and from the department of non-Oxford links

[angevin2]

eMusic has an article up called The 13 Grisliest Murder Ballads of All Time.

Now, this includes both traditional songs and not (Eminem's "Stan" is on there), But seriously, any list of the grisliest murder ballads that includes legitimate folk songs but not Long Lankin or Child Owlet -- possibly the most violent of the Child canon -- is not to be

Comments

[gileonnen]

Any listing that lacks 'Culling of the Fold' or 'The Rake's Song' was not looking hard enough.

Child Owlet is more of a capital punishment song; maybe that's why it was disincluded? But Long Lankin ought to be on the list!

[ghost_light]

Tom Waits' Georgia Lee, Nick Cave's The Kindness of Strangers and Nick Cave's The Curse of Millhaven

[fallingtowers]

I find Tom Waits' Frank's Wild Years rather grisly, probably because the whole song sounds so damn cheerful - but the protagonist is an arsonist who burns his wife and their dog to death.

[writerwench]

No Long Lankin? Insufficient research, to be sure.
It's top of my list of 'Steeleye Span Songs I cannot Listen To.'
I'm hopelessly squeamish when it comes to horror lyrics.

[arcadiaego]

I can't load the list, so I don't know what's on there already. but Lizie Wan is fairly horrific - murder *and* incest!