Murder, They Wrote

[Above: The Raconteurs]

Traditional murder ballads evolved from mandolin-drenched morality tales into gangsta-rap boasts and contemporary-country rallying cries. Today indie rockers also delve into the tormented psyche. Hence, some murderous modern classics, all suitable for a spin on grandpappy’s Victrola.

Song: Gillian Welch "Caleb Myer
Key Elements: Homebrew-based alcoholism, virtuosic guitar playing
Justification for the killing: Attempted rape
Them's murderin' words... "I cried 'My God, I am your child / send your angels down' / Then feelin' with my fingertips / The bottleneck I found"

Song: The Raconteurs “Carolina Drama”
Key elements: Surprise paternal revelation, ghostly background moans
Justification for the killing: Fright, defending a mother’s life
Them's murderin' words... “He saw that red-necked bastard with a hammer / Turn the priest into a shell of a man”

Song: Amy LaVere “Killing Him”
Key elements: Mournful fiddle, cheatin’ husband, ends in a jail cell
Justification for the killing: Hell hath no fury…
Them's murderin' words... “Love weighed on her heart like marble stone / A flash of the knife, he was gone”

Song: Drive-By Truckers “Sink Hole”
Key elements: Rural setting, defiant stare-down of a preacher
Justification for the killing: Imminent foreclosure on the family farm
Them's murderin' words... “I’d rather wrastle an alligator than to face the Banker’s scorn”

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