Miss Chatelaine

8 Nov 2019

Murder ballads – Show #127 (part 2), 27 October 2019

Music

Just in time for Halloween, US correspondent Mark Blankenship joins Katie to discuss the spooky music genre known as murder ballads. These songs, which tell the story of a crime or a gruesome death, have been around since the Middle Ages and have their roots in traditional folk music. Mark and Katie look at four examples of modern murder ballads, examine violence against women and by women in such songs, and puzzle out why the form remains so popular. Here is the playlist:

• Blue Trash – The Dead South
• Matty Groves – Fairport Convention
• Where the Wild Roses Grow – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue
• Goodbye Earl – The Dixie Chicks
• The Cruel Mother – Stray Hens

Mark Blankenship is a New York–based podcaster and writer who, among other things, co-hosts the podcast Mark and Sarah Talk About Songs (MASTAS) with Sarah D. Bunting. Visit MASTAS’s Patreon page and follow the podcast on Facebook and Twitter. You can also follow Mark on Twitter.

Above: Single artwork for ‘Where the Wild Roses Grow’ by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:12 — 51.5MB)

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27 Nov 2025

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Music

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Music

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Music

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