Songs about crime or criminals

[Bossy Monkey]

... tend to be the best ones. Leaping to mind are "The Road Goes On Forever" by Robert Earl Keen, "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" by Richard Thompson, and "Little Mattie Groves" by Doc Watson, though I only know the version by Norman and Nancy Blake. What are some of yours?

[Richardo]

1. "Friend of the Devil"

[TheMightyFavog]

2. Quite a few...

Folsom Prison Blues -- Johny Cash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Ts4M3irWM

The Ballad of Charles Whitman -- Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x-3OOd2cmo

[boilerbabe]

64. Wow!

I love Kinky and Johnny Cash! I am not ready to rip the headphones off my ipod since I am listening to x, which brings back some old memories! I will check out your links soon, though:)

[VMI Dem]

3. Jack Straw.

[NJmaverick]

4. Folson Prison Blues

Johnny Cash

[triguy46]

56. I shot a man in Reno...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Ts4M3irWM

[Dinger]

60. Oh Yeah, Or Cocaine Blues

Johnny was the best.:)

[NJmaverick]

5. I Faught the Law

Bobby Fuller

[Louisiana1976]

6. Crime songs:

"I Shot the Sheriff"--Eric Clapton

"Take the Money and Run"--Steve Miller Band

[geardaddy]

46. I agree with "I Shot the Sheriff", but

the original Marley version is way better than Clapton's.

[alsame]

7. Band on the Run - Paul McCartney and Wings nt

[Urban Prairie]

8. 30 Days InThe Hole-Humble Pie n/t

[Urban Prairie]

9. Indiana Wants Me-R Dean Taylor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZL_tZxyBDo

[Swede]

10. Gowan - A Criminal Mind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIjddye2JSA


You see my hands are steady
You've seen my face before
Soon you can take your last look
And they'll close the door
I stand accused before you
I have no tears to cry
And you will never break me
Till the day I die
(chorus)
A criminal mind
Is all I've ever known
They tried to reform me
But I'm made of cold stone
A criminal mind
Is all I've ever had
Ask one who's known me
If I'm really so bad...
I AM
I've spent my life behind
these steel bars
I've paid my debt in time
But being brought to justice
That was my only crime
I don't regret a single action
I'd do the same again
These prison walls secure me
And I'm numb to pain
repeat chorus
Before you hand me over
Before you read my sentence
I'd like to say a few words
Here in my own defense...
Some people struggle daily
They struggle with
their conscience
Till the end
I have no guilt to haunt me
I feel no wrong intent
repeat chorus
I'm made of cold stone
Just like your prison walls
A criminal mind
I AM

[TokenQueer]

11. R.E.M. - 'What's the Frequency, Kenneth?'

Great tune.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wtxz4yV_-3g

Weird backstory.
http://ask.yahoo.com/20010619.html

[Forkboy]

12. Stealing People's Mail by the Dead Kennedys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4snrxiX37k

We ain't going to the party
We ain't going to the game
We ain't going to the disco
Ain't gonna cruise down main

We're stealing people's mail
stealing people's mail
stealing people's mail
On a Friday night

Drivin' in the mountains
Winding 'round and 'round
Rummage thru your mailboxes
Take your mail back to town

And we got license plates, wedding gifts, tax returns
Checks to politicians from real estate firms
Money, bills and canceled checks
Pretty funny pictures of your kids

We're gonna steal your mail
On a Friday night
We're gonna steal your mail
By the pale moonlight

We got grocery sackful after grocery sackful
After grocery sackful after grocery sackful
After grocery sackful after grocery sackful
Of the private lives of you
Ha Ha

People say that we're crazy
We're sick and all alone
But when we read your letters
We're rolling on the floor

We got more license plates, wedding gifts, tax returns
Checks to politicians from real estate firms
Money, bills and canceled checks
We cut relationships with your friends

We're gonna steal your mail
On a Friday night
We're gonna steal your mail
By the pale moonlight

We better not get caught
We'll be dumped in institutions
Where we'll be drugged and shocked
'Til we come out born-again Christians

[TokenQueer]

13. Wow. Talk about a flashback.

Thanks.

:thumbsup:

[Forkboy]

14. Glad to help.

:)

[hibbing]

15. drifter's escape

Hi,
Had to get a Bob Dylan song in. Also love the bandit cole younger, by I think the Carter family.

