Murder Ballads

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Assassination ballad - Peter Gabriel  Family Snapshot 

 

 

 

[polymerpunkah]

Stan Rogers: "Harris and the Mare"

 

 

[NoelM]

Ruby Mae - The Felice Brothers

 

[Dr Nowt]

 

[Mudface]

 

[SasaS]

Murdering a ballad
 

 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Bowie - Valentine's Day

 

I never realised that Valentine is a school shooter.

 

[Tony Moanero]

 

[Dr Nowt]

 

[Dr Nowt]

 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

If you're an honest songwriter, you should write about what you know. 

 

If you're Shelby Lynne, what you know is that when you were 12 you witnessed your dad shoot your mother dead.

 

 

 

[SasaS]

Allison Moorer could probably do it better.

[Red Shift]

On The Road Again - Canned Heat

 

In my humble opinion, probably the greatest Blues imagery ever put to tape. Alan 'Blind Owl' Wilson (the guy who sings this) died in 1970 of a drug overdose.

Dark and sinister, the narrator appears to have killed his Mother & hit the road - forever drifting, with nothing but his own skin.

 

Is 'Blind Owl' a killer never caught? Hence the drug overdose?

Musically, the sitar is an interesting intro - but the feel is not at all calm, rather, unsettling; however, its fitting for the ‘mantric’ rolling of the drums, bass, organ and harp backing.

 

 

*Well, I'm so tired of crying
But I'm out on the road again
I'm on the road again
Well, I'm so tired of crying
But I'm out on the road again
I'm on the road again
I ain't got no woman
Just to call my special friend

You know the first time I traveled
Out in the rain and snow
In the rain and snow
You know the first time I traveled
Out in the rain and snow
In the rain and snow
I didn't have no fare, or
Not even no place to go

And my dear mother left me
When I was quite young
When I was quite young
And my dear mother left me
When I was quite young
When I was quite young
She said "Lord, have mercy
On my wicked son"

Take a hint from me, mama
Please don't you cry no more
Don't you cry no more
Take a hint from me, mama
Please don't you cry no more
Don't you cry no more
'Cause it's soon one morning
Down the road I'm going

But I ain't going down
That long old lonesome road
All by myself
But I ain't going down
That long old lonesome road
All by myself
I can't carry you, baby
Gonna carry somebody else*

 

 

 

[Atticus Finch]

On 05/07/2020 at 03:50, Red Shift said:

On The Road Again - Canned Heat

 

In my humble opinion, probably the greatest Blues imagery ever put to tape. Alan 'Blind Owl' Wilson (the guy who sings this) died in 1970 of a drug overdose.

Dark and sinister, the narrator appears to have killed his Mother & hit the road - forever drifting, with nothing but his own skin.

 

Is 'Blind Owl' a killer never caught? Hence the drug overdose?

Musically, the sitar is an interesting intro - but the feel is not at all calm, rather, unsettling; however, its fitting for the ‘mantric’ rolling of the drums, bass, organ and harp backing.

 

 

*Well, I'm so tired of crying
But I'm out on the road again
I'm on the road again
Well, I'm so tired of crying
But I'm out on the road again
I'm on the road again
I ain't got no woman
Just to call my special friend

You know the first time I traveled
Out in the rain and snow
In the rain and snow
You know the first time I traveled
Out in the rain and snow
In the rain and snow
I didn't have no fare, or
Not even no place to go

And my dear mother left me
When I was quite young
When I was quite young
And my dear mother left me
When I was quite young
When I was quite young
She said "Lord, have mercy
On my wicked son"

Take a hint from me, mama
Please don't you cry no more
Don't you cry no more
Take a hint from me, mama
Please don't you cry no more
Don't you cry no more
'Cause it's soon one morning
Down the road I'm going

But I ain't going down
That long old lonesome road
All by myself
But I ain't going down
That long old lonesome road
All by myself
I can't carry you, baby
Gonna carry somebody else*

 

 

 

On the road again is indeed a great track and would certainly be in my top 5 all time best.

 

I've been a fan of the blues music of Canned heat for a long time and Alan Wilson was the creativity behind the band and often wrote about life experiences in songs, if you listen to the track "London blues" he sings about a girl who strung him along and then blew him out while he was staying in the city while the band was touring.

 

As for the lyrics for "on the road again", Alan's mother did actually leave him when he was quite young, he was three years old at the time when she walked out on the family and it was quite a few years before he was reconciled with her.

 

Before his untimely death Alan has suffered what would be classed today as "mental health issues" and today would have received the appropriate treatment but in 1970 he was just released back in to the care of another band member Bob Hite with no help or treatment.

 

At the time Canned Heat seemed to be permanently touring and it's written that Alan had long had enough and wanted to quit, the day before he was found dead the other band members were already flying over to England for yet another long tour but Alan never showed up at the airport and after a search was found dead the next day in the woods behind the house where he was living at the time.  As for suicide, it is well documented by his friends that Alan used to have trouble sleeping and would take barbiturates to help him sleep, it will never be know whether he intended to take his own life.

 

In my opinion Alan Wilson was probably one of the greatest ever blues harmonica player, something John Lee Hooker agrees with and it was tragic that his life ended at the young age of 27 but one thing is certain, he was no killer.

[Guest]

 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

On 21/12/2019 at 16:01, Bjornebye said:

The winner

 

 

 

Murder ballad?

 

I suppose some fish cop it.

[Lee909]

 

 

 

[Red Shift]

On 07/07/2020 at 07:31, Atticus Finch said:

On the road again is indeed a great track and would certainly be in my top 5 all time best.

 

I've been a fan of the blues music of Canned heat for a long time and Alan Wilson was the creativity behind the band and often wrote about life experiences in songs, if you listen to the track "London blues" he sings about a girl who strung him along and then blew him out while he was staying in the city while the band was touring.

 

As for the lyrics for "on the road again", Alan's mother did actually leave him when he was quite young, he was three years old at the time when she walked out on the family and it was quite a few years before he was reconciled with her.

 

Before his untimely death Alan has suffered what would be classed today as "mental health issues" and today would have received the appropriate treatment but in 1970 he was just released back in to the care of another band member Bob Hite with no help or treatment.

 

At the time Canned Heat seemed to be permanently touring and it's written that Alan had long had enough and wanted to quit, the day before he was found dead the other band members were already flying over to England for yet another long tour but Alan never showed up at the airport and after a search was found dead the next day in the woods behind the house where he was living at the time.  As for suicide, it is well documented by his friends that Alan used to have trouble sleeping and would take barbiturates to help him sleep, it will never be know whether he intended to take his own life.

 

In my opinion Alan Wilson was probably one of the greatest ever blues harmonica player, something John Lee Hooker agrees with and it was tragic that his life ended at the young age of 27 but one thing is certain, he was no killer.

Thanks for that! Pure speculation on my part, I assure you. 

[Bjornebye]

 

 

 

 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Not many details of the murder itself, but Lefty Frizzell did for Bill and Mary, the rotter!

 

 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

 

[Harry's Lad]

On 22/12/2019 at 11:39, SasaS said:

Murdering a ballad
 

 

He should have been strung up for that.

[the chimp]

On 22/12/2019 at 03:41, AngryofTuebrook said:

Assassination ballad - Peter Gabriel  Family Snapshot 

 

 

 

Not enough rep in the world for this, Mal.

[NoelM]

 

 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Dee Icies - What She Did to My Mind