"Earl Must Perish: The Finest 20 Country Songs Depicting the Act of Killing Your Partner"
Songs depicting murder have always played a significant role in traditional country music. While they may not be as common in today's country music scene, there is still an abundant collection of exceptional songs that revolve around men ending the lives of their romantic female partners. Evidently, there are also quite a few songs that portray women committing such acts, and we have compiled a list to showcase them.
We eliminated certain contenders from this list based on a few specific criteria. Our main focus was to include only one song per artist, which resulted in only one slot for each country stars Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert, despite both having multiple murder songs in their catalogs. While songs like "Before He Cheats," "Church Bells," "White Liar," and "Kerosene" are all excellent revenge anthems, they were ultimately excluded from the final selection due to the presence of even more popular songs.
The chosen theme was specific and helped to further narrow down the selection. In order for a murder song to be included in this list, it had to involve at least one male victim. Therefore, even though Ashley McBryde's "Martha Divine" is a standout modern murder song in the genre, it did not meet the criteria and was not included. Other notable mentions include Willie Nelson's "Red Headed Stranger" and The SteelDrivers' "If It Hadn't Been for Love," but they also did not make it onto this list.
We have compiled a collection of the most powerful and wicked songs in country music that revolve around killing someone. Take a look at our choices for the top revenge hits and hidden gems that explore the theme of murder, particularly when it comes to eliminating the man in your life (or persuading someone else to do it for you). Keep reading and don't forget to share in the comments if we overlooked your favorite song about getting rid of your man.
Earl Had to Die: A Collection of the Finest Country Songs Depicting the Act of Killing Your Partner
Credits for the Gallery: Carena Liptak
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