Peace

[Petrushka]

16. Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde -- duet by Brigette Bardot & Serge Gainsbourg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehqvuP_osfE

[rug]

17. Polly, Pretty Polly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXr0XUXbRWU

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

18. I Shot the Sheriff.

The Highwayman.
Tom Dooley.

[Urban Prairie]

19. Hey Joe-Hendrix

[sarge43]

20. Mac the Knife n/t

[carlyhippy]

21. Gangsters paradise-coolio

not usually into rap, but I like this one...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxF-ImXaUdE

[RFKHumphreyObama]

22. Several

"Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WjOn5TNjBM

Domestic violence is a crime so this can be included here
"How Come How Long" by Stevie Wonder and Babyface
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whCKZhPSJYQ

The Wild Colonial Boy -one of my favorite Australian traditional songs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Colonial_Boy

Fields of Athenry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnwSzeGKemw

[Bossy Monkey]

23. Oops-- forgot "Nebraska" (the whole record, but especially the title cut) n/t

[mix]

24. +1

[WinkyDink]

25. "Tom Dooley" owns this thread.

[Swede]

26. Richard Marx - Hazard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdmHHoI9beM

My mother came to Hazard when I was just seven
Even then the folks in town said with prejudiced eyes
That boy's not right ...
Three years ago when I came to know Mary
First time that someone looked beyond the rumours and the lies
And saw the man inside ...
We used to walk down by the river
She loved to watch the sun go down
We used to walk along the river
And dream our way out of this town ...
No one understood what I felt for Mary
No one cared until the night she went out walking alone
And never came home ...
Man with a badge came knocking next morning
Here was I surrounded by a thousand fingers suddenly
Pointed right at me ...
I swear I left her by the river
I swear I left her safe and sound
I need to make it to the river
And leave this old Nebraska town
I think about my life gone by
And how it's done me wrong
There's no escape for me this time
All of my rescues are gone, long gone
I swear I left her by the river
I swear I left her safe and sound
I need to make it to the river
And leave this old Nebraska town ...

[Doc_Technical]

27. The Great Train Robbery by Mountain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swq3IJmFB0g

[Zomby Woof]

28. "Pretty Boy Floyd" - Woody Guthrie

If you'll gather 'round me, children,
A story I will tell
'Bout Pretty Boy Floyd, an outlaw,
Oklahoma knew him well.

It was in the town of Shawnee,
A Saturday afternoon,
His wife beside him in his wagon
As into town they rode.

There a deputy sheriff approached him
In a manner rather rude,
Vulgar words of anger,
An' his wife she overheard.

Pretty Boy grabbed a log chain,
And the deputy grabbed his gun;
In the fight that followed
He laid that deputy down.

Then he took to the trees and timber
To live a life of shame;
Every crime in Oklahoma
Was added to his name.

But a many a starving farmer
The same old story told
How the outlaw paid their mortgage
And saved their little homes.

Others tell you 'bout a stranger
That come to beg a meal,
Underneath his napkin
Left a thousand dollar bill.

It was in Oklahoma City,
It was on a Christmas Day,
There was a whole car load of groceries
Come with a note to say:

Well, you say that I'm an outlaw,
You say that I'm a thief.
Here's a Christmas dinner
For the families on relief.

Yes, as through this world I've wandered
I've seen lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen.

And as through your life you travel,
Yes, as through your life you roam,
You won't never see an outlaw
Drive a family from their home.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

29. John Hiatt & The Goners - Tennessee Plates

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxwjX8UQRrQ

[cherish44]

30. "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia"

Brother get blamed for murder of his wife's lover and is hanged. Little sister gets revenge, pops a cap into brother's cheating wife. Great tune!

[fNord]

69. +1

haven't heard that in years....used to make me shutter and bring a tear to my eye w/ the line:
"little sister don't miss when she aims her gun..."

Reba's version is hot too.......

[bluesbassman]

31. Uriah Heep - Stealin'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Ef8dEgHVk

Take me across the water
cause I need some place to hide
I done the ranchers daughter
And I sure did hurt his pride

Well, theres a
Hundred miles of desert
Lies between his hide and mine
I dont need no food
And no water, lord
cos Im running out of time

Fightin, killin, wine and women
Gonna put me to my grave
Runnin, hidin, losin, cryin
Nothing left to save but my life

Stood on a ridge
And shunned religion
Thinking the world was mine
I made my break and a big mistake
Stealin, when i
Shouldve been buyin

All that fightin, killin
Wine and those women
Gonna put me to an early grave
Runnin, hidin, losin, cryin
Nothing left to save but my life, life...

