What do the following three songs have in common?
Murder!
Although contemporary, the above songs are all a part of a rich, folkloric tradition. The musical folkway in question? Why, murder ballads, of course.
Long before the public’s imagination held tight with podcasts like Serial and entire TV channels dedicated to unsolved crimes, murder ballads told stories about true, grisly topics. They are, simply put, songs about people meeting their end in not-so-great ways. Sometimes, the killer receiving proper justice is in the conclusion of the song.
They began as early as the 16th century in Europe. Most were printed on broadsheets and sold cheaply to the public. People sang these songs both for fun and to convey creepy, interesting stories. Lyrics would change, depending on location. Some were even rewritten and retooled several times. Authors were lost to time.
When the ballads made their way to the New World, there were even more changes and rewrites. In The Pines, as performed by Nirvana above, evolved quite literally hundreds of times.
The advent of recording technology in the early 20th century took the ballads from local communities to a broader audience. Soon enough, these songs became a part of pop culture in a big way.
The popularity of murder ballads remains today. At the beginning of the post, the songs I posted were made in the last twenty years. Totally modern. And yet, the folkways find a way to permeate throughout our culture.
Why have thesegory songs remained popular for several centuries? What is is about true crime set to music that continues to enchant us?
What’s your favorite murder ballad?
Sources:
http://pigeonsandplanes.com/in-depth/2012/10/the-10-best-murder-ballads
http://www.historynet.com/poor-boy-youre-bound-to-die-murder-ballads.htm
http://www.murderbygaslight.com/p/american-murder-ballads.html
Archived Folk 