Introduction – “These songs didn’t come out of thin air…” Greil Marcus described the aural image captured in Harry Smith’s seminal Anthology of American Folk Music as being that of an “old, weird America.” We take that concept seriously here at MBM. … Continue reading →
Introduction We here at Murder Ballad Monday are soon fixing to close our second year of writing about our topic of choice! Don’t worry; we have a few more weeks to go before we get to our holiday hiatus, and … Continue reading →
For the fourth time this week we embark on an exploration of the ballad “Young Emily” – Laws M34 or Roud #182 – and in Appalachia today we’ll finish our trek. We introduced the ballad with Natalie Merchant singing an … Continue reading →
As we found out in the introductory post this week, “Cold Rain and Snow”, which most folks know as a staple in the Grateful Dead’s repertoire, is an American ballad written by an unknown author after a man murdered his … Continue reading →
I first heard our subject ballad for the week from the same source I’m sure the majority of people who know it today did – the Grateful Dead. It had been part of their repertoire since their start in 1965, … Continue reading →
Romeo and Juliet – Sir Frank Dicksee, 1884 Note: This is Part 3 of a three part series. See also Part 1 and Part 2. Introduction What is it about this week’s song, “Matty Groves”, that attracts us so? (If you’re … Continue reading →
