September 11
There Are No Words Halifax Explosion, 1917 If Pat will permit me this brief interruption in his week on âCold Rain and Snow,â I thought it worth taking note of the day, September 11, and how it relates to our … Continue reading →
Ken Bigger
Ken Bigger is a writer based in the Midwest. He co-founded Murder Ballad Monday in 2012.
But don’t you let it take you over
[This is the fourth post this week on Child ballad 243, âThe Demon Loverâ or âHouse Carpenter.â  Read the first one here, the second one here, and the third one here.] Our last post took a look at one of the descendants … Continue reading →
Some are carpenters’ wives
[This is the third post on Child ballad 243, âThe Demon Loverâ or âHouse Carpenter.â Â Read the first one here, and the second one here.] âJames Harris,â the demon figure in Child 243, does not represent just any potential lover … Continue reading →
Who Weeps for the House Carpenter?
This is the second post on Child 243. Â Read the first post here. The short answer is ânobody.â Â Nobody weeps for the house carpenter. Â In our last post, we saw how artists through the years molded and shaped the original … Continue reading →
The Demon Lover (The House Carpenter)
This is the first of four posts on Child Ballad 243. The next three installments can be found here, here, and here. Well Met, Well Met What lengths will a singer go to in changing the songâs âfactsâ to keep … Continue reading →
On the flip side
Molly Ringwald OK, admit it. Â After the last post, this is not the face you were expecting to see in our next installment. Â But, if you were the Psychedelic Furs, what better song to be the B-side of âPretty in … Continue reading →
Mackie, how much did you charge?
Bobby Darin I fear Iâve become a bit of a crank. Â My previous post likely creates the impression that I insist that somehow all songs that involve crime or murder must be serious, and that thereâs no room for a … Continue reading →
Mack the Knife
Louis Armstrong SatchmoIf thereâs any one person to thank for bringing this bit of murderous, Marxist musical-theater satire to a large English-language audience, itâs none other than Louis Armstrong. Â He was not the first performer of an English version of … Continue reading →
Die Moritat von Mackie Messer
Rudolf Forster in G.W. Pabstâs 1931 âDie 3-Groschen-Oper â One challenge of exploring how music allows people to respond to murder, tragedy, and other forms of violent hardship, is that it makes one attuned to, well,  murder, tragedy, and other forms … Continue reading →
When you hear my pistol growlin’
This is our third post on âSwannanoa Tunnel.â Â Read the first one here, and the second one here. âAshville Junctionâ Todayâs post will be longer on music and shorter on writing, covering a wider variety of approaches to âSwannanoa Tunnel.â … Continue reading →