“It was the year of 1900…” – The Galveston Flood Disaster songs don’t inhabit the same space as murder ballads, but at MBM we find that they intersect in some profound ways with our genre of choice. Recently we spent a … Continue reading →
“Sometimes you wake with the feeling tone of a dream. You stay with it. There’s something there for you if you keep listening. It’s a good idea to let your dream and waking world co-exist. From the dream you get … Continue reading →
O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey’d monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on. — Shakespeare, Othello Cheatin’ and lyin’ On December 15, 1963, Minneapolis police apprehended an intoxicated 33-year-old man involved in a domestic … Continue reading →
This is the third in a short series of posts on “The Unfortunate Rake.” Read the previous posts here and here. “So brave, young, and handsome” “When I got back to Wichita, I met one Zach Potter, a man with … Continue reading →
“In the Timbers of Fennario…” Today’s murder ballad dances merrily along borderlines with which we’ve become familiar in this blog; boundaries between celebration and fear, civilization and savagery, traditional and post-modern balladry – and of course that inscrutable passage between life … Continue reading →
But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. — Matthew 19:14 This post looks at a pair of songs inspired by memories of one of postwar … Continue reading →
For the fifth time, we at Murder Ballad Monday find ourselves with something musical to share on Memorial Day. Songs of war don’t always get us to the same place as do those in our genre of choice, but sometimes … Continue reading →
We invited our readers via Facebook last week to submit some of the disaster songs they find most moving. Through those, and through some suggestions we got from others directly, we received some great suggestions. In an unusual turn for … Continue reading →
In the Murder Ballad Monday board room over the last several months, conversations about the sinking of the Titanic resulted directly in two things. First, we’ve started a playlist on the topic and we’re planning to curate it in a future post … Continue reading →
One, two, three, can we play the game Of the murderess who had no name? Lucifer was waiting, but Saint Francis came And said her name is nowhere on your deeds So she will come to heaven now with … Continue reading →
