Last week my husband and I watched the ACM awards and were glad to see Hardy and Lanie Wilson win an award for Music Event of the Year with their song, Wait in the Truck, a powerful story of domestic violence and vigilante justice.
That got us talking about songs that tell great stories. Not all songs are narrative based or have a linear storyline, many focus more on expressing emotions or abstract ideas. However, I’ve always been drawn to ones that follow a traditional story arc, and I suspect that’s one reason I’ve always loved country music. I know it gets a bad rap because of some overused tropes in the genre (tractors, tailgates, cut off shorts, etc. etc.), but there are so many creative country songs that don’t deserve all the hate heaped on the genre.
Country music’s roots are deeply embedded in folk traditions, and folk music is often passed down orally. One integral part of folk music are songs known as murder ballads.
Murder ballads date back to medieval times, but gained popularity in the US during the Appalachian folk revival in the early 20th century. As their name suggests, murder ballads revolve around acts of violence, betrayal, and tragic love. Many narrated infamous true crime cases. These songs often highlight the complex motivations of the perpetrators, the suffering of the victims, and the moral dilemmas faced by those involved.
Like the thriller genre of books I read and write, murder ballads tap into our fascination with the darker aspects of human nature. They explore the depths of our emotions, allowing us to experience fear, empathy, and curiosity from a safe distance. Not to mention, murder ballads often feature haunting melodies that perfectly complement the eerie tales they convey.
As time passed, murder ballads have continued to evolve and find their place in contemporary music. Though I didn’t know it at the time, many of my favorite songs growing up were in fact murder ballads. (And this probably surprises no one).
Remember all the controversy over the Garth Brooks’ hit, The Thunder Rolls. Many radio stations refused to play the song, and the video was actually banned from CMT.
I remember renting a VHS of Garth’s music videos from Hastings, and watching the video for the first time with my parents. As a writer, I constantly find myself saying, “What a great line,” when watching tv, reading, or listening to music, and I remember saying that to myself as a nine-year-old hearing the chilling line, “and the lightning flashes in her eyes and he knows that she knows.” Looking back, I’m not totally sure how a third grader who knew nothing of infidelity and murder was really able to appreciate that good writing, but I did. There should never have been any doubt to my parents that I’d grow up to write a book like A River of Crows.
Though Garth took a lot of heat for that video, it paved the way for Martina McBride’s huge hit Independence Day that would be aired on CMT without incident three years later.
Another favorite murder ballad of mine that I did mention in A River of Crows is The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia. It’s been over thirty years since I first listened to it, and it’s still one of the best stories I’ve ever heard— affairs, murder, a wrongful conviction, a killer who was never caught, a crooked justice system, and a great twist of an ending. As someone who is very wordy, I’m amazed a story like that can be told in four minutes time. It would take me an entire book.
There are plenty of other examples of murder ballads in country music. Carrie Underwood and Johnny Cash come to mind when I think about singers with a lot of lyrical blood on their hands.
A great country storytelling song that I loved in my young adult years was Whisky Lullaby. Though not exactly a murder ballad, the song tells the tragedy of a couple whose breakup leads them both down sad paths with the same end as they drink themselves to death. Gentle and ominous vocals combined with a haunting melody easily makes it one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard.
It should be noted that not all songs that tell a great story are depressing. Goodbye Earl is a murder ballad, but a really catchy and fun one. Still, it should be noted, that many country stations refused to play it when it released as well. I still love to listen to it and it’s my favorite hashtag to send my girlfriends when their husbands do something stupid. (Delete this paragraph after reading. Thanks.)
What about you? What are the best stories you’ve heard in song form?
Shanessa Gluhm 