My recent Johhny Cash post had me thinking about song categories again...quite a few songs have a psychopathic character or event about a guy or gal that does something really despicable - with no apparent remorse. I'll start off with the Johnny Cash song I mentioned:
Cocaine Blues - but the author is T. J. "Red" Arnall - whose version is a lot more matter-of-fact hillbilly bluegrass - Johnny Cash sounds like a 'baddder' due to me
On the Banks of the Ohio - another guy that is hard to relate to
Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen's character in this song sounds like a guy that deserves no pity either
Who can outdo me for songs about even more despicable characters ? : ) More points if it's your own original !!! :0
Maybe Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley from my childhood? Pretty edgy to sing about at the time, though not so unknown as a crime (if he even committed it).
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The first verse in Riders On The Storm by The Doors is actually about a serial killer:
There's a killer on the road His brain is squirmin' like a toad Take a long holiday Let your children play If you give this man a ride Sweet family will die Killer on the road
The verse is from true life events. Apparently, a psychopath serial killer named Billy Cook killed six people while hitchhiking to California.
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Maybe the Blue Meanies should be considered... As really despicable psychopathic characters ? After all they represented all the music-hating bad people in the world.
Two songs, two such characters. The first writes a letter. The second, stars in a murder drama from centuries ago.
I heard "The Letter" by Don and Dewey only once, as a child rolling newspapers in the middle of the night (when the disc jockeys would play anything they liked).
I never forgot it.
Sonny Bono worked with Don and Dewey, hence this version by Caesar and Cleo (Sonny and Cher) prior to "Sonny and Cher".
It's a very short letter and a very mean letter. This is a different kind of violence than that of previous posts, but it's violence none the less.
"Barbara Allen" is thought to be the oldest English language song, predating Shakespeare by at least a century.
There are apparently thousands of versions of "Barbara Allen"; as it passed from locale to locale, verses were subtracted and added. That practice continued as the song came to America.
The Everly Brothers version is my favorite, recorded with the teenage brothers accompanied only by Don on guitar. It's from the album "Songs Our Daddy Taught Us". It's easy to imagine them singing "Barbara Allen" on their front porch.
It probably would have been my favorite version just because it's the Everlys, but I love it mostly because of the lyrics.
The final two verses of the version that made it to Kentucky elevate the song to masterpiece status.
They encompass everthing I hope for (but will never achieve) in a lyric.
Dolly Parton has a few murder ballads that are outright chilling, and of course I can't remember the names of any of them. I'm sure google would help here.
Tom Dooley Maxwell's Silver Hammer The Night The Lights went out in Georgia I Don't Like Mondays
I forget the name of this song, but the chorus goes - "I swear I left her by the river, I swear I left her safe and sound (I forget the next bit) And leave this cold Nebraska town"
Take murder ballads outa bluegrass and shooting lovers references outa blues and there would a a lot of shorter set lists.
Bud
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Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die
Parchman Farm - Mose Allison's take on a Bukka White song First he says: Well I'm sittin' over here on Parchman Farm And I ain't never done no man no harm And later: Well I'm a gonna be here for the rest of my life And all I did was shoot my wife Technically correct, he didn't harm a man.
Who can outdo me for songs about even more despicable characters ? : ) More points if it's your own original !!! :0
Yeah...I'm not playing. I've heard WAY too many songs that make you want to un-listen to them. I'm not sure anyone would go looking them up for one; and I wouldn't want anyone looking them up for reason number two.
A quick example would be something like "Dead Skin Mask" by Slayer. It's about Ed Gein. The unsettling part is it's from Ed Gein's perspective! No thanks.
If you go into the death/dark metal genre of music, it gets weird quick. A lot about rape, molestation, murder, torture, aborted fetuses...even necrophilia, if that puts it into perspective. That's why I'm not playing. None of us needs the therapy bill that would result from playing this "off topic" game. lol
I'm actually finding this whole "Baby Shark" song to be rather evil.
I actually came here to answer this...
Originally Posted By: Keith from Oz
I forget the name of this song, but the chorus goes - "I swear I left her by the river, I swear I left her safe and sound (I forget the next bit) And leave this cold Nebraska town"
I believe that's "Hazard" from Richard Marx. He actually has many songs much better than that one IMO.
Last edited by HearToLearn; 12/28/1911:00 AM.
Chad (Hope that makes it easier)
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
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MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
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Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
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Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
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