Introduction â âSamson and Delilahâ Last monthâs post on âOld Bill Rolling Pinâ inspired our musical exploration for today. Youâll recall that post relied on an understanding of âcodedâ lyrics as a safe way for black folks to express a … Continue reading →
Introduction â âThese songs didnât come out of thin airâŚâ Greil Marcus described the aural image captured in Harry Smithâs seminal Anthology of American Folk Music as being that of an âold, weird America.â We take that concept seriously here at MBM. … Continue reading →
Introduction â âVictim or the Crimeâ It is human to feel like a victim when suffering arrives. Â Traditional ballads almost always place such emotion within a dualistic worldview. Â There is good and evil â and a clear, if thin, line … Continue reading →
âIn the Timbers of FennarioâŚâ Todayâs murder ballad dances merrily along borderlines with which weâve become familiar in this blog; boundaries between celebration and fear, civilization and savagery, traditional and post-modern balladry â and of course that inscrutable passage between life … 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, weâve started a playlist on the topic and weâre planning to curate it in a future post … Continue reading →
On this blog, we often play detective. In fact, thatâs pretty much all we do, and this post is no different, but Iâm going to start by turning the tables. What, if anything, do you make of these fragments?: A … Continue reading →
Postcard showing Peachtree Street, Atlanta, ca. 1910  (postcard, public domain) Note: this is Part 1 of a two part series.  Read Part 2 here. Introduction â âBetty told DupreeâŚâ What would you do for love?  Well, wait, thatâs not quite … Continue reading →
Introduction A few weeks back I assembled a list of my âessential elevenâ traditional murder ballads. Â While we here at Murder Ballad Monday usually delve deeply into one ballad or theme, we saw some possible value in a lighter âlist-basedâ … Continue reading →
Introduction It is, apparently, awfully hard to find a picture of a broken or cracked china doll online that doesnât immediately bring one to the brink of depression. Â The one above, though, inspires me. Â I wish I could link you … Continue reading →
Jerry Garcia I first remember hearing Merle Haggardâs song âSing Me Back Home,â which we introduced in the previous post, in a cover version performed by Richard Shindell. Itâs possible I heard a taped Grateful Dead version before then, but … Continue reading →
