S. Gee co-founded Murder Ballad Monday in 2012.
Neko Case playing murder victim on the cover of her album Furnace Room Lullaby In response to a previous post on Nick Cave and Johnny Cash, one of our readers commented that âthe emotion in Cave’s voice, along with his … Continue reading →
Last week, Pat asked why we keep pushing the murder ballad for meaning and truth, asking what we need to know that compels us to keep plumbing the depths of these songs? But sometimes, itâs not what we donât know … Continue reading →
As I mentioned in my first post, “Ballad of Hollis Brown” was presented and received as a sad story about something that happened to a man, not about what that man did to six other people. The song brings us … Continue reading →
The Times They Are aâChanginâ included numerous songs that addressed current events and real crimes. âOnly a Pawn in their Gameâ deals with the assassination of civil rights worker Medgar Evers by Byron De La Beckwith; âThe Lonesome Death of … Continue reading →
At the end of this week, I’ll return to the key issues that Dylan addresses in “The Ballad of Hollis Brown.” As part of that, I’ll look at one of if not the worst versions of the song ever sung … Continue reading →
The thing I like about traditional murder ballads is that there doesn’t have to be any motive for the murder. There’s just these two people and he takes her down to the river and he kills her and he throws … Continue reading →
In this interview mentioned in the last post, Nick Cave explained how his musical inclinations were forever changed when â as young boy in a small town in Australia â he started watching the Johnny Cash Show. The first episode of the show … Continue reading →
This week, Iâll explore the dialogue between Johnny Cash and Nick Cave, two great modern murder balladeers who wrestled with themes of redemption and retribution as they explored crime, death, love, isolation, religion and the myths and musical roots of … Continue reading →
This weekâs installment focuses on another American contribution to the genre, in the sense that âHenry Lee,â or âLove Henry,â is an Americanized take on an old ballad called âYoung Huntingâ (Child Ballad No. 68). Â Â The ballad tells … Continue reading →
