Tom Waits has said, “I like beautiful melodies telling me terrible things.” If that’s true, Tom must love Norah Jones‘ “Miriam.” From her 2012 album, Little Broken Hearts, it’s a melodic stroll around a dark corner of the neighborhood.
Videos by American Songwriter
It is not the first “murder ballad,” a subgenre of the traditional ballad with a crime or a gruesome death as the theme. “L.A. County” by Lyle Lovett and “Red Headed Stranger” by Willie Nelson are a few textbook murder ballads. Yet, “Miriam” is different as it sounds so pleasing, almost delightful to start. When the lyrics sync in, you realize you’re in for a different type of ride, like a mafia henchman going out on a boat with the boss.
The Lyrics
Jones lulls the listener in with a false sense of security—a bright G before a premonition in E minor. It’s the calm (Miriam, that’s such a pretty name) before the storm (I’m gonna say it when I make you cry / I’m gonna smile when you say goodbye), revealing Miriam is a woman Jones’ protagonist wants out of her life.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Jones soon reveals through her signature smoky voice her more sinister intentions: Now, I’m not the jealous type / never been the killing kind / But you know I know what you did / So don’t put up a fight.
Jones goes on to paint the rest of the picture: I know he said it’s not your fault / but I don’t believe that’s true. I’ve punished him for being weak / Now I’ve saved the best for you. Oh Miriam / That’s such a pretty name… I’m gonna smile when I take your life.
Jones ends the song with a haunting string of Mmm, mmm, mmm‘s, signaling a satisfaction that she is intent on or has already done the deed. She doesn’t come right out and tell us that she’s murdered Miriam, but the mmm, mmm, mmm‘s make it all too clear.
The Videos
The song preceding “Miriam” on Little Broken Hearts, “Happy Pill,” may not be interpreted as a murder ballad lyrically. Still, the video of her pushing her lover’s car into the lake with him asleep at the wheel qualifies it as such.
The video for “Miriam” takes it to another level. It is more overt, showing the murderer in a rowboat coming to grips with her actions as her victim lies on the swamp bed beneath the boat.
“Miriam” is a velvet hammer. Musically, it stays true to Jones’ signature blend of jazz, blues, pop, and country, wrapped in a warm, soulful melody. Yet, it’s that E minor and the drastic intention of the singer that makes this song so haunting and impactful an entry in the murder ballad genre.
“Miriam” was inspired by Jones’ time with country side project The Little Willies, where she teamed up with Richard Julian, Jim Campilongo, Lee Alexander, and Dan Rieser to pay homage to country classics.
In a 2012 interview for The Advertiser, Jones stated: “It came from songs we played: (Dolly Parton‘s) “Jolene,” where she’s begging—and (Loretta Lynn‘s) “Fist City,” where she’s punching. And then “Delia’s Gone,” where she’s killing. And thinking about all those old Johnny Cash songs, where he shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. It’s a very country tradition, the murder song.”
A tradition Norah Jones has masterfully elevated.
Photo by David Wolff – Patrick/WireImage
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