So I stood on a ridge
And shunned religion
Thinking the world was mine
I made my break and a big mistake
Stealin, when i
Shouldve been buyin
I was stealin
When I shouldve been buyin
I was stealin
When I shouldve been buyin
Stealin, when i
Shouldve been buyin ..
I was stealin ...

[donheld]

32. Bohemian Rhapsody

[flying rabbit]

33. Breaking the law

Judas Priest

[Pool Hall Ace]

34. 'Lawyers, Guns and Money' by Warren Zevon

Well, I went home with the waitress
The way I always do
How was I to know
She was with the Russians, too

I was gambling in Havana
I took a little risk
Send lawyers, guns and money
Dad, get me out of this

I'm the innocent bystander
Somehow I got stuck
Between the rock and the hard place
And I'm down on my luck
And I'm down on my luck
And I'm down on my luck

Now I'm hiding in Honduras
I'm a desperate man
Send lawyers, guns and money
The shit has hit the fan

Send lawyers, guns and money...

[cemaphonic]

35. "John Hardy"

My favorite version of this is Leadbelly's, but about a million people have recorded this.

"Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" - Bob Dylan

"Pancho and Lefty" - Townes van Zandt

"Powderfinger" - Neil Young

I could go at this all day - you're right, there are a lot of great songs in this genre.

[Ohio Joe]

36. Johnny Blade - Black Sabbath

From the Never Say Die album:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw5NdnJgAU0

Tortured and twisted
He walks the street alone
People avoid him
They know the street's his home

Cold blade of silver
His eyes they burn so wild
Mean as a tiger
Society's own child

Those that tried to burn him paid
You don't do that to Johnny Blade
He's the meanest guy around his town
One look and he will cut you down
Johnny Blade, Johnny Blade

Life has no meaning
And Death's his only friend
Will fate surprise him
Where will he meet his end?

He feels so bitter
Yes he's so full of hate
To die in the gutter
I guess that's Johnny's fate

Rivals all across the land
He kills'em with his knife in hand
He's the meanest guy around his town
One look and he will cut you down
Johnny Blade, Johnny Blade

Well you know that Johnny's a spider
And his web is the city at night
He's a victim of modern frustration
That's the reason he's so ready to fight
He's the one who should be afraid
What will happen to you, Johnny Blade?

Oh he knows his future's decided
And he ain't gonna change it, no way
He was born to die in the gutter
He'll keep fighting to the end of his days

Been alone all through his life
His only friend is a switchblade knife
He's the one who should be afraid
What will happen to you, Johnny Blade?

You fool the people
Who's fooling who?
It's time to listen
The fool is you!

[NNadir]

37. The Dead's "Friend of the Devil." I once heard them play it in tune, which was amazing.

Generally they were the worst famous band and seldom were in tune, but this actually happened.

I guess their drug supply must have gone dry for a few days.

[madamesilverspurs]

38. "Cocaine Bill and Morphine Sue"

[kentauros]

39. 38 posts and no mention of Nick Cave?

I'm ashamed of y'all ;)

Nick Cave and the Bad seeds entire album from 1996, Murder Ballads, is almost nothing but songs about crimes of passion. From what I've read, only the cover of Dylan's "Death Is Not the End" doesn't deal with a murder. I used to have a copy of this CD, but can't find it. Youtube only has a few cuts from it:

Stagger Lee
Henry Lee
Where the Wild Roses Grow
The Curse of Millhaven

I don't know enough about their discography to point to all the other songs about crime, but you can bet this album isn't the only one :P

[Kat45]

40. AC/DC - Jailbreak nt

[asdjrocky]

41. One of my favorite criminal songs-

Have Mercy On The Criminal - Elton John



Have you heard the dogs at night
Somewhere on the hill
Chasing some poor criminal
And I guess they're out to kill
Oh there must be shackles on his feet
And mother in his eyes `
Stumbling through the devil-dark
With the hound pack in full cry

Have mercy on the criminal
Who is running from the law
Are you blind to the winds of change
Don't you hear him any more

