Country music has a long history of murder anthems—and with songs including “Long Black Veil” and “Delia’s Gone” — Johnny Cash might be the king of them. However, the genre has had plenty of heart-stopping songs in the decades since Cash started putting them out.
Last year, Lainey Wilson and HARDY’s “wait in the truck” won Music Event of the Year at the CMA Awards. In honor of the spooky season, here’s a list of some of this generation’s top murder ballads.
Videos by American Songwriter
Hardy and Lainey Wilson, “wait in the truck”:
Written by HARDY, Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt, and Renee Blair, “wait in the truck” is a murder ballad in which the singer kills another man for abusing a woman the singer just met.
Lyrics include: Well, I knocked and knocked, and no one came| So I kicked in his double-wide door| I let the hammer drop before he got| To that 12 he was reaching for| I didn’t try to hide my pistol| I didn’t
even try to run| I just sat on the porch, smoking one of his cigarettes| And waited for the cops to come
HARDY released “wait in the truck” on August 29, 2022, as the lead single from his second studio album The Mockingbird & the Crow.
Carrie Underwood, “Two Black Cadillacs”:
Written by Underwood, Hillary Lindsey, and Josh Kear, “Two Black Cadillacs” tells the story of a wife and a mistress who learn they are sleeping with the same man and develop a plan to kill him.
Lyrics include: Two months ago, his wife called the number on his phone| Turns out he’d been lying to both of them for oh so long| They decided then, he’d never get away with doing this to them| Two black Cadillacs waiting for the right time, right time
“Two Black Cadillacs” is the third single from Underwood’s fourth studio album Blown Away. Mark Bright produced the track.
The Chicks, “Goodbye Earl”:
Dennis Linde penned “Goodbye Earl,” a song initially recorded by Sons of the Desert, that celebrates the death of an abuser.
In the song, two high school friends go their separate ways. However, when Wanda started getting abused two weeks after she got married, Mary Ann showed up with a plan.
Lyrics include: That Earl had to die| Goodbye, Earl| Those black-eyed peas| They tasted alright to me, Earl| You’re feeling weak| Why don’t you lay down and sleep, Earl?| Ain’t it dark| Wrapped up in that tarp, Earl?
The Chicks recorded “Goodbye Earl” for their fifth studio album, Fly. The song became a Top 20 hit.
Reba McEntire, “The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia”:
McEntire remade Vicki Lawrence’s Southern gothic murder anthem in 1991 for her For My Broken Heart album. Lawrence’s then-husband Bobby Russell wrote “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” and Lawrence released it in 1973. While McEntire’s version fell just short of a Top 10 hit, it became one of the most popular songs of her career. Lawrence’s original take topped the US Billboard Hot 100.
Lyrics include: Well, they hung my brother before I could say| The tracks he saw while on his way| To Andy’s house and back that night were mine| And his cheating wife had never left town| That’s one body that’ll never be found| You see little sister don’t miss when she aims her gu
Miranda Lambert, “Gunpowder & Lead”:
Lambert co-wrote this foot-stomping, revenge-riddled murder anthem with Heather Little.
“Gunpowder & Lead” tells the story of an abused wife who loads her shotgun and waits for her abuser to get home. The song launched Lambert’s career and was her first Top 10 hit.
Lyrics include: His fist is big, but my gun’s bigger| He’ll find out when I pull the trigger| I’m goin’ home, gonna load my shotgun| Wait by the door and light a cigarette| If he wants a fight, well, now he’s got one| And he ain’t seen me crazy yet
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