Bluegrass Murder Ballads

With October here and Halloween quickly approaching, I began wondering what playlists might be appropriate to post this month. Then it hit me, what could be more chilling than a collection of murder ballads?  Some of these songs are seriously disturbing (I'm looking at you, "The Barnyard"), and some of them just sound so dang cheerful it's hard to imagine the dastardly deeds happening in the lyrics.  Here are 70 Bluegrass Murder ballads (with a few kill-the-outlaw songs thrown in for good measure).  Enjoy!  Or, you know, cringe when appropriate.

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


1. "Banks of the Ohio" by Bill Monroe
2. "The Barnyard" by Rachel Brooke
3. "The Beautiful Hills" by Cody Shuler
4. "Bible By the Bed" by Cadillac Sky
5. "Blackadders Cove" by Newfound Road
6. "Blackbirds and Crows" by Nashville Bluegrass Band
7. "The Bluefield Murders" by The New North Carolina Ramblers
8. "Bounty Hunter" by Mike Cross
9. "Carrie Brown" by Steve Earle
10. "Clinch Mountain Mystery" by Larry Stephenson
11. "Cruel Willie" by James Reams
12. "Darling Cory" by Jubilee Mule
13. "Down In the Willow Garden" by Dave Evans
14. "Dreadful Wind and Rain" by Jerry Garcia
15. "Duncan & Brady (He's Been On the Job Too Long)" by The Johnson Mountain Boys
16. "Fate of Rhoda Sweeten" by Wilmer Watts (Not on Spotify Playlist)
17. "Flowers in the Dell" by James King
18. "Frankie Silvers" by Clarence "Tom" Ashley
19. "The Ghost of Eli Renfro" by Nashville Bluegrass Band
20. "Ghost of the Molly Maguires" by Hair of the Dog
21. "The Ghost of Norma Jean" by Steep Canyon Rangers (The Spotify playlist has this song by the Canucky Bluegrass Boys)
22. "He Cut Her Throat" by Churchfitters (Not on Spotify Playlist)
23. "Hear the Willow Cry" by The SteelDrivers
24. "Henry Walker" by Del McCoury
25. "Hey Joe" by Jerry Douglas
26. "Hills of Roane County" by Tony Rice
27. "Hollis Brown" by Dudley Connell
28. "I Hung My Head" by Blue HIghway
29. "I Killed Sally's Lover" by The Avett Brothers
30. "If It Hadn't Been for Love" by The SteelDrivers
31. "In the Gravel Yard" by Blue Highway
32. "In the Pines" by Bill Monroe
33. "Isabell" by Undertakin' Daddies (Not on Spotify or Youtube Playlists)
34. "It Rained a Mist" by Jeremy Stephens
35. "Jailhouse Blues" by Ronnie Bowman
36. "Kenney Wagner's Surrender" by Ernest Stoneman
37. "Knoxville Girl" by The Louvin Brothers
38. "The Lawson Family Murder" by Doc Watson
39. "The Legend of Jennie Wade" by Lonesome River Band
40. "Lily of the West" by The Company Store
41. "Little Glass of Wine" by Ralph Stanley
42. "The Little Grave in Georgia" by Earl Johnson
43. "Little Henry Lee" by The Virginia Cutups
44. "Little Matty Groves" by Norman Blake
45. "Little Sadie" by Tony Rice
46. "Lester Moore" by Ronnie Bowman
47. "Long Black Veil" by The Seldom Scene
48. "Love for an Angel" by Ronnie Bowman
49. "Ludlow Massacre" by The Dillards (Not on Spotify)
50. "Miller's Cave" by Scot Tackett
51. "My Love Lies In the Ground" by Dirk Powell
52. "Norma Jean" by Steep Canyon Rangers
53. "Nothing But a Whippoorwill" by Blue Highway
54. "Old Time Angels" by Jim Lauderdale
55. "Otto Wood, the Bandit" by Loafer's Glory
56. "The Peddler and His Wife" by Kenny Jackson
57. "Poor Ellen Smith" by Laura Cantrell
58. "Pretty Polly" by Ralph Stanley
59. "Railroad Bill" by Crooked Still (Not on Youtube playlist)
60. "River Bottom" by The Country Gentlemen
61. "Secret of the Waterfall" by The Country Gentlemen
62. "Simon Crutchfield's Grave" by The Rarely Herd
63. "Stack O Lee" by Hylo Brown
64. "Take Me in Chains" by Del McCoury
65. "Tom Dooley" by Doc Watson
66. "Up Falling Rock Hill" by The Handsome Family
67. "Wexford Girl" by Great American String Band
68. "Wild Bill Jones" by Alison Krauss
69. "Who Showed Who" by Del McCoury
70. "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" by Del McCoury

This list will continue to grow from time to time as I find more bluegrass murder ballads.  The following songs are new additions, but are not in any particular order

71. "Silver Dagger" by Talon
72. "Veil of White Lace" by Cliff Waldron
73. "The Jealous Lover" by The Stanley Brothers
74. "Open Pit Mine" by Nashville Bluegrass Band
75. "Roving Gambler" by Larry Sparks
76. "Shotgun Slade" by Ralph Stanley
77. "Philadelphia Lawyer" by Rose Maddox
78. "Old Richmond Prison" by Ralph Stanley
79. "John Hardy" by Jerry Reed
80. "Footsteps So Near" by Ralph Stanley (Not on Spotify playlist)
81. "Butcher Boy" by Aubrey Haynie
82. "The House Carpenter" by John Reischman
83. "Perfume, Powder, and Lead" by Lonesome River Band
84. "38 Special" by Wayne Taylor
85. "Will the Weaver" by Mike Seeger
86. "Cold Carolina Snow" by Carolina Road
87. "25 Years" by Yarn