Praying Lord you got to help me
I am never gonna sin again
Just take these chains from around my legs
Sweet Jesus I'll be your friend

Now have you ever seen the white teeth gleam
While you lie on a cold damp ground
You're taking in the face of a rifle butt
While the wardens hold you down

And you've never seen a friend in years
Oh it turns your heart to stone
You jump the walls and the dogs run free
And the grave's gonna be your home

[Z_I_Peevey]

42. Mama Tried

Merle Haggard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffHcGlF0xDw

[Deja Q]

43. Corporate Cannibal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgMn2OJmx3w

:D

[Ohio Joe]

44. Bad Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqYkCJaBAyA

oh man... how was this one missed.

[Generic Brad]

45. I Fought the Law and the Law Won

[BarbaRosa]

47. Poncho and Lefty

[mtowngman]

59. I'm glad someone got that one, written by the great Townes Van Zandt

:thumbsup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtzgwNDZAs4

[fNord]

70. I like willy and bob's version....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPMxJROHInM

[geardaddy]

48. The Maggot - Goldie Lookin Chain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqQGnJWHPvw

Spaceman, blow up.

oh, maggot, he's a modern day fagan
turfing out your pockets like a christian burns a pagan
dripping with charm, style and panache
he'll leave you sore like a venereal rash

they tried to catch him, he says, 'time to dash'
he always leaves a party with a wallet full of cash
he's a bastard, but he's always looking flash
with his shoes like Dick Turpin, across his waist he wears a sash

sporting top hat, with a pocket watch too
the tallest member of the goldie lookin' crew
watch out if he's there when you're pissed
he learnt his science from the man, Oliver Twist

of his crimes, we tried to compile a list
selling sexy DVD's of a willy being kissed
stealing pensions on the old and infirm
made a fortune selling doctors fake sperm

like Charles Dickens, there's a lesson to be learned
beware the maggot cos the worm has turned
whoop......whoop......whoop
All of de yout' shall witness de day that Babylon shall faaaalll

just like Jack The Ripper, he'll do you up a kipper
and he's like a highway man holding up a Newport nipper
he's smarter than Sherlock Holmes or ITV's Taggart
Ii'm dapper, refined and they call me the maggot

turn your back and your pocket, he will pick
his eyes and talons are fukin' deadly equipped
like a chameleon, i'm the master thief
using a disguise, dressed like Penelope Keith

you gotta smoke a reefer or two
you gotta smoke a reefer or two
you gotta smoke a reefer or two
you gotta smoke a reefer or two

i steal money and hide it in my rectal hole
taking belongings in my ultimate goal
i'll take your china, your silver and your soul
by darkness and night, i shimmy up the drain-pipe

the maggot, the maggot, that's who i am
don't ever trust me, always doing a scam
i punched a woman and stole the baby and a pram
i even sliced my penis up and sold it as ham

gold chains and watches, maggot's got plenty
he pinched them from ladies and upset the gentry
like Sherlock Holmes bumming Watson, it's elementary
he's the modern day menace of the nineteenth century

a gentleman thief, a scholar and a rogue
doing the locomotion like Kylie Minogue
he's got the strength of ten, like a maniac
and i'm also identified as Spring-heeled Jack

whoa, here he comes, watch out, son, he'll rip you off
whoa, here he comes, he's a money grabbing bastard from Newport

i'm maggot with the GLC
big shout to all the Valleys
free Dick Turpin and the ring stinger
Big up to Dipper Nan
Merthyr Connection
Postman Port, big shout out to Postman Port

And Mark, running the bar
Always sorts it
Big up Hafodrynys hotel
big up to pontllanfraith crew
Also the west end crew iun Abercarn

I did a wheelie on a Penny Farthing
Big wheel up, big wheel up
All the bus routes
X15, 53, big respect
Red and white at cross keys
and their rivals glynn williams

Respect to you all
All those that know fake Elvis
On their transister radio......

