Murder Ballad Monday--Country Death Song (Violent Femmes)

Hello and welcome to Murder Ballad Monday. For the past several weeks I have explored different versions of the ballad Polly Vonn, but this week I am moving into more contemporary circles.

When you think of rural murder ballads, I bet the last thing you think about is the alternative/punk band the Violent Femmes.  Their first eponymous album was raw and brash with songs like Blister in the Sun. Their second album Hallowed Ground was more reflective and had an almost country music sound in some places. There were also several  Christian songs like Jesus Walking on the Water which caused conflict between band members as lead singer Gordon Gano was a devout Christian and the other members of the band were atheists. This is an album of contrasts because it also contains the song Black Girls which contains the lyrics I dig black girls so much more than the white girls and I dig white boys so much more than the black boys. 
                              
But what really set this album apart for me was the lead song. When I first bought this album on vinyl back in 1984, I was struck like a thunderbolt to the chest by the first song. It was a murder ballad told in first person by a man driven mad by poverty and hunger who in a moment of madness (a moment of clarity?) pushes his younger daughter down a well and then hangs himself when he realised what he had done. There is this chilling line I pushed with all my might, I pushed with all my love which really encapsulates the claustrophobic feeling of the song.

It is an exquisite portrait of the madness that can come through isolation and poverty. It reminded me of the poem School Lesson Based On Word of Tragic Death of Entire Gillum Family by Robert Penn Warren about the father who murders his family with an ice pick as his children are getting ready for school.

According to Wikipedia, Gordon Gano wrote Country Death Song while still in high school. He wrote it one day in 10th grade study hall after seeing a news article about a murder in 1862 where a father intentionally pushed his daughter down a well and then hanged himself in the barn.

I think what makes it more chilling is that it is a first person account. What also really enhances it is this fan made video. It was made as a final project for an animation class and really captures the eerie feeling of madness that compliments Gordon Gano's distinctive voice.

I have included the lyrics below if you would like follow along, but I suggest watching the video as well.

I had me a wife, I had me some daughters.
I tried so hard, I never knew still waters.
Nothing to eat and nothing to drink.
Nothing for a man to do but sit around and think.
Nothing for a man to do but sit around and think.

Well, I'm a thinkin' and thinkin', till there's nothin' I ain't thunk.
Breathing in the stink, till finally I stunk.
It was at that time, I swear I lost my mind.
I started making plans to kill my own kind.
I started making plans to kill my own kind.

Come little daughter, " I said to the youngest one,
Put your coat on, we'll have some fun.
We'll go out to mountains, the one to explore.
Her face then lit up, I was standing by the door.
Her face then lit up, I was standing by the door.

Come little daughter, I will carry the lanterns.
We'll go out tonight, we'll go to the caverns.
We'll go out tonight, we'll go to the caves.
Kiss your mother goodnight and remember that God saves.
Kiss your mother goodnight and remember that God saves.

I led her to a hole, a deep black well.
I said "make a wish, make sure and not tell then
Close your eyes dear, and count to seven.
You know your papa loves you, good children go to heaven.
You know your papa loves you, good children go to heaven."

I gave her a push, I gave her a shove.
I pushed with all my might, I pushed with all my love.
I through my child into a bottomless pit.
She was screaming as she fell, but I never heard her hit.
She was screaming as she fell, but I never heard her hit.

Gather round boys to this tale that I tell.
You want to know how to take a short trip to hell?
It's guaranteed to get your own place in hell.
Just take your lovely daughter and push her in the well.
Take your lovely daughter and throw her in the well.

Don't speak to me of lovers, with a broken heart.
You want to know what can really tear you apart?
I'm going out to the barn, will I never stop in pain?
I'm going out to the barn, to hang myself in shame.

That's all for this week. Stay tuned next week for a trip to rural Georgia.