Country Murder Ballads

I am continuing with the murder ballad theme this week, and bringing you a set of country murder ballads, along with a few shoot-the-outlaw songs, and one interesting song that ponders whether or not a hangman is a murderer.


The Napster playlist is here.
The Youtube playlist is here.
The Spotify playlist is here.


1. "Amos Moses" by Jerry Reed
2. "Arkansas Murder Ballad No. 1" by Angela Easterling
3. "The Ballad of Charles Whitman" by Kinky Friedman
4. "The Ballad of Louise" by Jeannie C Riley
5. "The Banks of the Ohio" by Olivia Newton-John (Not on Spotify playlist)
6. "Big Iron" by Marty Robbins
7. "Billy the Kid" by Marty Robbins
8. "The Box it Came In" by Wanda Jackson
9. "The Bramble Briar" by Martin Simpson
10. "Cedartown Georgia" by Waylon Jennings
11. "Charles Guiteau" by Loman Cansler (Not on Youtube playlist)
12. "Child Owlet" by Steeleye Span
13. "Cocaine Blues" by Johnny Cash
14. "The Cold Hard Facts of Life" by Porter Wagoner
15. "Delia's Gone" by Johnny Cash
16. "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" by Johnny Cash
17. "Dragging the River" by Idgy Vaughn
18. "El Paso" by Marty Robbins
19. "Far From Any Road" by The Handsome Family
20. "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash
21. "Frankie and Johnnie" by Jimmie Rodgers
22. "Goodbye Earl" by Dixie Chicks
23. "Gunpowder and Lead" by Miranda Lambert
24. "Hangman" by Marty Stuart
25. "Highwayman" by The Highwaymen
26. "House Carpenter" by The Handsome Family
27. "I Hung My Head" by Johnny Cash
28. "I Just Can't Let you Say Goodbye" by Willie Nelson
29. "I'm Gonna Kill You" by Casey James Prestwood
30. "Independence Day" Martina McBride
31. "Jesse With the Long Hair" by Robert Earl Keen
32. "John Hardy" by Bobby Bare
33. "The Killing of Billy Lee" by Mike Whitley
34. "The Killing of Me" by Jemma Nicole
35. "L.A. County" by Lyle Lovett
36. "The Legend of Wooley Swamp" by Charlie Daniels
37. "The Lighthouse's Tale" by Nickel Creek
38. "Lilli Schull" by Uncle Tupelo
39. "Little Delia" by Blind Willie McTell
40. "Little Omie Wise" by Doc Watson
41. "Looking Back Now" by Maggie Rose
42. "The Long Black Veil" by Lefty Frizzell
43. "Louis Collins" by Larry Perkins
44. "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" by Gene Pitney
45. "Marie Laveau" by Bobby Bare
46. "Mary Danced with Soldiers" by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Emmylou Harris
47. "Matamoros" by Billy Walker
48. "Me and Billy the Kid" by Joe Ely
49. "Miller's Cave" by Bobby Bare
50. "Murder of Crows" by Lindi Ortega
51. "The Murder of the Blue Eyed Man from Galveston Bay" by Blue Diamond Shine
52. "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Reba McEntire
53. "Ol' Red" by Blake Shelton
54. "Open Pit Mine" by George Jones
55. "Papa Loved Mama" by Garth Brooks (The Napster and Spotify Playlists have cover bands)
56. "Pardon Me (I've Got Someone to Kill)" by Johnny Paycheck
57. "Philadelphia Lawyer" by Willie Nelson
58. "Pretty Boy Floyd" by Rosanne Cash (Not on Spotify Playlist)
59. "Red Georgia Clay" by John Anderson
60. "Red Headed Stranger" by Willie Nelson
61. "Roving Gambler" by Jerry Reed
62. "Sam Hall" by Johnny Cash
63. "Seven Spanish Angels" by Ray Charles and Willie Nelson
64. "Silver Dagger" by Dolly Parton
65. "Sonora's Death Row" by Robert Earl Keen
66. "The Story Behind the Story" by Big Al Downing
67. "They're Hanging Me Tonight" by Marty Robbins
68. "Two Black Cadillacs" by Carrie Underwood
69. "Veil of White Lace" by Vernon Oxford
70. "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's forty Below)" by Johnny Horton
71. "When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back" by Confederate Railroad
72. "Where the Wild Roses Grow" by Thomas Cory Myers
73. "Whiskey in my Whiskey" by The Felice Brothers
74. "Williamson County" by Gary Stewart
75. "Yvette" by Jason Isbell

I will continue to add songs to this list as I find them, but the songs beyond this point will not be in alphabetical order.

76. "Kevin Barry" by Stompin' Tom Conors
77. "The Everglades" by Waylon Jennings
78. "Westfall" by Okkervil River
79. "Buenas Noches From a Lonely Room (She Wore Red Dresses)" by Dwight Yoakam
80. "Louisiana Stripes" by Hank Williams III
81. "Down the River" by Chris Knight
82. "Living on the Run" by David Allan Coe
83. "Hardin Wouldn't Run" by Johnny Cash
84. "Country Death Song" by Violent Femmes
85. "Della and the Dealer" by Hoyt Axton (not on Spotify playlist)
86. "Room 205" by Chase Rice
87. "Mr. Wolf and Mamabear" by Robert Earl Keen
88. "Mr. Shorty" by Marty Robbins
89. "Church Bells" by Carrie Underwood
90. "The Bones of Benny Gray" by Dave Stamey
91. "25 to Life" by Mountain Deer Revival
92. "50 Acres" by Big Range
93. "Where'd You Hide the Body" by James McMurtry
94. "Geraldine" by Daniel Dye
95. "Julie" by Porter Wagoner
96. "Verlaine Shot Rimbaud" by Lydia Loveless
97. "Arkansas Dave" by George Strait
98. "The Ballad of William Kellor" by Tin and the Toad