Maggot, signing out, 2000 plus 3.

every man do his ting, a little bit different

[Jade Fox]

49. Green Green Grass of Home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3lSw91Idy0

[DBoon]

50. Killer - Alice Cooper

What did I do to deserve such a fate
I didn't really want to get
Involved in this thing
Someone handed me this gun and I
I gave it everything
Yeah, I gave it everything

I came into this life
Looked all around
I saw just what I liked
And took what I found
Nothing came easy
Nothing came free
Nothing came all until they
Came after me

Yeah-hey, yeah

Aaahhhhhhhh, aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh

(What did I do to deserve such a fate?)
(I gave it everything)
(Now I need to escape)
(Someone near me, calling my name)
(I gave it everything)
(I gave it everything - sigh)

[Bossy Monkey]

57. Or Psychokiller by T Heads nt

[Orsino]

51. Dylan: "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD0V-MC1GUo

[madmom]

52. Rocky Racoon ?

[backwoodsbob]

53. gotta do it

smooth criminal by A.A.F.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cJB2Z_aTEQ

[fNord]

68. you know thats a Michael Jackson song....

right?

[AllenVanAllen]

54. A few crime songs

Thin Lizzy - Whiskey in the jar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TehFZ38kt6o

Matallica's version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoHF3lmQRrs


Iron Maiden - Killers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwY3Ftfdy6M


M.I.A. - Paper Planes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HD2TpLifYM

[old mark]

55. "Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd" - Woody Guthrie,

covered much later by the Byrds.

mark

[mzteris]

58. Frankie and Johnny.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.



and then there's always MJ's "Smooth Criminal"

[Dulcinea]

61. Johnny 99 by Springsteen.

Well they closed down the auto plant in Mahwah late that month
Ralph went out lookin' for a job but he couldn't find none
He came home too drunk from mixin'Tanqueray and wine
He got a gun shot a night clerk now they call'm Johnny 99

Down in the part of town where when you hit a red light you don't stop
Johnny's wavin' his gun around and threatenin' to blow his top
When an off duty cop snuck up on him from behind
Out in front of the Club Tip Top they slapped the cuffs on Johnny 99

Well the city supplied a public defender but the judge was Mean John Brown
He came into the courtroom and stared young Johnny down
Well the evidence is clear gonna let the sentence son fit the crime
Prison for 98 and a year and we'll call it even Johnny 99

A fistfight broke out in the courtroom they had to drag Johnny's girl away
His mama stood up and shouted "Judge don't take my boy this way"
Well son you got a statement you'd like to make
Before the bailiff comes to forever take you away

Now judge judge I had debts no honest man could pay
The bank was holdin' my mortgage and they was takin' my house away
Now I ain't sayin' that makes me an innocent man
But it was more 'n all this that put that gun in my hand

Well your honor I do believe I'd be better off dead
And if you can take a man's life for the thoughts that's in his head
Then won't you sit back in that chair and think it over judge one more time
And let 'em shave off my hair and put me on that execution line

[NecklyTyler]

62. THE LEGEND OF BONNIE AND CLYDE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL8ckWe0bk4

[MissHoneychurch]

63. Nick Cave - Murder Ballads

according to Wiki "As its title suggests, the album consists of new and traditional murder ballads, a genre of songs that relays the details (and often consequences) of crimes of passion."

[Forkboy]

71. That album is awesome.

Probably my favorite of his, and that's saying something. :)

[MissHoneychurch]

72. It is

but I prefer Boatsman's Call over the Murder Ballads

[Taitertots]

65. Big Herk-Rock Bottom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpVWUX-uvyg
The airports too hot, so I'm hoping on a train with this brick.

Gucci Mane-Bricks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB1WKUG1sx8
All white brick, off white bricks, light tan bricks

Gucci Mane Feat. OJ the Juice Man-Make the trap say aye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5wAk7PXmBI
Hundred pills, Thousand pills, serving major weight

[fNord]

66. mama tride....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DRFCgYOow

The first thing I remember knowing,
Was a lonesome whistle blowing,
And a young un's dream of growing up to ride;
On a freight train leaving town,
Not knowing where I'm bound,
No-one could change my mind but Mama tried.
One and only rebel child,
From a family, meek and mild:
My Mama seemed to know what lay in store.
Despite all my Sunday learning,
Towards the bad, I kept on turning.
'Til Mama couldn't hold me anymore.

And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole.
No-one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied.
That leaves only me to blame 'cos Mama tried.

Instrumental break.

Dear old Daddy, rest his soul,
Left my Mom a heavy load;
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes.
Working hours without rest,
Wanted me to have the best.
She tried to raise me right but I refused.

