrer and the Muppets.

Murder:
“Cocaine Blues” - Johnny Cash (also drug abuse)
“Delia’s Gone” - Johnny Cash
“Rum to Whiskey” - Murder City Devils
“Hey Joe” - Jimi Hendrix Experience
“Ohio” - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Killing of people by freezing them to death; cannibalism - The Candy Machine by Zager & Evans.

From “Chicago”:

*Cell Block Tango
When You’re Good to Mama
We Both Reached for the Gun
*
And about half the songs from “Sweeney Todd.”

Capital Murder:
“The Road Goes on Forever,” Robert Earl Keen

Burglary, Assault with a Deadly Weapon and/or Murder:
“Take the Money and Run” - Steve Miller Band

Apparently I need to give Zager & Evans a second look.

Yes, their songs may on the surface seem like typical late-'60s psychedelic-pop, but the lyrics are ridiculously gruesome (when they’re not simply ridiculous.)

Cannibalism:
The Buoys- Timothy. Written by Rupert Holmes, aka the Pina Colada song guy.

Child killin’:
Violent Femmes- Country Death Song

Murder–David Gilmour

Every song on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ Murder Ballads

Nick Cave’s “Idiot Prayer” seems to be about a man being executed for murdering his wife or girlfriend

Rats, missed the edit window–I linked to the edited version of Gilmour’s* Murder.* The full-length version (with his great guitar solo) is here.

Lordy, folk music is full of them. Tom Dooley has already been mentioned. How about Long Black Veil, Flora (the Lily of the West), and Banks of the Ohio?

Murder
With a Gun - Steely Dan
Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll - Bob Dylan
Matty Groves, Long Black Veil, Lily of the West and a zillion other traditional folk songs and Child ballads

Prostitution
Raised on Robbery - Joni Mitchell
Easy Money - Rickie Lee Jones

Psycho killers
Excitable Boy - Warren Zevon
Angie Baby - Helen Reddy

Smuggling
Treetop Flyer - Steven Stills
Smuggler’s Blues - Glenn Frey
Coming Into Los Angeles - Arlo Guthrie

oh, …and littering
Alice’s Restaurant - Arlo Guthrie

Dammit! Once again, you take the words from my mouth.

Don’t change! :wink:

Insane murderer
Aisha by Death in Vegas
Damage I’ve done - Heads

You want a single album or an entire genre?

Or you can go to the source, same as the folkies of yore: Anthology of American Folk Music - Wikipedia

And creating a nuisance.