No musical genres do murder ballads quite like folk and country. As descendants of traditional British and Irish ballads that recounted harrowing stories set to beautiful music, these classic folk songs describe vicious murders, senseless tragedies, and historical events. Sometimes the songs come with a built-in moral lesson, á la the Brothers Grimm. Other times, the ballads offer no respite from the darkness at all, instead leaning into the heartbreaking and horrifying storylines.
Videos by American Songwriter
These five tunes are undoubtedly in the latter category. From gruesome crime scenes to emotional manipulation that feels just as strong decades later, these are some of the creepiest, darkest murder ballads of all time.
For Eliciting Unsettling Sympathy: “They’re Hanging Me Tonight”
Kicking off our list of the darkest murder ballads of all time is a song about someone kicking the bucket. James Low and Art Wolpert’s song, which Marty Robbins made famous on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, tells the story of a man who killed his lover, Flo, and her new boyfriend. The way Robbins croons out his confession and the subsequent consequences almost makes you feel bad for a murderer. Almost. “I think about the thing I’ve done, I know it wasn’t right / They’ll bury Flo tomorrow but they’re hanging me tonight.”
For Romanticizing an Overreaction: “Delia’s Gone”
Johnny Cash’s booming baritone voice gives “Delia’s Gone” a deeper sense of violence and dread. Although just about anyone can make the words, “The first time that I shot her, I shot her in the side / It was hard to watch her suffer, but with the second shot, she died,” not sound morbidly disturbing. In this murder ballad, the narrator defends his actions by calling Delia “low down” and “trifling.” Hardly reasons to be murdered by a lover, the song, at least, ends with a bit of poetic justice when the narrator realizes Delia is “haunting” his jail cell.
For Confessing to Premeditation: “Pretty Polly”
“Pretty Polly” is a centuries-old murder ballad that has evolved into countless versions and storylines over the last several hundred years. In bluegrass icon Ralph Stanley’s version, the narrator of this gruesome murder ballad leads “Pretty Polly” “over the hills and valleys so deep” to a grave that he had dug the night before. Polly begs for her life, but he ignores her, stabbing her in the heart and placing her in the shallow grave. As is the murder ballad tradition, the narrator ends his sordid tale by lamenting his soul’s fate to spend eternity in hell.
For Divulging Too Many Details: “Knoxville Girl”
Another traditional murder ballad dating back hundreds of years, “Knoxville Girl” follows the standard format of a narrator recounting his crimes against an unsuspecting young woman, often pretty, always innocent. The Louvin Brothers’ ubiquitous version of “Knoxville Girl” includes several verses that describe the ways in which the narrator beat, tortured, and ultimately killed his victim. This narrator, too, accepts his fate of rotting in a jail cell for the rest of his life. But the sheer quantity of bloody (literally) details makes this one the runner-up for “darkest murder ballad of all time.”
The Creepiest of Them All: “Psycho” by Eddie Noack
Finally, topping the list of all-time darkest murder ballads is Eddie Noack’s rendition of “Psycho”, written by Leon Payne. The bone-chilling song is a one-sided conversation between the narrator and their mother. With each verse, the narrator confesses to a murder. First, he kills his ex-partner and her new beau, then he kills someone named Johnny, Johnny’s dog, a little girl who lived next door named Betty Clark (he thinks), and, finally, his own mother. “You think I’m psycho, don’t you, Mama? I didn’t mean to break your cup,” the song ends. “You think I’m psycho, don’t you, Mama, Mama, why don’t you get up?”
Photo by Columbia Records/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.