![]() While many ballads remembered and performed in the US today largely originate from the British Isles, there are various ballad traditions from all over Europe. Originally, the murder ballad subgenre sprung from the ballad tradition, a narrative song form that often depicted an event (in the case of murder ballads, the killing is the event). However, there’s an entire history of women performing traditional murder ballads, as well as writing some of their own, as an act of taking ownership of a tradition that often kept them defeated and, well, dead. ![]() You may have encountered murder ballads in the podcast Dolly Parton’s America, in which an entire episode it dedicated to how they influenced Parton’s earlier albums, and how she became a feminist icon by flipping the script on The Hunger Games soundtrack, in which the foreboding song “ The Hanging Tree” draws from Appalachian folk the bluegrass standard, “ Pretty Polly,” which has been performed by everyone from jazz guitarist Bill Frisell to Judy Collins to Throwing Muses frontwoman Kristin Hersh or songs like “ Hey Joe” (popularized by Jimi Hendrix), “ I Used to Love Her” by Guns N’ Roses, or “ Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem (featuring Rihanna)-all of which may not strictly follow the murder ballad formula, but continue the violent lyrical tradition. ![]() From songs, to movies, and beyond, the centuries-old subgenre is ingrained in our culture-and sometimes, we may not even pick up on the violent, and often misogynistic, messages. ![]()
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