And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole.
No-one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied.
That leaves only me to blame 'cos Mama tried.

[WillParkinson]

67. Ringo by Lorne Greene

He lay face down in the desert sand
Clutching his six-gun in his hand
Shot from behind, I thought he was dead
But under his heart was an ounce of lead
But a spark still burned so I used my knife
And late that night I saved the life of Ringo

(Ringo... Ringo . . .)

I nursed him till the danger passed
The days went by, he mended fast
Then from dawn till setting sun
He practiced with that deadly gun
And hour on hour I watched in awe
No human being could match the draw of Ringo

(Ringo... Ringo... )

One day we rode the mountain crest
And I went east and he went west
I took to law and wore a star
While he spread terror near and far
With lead and blood he gained such fame
All throughout the West they feared the name of Ringo

(Ringo... Ringo... )

I knew someday I'd face the test
Which one of us would be the best
And sure enough the word came down
That he was holed up in the town
I left the posse out in the street
And I went in alone to meet Ringo

(Ringo... Ringo... )

They said my speed was next to none
But my lightning draw had just begun
When I heard a blast that stung my wrist
The gun went flying from my fist
And I was looking down the bore
Of the deadly .44 of Ringo

(Ringo... Ringo... )

They say that was the only time
That anyone had seen him smile
He slowly lowered his gun and then
He said to me "We're even, friend"
And so at last I understood
That there was still a spark of good in Ringo

(Ringo... Ringo... )

I blocked the path of his retreat
He turned and stepped into the street
A dozen guns spit fire and lead
A moment later, he lay dead
The town began to shout and cheer
Nowhere was there shed a tear for Ringo

(Ringo... Ringo... )

The story spread throughout the land
That I had beaten Ringo's hand
And it was just the years, they say
That made me put my guns away
But on his grave they can't explain
The tarnished star above the name of Ringo

(Ringo... Ringo... )
(Ringo... Ringo... )

[raccoon]

73. The Death of Emmett Till -- Bob Dylan nt

[SteppingRazor]

74. "Down By the River" by Neil Young, "Nebraska" by Bruce Springsteen and Johnny Cash's darkest song...

"Delia's Gone" all sprang immediately to mind. Though, really, the list of songs about criminals, particularly murderers, is massive. Murder ballads are, after all, an entire subgenre in and of themselves.

[LeftishBrit]

75. 'Frankie and Johnny'; 'Jesse James'; (more recent) 'He's In the Jailhouse Now'...

but my favourite is an old, decidedly Gothic British folk song, 'Polly's Love':

Fair maids are a-shining over valley and town.
There once was a young girl her name it was Miss Brown.
A young man came a-courting her dear for to be,
And he was by trade a ship's carpenter was he.

Well, the king he needed sailors for to go off to sea.
This made the young maiden to cry and to say,
“William, O William, do not leave me here,
Remember the vows you have made to your dear.”

But it was early the next morning before it was day
He's gone to his Polly, these words he did say,
“Polly, O Polly, you must come along with me,
Before we get married, my friends for to see.”

Then he's led her through the groves and through the valley so deep.
This caused poor Polly to cry and to weep,
“William, O William, you've led me astray
On purpose to take my own sweet life away.”

“No pardon will I give you and there's no time to stand'.
And there in a moment drew a knife with his hand
He stabbed her poor body till red blood did flow
And into a grave her poor body did throw.

Then he's covered her body so safe and secure.
He thought none would find her, of that he was sure.
Then he went on board ship to sail the world around
Before that his murder would ever be found.

It was early one morning before it was day
The captain came to him, these words he did say,
“There's a murderer on board and it's lately been done.
Our ship she's in mourning and cannot sail on.”

And up stepped one sailor, “Indeed, sir, not I”,
And up stepped one other, “Indeed, sir, not I”,
And up stepped young William to storm, curse, and swear,
“Indeed, sir, not I, sir, I vow and declare.”

And as he was a-turning from the captain with speed
His mad, pretty Polly it's made his heart bleed.
She's ripped him, she's stripped him, she's tore him in three,
Crying, “That's for the murder of my baby and me

[Bossy Monkey]

76. It's alive! (The thread, not pretty Polly)

You might like John Wesley Harding, eg, The Truth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JaMJfJSt-Q (which sort of fits the thread's theme, as there's an arrest).