There’s a trail of dead bodies in the centuries worth of works songwriters have left behind: tales of countless victims who were drowned, stabbed, bludgeoned, and poisoned, set to music and passed on through the years via memorable sing-alongs. These murder ballads, an oral tradition with its roots in a number of European countries, proved so popular, they migrated across countries. England’s “Hanged I Shall Be” morphed into “The Wexford Girl” in Ireland, which turned into “The Knoxville Girl” in the United States.<\/p>\n\n
A common theme among murder ballads, including those mentioned above, is that they are very often populated by women who, come song’s end, are no longer breathing. Adding another macabre layer to an already grisly genre, these songs are sometimes inspired by real life events. To put it simply, today’s abundance of true crime podcasts is certainly not the first time humans have proven themselves intrigued by blood-soaked folklore.<\/p>\n\n
For Part I of the Headless Crow’s murder ballad series, we’ll shift away from the usual lyrical content and instead focus on songs specifically sung by female voices. In the songs below, it’s the women who are trigger-happy and the men who are dropping like flies.<\/p>\n\n
Hurray for the Riff Raff – “The Body Electric”<\/b>
\nOur jumping off point isn’t a typical murder ballad like those that will follow, but rather the song that inspired this article in the first place. Written, produced and sung by frontwoman Alynda Segarra, Hurray for the Riff Raff’s “The Body Electric” is a powerful contemplation on the history of real life crimes against women being turned into entertainment: written, performed, and covered through generations “while the whole world sings”<\/i> along. Striking images throughout the song’s music video intensify the message even further: what appears to be a baby in the arms of a woman is in fact hundreds of bullet casings, cradled adoringly. Deservingly described as NPR’s Political Folk Song of the Year<\/a> in 2014, it’s a thoughtful way to kick things off before we launch headlong into gleeful murder.<\/p>\n\n